I've tried unsuccessfully to find packet writing software for DVD-Rs. Programs like InCD, DirectCD and DLA state that they write only to rewritable discs. And a few trials that I've done confirm this. Why isn't the software designed to write to all forms of DVD?

Packet writing software is designed for rewritable media where files can be added and deleted from the disc at random this is not possible with DVD+/-R media which is write once only.
OMO it is best not to install any packet writing software due to the many different types that tend to have undesirable drivers which clash with other drivers in the system causing system instability and the BSOD is not unknown

(in reply to sancerre)

Software Architects WriteDVD Pro, but packet writing is garbage... You might as well look to DVD-RAM.

(in reply to Flash)

I use True Image to image partitions to DVD-R. Currently, TI doesn't support direct transfer to DVD unless the disc is formatted, so I have to transfer the image to my hard drive, then burn it to DVD-R. DVD-Rs are cheaper than DVD-RWs, which is why I asked about packet writing to DVD-R.

(in reply to SithTracy)

If you would like my opinion, stay away from packet writing software, there's nothing more than problems.

(in reply to sancerre)

If you really need packet writing, the safest and most reliable program I have found is Pinnacle InstantWrite which is part of the Instant CD/DVD package. It works with CDR, CDRW, DVD-/+R and DVD-/+RW.
I've been using this program for a long time and it's the first packet writing software that has never given any problems. I use it under Windows 2000 Pro SP4, and a friend of mine uses it under Windows XP SP2 (he was also using it under SP1 as well with no problems).

(in reply to Iggy)

Many thanks for that lead, Mender. I'll check it out to see if it meets my needs.

(in reply to Mender)

Packet writing exists on both write-once and rewritable media. It is although quite different for each type. For write-once, its advantage over multi-session mastering is that it limits a lot the overhead from increments. Multi-session tend to rewrite the entire meta-data (that is, not the file data but the data describing the files such as size, logical location, physical location, name), while the preferred file-system for write-once packet-writing (UDF VAT / Virtual Allocation Table) is able to write only the new meta-data information and link to the previous meta-data information so both together provide a complete meta-data for the current media state. As well as for rewritable, it does permit a direct access in windows explorer rather than requiring to prepare the data through a 3rd party interface. Unlike rewritable media, it does not have the concern of packet worn-out through overwriting, so more reliable for media without hardware defect management. E.g.: DVD+/-R UDF VAT is roughly as safe as DVD-RAM.

InCD does not have currently the ability to write to write-once media, but we are planning to add this feature in a future release.

(in reply to sancerre)