Which acronym should be used for the rewritable optical disc format?

• A. DVD
• B. DVD-RW
• C. DVD-R
• D. DVD+R

Answer: (B)

Rewriting capability is indicated by RW in the acronym. A disc labeled DVD-RW is designed to be erased and rewritten multiple times, which is what makes it rewritable. DVD-R and DVD+R denote write-once formats, meaning they can be written to a single time and cannot be erased for re-use. DVD by itself is just the general family and does not specify whether rewrites are supported.

So for the rewritable optical disc format, the standard acronym is DVD-RW. (Note there is also DVD+RW as another rewritable format, but the key idea is that RW signifies rewritable.)