| How To Identify DVDs... |
You start by selecting the drive used for disc identification. The 'Drive selection'-box will only list DVD writers since these are the only devices that are capable of reliably returning the information that is required for identification. Each entry in the 'Drive selection'-box consists out of following fields : the drive letter, the drive's manufacturer ID and product ID, and its firmware revision.
At all times the 'Device capability'-indicator will reflect what types of DVDs the selected drive is capable of identifying (and thus also writing). This will most likely be one of following 4 combinations :
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After a drive has been selected simply insert a DVD (a DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R or DVD-RW, depending on the capabilities of the selected drive) and press the 'Identify'-button. This will instruct 'DVD Identifier' to retrieve the pre-recorded information from the disc and analyze it. |
DVD medium information is reported in one of the two medium-tabs. The first tab is for reporting DVD+R/+RW info while the other is used for displaying DVD-R/-RW information. 'DVD Identifier' will automatically switch to the correct tab when you click on the 'Identify'-button.
Both tabs contain identical fields with the only exception that in the case of DVD+R/+RW two extra fields are available : Media Type ID and Product Revision.
The 'Unique disc identifier' summarizes the disc by combining all relevant parameters for disc identification to form a single parameter that uniquely identifies the disc. It is easier and more efficient to refer to a specific disc by using this 'Unique disc identifier'.
The reported write speeds are always related to the disc's capabilities and not to the drive's capabilities. This is because these write speeds are determined by interpreting the write strategy parameters that are present on the disc. Whether or not you will be able to write a particular disc at the reported speeds depends on the drive's capabilities (which are determined by hardware and firmware). If you require to know at which speed the drive is capable of writing on this disc you should take a look at the 'Drive capabilities'-tab. This tab will be explained in more detail later on.
Also note that the reported blank disc capacity is NOT related to the disc's content. Therefore it always shows the total amount of sectors present on the disc regardless of anything that might have already been written on the disc.
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When a disc has been identified you can easily copy the disc's information to any application you like. Simply press the 'Clipboard'-button and the information is copied to the clipboard. Once it's on the clipboard you can paste it in any application you like, e.g. Word, Outlook... |
Below an example of disc information that has been copied to the clipboard :
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD+R:Philips-081-00] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disc Type : [DVD+R] Manufacturer ID : [Philips] Media Type ID : [081] Product Revision : [Not Specified] Disc Application Code : [General Purpose] Recording Speeds : [2.4x - 4x - 8x] Blank Disc Capacity : [2,295,104 Sectors = 4,482.6 MB = 4.38 GB] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [DVD Identifier - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
The amount of information that is copied to the clipboard can be selected in the 'Settings'-Menu. By default only the standard medium information as shown above is copied to the clipboard. If desired, you can also copy additional information regarding the disc and drive to the clipboard. Another section of this Help will cover the tabs that report the 'Media code'-block and the 'Drive capabilities'.
Alternatively, you can also accomplish all of this by using the 'Disc'-menu :
