Frequently Asked Questions - Plextor PX-850A Installation And User Manual

6. Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why do I need an 80-conductor IDE cable for the PX-850A?
Your PX-850A will operate with either the older 40-conductor cable or the
newer 80-conductor IDE/ATA cable. However, the 80-conductor cable
improves performance, and the PX-850A may not be able to write at
maximum speed (22X) without it. Although the new cable has 80 conductors
(wires), it still has only 40 connector pins, so it's compatible with the
connector on your PX-850A. (The extra wires are present to reduce
interference that would slow high-speed transfers.)
Q: Is the PX-850A/SA a DVD Multi Recorder?
Yes. The DVD Multi specification requires that DVD Multi Recorders read
and write DVD-ROM (prerecorded), DVD-R (General), DVD-RW and
DVD-RAM discs. Because the PX-850 conforms to the DVD Multi
specification, it can read and write the formats used by today's computers
and consumer electronic (CE) DVD devices. (Note that DVD Multi does not
prescribe that devices should accommodate DVD-RAM cartridges or 8-cm
discs.)
Q: Which is better, DVD+R and DVD+RW? Or DVD-R and DVD-RW?
A: Neither is "better" or "worse." They're just different standards, like
English versus metric measurement.
Different manufacturers support different standards. The DVD+R and
DVD+RW formats are supported by Plextor, Philips, Sony, Hewlett-
Packard, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha and other manufacturers. DVD-R, DVD-RW
and DVD-RAM are also supported by Plextor, as well as Panasonic,
Toshiba, Apple Computer, Hitachi, NEC, Pioneer, Samsung and Sharp.
No matter which format a DVD disc is recorded in, it can be read by most
commercial DVD-ROM players.
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PX-850 Installation and Users Manual