Software Architects, DVD-RAM Tune Up.

With all the new updates in operating systems it is crucial to have software drivers for the new generation of DVD burners and players. Software Architects has emerged as the dominant provider of DVD-RAM software with their SA DVD-RAM Tune-Up.

You can now easily run a DVD-RAM drive on your PC or your Mac.

With capacity of 5.2 GB, DVD-RAM offers capabilities not yet on the horizon for other kinds of DVD. Those other kinds of DVD burners still cost over $9,000. Hollywood is petrified that you will get the capability of copying their movies. But a DVD-RAM flavor of DVD costs about the same as a CD-burner and works just as easily.

Our interest in DVD-RAM is not to copy movies but rather the ability of DVD-RAM to store tons of large format digital photographs.

I dislike using compression on photographs that cost thousands of dollars to take. And I need copies in each office. Whereas CD-R is nice, a disk only holds 650 MB. Now that 5.2 GB is available (divided between two sides, 2.6 GB per side), and whereas the cost of the DVD-RAM disks is reasonable (about $30, in comparison, disks for the Pinnacle Micro Apex cost $130 each...)

DVD-RAM seems to be more a standard than 5.2 GB MO direct overwrite drives. The first generation of direct overwrite drives (Beluga, from either Nikon or Sony) were no good. The second generation appeared with great fanfare, but then most models disappeared from t he catalogs, probably because they were too expensive. Besides, if you have these direct overwrite drives it is hard to exchange data because no one else has one. But with DVD-RAM, you can exchange with everyone who previously had the PD system as well as all the newer DVD-RAM. I use PD disks in my DVD-RAM all the time. I can even read PC formatted TIF files on Mac (OS 8.1 and above). I prefer Mac format TIF files because the Mac has thumbnails of all images all the time whereas generating thumbnails with a PC is a pain in another body part. For digital photography a Mac has many advantages. For storing digital images, DVD-RAM is the way to go at present, since the other technologies turned out to be vaporware. DVD-RAM has been around already, works just fine, and will be around tomorrow as well.

Most recently updated April 09, 2001.