Transferring a multi-media presentation from one computer hard drive to another can be an unwieldy, time-consuming process. While recordable compact discs (CDs) help, their 650 MB data maximum can be limiting.

But no longer. Take the latest high capacity storage device: DVD-RAM.

Tons of storage space
DVD-RAM (Digital Video Disc-Random Access Memory) drives record on DVDs, or digital video discs. These discs are essentially denser version of CDs. But DVDs can record 2.6 GB on a single-sided disc and a whopping 5.2 GB on a double-sided disc.

How much can a single DVD-RAM disc hold? Well, with one cartridge alone, you can store:

• 5,200 full-colored digital pictures (640x480, 24 bit/pixel)
• 230 minutes of MPEG2 compressed DSS satellite quality video (at 3Mbps)
• 150 minutes of MPEG2 compressed theatrical quality video
• more than eight hours of CD quality audio (44.1kHz, 16bit)

And like CD drives, DVD RAM drives will allow you to easily access your data at any random point with a few clicks of a mouse.

Speed and durability
Most testers are finding the average DVD-RAM drive to be comparable in speed to a multi-speed recordable CD drive. It takes around 20-40 minutes to record 650 MB of data using a DVD-RAM drive.

Performance speeds of actual DVD-RAM models do seem to vary by a few minutes between manufacturers, however.

DVD-RAM discs, which come encased in a special protective cartridge, can be rewritten about 100,000 times, and are expected to last at least 30 years.

Availability and price
Most DVD-RAM drives can only be used with computers configured with the Windows or Linux operating systems. But more drives for the Mac are starting to appear; most notably, the new 500 MHz G4 Macs come preinstalled with DVD-RAM drives.

They currently range in price from $500 to $750, with external models costing about $100 more than their internal version. The discs cost around 8 cents per megabyte, which is fairly competitive with other removable storage media.

Outstanding DVD issues
Although an upgrade solution is soon expected from manufacturers, be aware that a disc you burn with your DVD-RAM drive can not be played on most DVD-ROM drives or DVD video players.

Also, DVD-RAM drives are supposed to be able to read most CDs. But some difficulty with reading CD-R (a write-once format) discs has been noted.

DVD-RAM stands alone, for now
DVD-RAM is currently the only re-writable DVD format endorsed by the DVD industry consortium, the DVD Forum. As a result the endorsement, a number of major manufacturers introduced DVD-RAM drives at the beginning of 2000.

However, Hewlett-Packard, Philips, and Sony have announced a competing format, DVD+RW, with features similar to those of DVD-RAM. Vendors backing DVD+RW are not expected to include DVD-RAM read compatibility in their forthcoming DVD-ROM drives.

And the verdict is?
So, should you forsake a recordable CD drive for DVD-RAM?

Not if you need to distribute large amounts of data to folks outside your company. CD-ROM drives are standard on today's PCs. They also don't have any problem reading any type of CD.

You can easily find a quality recordable CD drive priced under $200. And blank CDs will cost you less than a penny per megabyte.

Or consider a removable hard disk drive, like the Iomega Jaz Drive. They cost around $350, can store up to 2GB of data per disk, have random access, and record a little faster than DVD-RAM drives.

But its storage media is twice the cost of DVD-RAM at 15 cents per megabyte.

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