Erasing DVD-R: it can be done, with limitations

Well, I get a readout of a completely empty disc when I do this. And I am able to use that disc in the computer DVD writer it I want. It reverts to the condition of a brand-new disc.
With a session recorded, or used up, the available time on the disc would be reduced and the disc would be unusable in the DVD writer. I know this because I have done it and seen it happen many times. I have recorded, say, 1 hour of material, erased it and found the disc's available recording time greatly reduced. So, at least with my equipment, erasing 30 min or less is what makes the difference.

of the DVD-R? That's what you seem to be saying. If so, that's a new one. However, if the capacity is used up, you're merely using the multi-session function.

You're saying that a DVD-R is functioning as a DVD-RW. That I don't believe.

After recording for 20 min or so, I press STOP. Then I get a message 'please wait while information is being written to disc'. At this point I could continue to record another session, or entire a title for the one just recorded. Instead, I then press ERASE. The available time now left on the disc is 2hr in SP mode. I would call that completely erased.

Maybe my Panasonic recorder is giving me false info, but, as you may know, you can look a the back of a DVD-r with a session recorded on it and you can see the shaded section that was recorded. Many times, I have removed a disc that I erased and used it again to full capacity.

been no writing. If you can, the disk has more than a two hour capacity when used in your recorder. In other words, your recorder is compressing the data more than is usually the case.

When I stop recording I can play the disc immediately after writing finishes. In other words, the normal situation.
I discovered this whole thing when I had started to record something by mistake. I stopped recording after 20 minutes or so, and let the machine complete writing. Then, instead of discarding this 'useless' DVD-r, I told the machine to erase the program. It erased and came up completely empty. I was then able to re-use the disc to full capacity.
I suggest you try this yourself. Record something for less than 30 minutes, stop, write, play (to be sure it's written to the disc), erase. See what happens. I'd be interested in your comments.

Reply from the Forum Moderator:

The post you responded to was written in the year of 2006.

It is unlikely that anyone will respond to your post.

What the person was actually doing was writing in a Multi-Session
Recorder, and in Multisession mode, which is what I figured out from the
following:

" <b>After
recording for 20 min or so, I press STOP. Then I get a message 'please
wait while information is being written to disc'. At this point I could
continue to record another session, or entire a title for the one just
recorded. Instead, I then press ERASE.</b> "

This meant, the
recorder, which is not a computer DVD-writer, but a TV DVD-Writer
(Panasonic DMR E-30), was utilizing the multi-session mode which can be
done with DVD's even on a computer, or was actually writing it to a built in Hard Drive, and be able to erase them later (The latter portion happens to be the case, per his statement. I
also checked the owner's manual of the Recorder to make sure my hunch
was correct, which can be found on Panasonic's Website, under support.

Sorry, but I had my hopes up to, before going through this and realizing, alot of people must not have payed close enough attention to what he was using.


Itanaman

What you gain will not be worth the time involved.