Understanding DVDs

DVD has quickly become our favorite format for presenting home video. They're small, durable, and deliver a crystal clear picture with CD-quality sound. There are, however, some things you should know about DVD if you plan to transfer video from your digital camcorder or your old VHS tapes.

Does DVD Offer the Best Picture?

The new Blue Ray DVDs can display High Definition (HD) quality video but standard DVDs cannot. DVDs have a picture that is about twice as good as VHS but only about half as good as HD. Most of the time, you will find that the picture is better being played directly from your digital camcorder than it is when put on DVD. MiniDV, for example, often shoots images with around 520 lines of resolution. DVDs usually display images with around 480 lines of resolution.

How Much Video Fits on a DVD?

On a single-layer DVD (4.7 GB), you can fit only about one hour of the highest quality video. However, you can fit more if you are willing to sacrifice some quality. If you have a dual-layer or double-layer DVD burner, you can record about two hours of the highest quality video on a double-layer DVD (8.5 GB).

Hollywood is able to get three-hour movies with a bunch of extras on their DVDs because they use advanced and very expensive compression technology.

Types of DVDs

There are a few different types of DVDs you should be familiar with.

DVD+R and DVD-R are two different types of non-rewritable (can be recorded on only once) DVDs that are usually interchangeable. A few older DVD players and recorders might have difficulty reading one or the other, but most of today's equipment can handle both. Check your burner or player's documentation to be sure.

DVD+RW and DVD-RW are two types of rewritable (can be recorded on more than once) DVDs. You can erase and re-record video on a DVD+RW or DVD-RW up to a thousand times. Like DVD+R and DVD-R, the two formats are usually interchangeable.

DVD-RAM is a DVD format usually used in DVD recorders and on some computers. It has about the same storage capacity as standard DVDs, but can be recorded on over and over again thousands of times. Unlike DVD+RW and DVD-RW, however, DVD-RAMs enable you erase and re-record specific sections of the DVD. They're like removable hard drives in a way. They are not compatible with most home DVD players.