As we approach Remembrance Day we are proud to have duplicated many DVD’s and CD’s dedicated to the many who lost their lives in the Two World Wars and in other conflicts around the world.
We support Help For Hero’s and salute all those who fought to make the world a better place; and for those who still defend us in the Armed Forces.
This article is revisiting the topic of casing and giving a more up to date analysis of what is available and popular at the moment.
Over the last few years there has been a great shift in the type of CD/DVD casing chosen by customers.This is partly due to the increasing access we all have to the digital world, where personalising and producing bespoke products is much easier and ever more professional in outcome.
Whether you are a band selling at gigs or a school producing a play or a company producing product or financial information it matters how you present your CD/DVD to your customer or client.
What are your choices?
The first decision to be made is whether you want printed parts with information on for your customer to read…if you don’t then your options are:
FOR YOUR CDS
A plastic Clam Shell Case or a plastic wallet ; both of these will allow your onbody print on the CD to show through and are a good and really low cost option.
The plastic wallet comes in single or double versions and also those used for inserting into books and magazines with clear self adhesive strips.
If you do want printed parts there are a wealth of options and things to consider.
By far the most popular form of casing currently is the card wallet which we print in full colour on both sides.
The Card Wallet
We have noticed a real shift in sales over the last couple of years and this has grown in popularity to become our best selling case option.There are many reasons for its popularity not least because it is very eco-friendly,unbreakable and easy to post. It is most popular however because you can tailor the wallet to print photos , text…whatever you choose…and end up with an inexpensive bespoke product printed on high quality fsc certified 350 gsm box board.
You can then choose to have these cellobagged or shrinkwrapped just to create the complete profession look or for selling online.
The CD Digi-Pak
Along side this is the CD digi-pak which is a 4 page card option with a clear or black tray for the CD to sit in; this gives
all the same benefits as a card wallet but has the more sturdy plastic tray for the CD to sit in.
And finally in the card range is the 4 page lancing pack which is a double card wallet with one side sealed with glue or left open for a booklet.
The CD Jewell Case
The CD Jewell Case….named because they are said to pick up light like jewells!! …. are transparent plastic, fitted with 2 arms that support the lid…these are by far the most traditional, and were the preferred option for many until recent times.
These too allow you to bespoke your order with 2,4,6 and 8 page booklets giving you the space to include all the information you want to; along with a rear tray,single or double sided for your track listings.
The jewell case also comes in a slimline version where there is no back tray so no art in the back, but still plenty of room for the booklet to be inserted in the front.We have the black tray option on the web-site but can order in a clear tray if you wish.
FOR DVDS
For your DVDS the same decision process applies as with CDS….Do you want printed parts?
As a DVD and a CD Disc are the same size you can have any of the CD casing options if you want to for your DVD….. we do have customers who choose to have a DVD in a slimline cd case for example or in a CD card wallet…..however we do offer some other packaging products which are particularly designed for the DVD.
DVD Digi-pak These are made with the same high quality card as the cd digi-pak but are a different shape…rather more like a book …longer but nice and slimline in design.
Our DVD customers mostly still choose the AMARAY standard DVD case made of plastic which comes in single,double,3,4,5,10 way and so on….
The Standard Amaray DVD Case
They come in all colours but we advertised black and clear as they are by far the most popular.
The clear case gives you the option for a double sided wrap to be printed…the black for just single sided.
This traditional DVD casing can also be ordered with a DVD booklet 2 or 4 page.
Our web-site offers a free artwork creation tool and all the templates for both the disc art and printed paper parts are in our Artwork section. Artwork Creator
If you hover over the case options on the web-site you will also see an image and description of the case in question.After you have done this if you are still undecided give us a call and we’ll use our experience to help you decide. Instant Prices and Ordering
If you care about ecology and the careful and efficient use of our worlds resources you will be interested in reading read this article.
