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Difference Between CDR And CDRW | Table | Definition | Detail | Updated

We explain that what is the difference between CDR and CDRW in tabular form with definition and key differences. The entertainment industry revolution happened when they discovered that the data that was recorded can be stored for multiple uses on different discs such as movies or as recorded data. The oldest is the rewind cassette and the cassette player. Others are CDs, records, and recorders.

Although the use of cassettes has drastically decreased, the use of CDs has not in modern times. This is due to their ability to store data for a long time or how useful they are for transferring data. There are several types of CDs unknown to many, two of these beings: CDR and CDRW

CDR or Compact Disc Recordable is a CD that cannot be rewritten even if it has 700-800MB of storage. These are the most commonly used CDs that are made of reflective metal for the bottom and a tint for the top. This tint stores the data read and played by any CD player.

CDRW or rewritable compact disc is another type of CD that also has 700-800MB of storage, but the data can be rewritten. The only condition is that the previously existing data is erased. This is also made of reflective material but the top has a special metal instead of tint.

The difference between CDR and CDRW is that although CDR and CDRW can store 700-800MB of data, data stored on CDR cannot be erased or rewritten, while data stored on CDRW can be rewritten if delete existing data. So CDRW is reusable.

Comparison table between CDR and CDRW

Comparison parameters	CDR	CDRW
Abbreviation of	Recordable compact disc	Rewritable compact disc
Used material	CDR uses dye on top	CDRW uses specialty metals on top.
Storage	700-800 MB that can only be viewed and not edited	700-800MB, but data can be rewritten after deleting existing data
cost	Low cost	More than CDR
Velocity	Comparatively fast.	It is slower in reading than CDR
Compatibility	It is compatible with all CD players or readers	Although it is newer, not all CD /
Use	Long-term data storage	To transfer data

What is CDR?

CDR or recordable compact disc is a type of CD that is made with reflective metal on the bottom and tint on the top. They are used to store data for a long time and have a storage of 700-800 MB.

They are read-only discs. Data that was once stored on disk cannot be deleted or replaced. In other words, the data stored on a CDR cannot be rewritten or erased. So it is a multisession disc that different types of data like audio, video, etc. can be written to.

Once the data is stored, it is converted to CD-ROM so that the stored data can be viewed. This is generally done by a CD player that can read and play the data stored on CDs.

Almost all CDRs are compatible with all types of CD players.

What is CDRW?

CDRW or Compact Disk Re-Writable is another type of CD that can store and view data. Stores up to 700-800MB of data.

On a CD-RW, data once stored can be rewritten if existing data is erased. Therefore, a CD-RW can be used multiple times.

The disadvantage of CD-RW is that it is not compatible with all CD players. Old CD players cannot read CDRW.

CDRW also costs more than CDR. This is due to the fact that they can be used multiple times, as the data on a CDRW can be rewritten.

Key differences between CDR and CDRW

CDR stands for Compact Disc-Recordable, or commonly known as CD, while CD-RW or CDRW stands for Compact Disc Re-Writeable. They are also commonly called CDs, as they both use CD players for reading.
Although all CDs use reflective metal as the main material, the difference between CDR and CDRW is that CDR uses dye on top while CDRW uses special metal on top.
CDR and CDRW have 700-800MB of storage, but data stored in CDR can only be viewed. Whereas, the data stored in CDRW can be rewritten once the existing data is erased from its memory.
The cost of a CDR is less than that of a CDRW. But the higher price of CDRW is because they can be rewritten.
The speed of the two discs is also different. Although CDR data cannot be rewritten, CD players read and interpret it faster compared to CDRW.
CDR is compatible with all types of CD players, while CDRW is not compatible with older ones. Old CD players cannot read the data stored in CDRW.
Although CDR cannot rewrite data, it is used a lot like disk that can store long-term data. While CDRW is mainly used to transfer data.

Final Thought

Many types of devices have been manufactured so that data is stored and reviewed multiple times by the consumer. Some of the most common and popular are cassettes, CDs, and DVDs, each of which requires its own player. But there are also many types of CDs.

CDR or recordable compact disc is a type of CD that can be read and played on all types of CD players. It has a storage of 700-800MB, and since the stored data cannot be rewritten, it is used for long-term data storage.

CDRW or Compact Disc Re-Writable is another type of CD that cannot be read by older CD players. Unlike CDRs, they are made of special metal on top instead of dye. It also has a storage of up to 800MB, but this data can be rewritten, so it is mainly used for transferring data.

The difference between CDR and CDRW is that the data stored in CDR cannot be erased or rewritten, but only viewed or reproduced. Whereas, the data stored in CDRW can be rewritten once the existing data is erased. This means that the data stored on the CDRW can be changed.