DVD-RAM discs

Markus Schönhaber ubuntu-users at list-post.mks-mail.de
Thu Apr 17 18:43:14 UTC 2008


Ioannis Vranos wrote:

> Markus Schönhaber wrote:

>> Since the defect management of DVD-RAMs is supposed to be superior to
>> other CD/DVD media they seem to be suitable for backups. And that's
>> exactly what I use them for: to backup files I want to be able to easily
>> carry with me or store away.
> 
> Basically I want to use them as fast portable media, like the old Iomega
> ZIP Drives for example.
> 
>> What I consider most annoying wrt DVD-RAMs is the fact that most modern
>> burners are able to write DVD-RAMs with 8x, 10x or even higher speed,
>> but where I live it's next to impossible to buy media certified for more
>> than 3x.
> 
> Yes, unfortunately I checked the web site of my local store and it has
> DVD-RAMs 2x-3x, and my recorder supports 12x for them.

Well, in that case it depends on what you mean with "fast" in "fast
portable media" above. Writing at 3x isn't exactly what I'd call
"lightning fast". OTOH the kernel does a pretty good job at buffering
writes, which makes things quite acceptable for me.
Reading I'd indeed call fast, though.
So, unless you expect to be able to eject the disk 2 seconds after you
started copying a few 100 MB to it, you probably should give the
DVD-RAMs a try. The data safety might be worth it.

Regards
  mks




More information about the ubuntu-users mailing list