Dvd Ram?

[The_Other_One]

So what exactly is DVD RAM? Back when I was getting my DVD-RW, I wanted to get a RAM compatable drive, but it was a much better deal to get the NEC I ended up with, so no complaints there...

Today, I got my DVD Recorder(TV-top, like a VCR) And it's RAM capable and came with a RAM disk. As some of you might know, they look quite different than your typical R or RW...

What's really making me wonder is what all this machine can do with them... Only with a RAM, it can actually chase-record, where you can play what you are recording, rewind, FF, etc(I've yet to see if I can go off that track...) Either way, I find this impressive considering it does not have a harddrive.

Do these work like harddrives? Are they magnetic or what? I guess I could search google, but I thought maybe someone here could help me out easier

 

[ceewi1]

It's still optical media, but can be re-written about 100,000 times. It allows random read/write access, unlike traditional optical media which writes sequentially. It also supports on-the-fly verification. I believe you can use these disks on a PC as you would use a floppy disk drive (provided your drive supports it & you have XP).

The main problems, however, are the limited compatibility & high price.

EDIT:

they look quite different than your typical R or RW...

They make them without the casing, or with a removable casing now as well.

Do these work like harddrives?

Mechanically, no. Effectively, yes. I suppose you could describe a DVD-RAM as an 'optical hard drive'.

OK, looking back I should have explained some of these terms a little more clearly, for the benefit of everyone reading this thread:
Random read: As with all CDs, HDDs, floppies, etc..., you can jump to any position on the disk without having to go through the entire disk to get to it. On tape drives, you can't do this, which is called sequential reading
Random write: With HDDs, floppies, etc... you can write to any position on the disk without having to go through the entire disk. With CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, etc..., you need to record from the beginning of the disk, and basically go throgh the entire disk. This is called sequential writing

On-the-fly verification: Basically, the disk is verified as it's burned. You don't need to use other software to verify the integrity of the data.

 

[mrgeorgedude]

It's still optical media, but can be re-written about 100,000 times. It allows random read/write access, unlike traditional optical media which writes sequentially. It also supports on-the-fly verification. I believe you can use these disks on a PC as you would use a floppy disk drive (provided your drive supports it & you have XP).

The main problems, however, are the limited compatibility & high price.

umm..ya..i was gonna say that

 

[The_Other_One]

It's not the casing that makes them different, I mean the actual disk! It's got lots of visable marks...

Eh, well thanks for the info... Much of it I knew because I do have that recorder now. Very fast compared to other types of media, and you don't have to verify/finish anything once you record something. It records and it's done.

 

[Advitiya Saxena]

nice info dude...i was also wondering abt DVD ram, i hav got a super drive but DVD Rams r expensive to experiment with...DVD r working fine....