DVD+R Dual Layer DVD / Lite-On SOHW-832S (page 10: Conclusion)

Conclusion

The DVD+R Dual Layer burning make the DVD9 backup a lot more accessible. It is possible to store almost twice much more data than with standard DVD+R. This possibility is useful in a lot of different ways. 3.9 additional GB will be useful for videos as we will be able to rise up the quality and store longer videos.

Of course an expensive blank media is slowing down the DVD+R DL intensive use progression. But prices should change with the release of DL burners, and should fall in September.

The burning speed isn´t great either. In 2.4X you need 45 minutes to burn a DVD. But the manufacturer announce that they will reach 4X at the end of the year (25 minutes) and 8X during the second semester 2005. At this speed 15 minutes will be required to burn a DL DVD.

The remaining and tricky problem is the reading compatibility. Without modifying the book type it is inferior to 50% with computer hardware and barely 60% for DVD players. This figure is unacceptable and all the market players should develop adequate firmware when it is technically possible. The book type modification brings this figure with computer hardware to a very promising but insufficient 66%. And even if this modification isn´t too complicated, it is making the use of the Dual Layer media more difficult. We hope that this temporary operation will only be used in the future by owners of old hardware as a backup.

The final observations are promising even if there are still some compatibility issues. Being able to burn DVD+R DL is useful in a lot of ways, but you have to think about the possible uses and check the compatibility of the hardware use for re-reading.