Page 1 of Can you erase a finalized DVD-RW....??

As the heading says! Many thanks.... :)




www.myspace.com/robbo72uk

I just reformat my DVD-RW. That erases anything I have on the discs and they can be used again. What puzzles me is why DVD +/-RW have become scarce, atleast in the stores I frequent (Office Depot, Best Buy). I see they are readily available online though.

....and you thought life was tough

I`ve not had problems with dvd-rw discs reformatting them.
I sometimes burn from my panasonic DVD HD recorder onto a dvdrw, finalise it, watch it on my pc DVD player, then erase it on the pc if I want to use it as a pc dvdrw, or if I want to use it in the panasonic, i put it in there, and choose the erase disc option

or if I`ve burned PC data onto a dvd+rw or - rw I usually finalise, and them format no problems.

actually I have had problems once or twice discs refusing to format. Sometimes if the disc is old/has been used lots they wear out, may have scratches, may look fine.

another thing to try is use a different piece of software, or even another pc/drive. I`ve had discs I`ve burned at home, been fine, but Nero and CDBurnerXP have refused to format. Taken them to work, used Sonic, brought them home and they`ve been fine again!

as for buying them, my local supermarkets Tescos (own branded), and Sainsburys (Verbatim, Maxell, and Sony)have dvd+ and - RW, sometimes buy 1 get 1 free, can work out about the same price as SVP by the time you add p&p

Al

How you go about erasing/re-using a DVD-RW depends on what you are burning it in.

In my PC I would reformat it.
In my Liteon LVW-5006 I would need to erase the disc and then reformat it (Although I give allmy DVD-RW discs a full preparation and then they don`t need finalising to play back in other players)
In my JVC DR-M7, I simply unfinalise them and continue recording onto the disc, or delete titles as required.

It seems to vary a lot between machines. But always you can re-use them of course, that`s why they`re called Rewritable. ;)

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Why don`t you come up and see me sometime? www.digitalvideoforum.co.uk

Hmpth! I bought a 5 pack of DVD+RW`s the other day and have just noticed in the instructions for the DVD Recorder that you can only finalise DVD-R`s , DVD+R`s and DVD-RW`s!!! Back to the shop for some DVD-RW`s methinks.....! :/




www.myspace.com/robbo72uk

:D :D :D

Why? Pray tell!

The whole point of DVD+RW is that it does not require finalising to be compatible in other players. You simply record, then remove and play back in another player...(Sorry, can`t help grinning)

That`s why the DVD+R/W recorders are proving so popular - they are easier to use. ;)

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Why don`t you come up and see me sometime? www.digitalvideoforum.co.uk

You know what? Your right!! :/

I didnt realise that at all! I`ve just recorded something from the telly and stuck it into the PC and it loads up perfectly!

I have so much to learn.........!! :o




www.myspace.com/robbo72uk

You say they`re easier to use but my dad and I have noticed some problems, I used my Panasonic to burn a -rw, my pc to do a +rw, he used his LG to do a +RW and a -RW.

when we tried to play them in his Cello DVD player in the back room, non would work. the closest we got was the -rw done with my panny which displayed the menu, and when you hit the play button, played the sound for that program, but not the video!

in my Acoustic Solutions, one format says incorrect disc, the other says CDDA and does nothing.

In fairness that`s a problem with the players, my AC must be 4 or 5 yrs old, £70 when that was a budget player! but just thought you might want to know that + or -RW won`t play on everything.

both players play - and + Rs when finalised.

Al

Just thought I`d pop in and say thanks... I never knew you could erase/re-use a DVD-RW once you had finalised it... (I`ve obviously got much to learn too...!).

It will come in handy, `cause I have a VHS/DVD recorder combi and it doesn`t support DVD+RW...

:)

Thanks for the note on the +RW. I was wondering why those are sold out where ever I look. I won`t say what brand my dvd recorder is (it is one much maligned here, but has been working perfectly until I type this, things might change the moment I post this message), but I have used both +RW and -RW and they both work on the same brand dvd player I have without finalizing.

....and you thought life was tough