We have always viewed our general efficiency, in all aspects of our work as part of being an eco-friendly and responsible British Company. This includes the responsible choice and use of our own suppliers and supplies, careful budgeting and careful use of power (mainly electricity) and associated machinery. In addition to this we have internal policy regarding the recycling of any waste material.
This article is an informal piece about our most recent thoughts and practices.
From the start we use high quality casing for our Cds,Dvds and Blu-rays with the philosophy that in the long term these will provide the best protection for your discs and although some are plastic, will last a life-time so do not need to be replaced. This is slightly counter culture in what has become a throw away society in many walks of life, but there is common sense in choosing quality which will last; and despite this we still remain one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest for all of our products. There is a great deal of inferior quality, cheap packaging out there that is never use for any of our customers.
Over the 12 years that we have been in the duplication business we have noticed a large shift in the casing that our customers choose for their orders. From the days where nearly all CD’s were packed in a plastic standard jewel case and all DVDs packed in a Amaray plastic DVD cases, we now find that a much larger percentage of customers choose the more eco-friendly options of card wallets/digi-paks.
The card/paper we stock for all our printed parts is FSC Certified and sustainable. We feel this is a better option than recycled paper as research shows that due to the high volumes of bleach used to whiten the paper this is not as environmentally friendly…..which is not good. Responsible sourced and properly managed paper is a green industry, encouraging the growth of trees in the worlds forests. www.fsc-uk.org
In addition our, experience and the feedback our customers give us tells us that paper based products are less susceptible to damage in transit and less costly to courier, deliver and store compared to plastic cases.
Customer choice is highly important to us however and whilst there is a demand for the plastic standard jewell and standard DVD case and we continue to provide these on our web-site.
A large part of our recycling programme is to reuse all the incoming boxes and packaging to supply our out-going parcels.
Protecting orders is our top priority so this comes first however where possible we re-cycle all cardboard, jiffy/mailite bags and packaging, always removing any personal information on them first.
Good House-keeping in the production room means less waste, however on every order we do produce 1 or 2 over-runs of discs. This enables us to keep a control copy here of every order. We have researched widely the re-cycling of CD’s, DVD’s and Blu-Rays and have yet to find a highly sustainable channel for these.
We do however supply unburned discs to artists and students of design free of charge for sculpture or artistc projects.
There are also an increasing number of designers who use discs as the raw materials for projects like garden mosaics, lamps, dishes, picture frames, flower pots, mirrors, coasters and even a disco ball!! See www.zerowasteweek.co.uk for DIY ideas on how to recycle discs.
Another great use for discs is as bird scarers on allotments, they catch the sun if hung and will deter without harming birds who would eat delicate crops.
We minimise the use of paper by having an efficient invoice emailing and chasing system; although we will always send hard copy invoices if requested. We shred all paper that we can and this is re-used for animal bedding and then composted.
In short we view ourselves as a very eco-friendly company and we constantly update and re-visit our processes to see where we can improve and evolve in a productive and conscientious way.
Gained knowledge and know-how is the key here to keeping an efficient and eco-friendly approach in balance for our industry.
The Blu-ray Disc founder group was started in 2002 by MIT and nine leading Electronics Companies: Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Phillips, Thomson, LG Electronics, Hitachi, Sharp and Samsung Electronics.
The name is taken from the blue laser that is used to read from and record to a Blu ray disc, the blue laser allows for a much higher density and hence a larger storage capacity and so the Blu-Ray disc is a digital optical disc data storage format.
It was designed to supersede the DVD format, and is capable of storing several hours of video in high definition (HDTV 720p & 1080p) and Ultra High Definition Resolution (2160p).
Although the Blu-Ray disc looks exactly the same as a DVD in size and shape there are many differences between media including storage capacity,laser technology and disc construction,image resolution and player compatibility.
The Blu-Rays storage capacity is measured in gigabytes (GB), like computers and ipods.
