Sony dvd camcorder disk question?

Question

Ok I have this sony DVD camcorder which uses those mini dvd-rw's. It says I need to finalize the disk before I can view or copy the recorded video. My question is, what exactly does finalizing a disk mean? If I do finalize a disk, will it render the RW unwritable in future. I mean will the data get locked on the disk after finalization or can I erase it and reuse the disk. I wanted to know this because those disks are pretty expensive and I dont want to use them without knowing what exactly i'm doing.

Answer 1

Finalization is a process that locks the current data and prevents any further modification, so the miniDVD can operate like a normal DVD.  Now, calm down.  You can later un-finalize the DVD to add more video or re-write it completely.  Read your owners manual.

The RW designation has been around for almost 2 decades.   It started with CDs its concept was also used for DVDs.  This industry standard designation would not last this long if it was not truly re-writable.