UDF - which version?

[Aquilonious]

With the latest version of InCD (4.3.14.1) you can use any of the following versions of UDF:

1.50 (recommended by InCD)
2.00
2.01
2.50
2.60

Which of these versions is the fastest? I store files on DVD+RW all the time and would like to utilize the fastest UDF possible. Though Nero recommends v1.50 for compatibility, the latter versions (2.x & above) supposedly support video streaming. I would think this would mean better throughput for larger files.

[Video Dude]

The most compatible is 1.02, which is missing from your list.

The speed is determined more by your dvd rom drive and the quality of the media you use, not the UDF version.

DVD video uses 1.02.

[Aquilonious]

Unfortunately InCD only supports as low as 1.50. It's really not a problem for me though as I still play the 1.50-formatted discs on my Philips DVP642/37 home DVD player with no problems.

There just doesn't seem to be clear information, in layman's terms, regarding the differences between the versions.

The specs that Osta lists (http://www.osta.org/specs) are quite technical and to be frank, a bit over my head, even though I'm far from being a novice PC user. Unless you're already familiar with much of the technology, you get lost in a sea of details.

The best explanation I've seen is from twist3d posted sometime back here on Doom9:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=87246&highlight=udf+differences

According to twist's comments, versions 2.50+ should be faster for read/write access & data recovery, and anything 2.01+ should be good for streaming applications. This I would interpret as smoother video streaming from the disc and the faster transferring of large files to and from the media. Of course, I could be just guessing.

If you're reading this post, twist3d, please reply if you have any additional info you can add clarity.

I've had horrorible problems in the past with both DirectCD & InCD on CD-RW discs (even high quality Mitsubishi discs). I haven't had those problems with 4x Legacy DVD+RW discs (INFODISCA10). I can hardly wait until 8x DVD+RW discs come available, at a reasonable price of course.

[twist3d]

Well Aquilonious, I'm not a UDF-expert in any way (as you can see from my old post, I just copied the UDF-info from cdfreaks.com). Personally I use the latest UDF standard in nero (2.x), only because it's DVD-media's "official" filesystem and I don't play my discs anywhere else than in my PC. It seems also that UDF 2.x brings faster "mounting" of DVD-discs, as my 1.x discs take about 20-30sec to mount (I could be wrong though) :D

[Aquilonious]

Thanks for the reply, twist. I've settled on using 1.50 for media I'm going to use on my home player and 2.60 for PC-based storage. 2.xx does appear to transfer large files and increase load time a wee bit faster but other than that, not much difference. Pretty much the same observations you made.

I leave the metadata option unchecked because it appears to slow overall read/write operations and after re-reading OSTA's docs, the option is intended for Blu-Ray media.

I've never had to do data recovery on DVD+RW, and hope I will never have to. CD-RW was a nightmare to me because I'd store files then a few days later the disc would be unreadable, so I avoided packet-writing altogether for a while until I finally purchased my ND-3520 a few months ago. So far I've had good luck with the Legacy DVD+RW discs from Newegg.

[Joe Fenton]

I just went through this with a friend - if you use > 1.0.2, the disc won't work on a Mac unless they are using Tiger (10.4). Apple only just updated their UDF support in 10.4. Before that, you need to buy a third party driver to read DVDs written with UDF > 1.0.2. It's a real pain given that many new DVRs don't record in 1.0.2. This friend could read the discs on a PC, but not his Mac.

[samab]

Windows XP can read UDF 1.02, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.01 discs without any special software.

UDF 1.5 is designed for CD-RW (and DVD+/-RW) as a giant floppy disc. Since InCD is designed as a software to write these giant floppy discs for daily computer use --- that's why InCD doesn't support UDF 1.02.

If you have Windows XP, then use UDF 2.01 for your giant floppy disc. If you have other computers running Win2000, then use UDF 1.5 for your giant floppies (otherwise you have to install a UDF 2.01 reader software for those computers).

If you are mastering DVD's for stand alone consumer DVD players, then use UDF 1.02. You shouldn't use InCD for this purpose any way --- use Nero Burning ROM, NeroVision Express and Nero Recode. If you like to be able to take your DVD movies to your friend's house and play them --- then use UDF 1.02.

UDF 2.5 is designed for consumer DVD-type VCR's (edit --- VCR-type DVD recorders). UDF 2.6 is designed for the blueray and DVD-HD. You need special software (like InCD) to be able to read them in Windows XP.