DVD±XX

From war of countries to war of technologies...

Its like Deja Vu... About 15 to 20 years back there was a standards war between VHS and Betamax and we all know who won that war... Now, there's another war going on for the DVD Recording standards. The following are the currently used standards:

1. DVD-R
2. DVD+R
3. DVD-RW
4. DVD+RW
5. DVD-RAM

Both DVD-R and DVD+R let you write a single time to a DVD (similar to CD-R technology). Once you use a DVD-R or DVD+R disc, you can't write data to that disc again. On the other hand, DVD-RW and DVD+RW technologies let you write continually write to a DVD, just as you can to a CD-RW disc or a floppy.

A third DVD rewritable standard, DVD-RAM, runs a distant third. This technology is incompatible with commercial DVD players-data stored on a DVD-RAM disc can't be read by DVD movie players, or many other DVD drives. The only real use for DVD-RAM is as a high-capacity network backup medium. DVD-RAM discs are housed in cartridges and hold between 2.6 GB and 9.4 GB.

Now, if you think all of this confusion is enough, you guessed wrong! Enter Sony... Its coming up with its own standard - BluRay and it has already come out with the recorders and players.

Now, which one of this is gonna win this war... is anybody's guess. But if you were thinking of buying a DVD Recorder in the near future, you would be better off if you waited till one standard comes out as the winner.

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