Study says DVD-RAM provides safest bet for data storage

May 26, 2004

Media
Sciences, Inc., sponsored by the RAM Promotion Group (RAMPRG), conducted a study that says you are ahead to use DVD-RAM for data storage as it has the most robust, drive-based defect management among currently available recordable DVD formats. Coincidence? You be the judge.

A new whitepaper, Defect Management Capabilities of Various DVD Technologies by Media Sciences, an internationally recognized, independent testing laboratory, outlines an investigation into three formats of rewritable DVD drives and media including DVD-RAM, DVD-RW and +RW. The investigation focused on overall defect management, compatibility, media defect and error detection/correction, and looked to identify the pros and cons of defect management currently available to users.

"With so many recordable DVD formats available, we wanted to investigate the current differences in defect management technology," said Dr. Jerome L. Hartke, President, Media Sciences, Inc. "What we found is that while no two devices or media are the same, DVD-RAM currently offers the best available defect management for rewritable DVD applications."

Be sure to visit over at Yahoo! for the full report. There are some striking conclusions to be found, for instance: "the study showed that while other media formats employ some defect management capabilities, they don't deliver across the board. For example, DVD-RW drives flag, but do not replace defective sectors and are designed more for sequential recording, such as streaming A/V. Therefore, because drive-based defect replacement is not available, the study finds that DVD-RW disks may not be suitable for computer data storage"

Boy, doesn't that give you a nice warm and fuzzy feeling inside? Please let us know what your thoughts are on this issue. At the same Yahoo! page, near the bottom, you will find links to the full whitepaper. This would obviously be a good topic of discussion in the Media Forum as well.

Source: Yahoo!