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What are DVD-recorders?

A DVD recorder (or, colloquially, a DVDless, with even lower "street prices". Early
burner) is an optical disc recorder thatunits supported only DVD-RAM and DVD-R discs,
records video onto blank writable DVD media.but the most recent units can record to all
Such devices are available as eithermajor formats DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW,
installable drives for computers or asand DVD+R DL. Some models now include hard
standalone components for use in studios ordisc-based digital video recorders (DVRs) to
home  theater  systems.improve ease of use. Standalone DVD recorders
generally have basic DVD authoring software
Technical  informationbuilt in; however, the appearance of the
finished DVD is very basic and usually
Originally, DVD recorders supported one ofcompletely  under  the  control  of the unit.
three standards: DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW,
none of which are directly compatible. As aSome believe that DVD recorders will
general rule, however, most current drivessupersede the videocassette recorder (VCR),
support both the + and - standards, while fewwhile others believe that they will remain
support the DVD-RAM standard, which is notspecialty items as digital video moves to
directly compatible with standard DVDnetwork  distribution.
readers.
DVD recorders have several technical
Recording speed is generally denoted inadvantages  over  VCRs,  including:
values of X (similar to CD-ROM usage), where
1X in DVD usage is equal to 1.321 MB/s,Superior  video  and  audio  quality
roughly equivalent to a 9X CD-ROM. In
practice, this is largely an issue confinedEasy-to-handle and smaller form-factor disc
to computer-based DVD recorders, sincemedia
standalone units generally record in real
time,  that  is,  1X  speed.Random access to video chapters without
rewinding  or  fast-forwarding
DVD recorders use a laser (usually 650 nm
red) to read and write DVDs. The readingOnscreen multilingual subtitles and labeling
laser is usually not stronger than 5 mW,not  available  on  VCRs
while the writing laser is considerably more
powerful. The faster the writing speed isReduced  playback  wear  and  tear
rated, the stronger the laser is. DVD burner
lasers often peak at about 100 mW in CW (225High-quality digital copying, with little or
mW pulsed). Some laser hobbyists haveno  generation  loss
discovered ways to extract the laser diode
from  DVD  burners.Improved editing, at least on rewritable
media
Computer-based  DVD  drives
Playlisting
DVD recorder drives have become standard
equipment in many, though not all, computerNo risk of accidentally recording over
systems currently on the market, after beingexisting content or unexpectedly running out
initially popularized by the Pioneer/Appleof  space  during  recording
SuperDrive; aftermarket drives as of late
2006 can be US$50 or less. DVD recorderEasy to find recordings due to chapter menus
drives can be used in conjunction with DVD
authoring software to create DVDs near orHowever, an inconvenience exists in which
equal to commercial quality, and are alsoDVDs recorded with DVD recorders must be
widely used for data backup and exchange. Asfinalized to view in other DVD players. (This
a general rule, computer-based DVD recordersdisadvantage does not apply to DVD-RAM discs,
can also handle CD-R and CD-RW media; inwhich require no finalization due to their
fact, a number of standalone DVD recorders'random access' nature.) Also, the
actually  use  drives designed for computers.implementation of MPEG-2 compression used on
most standalone DVD recorders is required to
Most such devices are designed with parallelcompress the picture data in real time,
ATA interfaces; however, external drivesproducing results that may not be up to the
using USB 2.0 or IEEE 1394 are also widelystandard of professionally rendered DVD
available.video,  which  can  take  days  to  compress.
DVD recorder drives are required to respectA number of manufacturers have combined DVD
DVD region codes when reading a disc, but dorecorders with hard disc-based digital video
not impose a region code on written discsrecorders, allowing for simple recording to
unless the code has specifically been writtenlarge fixed disks, and the ability to spool
into  the  disc's  content.these recordings off the DVD at a later date.
DVD duplication systems are generally built8cm miniDVDs are widely used on some digital
out of stacks of these drives, connectedcamcorders, primarily those meant for a
through  a  computer-based  backplane.consumer market ("point and shoot"); such
discs are usually playable on a full-sized
Standalone  DVD  recordersDVD player, but may not record on a
full-sized DVD recorder system. Though
When the standalone DVD recorder firstpopular for their convenience (in the manner
appeared on the Japanese consumer market inof VHS-C), DVD camcorders are not considered
1999, these early units were very expensive,suitable for more than casual use due to the
costing between $2500 and $4000 USD. However,much higher level of compression used
as of early 2006, DVD recorders from notablecompared to MiniDV and the difficulty of
brands are selling for $150 USD and L69 orediting MPEG-2 video



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