If you want to burn DVD’s at home it is important to understand the differences in DVD disk formats, DVD drives and making sure that the finished product will play on the devices you want them to.

While DVD-Video is a term often used to define a movie, such as a rental, in actuality there are several different formats of DVD disks and the compatible drives that burn them as well as the devices that are capable of playing them. In order to get the desired results when burning DVD’s and video at home it is important to understand these different formats.

Different DVD Formats:

While DVD’s look like CD’s they are capable of holding about 7 times more information than CD’s and that allows an entire movie and then some to be burned onto one DVD.

1. DVD-R and DVD+R are recording formats that allow for one recording only. Once video is recorded to them they cannot be edited, erased or changed in any way. This type of disk is usually compatible with all DVD players including older ones.

2. DVD+RW, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM. Also known as rewriteables, these DVD formats allow you to record to them, erase and record again. These types of disks usually only play on newer DVD players only. Make sure check the specifications of your DVD player to see what formats it is capable of playing.

The differences between the Different DVD Formats:

a) DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD-RW are made for recording movies and video.

b) DVD-RAM disks were created for backing up computer data and hard drives and not for burning DVD’s. Most DVD players cannot read or play DVD-RAM disks.

What’s with the plus and minuses attached to the Different DVD formats?

Years ago when DVDs were first being made there was no industry standard and different companies were making different forms of DVDs hoping that their particular DVD type would become the main one used.

DVD-R and DVD-RW disks were made by Pioneer and data was only written to one layer of the DVDs surface. Other companies supported DVD+R and DVD+RW and as opposed to the ‘-’ disks, the ‘+’ disks had data stored on multiple layers of the disk. The plus and minus sign does not matter in which DVD format you use, they are basically the same thing.

Different DVD Format Drives

The DVD drive is a component of a computer that actually records data or movie onto the DVD disc. The different types of DVD drives basically break down into the same formats as the different DVD formats. There are DVD-RAM drives, DVD-R drives etc. It is important to match the different DVD formats with the burning capabilities of the DVD drives.

Another thing to consider when choosing a DVD Drive what you will use it for. If you are primarily going to back up computer data then it is best to choose a DVD-RAM burner, but if you are burning movies then you will have to choose one of the other DVD drives. These days many DVD drives are compatible with several DVD formats so the more options available with your drive the more flexible it will be.

In the conclusion, make sure that your DVD media, DVD drive and your playing device’s capabilities match.

If you are planning to burn DVD’s at home and understand the different DVD formats and have your DVD drive then you will need to have the appropriate DVD burning software. Depending on what you want to burn, there are different types of burning software.