There are now two different, semi-established technologies for writing to DVD. The DVD-RAM standard, which allows re-writing, can use single-sided and double-sided media. Once written, media can be write-protected, and 4.7GB discs can be used in compatible DVD-ROM drives (once removed from their cartridge).

The second technology, DVD-R, uses only bare discs, and these can only be used once. However, DVD-R discs offer greater compatibility with DVD-ROM drives, and so are more suitable if data is to be distributed, although drive and media costs are higher. In addition, DVD-R writing is more prone to errors, since the media is not cartridge-based and the technology doesn't have the same level of error handling as DVD-RAM.

Confused? So are we. Read on.

The Panasonic LF-D201E is an internal SCSI-2 device which can write to 4.7GB and 9.4GB DVD-RAM media at a speed of 1,385kb/s. It can also read DVD-R, CD-R, CD-RW, CDROM, and DVD-ROM, and is compatible with older 2.6GB and 5.2GB media. For the price, it represents a possible alternative to buying separate DVD-ROM and CD-R drives, as long as the resulting media doesn't have to be distributed after writing.

Get the latest Dell Coupons and other computer coupons at CheapStingyBargains.com.

The drive is supplied with drivers for Windows 95, 98, ME, NT 4.0 and 2000. A SCSI cable is provided, but there is no SCSI card supplied, so users will need to purchase a suitable card with an internal 50-pin connector separately. We used an Adaptec AHA-2940AU card in our tests.

Once drivers are installed, two new drive icons appear in 'My Computer'. For DVD-RAM, a hard disk icon is used and the drive is shown as a 'Removable Disk'. For reading CD-ROM and DVD-ROM, a standard CD icon is used. Along with the drivers, a backup program called FileSafe is installed, plus utilities for editing and compressing MPEG-1 video. FileSafe includes options for scheduled backup and also for inclusion or exclusion of file types, so the utility can be used to backup all MP3 files on a disk, or to exclude AVI files, for example.

We were able to write DVD data in the background while carrying on with other work on our 900MHz Athlon test machine. This is not something we would normally attempt with DVD-R since the media cost is so high and a failed write operation means the media is only good for the waste bin. But it was someone else's money, so why not...

The formatted capacity of the 4.7GB media is 4.26GB, and in our tests it took almost exactly one hour to copy 4.2GB of MP3 files to the drive. We preferred the 4.7GB cartridge media, as it has added reliability thanks to the cartridge, and has the advantage over the 9.4GB media that the disc can be removed from the cartridge once written, for use in compatible DVD-ROM drives. The 9.4GB media must also be turned over after the first 4.7GB, and so is effectively treated as two separate disks.

DVD authoring is still an emerging technology. Expect to see drives from Panasonic and others supporting both DVD-RAM and DVD-R in the future. But if you need high capacity removable storage now, and don't need to distribute DVD data to other users, this drive is a good, relatively affordable option.