The primary advantage of DVD-RW over DVD-R is the ability to erase and rewrite to a DVD-RW disc. According to Pioneer, DVD-RW discs may be written to about 1,000 times before needing replacement. DVD-RW discs are commonly used for volatile data, such as backups or collections of files. They are also increasingly used for home DVD video recorders.

Unlike DVD-R, the DVD-RW standard has always dictated a capacity of 4.7 GB.

One competing rewritable format is DVD+RW. Hybrid drives that can handle both, often labeled "DVD±RW, are very popular since there is not yet a single standard for recordable DVDs.

External Links: