DVD Math

well, the main difference is in the amount of data that can be read/written between the different standards at a given multiplier...

1x cd speed = 150 KB/s

1x dvd speed = 1353 KB/s

1x dvd speed = ~9x cd speed

18x dvd speed = 24354 KB/s

48x cd speed = 7200 KB/s

...technically if your 18x dvd burner could burn cds at that same speed, it would be a 162x cd burner, lol

now, i may have done that math wrong, but the initial dvd and cd multiplier speeds are correct

hope this helps

Thanks for the reply. I now understand why the DVD burns so quickly:

1x cd speed = 150 KB/s
1x dvd speed = 1353 KB/s

Does that mean when you watch a DVD at normal speed, 1353 KB/s are being transfered?

If an 18x DVD burner can transfer 24354 KB/s, then why can't it burn CDs at 162x? (I understand there is no 162x blank media)

Because since a DVD has the data packed more densely than a cd it can read more while still spinning the disc at roughly the same RPM. If you were to spin the disc any faster it would likely shatter(which is already an issue with old cd-rom's in fast drives)

Basically DVDs are encoded in a different format and at a much higher density. In other words you can cram more data into the same amount of space. This means you can record more data on a DVD disc without the disc having to spin at a faster speed than a CD would. The max that they have achieved for a CD is 52x. It's just not possible to achieve 162x, it would be very very difficult to get a drive to spin that fast. Even if they could get a drive that would spin that fast the CD itself would break up because of the heat.

Also its important to note the laser to read and write a DVD is smaller than a CD laser. This allows the DVD laser to focus on the smaller "pits" on a DVD.