Which CD or DVD format should I use?

Disc | General information | Capacity | Compatibility | CD-ROM | Known as a read-only disc, usually used to store commercial programs and data. You can't add or delete information on a CD-ROM. | 650 MB | Highly compatible with most computers and devices. | CD-R | You can burn files to a CD-R more than once (each time is referred to as a session), but you can't delete files from a Mastered disc. Each burn is permanent. | 650 MB700 MB | You must close the session to read this disc in a different computer. Highly compatible with most computers and devices. | CD-RW | You can burn files to a CD-RW more than once. You can also delete unwanted files from the disc to reclaim space and add additional files. A CD-RW can be burned and erased many times. | 650 MB | Compatible with many computers and devices. | DVD-ROM | Known as a read-only disc, usually used to store commercial programs and data. You can't add or delete information on a DVD-ROM. | 4.7 GB | Highly compatible with most computers and devices. | DVD-R | You can burn files to a DVD-R more than once (each time is referred to as a session), but you can't delete files from the disc. Each burn is permanent. | 4.7 GB | You must close the session to read this disc in a different computer. Highly compatible with most computers and devices. | DVD+R | You can burn files to a DVD+R more than once (each time is referred to as a session), but you can't delete files from the disc. Each burn is permanent. | 4.7 GB | You must close the session to read this disc in a different computer. Compatible with many computers and devices. | DVD-RW | You can burn files to a DVD-RW more than once (each time is referred to as a session). You can also delete unwanted files from the disc to reclaim space and add additional files. A DVD-RW can be burned and erased many times. | 4.7 GB | You don't need to close the session to read this disc in another computer. Compatible with many computers and some devices. | DVD+RW | You can burn files to a DVD+RW more than once (each time is referred to as a session). You can also delete unwanted files from the disc to reclaim space and add additional files. A DVD+RW can be burned and erased many times. | 4.7 GB | You don't need to close the session to read this disc in another computer. Compatible with many computers and some devices. | DVD-RAM | You can burn files to a DVD-RAM more than once. You can also delete unwanted files from the disc to reclaim space and add additional files. A DVD-RAM can be burned and erased many times. | 2.6 GB4.7 GB5.2 GB9.4 GB | DVD-RAM discs can generally be used only in DVD-RAM drives and might not be readable by DVD players and other devices. | DVD-R DL | You can burn files to a DVD-R DL more than once (each time is referred to as a session), but you can't delete files from a Mastered disc. Each burn is permanent. | 8.5 GB | You must close the session to read this disc in a different computer. Compatible with some computers and newer DVD players. | DVD+R DL | You can burn files to a DVD+R DL more than once (each time is referred to as a session), but you can't delete files from a Mastered disc. Each burn is permanent. | 8.5 GB | You must close the session to read this disc in a different computer. Compatible with some computers and newer DVD players. | BD-R | You can burn files to a BD-R once (in one session), but you can't delete files from the disc. Each burn is permanent. | 25 GB | You must close the session to read this disc in a different computer. Compatible with computers running Windows 7. | BD-R DL | You can burn files to a BD-R DL once (in one session), but you can't delete files from the disc. Each burn is permanent. | 50 GB | You must close the session to read this disc in a different computer. Compatible with computers running Windows 7. | BD-RE | You can burn files to a BD-RE more than once (each time is referred to as a session). You can also delete unwanted files from the disc to reclaim space and add additional files. A BD-RE can be burned and erased many times. | 25 GB | You don't need to close the session to read this disc in another computer. Compatible with computers running Windows 7. | BD-RE DL | You can burn files to a BD-RE DL more than once (each time is referred to as a session). You can also delete unwanted files from the disc to reclaim space and add additional files. A BD-RE DL can be burned and erased many times. | 50 GB | You don't need to close the session to read this disc in another computer. Compatible with computers running Windows 7. |

Live File System version (UDF) | Best for | 1.50 | This version is compatible with Windows 2000 (and later) and Windows Server 2003 (and later). It might not be compatible with Windows 98 computers. | 2.00 | This version is compatible with Windows XP (and later) and Windows Server 2003 (and later). It might not be compatible with Windows 98 and Windows 2000 computers. | 2.01 | This is the default version that's compatible with Windows XP (and later) and Windows Server 2003 (and later). It might not be compatible with Windows 98 and Windows 2000 computers. | 2.50 | This version is designed for Windows Vista (and later). It might not be compatible with earlier versions of Windows. |