What is the difference between CD-R and CD-RW?
CD-R is a short form of "CD-Recordable", meaning recordable CD. In the past, users could only read the data on a CD-ROM. If users wanted to record data onto a CD, they had to ask assistance from a factory and do so in large quantities. With CD-R however, individuals can save data on a CD and produce a format that is exactly the same as that of a standard CD-ROM. But once made, the recorded sections of a CD cannot be recorded over, and due to different materials used, the colors of CD-R vary between gold, blue and green, unlike the silver of a standard CD-ROM .
CD-RW is short form for "CD- Rewritable", in other words, a rewritable CD. The special feature of CD-RW is that the recorded sections can be cleared and reused for re-recording. Of course, users cannot rewrite the CD-RW to an infinite number of times. Typically, each CD-RW can be rewritten about 1,000 times.
CD-RW discs are used just like CD-R discs. You can use packet writing on both CD-R and CD-RW, and you can use disc-at-once audio recording on both CD-R and CD-RW. Some software may handle CD-RW in a slightly different way, because you can do things like erase individual files, but the recorder technology is nearly identical.
How many times can I overwrite CD-RW disc?
The Orange Book specifies a Standard value of approximately 1,000 times. However, the actual number achieved on CD-RW media indicate it is possible to perform several thousand re-writes.
What are the different uses for CD-R and CD-RW discs?
Once data is written to CD-R media, the data cannot be overwritten. Thus, CD-R media is suitable for data archiving, including important documents such as contracts and proof of records such as accounting documents and the like. Another major feature of CD-R media is their high compatibility with nearly all CD-ROM drives. In comparison, CD-RW media can be repeatedly overwritten and therefore the best solution would be for frequent backups of your hard disk drive.