Storage Comparison:
DVD Single Layer: Can store about 4.7GB data which is about two hours worth of movie at Standard Definition…these are commonly referred to as DVD 5’s.
DVD Dual Layer: Can store twice the amount of data at 8.7 GB which equals about four hours of movie at Standard Definition ….these are commonly referred to as DVD 9 ‘s.
Blu-Ray Single layer: Can store approximately 25Gb data, this equals about 2 hours of High Definition Information or 13 hours of Standard Definition Information.
Dual Layer Blu-Ray :can store about 50GB data which is about 4 hours of High Definition Information or 26 hours of Standard Definition.
Laser Technology
Lasers are used in both DVD and Blu-ray technology .As the disc spins the laser reads the information stored on the discs and transfers both the picture and the sound to the television.
DVD: DVD players use a red laser at 650nm wave length to read DVD discs
Blu-Ray : Blu-Ray players use a Blue laser to read the stored information; the wave lenghts are shorter than the red at 405nm and are smaller in diameter, this allows for a closer and more precise reading of the information on the disc.
Disc Construction:
Physically DVD and Blu-Ray discs are the same in appearance:both have circular tracks on their bottom layer that enables the laser to read information stored on the spinning disc.
The tracks on a DVD are much further apart than on the Blu-Ray; you will see that it follows from this that the amount of information that can be stored on each type of disc is different; the Blu-Ray having the far greater storage capacity.In short a Blu-ray can squeeze about 5 times as many tracks onto the same size disc as a DVD.
Both DVD and Blu-Ray have a protective layer designed to resist scratching; the Blu-Ray in addition has a hard coating that makes it more scratch resistant.
Image Resolution
This is measured by the number of vertical lines times the number of horizontal lines of light in a picture.It is represented by the number of horizontal lines going across the screen like 480, 720 or 1080.The higher the number, the higher the resolution the more detailed the picture you see.
DVD: Almost all DVD’s have standard definition of 480 or enhanced definition of 520.This look ok on a standard television,utilising all the available pixels on the screen. If however this is blown up to a large HDTV the picture may look grainy.
Blu-Ray: The Blu-Ray was designed for the high definition 1080 display….since they can store 25 GB data you can fit a whole High Definition movie on a single layer. Blu-Ray currently has the best image resolution on the market and looks amazing on HDTV, they are one of the only sources that display in 1080.
Player Compatibility:
Happily Blu-ray Players support DVD’s and the image will be decent but obviously not the high definition quality of a Blu-ray.
Due to the larger lasers used in DVD players they it cannot read the tiny grooves on a Blu-ray disc.
In short you can play a DVD in a Blu-ray player but you cannot play a Blu-ray in a DVD player.
Lastly and very importantly Blu-Ray can handle 4K (Ultra HD)...we don’t need an new type of disc for our new TV’s; you can have it all with the Blu-Ray !
It doesn’t matter what type of DVD or CD case you use, right?
Wrong.
In most cases, the DVD or CD case is more important than the actual CD label itself, particularly in the consumer markets. So which CD or DVD case is best for your company? There are several different options and we will cover all of them to make sure you are using the right type.
CD cases
CD cases tend to be smaller than DVD cases. They are almost the same size as the CD inside.
What types of CD cases are there?
Jewel case
These cases are said to pick up light like jewels, as they are transparent plastic, fitted with two arms that support the lid. They are the most common types of CD cases and allow for a small leaflet to be inserted in the front and back.
Pros: Strong protection, aesthetically pleasing, allows inserts and offers different variations that hold more CDs
Cons: Teeth and arms are prone to breaking, which render the holder useless. They are not environmentally friendly and they are bulkier than other case options.
The sleeve
A simple sleeve saves the most space out of any CD storage option. They are made from a thin plastic called ‘tyvek’ or paper.
Pros: The tyvek sleeves protect from water and spills, while the paper sleeves are environmentally friendly.
Cons: The paper sleeves don’t protect from condensation or spills. Both the paper and tyvek sleeves do not protect the CDs from getting snapped or crushed.
Eco-friendly options
DVD cases
DVD cases are typically the size of a thin, A5 book in order to fit small booklets and extra information inside the case.
Keep cases
Most DVDs are encased in book-sized plastic boxes called Keep Cases. The front allows for a small cover to be inserted and the plastic is usually made from black plastic.
Pros: Strong, durable, allows for booklets and information to be slid into teeth and plastic covering.
Cons: They are not environmentally friendly and are expensive.
Bulk packaging
When it comes to bulk packaging, CDs and DVDs are both packed in Cake Boxes. A Cake Box piles discs on a spindle, with one large cylindrical plastic cover to protect them all.
However some of the cheaper CDs can also come in Blister Packs. Only blank discs are sold in this manner and it is advisable to at least buy sleeves to protect discs with information on them.
Hopefully this article proved useful for choosing your CD and DVD case needs. If you have any questions feel free to ask us!
When you need to backup your computer (or at least some of the files on it) there are more than a few options available. Some of the most popular backup methods currently are RAID mirrors, external hard drives, network drives, USB flash drives, tape drives, cloud storage, and DVDs. Choosing the right medium for you is a matter of weighing the pros and cons:
Choosing how much to backup is a very personal decision as well. Some people make whole system backups. Others may find that they are only concerned about things like photos, documents, and the like. In some cases a single DVD may be all a person needs to back their vital data up, but in others a great many gigabytes of data will be involved.
Once you know how much space you need you should make arrangements to secure adequate supplies. In the case of DVDs it is usually very cost effective to buy a spindle of discs and a storage case.
Your next step has to be to find a good piece of software. Fortunately you have a wide variety to choose from. Wikipedia has a list of free and paid backup solutions which, while not comprehensive, is a great start. Also be sure to check around on the search engines if you haven’t yet found something that suits your needs.
One good free program from the list is called Cobian Backup. Using this program it is possible to backup just part of your system or the whole thing, and store it on a variety of backups, including the cost-effective DVDs. It offers you a fairly easy to use interface so you can get started quickly. It can serve as a good first program while you are getting used to backups, and while you are looking around at other options.
Finally, when you make a backup the best storage place for it is away from your PC. If you happen to own a fire safe, placing your backups (such as DVDs) in that safe is a good way to ensure you can recover should anything unfortunate befall your computer.
Storing your files on a disc of any type is a relatively safe method of archival, but there are a few things you should be aware of in order to safeguard your files. The first is to of course use quality media, but beyond that, you can avoid damage by following a number of simple tips: Never expose your discs to extreme temperatures. Both heat and cold have an adverse effect on the longevity of discs. Cool, constant temperatures are best, so try and avoid sunlight, heaters, air conditioning vents, and the like. Remember that simply being inside of a container may not be protection. Glove boxes, trunks, and the like, while popular storage places in vehicles, are poor choices.
By doing your best to avoid the above problems, you can help to preserve your discs. With good care you should be able to keep them viable for decades.
Music CD digital remastering - is it worth it?
In the current age of constantly developing digital media, it is sometimes hard to keep up with the latest trends. One of today’s most popular buzzwords is ‘digital remastering’. This is applicable to both video and audio files but in this article I shall focus on the idea of audio, or CD, remastering.
To understand what CD remastering is, it is helpful to first know what ‘mastering’ is. When you duplicate a CD, you have an original, or ‘master’ recording. This ‘master’ copy is not necessarily the first recording of the audio content, but is the final edited version of it. For instance, if you are recording a radio-play or audio book, you may wish to add sound effects from another source in after the initial recording. Or, if you are making music, you might want to edit the singer’s voice or to equalize the sound. Many adjustments of these sorts can be made and the ‘master’ copy is the final edited version made before CD duplication commences. In some circumstances there is more than one master copy, for instance many ‘masters’ might be sent out to different CD duplication plants in different regions.
