1. The difference between DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM and other formats.
2. The firmware of your burner and benefits of upgrading your firmware.
3. The "MEDIA ID" for the blank media you have purchased.
4. The different surface types: Matte Finish, Silver Matte, Shiny Silver, Inkjet Printable, Thermal Printable, Hub Printable, and no stack ring
5. What do DVD Media speeds (i.e. 4X, 8X, Dual Layer, etc.) mean?
6. How much can be stored in the media that you buy?

What format does your burner require? DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, or DVD-RAM? [Download DVD-Identifier to Check]

DVD-R Media:

A write-once, recordable format. DVD-R drives can write DVD-R discs, which can be written to only once, as opposed to a DVD-RW drive, which can write and rewrite to RW media multiple times. The Authoring Use Drive (635nm Laser) was introduced in 1998 by Pioneer, and the General Use Format (650nm Laser) was authorized in 2000. DVD-R offers a write-once, read-many storage format akin to CD-R and is used to master DVD-Video and DVD-ROM discs.

DVD-RW Media:

DVD ReWritable. A rewritable DVD format that is similar to DVD+RW, but its capability to work as a random access device is not as good as that of the +RW. DVD-RW has a read-write capacity of 4.7 GB.

DVD+R Media:

Short for DVD+Recordable, a recordable DVD format similar to a CD-R. A DVD+R can only record data once and then the data becomes permanent on the disc. The disc can not be recorded onto a second time. DVD+R and DVD+RW formats are supported by Philips, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha and others.

DVD+RW Media:

The DVD Plus RW Alliance is a group of companies that includes Philips and Sony. They propose standards for recordable and rewritable DVDs.

DVD+R DUAL/DOUBLE DL LAYER Media:

Double Layer DVD+R media has an amazing 8.5GB of storage capacity. This incredible capacity is enough for up to 4 hours of DVD quality video, 16 hours of VHS quality video or over 120 hours of MP3 audio. Compatible with all current DVD video players and DVD-ROM drives as well as new DVD+R DL drives, the disc is ideal for virtually any business or household application.

Dual-layer DVD-R media offers genuine advantage over the current single layer 4.7GB DVD. The new dual-layer recordable DVD-R disc allows users to read, write or view almost twice the amount of data that is currently possible with the single layer. The advanced technology means that material can be read or recorded on one layer without affecting the other. There's no need to flip sides or change discs.

DVD-RAM Media:

DVD Random Access Memory is a rewritable DVD disc endorsed by Panasonic, Hitachi and Toshiba. It is a cartridge-based, and more recently, bare disc technology for data recording and playback. DVD-RAM bare discs are fragile and do not guarantee data integrity. The first DVD-RAM drives had a capacity of 2.6GB (single-sided) or 5.2GB (double-sided). DVD-RAM Version 2 discs have double-sided 9.4GB discs. DVD-RAM drives typically read DVD-Video, DVD-ROM and CD media. The current installed base of DVD-ROM drives and DVD-Video players cannot read DVD-RAM media.

What is the current firmware on your burner? Use DVD Identifier to figure this out.


What is firmware?
Firmware is the programming instructions contained on a ROM chip within the DVD recorder. This tells the recorder how to respond to commands issued by the computer software. Some firmware is flash-upgradeable, meaning you can upgrade the firmware by running a piece of software on the computer attached to the recorder. Other firmware is coded into a non-rewriteable chip, so the entire chip must be changed in order to upgrade the firmware. Many compatibility issues with different DVD Media can be solved by upgrading your firmware to the latest version.

• PIONEER
• LITEON
• TDK (click on your model#)
• SONY
• Plextor
• BENQ
• NU
• MSI
• Iomega
• Mitsumi
• BTC
• AOpen
• Samsung

Matte Finish:

Dull finish on coated surface (lacks gloss or luster). Prevents fingerprints.

Silver Matte:

Same as Matte Finish -  Dull finish on coated surface (lacks gloss or luster). Prevents fingerprints.

Shiny Silver:

Surface is a reflective, ductile, lustrous white, malleable metallic element.

Inkjet Printable:

Surface is capable of being printed on using inkjet printers that have the capability to load CD/DVD's.

Thermal Printable:

Surface is capable of being printed on using high end printing hardware that selectively heats and cools dots that are then impressed on a heat sensitive surface

Hub Printable:

There is printable surface that goes all the way to the center hub of the disk. This means you can print all the way to the center hub of the disc and personalize your CD/DVD in a more stylish and unique way.

No Stack Ring:

Always in conjunction with Hub Printable - No Stack Ring means that the center of the CD/DVD ring is not present, which means you can print all the way to the center. The stacking ring refers to the small ridge around the inner plastic center ring on the disc. Its purpose is to keep the discs slightly separated when stacked on a spindle. If you look at a standard disc, you will see the stacking ring. When a disc is to be hub printable, there is no stacking ring so that the printable surface can be applied all the way to the center hub. Also, for discs that are to be thermal printed, there is an advantage to not having a stacking ring. The stacking ring sticks up and interferes with the thermal printer head. A thermal printer cannot print any closer than 1/4" or so from the stacking ring. When there is no stacking ring there is no restriction on the thermal printing area.