Chapter 1

DVDs and Computers 125
in addition to recording wavelength, are that DVD-R(G) uses decrementing
pre-pit addresses, a pre-stamped (version 1.0) or pre-recorded (version 1.1)
control area, CPRM (see “What Are the Copy Protection Issues?” in Chapter
1), and allows double-sided discs. A third version for “special authoring,”
allowing protected movie content to be recorded on DVD-R media, was
considered but will probably not happen.
Pioneer released 3.95G DVD-R(A) 1.0 drives in October 1997 (about 6
months late) for $17,000. New 4.7G DVD-R(A) 1.9 drives appeared in limited
quantities in May 1999 (about 6 months late) for $5,400. Version 2.0 drives
became available in fall 2000. Version 1.9 drives can be upgraded to 2.0 via
downloaded software. (This removes the 2,500 hour recording limit.) New
2.0 [4.7G] media (with newer copy protection features), can only be written
in 2.0 drives. 1.9 media (and old 1.0 [3.95G] media) can still be written in 2.0
drives. Version 1.0 (3.95G) discs are still available, and can be recorded in
Pioneer DVD-R(A) drives. Although 3.95G discs hold less data, they are
more compatible with existing players and drives.
Pioneer’s DVR-A03 DVD-R(G) drive was released in May 2001 for under
$1000. By August it was available for under $700, and by February 2002 it
was under $400. The same drive (model DVR-103) was built into certain
Apple Macs and Compaq PCs. Many companies now produce DVD-RW
drives, all of which also write CD-R/RW. As of mid-2003 DVD-RW drives are
selling for under $200. Most DVD-RAM drives also write DVD-R discs, and
some also write DVD-RW discs. Many new drives write both DVD-R/RW
and DVD�R/RW.
Pioneer released a professional DVD video recorder in 2002. It sells for
about $3000 and provides component video (YPbPr) and 1394 (DV) inputs
(along with s-video and composite). It has 1-hour (10 Mbps) and 2-hour (5
Mbps) recording modes, and includes a 2-channel Dolby Digital audio
encoder.
Prices for blank DVD-R(A) discs are $10 to $25 (down from the original
$50), although cheaper discs seem to have more compatibility problems.
Prices for blank DVD-R(G) discs are $2 to $6. Blank media are made by
CMC Magnetics, Fuji, Hitachi Maxell, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Pioneer, Ricoh,
Ritek, Taiyo Yuden, Sony, TDK, Verbatim, Victor, and others.
The DVD-R 1.0 format is standardized in ECMA-279. Andy Parsons at
Pioneer has written a white paper that explains the differences between
DVD-R(G) and DVD-R(A) (www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pioneer/Files/
DVDR_whitepaper.pdf).
It’s possible to submit DVD-R(A) and DVD-R(G) discs for replication,
with limitations. First, not all replicators will accept submissions on DVD-R.
Second, there can be problems with compatibility and data loss when
using DVD-R, so it’s best to generate a checksum that the replicator can