So, the process of CD mastering is the process of making the ‘master’ copy of the CD. Mastering had problems, however, when it came to analogue recordings, for analogue sound loses quality every time it is re-recorded or edited. This can make the audio sound fuzzy or start to hiss. This was particularly the case with cassette tapes.
However, with the advent of digital sound, CD remastering has become the remedy to this cause. When a piece of audio is remastered, very often the original recording of the piece, sometimes taken from before the CD master was even completed, and converted into digital sound, thus the editing can take place again, with no loss to the sound quality, creating a new master which can be used to duplicate the CD and release it again.
But there are arguments for and against CD re-mastering. Why? If a process makes an old song sound better and gives it a second chance to live, what can be the problem? Well, it depends on how well the audio has been remastered: Many classic albums from bands such as Kiss and the Beatles are now being re-released in digitally remastered form, but to modern tastes and standards. This often includes increasing the volume of a song to levels where the sound becomes distorted and starts to sound very different. this can dissuade people from listening to the music again, often without them even knowing quite why. Aside from this, many people see it simply as a marketing ploy, a way for shareholders in music labels and members of the bands to get even more money than they did the first time the song was a hit.
Despite these criticisms the point remains that, when done well by professional CD remastering technicians, digitally remastered CDs sell very well and do offer a new lease of life to the audio of the past. It also helps to preserve songs and recordings from the analogue era, as cassette tapes and vinyl discs alike become more scratched and naturally degrade in quality over time.
It can be tricky to find the right CD
Since the development of the simple Compact Disc, so many other formats have become available it can be very confusing to know which ones are the best to use! Hopefully, this little guide will go some way in helping you make your mind up which one is most suited to your needs!
When considering which CD to choose, there are several factors to take into account, for instance the lifespan of the disc, which CD readers can use it, whether it will work with your recorder, the memory size and whether or not it is best suited to the job you need it to do.
The main types of CD in use are: CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM. It is worth bearing in mind that each disc will have certain unviewable information already written onto it which will tell computers and CD players what kind of disc it is. Unfortunately, this unseen data cannot be changed.
Here is a guide to the main types of CD, the pros and cons to each, and the jobs they are most suited to:
A General Note on CDs: Due to their limited memory, it is advised not to use CDs for games or video, as these take up a great amount of room and are very complex files to store on such a small device. You would be better off using DVDs in this instance.
CD (Also known as CD-DA or CD-ROM)
Lifespan: 50-200 years
Memory: Up to 700 Mb (80 minutes)
Recording Speed: N/A
Cost: More expensive than the home CD duplication, but you pay for a professional looking product. If you want more than 500 copies of a disc it is cheaper than CD-R/-RW. Cost varies significantly depending on the company being used. I recommend Duplication Centre UK.
Players which can read it: All
Players which can record onto it: Only professional machines can do this kind of CD duplication.
Re-Record? No.
Functions: Professionally pressed CD’s which contain music files to be played on computers or CD Audio Players. Best used for band disks, promotional music, audio-information (for instance recorded speeches or radio play samples). Due to having a long life span they are very good for professional release as well. Because they are made using a Glass Master and pressing machines, you will need a replication company such as Replication Centre UK to produce them for you!
Quality Notes: Quality is guaranteed if a professional company is used. These are very difficult to create without the correct machinery for CD duplication.
Other notes: —
CD-R
Lifespan: 50-100 years if stored in a cool, dark place.
Memory: Typically 700Mb (80 minutes)
Recording Speed: Fast. The fastest out of all of the discs suitable for home CD Duplication, they can be burned in under two minutes each.
Cost: Approximately 15-20p per disc without cases or artwork. Cheaper than CD-ROMs if you want under 500 copies. You can get professional companies to produce them for you, and I recommend Duplication Centre UK.
