read dvd-ram and dvd-r

[PeterTheMaster]

hi. my father just bought a panasonic dmr-hs2.
it can burn dvd-r and dvd-ram.
the problem is: it seems to be the only one who can read these discs.
all the dvd drives that i or my friends have cannot read these discs. only one hp notebook can play the dvd-rams with powerdvd. it cannot view the files in windows explorer nor can it play the dvd-rs.
why could this be? is there a way to read these things? otherwise this recorder seems like a big waste of money to me. thanks.

i have not much experience with dvd burning yet, but normally all dvd-drives for computers are supposed to read dvd-r, dvd+r, dvd-rw, dvd+rw and dvd-ram, right?

[WorldBook]

In the "other systems" that do not play the dvd-r/dvd-ram discs, have you tried using a software dvd player such as WINDVD or POWERDVD?

[gooki]

Is he recording in XP, SP, LP, EP?

I only have a little experience with the panasonic DRM-E20 and found SP (standard play) on good quality DVD-R's to be the most compatible.

Don't expect many standalone or PC-DVD-Rom drive to be able to play DVD-Ram discs.

[spath]

> but normally all dvd-drives for computers are
> supposed to read dvd-r, dvd+r, dvd-rw, dvd+rw and
> dvd-ram, right?

No, there are just probabilities that standard dvd
players can read these formats ; from the higher to
the lower chances : dvd+r, dvd-r, dvd+rw, dvd-rw,
dvd-ram.

[alexnoe]

Toshiba SD-M 1612/1712 with latest firmwares should read all 5 formats, but these are the only ones I'm aware of.

Stating an order such as "dvd+r, dvd-r, ..." does not make so much sense: the chance that a drive reads a verbatim dvd-rw is much higher than for vivastar dvd-r...

[PeterTheMaster]

ok. thanks for so many replies. i just found out that the recorder has a finalize function for dvd-r. with this applied, i can read the dvd-r everywhere. very nice.
still a pity to hear that few drives are supposed to read dvd-ram. because it would have been really nice to record shows this way and then put them on my harddisk. unfortunately it has no finalize function for these.
yes i did thry them all with powerdvd. and i think the ones i tested were recorded in xp mode.
so i only can hope that one day there will be a hack so i can put a network card in the pcmcia slot of the dvd recorder.

[jacobjef]

By far the most compatible is DVD-R, whereas DVD-Ram is only going to be compatible with a drive that is specifically a dvd-ram type(not very many). DVD-Ram isn't really used much, except as a storage medium and it's pretty good for that purpose since you can easily add more info as you go along and it's erasable. DVD-Ram media is also much more expensive. Don't waste your time (or money)with dvd-ram for video purposes. I use a Panasonic burner that is similar to yours, a RAM/R drive and the -R's will work fine (as far as compatibility)everywhere.

[destemido]

isn't DVD-ram like a sony minidisk? i mean the way it is packed inside a case!!!
i heard it was only readable on the panasonic drives, in fact i think those are the only dvd-ram drives on the market.

[gooki]

Toshiba made DVD-Ram writers as well, and a few companies are making DVD-Rom drives that are capable of reading DVD-Ram discs. DVD-Ram discs are not like minidiscs, they are normal cd sized discs which are sometimes found in a removeable cartridge for the older recorders.

[Gil T Pleasure]

Here's a list of DVD-RAM capable players/drives:

DVD Multi Drives (DVD-RAM/-RW/-R)
*Panasonic DVDBurnerII
*LG Electronics GMA-4020B
*Panasonic LF-D521

DVD-RAM/-R Drives
*Panasonic DVDBurner
*Panasonic LF-D311
*Panasonic LF-D321

DVD-RAM Capable DVD-ROM Drives
*Toshiba SD-M1612
*Toshiba M1612
*Hitachi GD-8000

DVD-RAM Capable DVD Player
*Panasonic RP82
*Panasonic RP91
*Panasonic DVD-CP72S
*Panasonic DVD-XP30
*Panasonic DVD-XP50

[destemido]

i used minidiscs as an example i know they are normal size discs.
are there any DVD-RAM without that cartridge???

[Gil T Pleasure]

There are 3 types of DVD-RAM discs. One has a non-removable cartridge (type 1?), another has a removable cartridge (type 2?) and the last is cartidge-less (type 4?).