Editing DVD-RAM (section)

==Format==
DVD-RAM works by means of phase change technology which was chosen instead of [[Magneto-optical drive|magneto-optical technology]] (an already existing rewritable solution at the time) because it doesn't require a magnetic head and therefore it represented reduced complexity and costs. Phase change technology uses laser light to heat the surface of a phase changing alloy and allows it to go from a crystalline to an amorphous state and vice versa, therefore altering its optical reflectivity index. To change the recording material from a crystalline to an amorphous state, and back again a high or medium power laser light is used to control the rate of cooling of the phase changing alloy therefore establishing the final state. Encoding is done by means of difference in reflectivity of the alloy, a laser is pointed at the surface and the returned intensity signifies either a 1 or a 0.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Print.aspx?ArticleId=15050|title = DVD Technical Guide - Printer Friendly version}}</ref>

DVD-RAM uses concentric [[Track (disk drive)|tracks]] each divided into hard (factory originated) [[Disk sector|sectors]], in contrast to traditional spiral recording found in other DVD and [[CD-ROM|CD]] formats. A 12 cm (5") 4.7 GB disc is divided into 35 [[Zone bit recording|zones]] of tracks, with each zone having more sectors per track compared to the previous zone. This makes its data structuring very similar to that of [[hard drive]]s and [[floppy disk]]s. This means that usually DVD-RAMs  are suitable to be accessed by the [[Operating System|OS]] without any special software <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.datatechstore.com/what-is-dvd-ram.aspx|title = Data Tech Store}}</ref>