Players which can read it: Most. Some in-car players will not play them and also some of the older CD Audio Players.
Players which can burn it: All players with CD-R or CD-RW duplicators can record them.
Re-Record? No.
Functions: These discs are generally used to store music, not because they can’t store other data – they can: Photos, small video clips, word documents, etc. – but because information is permanently placed on them, they tend not to be used for backing up files or anything else which needs only short-term storage. While the quality of sound is not nearly as good as the more professional CD, CD-Rs are cheaper with the same amount of memory. However, their life expectancy is not as long and they are more susceptible to damage from heat and sunshine exposure. However they are faster to produce than CD-ROMs, which need a Glass Master copy of the CD which takes time to produce.
Quality Notes: Quality varies greatly depending on the company who produced the blank CD-Rs in the first instance. It is generally recommended to go with a recognised brand who will be forced by law to stick to the standard guidelines for quality.
Other Notes: Other variations on this kind of disk include the Music CD-R which is specifically designed for storing music files and reaches a professional standard of sound (however these are much more expensive at 50p a disk) and the Graphics CD-R which play graphics and music simultaneously. These last are almost exclusively used in karaoke bars and are also more pricey.
CD-RW
Lifespan: 20-100 years
Memory: Typically 700 Mb (80 minutes)
Recording Speed: Medium. They are not as fast as CD-Rs but not as slow as DVDs at between 3-4 minutes per disk.
Cost: Approximately 20p per disk.
Players which can read it: Mainly only computers and some CD Audio Players. However compatibility with Audio Players does go up if the CD is recorded all at once rather than in lots of segments.
Players which can burn it: Only drives with the CD-RW recording capacity.
Re-Record? Yes. Up to 1000 times.
Functions: These disks, though slightly more expensive than the CD-R, can be re-recorded onto which is a great plus. They are generally used for storage of data files such as photos, short films, word, excel or powerpoint documents, music which is still being edited, etc. They are also generally used for backing up files as, when the back up needs to happen again, you can record the information over the top of the old back up on the same disc! They can also perform the same uses as CD-Rs but are often not used for these because of the price difference and CD-RW’s incompatibility with most Audio Players.
Quality Notes: Quality varies greatly depending on the company who produced the blank CD-RWs in the first instance. It is generally recommended to go with a recognised brand who will be forced by law to stick to the standard guidelines for quality.
Other Notes: Environmentally, they are more sound than the CD-R because there is less waste – any old disks can simply be re-recorded whereas with CD-R they must be thrown out!
A general note on DVDs: It is advised, due to their cost, that DVD’s be used almost exclusively for films or games. Unless you wish to transport very large files, it is much more economical to use CDs.
DVD (Also known as DVD-ROM)
Lifespan: 30-100 years
Memory: Up to 4.7 Gb. Typically can hold up to 2 hours of video on standard SP (short play) setting
Recording Speed: N/A
Cost: More expensive than home DVD Duplication but, again, you pay for a professional finish and quality. Also the price will vary depending on which company you use. I would recommend Replication Centre UK.
Players which can read it: All DVD Players. (If you are copying a game, only certain gaming equipment will be able to use that file, depending on how you have developed the game.)
Players which can burn it: They are nearly always professionally produced due to the machinery required to create them.
Re-Record? No.
Functions: DVDs are primarily used for storing film or gaming data. It is not advised to use them for storing non-professional data as home DVD-RW duplication is much more economical in this case. However, they can be used for advertising films, full length films and games of every sort (for computer, xbox, PS3, etc.). They are also used for any film/game which needs to be distributed amongst a large audience as they do not have the drawbacks or DVD+/-R with wheather or not equipment can read them. Many things which are put onto DVD-ROMs are ordered in bulk, as it saves time to get someone else to do the job for you!
Quality Notes: Because it is professionally done, the quality is guaranteed.
