Whats the deal with DVD-RAM?

External Since: Mar 20, 2004 Posts: 5

I have about 1G of personal data. I would like my PC to backup these
files nightly with an automated process onto some kind of removable
storage.

I dont really want to hassle/pay for a tape drive or an MO drive so i
looked at a DVD-RW solution. But i read somewhere that DVD-RW is not
great and that i should look at DVD-RAM.

Well i have looked for DVD-RAM and i can find almost no information on
this format. I was under the impression that it was better for my
needs since it handled being rewritten better than DVD-RW.

Newegg sells two DVD-RAM drives from LG, the GSA4082B and GSA4081B.

Before i purchase one of these drives, can anyone provide some details
on this format?

I already have a DVD/RW drive from NEC the ND2500 but it does not say
it supports DVD-RAM.

thanks

External Since: Nov 13, 2003 Posts: 112

On 21 May 2004 22:58:15 -0700, vaitkus DeleteThis @pacbell.net (Purple) wrote:

>I have about 1G of personal data. I would like my PC to backup these
>files nightly with an automated process onto some kind of removable
>storage.
>
>I dont really want to hassle/pay for a tape drive or an MO drive so i
>looked at a DVD-RW solution. But i read somewhere that DVD-RW is not
>great and that i should look at DVD-RAM.
>
>Well i have looked for DVD-RAM and i can find almost no information on
>this format. I was under the impression that it was better for my
>needs since it handled being rewritten better than DVD-RW.
>
>Newegg sells two DVD-RAM drives from LG, the GSA4082B and GSA4081B.
>
>Before i purchase one of these drives, can anyone provide some details
>on this format?

The DVD-RAM disc itself is physically similar to (but not identical
to) DVD-/+RW media except that the disc is encased in a caddy (a
plastic shell, similar in concept to what you have around a 3.5"
floppy). It's a rewriteable data format, as suggested by the RAM in
the name. Part of the format is a higher level of error checking and
error correction/redundancy, which makes adds confidence in the format
for data backup.

Should you wish more details:

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#4.3.4" target="_blank">http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#4.3.4</a>

The DVD-RAM drives that you've listed are tray drives. They do not
support the use of caddied media, so you have to take the disc out of
the caddy to use it. Taking the disc out of the caddy will reduce the
disc's durability, as it exposes it to physical damage. Out of the
caddy, the media's longevity is likely equivalent to that of the +/-
formats, but the added redundancy and error correction makes the data
a bit more error tolerant when problems do crop up -- at least in
theory, I really can't say how well it works in practice.

>
>I already have a DVD/RW drive from NEC the ND2500 but it does not say
>it supports DVD-RAM.

It doesn't. DVD-RAM isn't very popular due to the speed penalty, and
the expense of the media, and most drives only support DVD-/+ formats.

>
>thanks

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MCheu