What Are the Different CD and DVD Media Formats Available?

Article Number: 000149930

What Are the Different CD and DVD Media Formats Available?

Summary: Explanation of CD and DVD media formats available.

This article may have been automatically translated. If you have any feedback regarding its quality, please let us know using the form at the bottom of this page.

Article Content

Symptoms

No symptom information.

Cause

No cause information.

Resolution

CD-Type Media Descriptions

Media	Definition
CD-ROM Media	A Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) is a read-only disc. These types of disks are created commercially and you cannot save data to them once they have been created.
CD-R Media	A Compact Disc Recordable (CD-R) is a Write Once Read Multiple (WORM) disc. These discs can only record data once and then the data becomes permanent on the disc. The disc cannot be recorded onto a second time. It can then be read as a standard CD-ROM. After writing to a CD-R, it becomes a CD-ROM.
CD-RW Media	A Compact Disc Re-Writable (CD-RW) is an erasable disc that can be reused. The data on a CD-RW disc can be erased and recorded over numerous times.

NOTE: CD-RW media may not be readable outside of the drive it was created in.

DVD-Type Media Descriptions

Media	Definition
DVD Media	A Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc (DVD) is similar to a CD-ROM in that you can only read data from it. The main difference is that the DVD can store much more data than a CD-ROM, CD-R, or CD-RW.
DVD+R Media	DVD+R is a recordable DVD format similar to CD-R. A DVD+R can only record data once, then the data becomes permanent on the disc. The disc cannot be recorded onto a second time.
DVD+RW Media	DVD+RW is an erasable disc that can be reused similar to a CD-RW. The data on a DVD+RW disc can be erased and recorded over numerous times.
DVD-R Media	DVD-R is a recordable DVD format similar to CD-R and DVD+R. A DVD-R can only record data once, then the data becomes permanent on the disc. The disc cannot be recorded onto a second time.
DVD-RW Media	DVD-RW is an erasable disc that can be reused like a CD-RW or DVD+RW. The data on a DVD-RW disc can be erased and recorded over numerous times.

DVD+R DL Media

DVD+R DL is a dual layer recordable DVD format similar to DVD+R. A DVD+R DL can record up to 8.3 GB per disc as opposed to the 4.7 GB allowed on standard DVD+R. A DVD+R DL can only record data once,then the data becomes permanent on the disc. The disc cannot be recorded onto a second time.

NOTE: A DVD+R/RW drive cannot write to a DVD-R or DVD-RW disc and a DVD-R/RW drive cannot write to a DVD+R or DVD+RW disc. The discs are not interchangeable for writing purposes with opposite types of drives. There are some drives available which will write to both media. Newer DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW drives are able to read discs made in different drives; they are only restricted in the type of discs they are able to write to.

CD and DVD drive media discs come in different formats.

CD and DVD drive media discs come in different formats. Some discs will only work with specific types of CD and DVD drives.