Finalize DVDRW+ ??

[clumb31]

I think I read somewhere that you can "finalize" a DVD+RW to play on other machines and THEN be able to record new video on it . Is this correct or is once finalized it is not possible to record new material?
Thanks

[johns0]

DVD+RW that are finalized can record new material as long as they are erased(reformatted) first.

[usually_quiet]

I think I read somewhere that you can "finalize" a DVD+RW to play on other machines and THEN be able to record new video on it . Is this correct or is once finalized it is not possible to record new material?
Thanks

One of my DVD recorders uses DVD+RW and the other uses DVD-RW. Video Mode recordings on DVD+RW do not require finalization to be playable on other machines, but Video Mode on DVD-RW does. It is possible to delete the recordings from DVD+RW a one at a time and re-use the disc without reformatting. After finalizing, DVD-RW must be reformatted before being used again for recording.

[johns0]

Ya,i never finalize my dvd+rw after doing a dvd recording and my computer can read it with no issues,just don't finalize your dvd+rw recordings anymore,i just format it after for a quick erase,never had to do more that one recording at a time anyways.

[clumb31]

I am using the DVD RW STRICTLY on the DVD player/ recorder, NOT the computer. But it won't play on the second player without finalizing so I was concerned that if it was finalized I could not re-record on it. I'm still not clear on this:
a) can I "erase" the finalized content?
b) referring to "format" do you mean that I can or should do that on my computer and then can record again on it on the DVD? That doesn't sound right to me.

[usually_quiet]

I am using the DVD RW STRICTLY on the DVD player/ recorder, NOT the computer. But it won't play on the second player without finalizing so I was concerned that if it was finalized I could not re-record on it. I'm still not clear on this:
a) can I "erase" the finalized content?
b) referring to "format" do you mean that I can or should do that on my computer and then can record again on it on the DVD? That doesn't sound right to me.

In spite of what johns0 said DVD+RW discs cannot be finalized. To answer your questions about DVD+RW, here is a quote from the DVD+RW Alliance (http://dvdplusrw.org/Article.asp?mid=0&sid=1&aid=1) , which created the format:

Do DVD+RW discs need to be finalized?
No. Everytime a DVD+RW disc is ejected, either from a DVD+R/+RW drive in a PC or from a DVD+R/+RW video recorder, it automatically contains the needed information for the disc to be read in a normal DVD-Video player or DVD-ROM drive. There's no need to perform a time-consuming "finalisation" process on the disc, as is required for all other rewritable DVD formats, and for CD-RW. Likewise, there is no such thing as "unfinalizing" a DVD+RW disc: you can always make modifications or add new contents to a disc without performing some special procedure in advance.

If the disc requires finalization to be read by another DVD player it is a DVD-RW, DVD-R or DVD+R disc. If it is a DVD-RW disc, the DVD recorder that you used to record and finalize will have a menu option to format the finalized disc, which is necessary to re-use it. However, you may have a DVD+R or DVD-R disc, which are not re-usable. Many people see the DVD+RW Alliance logo on write-once DVDs or the packaging they come in and are confused by it. (The logo appears on the top of the page for my link above.) Download and install ImgBurn. Insert one of your discs in your computer's DVD burner, and open ImgBurn. Select "Mode" from the menu bar, then select "Read" from the drop down menu. Look under "Disc Information" in the right-hand pane to see what the disc really is.

[clumb31]

THANK YOU Usually Quiet!. Glad you were not quiet now. Best information I have received!

[johns0]

Didn't realize that dvd+rw couldn't and didn't need to be finalized,never needed to try and finalize any of my dvd+rw,thanks for the info usually_quiet.

[jjeff]

The OP didn't say what brand of DVDR they had, but if it's a Panasonic DVDR in order to see a menu on anything other than the Panasonic that recorded it, you need to preform something(Panasonic calls it create top menu) which takes about as long as finalizing a -R, +R or -RW disc. You can continue to add things with the Panasonic DVDR but unless you run the create top menu option, you won't see your newest additions on the menu when playing the disc on a player.
Because of all this hassle(and the fact that + discs recorded on a Panasonic have reduced search speeds on players) I really rarely bother with +R or +RW discs on my Panasonics.
I do use them for the occasional music video type of disc so I can keep adding to the disc and yet play it on a player but until I create the top menu I can only play and skip from one title to another, no thumbnail view.

[[_chef_]]

Finalizing/Closing is kinda forced with Panas standalones, AFAIK. Even they do not publish that easily.
And it differs even with Panasonic standalone devices.


The theoretical advantages by DVD+R and DVD+RW over DVD-RW and DVD-R is due to the fact that Philips could delay the release of their PLUS standard and media extensively.
Remember that they released DVD+RW first and it took a while before they skipped DVD+R on the market.
Pioneer was the inventor of recordable DVD media (DVD-R), Panasonic did that before with DVD-RAM. Philips and Ricoh learned from that and without the bedning of the booktype DVD+R would have died within weeks after release!!