DVD-RW Software Help

[ngcomputing]

I remember (on the PC side) a program called Direct CD that would let you treat a CD-RW like a floppy.

Is there a program /Mac/ that will let you do this with DVD-RW discs?

Kind of a hassle to copy everything from a backup DVD to the HD, add the new files, then write them all back to DVD-RW.

Considering just leaving all my data on a seprate partition, and dragging it over to the DVD-RW on a regular basis to backup.

Thanks,

ngcomputing

 

[daveL]

Roxio Toast is about the most feature rich burning software available for the Mac.

 

[spacepower7]

here's more info

"MT. RAINIER RECORDING
The use of the Mt. Rainier recording system allows drag and drop recording to CD-RW discs, without the need for a separate packet writing application"


"MT. RAINIER RECORDING
FOR THE ULTIMATE CD RECORDER

CD-MRW (CD Mount Rainier Rewrite) may eventually replace conventional floppy disk drives, as CD-MRW finally simplifies random read/write access to CD-RW media.

Drives supporting CD-MRW include defect management and address compatibility issues by specifying the exact UDF format for use on CD-RW discs. This ensures a standard for sharing discs between computers. Looking forward, newer operating systems versions (such as MS Windows XP) will have the drivers embedded to support the new writing format.
Other key features include:

Formatting in the background:
Writing to a CD-RW disc using packet writing requires that the disc be formatted first; this has taken a very long time in the past. With CD-MRW, formatting is now automated. When a disc is inserted into the CD-MRW drive, a transparent background format will be carried out. Data can even be written to CD-RW during the actual formatting process, eliminating wait time altogether.

CD-RW discs can be ejected at any time:
Now, similar to a floppy disk, CD-RW media can be ejected at any time, even before the formatting process is complete. Once the disc is reinserted into the recorder, formatting simply continues where it left off.

Logical 2K addressing:
Conventional packet-writing methods process data in blocks of 64K. In contrast, Mount Rainier utilizes a block size of 2K, thus making better use of disc space and reducing the time required to copy files.

Physical fault management by the drive:
Unlike UDF version 1.50, where defect management relied on software, CD-MRW ensures that defect management is handled through hardware (directly by the recorder itself). This frees up system memory and processing power, for system critical functions and multitasking."

blah blah blah

http://yamahamultimedia.com/yec/tech/mtrainier_01.asp

I don't know of any software on the Mac that supports this, but I wish that there was, then I might actually use the CD-RW format.

 

[superbovine]

most everyone uses toast.

 

[ngcomputing]

Thanks guys, I looked at Toast before but didn't see this specific feature. I'll check it out again.

 

[maxvamp]

As a general rule, this feature is not available on a Mac unless you have a DVD-RAM disc and drive.

What the Mac generally does is to create a burnable folder in the background that has the icon of the CDRW. You dump stuff into it, and when you eject, it burns the folder to disc. On DVD-RAM, it burns live, i.e. it will copy over like it was copying to a floppy or zip.

It is a shame, since DVD+RW was also supposed to offer this functionality. On the Mac, the + and - formats are functionally synonymous.

Max.

P.S. Toast will not help for what you want to do. You may want to look at DragonBurn to at least get Multisession +RW discs.

Max.