page_title: DVD recordable
section_title: R and RW formats
hierarchical_section_title: DVD recordable / R and RW formats
context_page_description: DVD recordable and DVD rewritable are optical disc recording technologies. Both terms describe DVD optical discs that can be written to by a DVD recorder, whereas only 'rewritable' discs are able to erase and rewrite data. Data is written to the disc by a laser, rather than the data being 'pressed' onto the disc during manufacture, like a DVD-ROM. Pressing is used in mass production, primarily for the distribution of home video.
  Like CD-Rs, DVD recordable uses dye to store the data. During the burning of a single bit, the laser's intensity affects the reflective properties of the burned dye. By varying the laser intensity quickly, high density data is written in precise tracks. Since written tracks are made of darkened dye, the data side of a recordable DVD has a distinct color. Burned DVDs have a higher failure-to-read chance than Pressed DVDs, due to differences in the reflective properties of dye compared to the aluminum substrate of pressed discs.
context_section_description: "R" format DVDs can be written once and read arbitrarily many times. Thus, "R" format discs are only suited to non-volatile data storage, such as audio, or video. This can cause confusion because the 'DVD+RW Alliance' logo is a stylized 'RW'. Thus, many discs have the RW logo, but are not rewritable.
  According to Pioneer, DVD-RW discs may be written to about 1,000 times before needing replacement. RW discs are used to store volatile data, such as when creating backups or collections of files which are subject to change and re-writes. They are also ideal for home DVD video recorders, where it is advantageous to have a rewritable format capable of digital video data speeds, while being removable, small, and relatively inexpensive. Another benefit to using a rewritable disc is, if the burning process produces errors or corrupted data, it can simply be written over again to correct the error, or the corrupted data can be erased.
caption: DVD-RW discs on a spindle
exif: {"Image Make": "FUJIFILM", "Image Model": "FinePix F601 ZOOM", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Digital Camera FinePix F601 ZOOM Ver2.00", "Image DateTime": "2005:11:20 08:55:18", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "255", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1231", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6711", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2005:11:20 08:55:18", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2005:11:20 08:55:18", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3/2", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "6", "EXIF ApertureValue": "3", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "23/100", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "249/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2832", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2128", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "3704", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "3704", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1083"}