Other Notes: —
DVD-R and DVD+R
Lifespan: 30-100 years
Memory: 4.7 Gb. Typically can hold up to 2 hours of video on standard SP (short play) setting
Recording Speed: Slow. Definitely slower than any CD: At between 3-10 minutes depending on the speed of you drive, DVD-/+R duplication is time consuming.
Cost: A little more than a CD at between 25-30p per disk.
Players which can read it: This is a little complicated: DVD-R and DVD+R while being essentially the same thing can only be read by equipment which supports them respectively: DVD-R can only be used with equipment which supports DVD-R disks and DVD+R with equipment that supports DVD+R disks. Nearly all players nowadays are DVD-R compatible.
Players which can burn it: DVD-R can only be used with equipment which supports DVD-R disks and DVD+R with equipment that supports DVD+R disks.
Re-Record? Not for DVD-R but DVD+R things can be added later as it is still accessible. This does NOT make it re-writable as data cannot be deleted from it.
Functions: These are generally used for home-videos, prototype game designs,adverts, films still in the editing stage – basically files which are enormous, complex and doesn’t need to look entirely professional. Also, these disks don’t tend to be used for things which must be produced in bulk as it would be a time consuming DVD duplication process.
Quality Notes: Quality varies greatly depending on the company who produced the blank DVDs in the first instance. It is generally recommended to go with a recognised brand who will be forced by law to stick to the standard guidelines for quality.
Other Notes: —
DVD-RW and DVD+RW
Lifespan: Up to 30 years. Less all other discs except DVD-RAM.
Memory: 4.7 Gb. Typically can hold up to 2 hours of video on standard SP (short play) setting.
Recording Speed: Slow. Definitely slower than any CD at between 3-10 minutes depending on the speed of you drive, DVD-RAM duplication is time consuming.
Cost: A little more than a CD at between 25-30p per disk.
Players which can read it: The same rules apply as with DVD+/-R: DVD-RW can only be used with equipment which supports DVD-RW disks and DVD+RW with equipment that supports DVD+RW disks.
Players which can burn it: DVD-RW can only be used with equipment which supports DVD-RW disks and DVD+RW with equipment that supports DVD+RW disks.
Re-Record? Yes.
Functions: These are generally used for films or games which are still in the editing process or other large files which need editing, saving or backing up. They can be used to back up much larger systems than CD’s. Not used so much for long-term storage due to their shorter life span.
Quality Notes: Quality varies greatly depending on the company who produced the blank DVD+/-RWs in the first instance. It is generally recommended to go with a recognised brand who will be forced by law to stick to the standard guidelines for quality.
Other Notes: Environmentally, they are more sound than the DVD-R because there is less waste – any old disks can simply be re-recorded whereas with DVD+/-RW they must be thrown out!
DVD-RAM
Lifespan: Up to 30 years.
Memory: 4.7 Gb. Typically can hold up to 2 hours of video on standard SP (short play) setting.
Recording Speed: Slow. Definitely slower than any CD at between 3-10 minutes depending on the speed of you drive, DVD-RAM duplication is time consuming.
Cost: A little more than a CD at between 25-30p per disk.
Players which can read it: Most DVD Players and DVD drives in computers.
Players which can burn it: All DVD recording devices will be able to burn DVD-RAM disks as they are the oldest and easiest of the disks to use.
Re-Record? Yes – up to a whopping 100,000 times!
Functions: These are generally used for films or games which are still in the editing process or other large files which need editing, saving or backing up. They can be used to back up much larger systems than CD’s. Not used so much for long-term storage due to their shorter life span. Due to the massive amount of times they can be re-written they are almost certainly useable for re-writing for their entire life-span!
Quality Notes: Quality varies greatly depending on the company who produced the blank DVD-RAMs in the first instance. It is generally recommended to go with a recognised brand who will be forced by law to stick to the standard guidelines for quality.
Other Notes: —
I hope this helps you make your mind up on which type of CD best suits your needs!