DVD writer that supports all formats?

[jasonfinal]

Can someone tell me why do we need a DVD writer, such as the new Sony, that can write in all the dvd formats?

Is this a really dumb question?

If all that you wanted to do was to back up data and copy some dvd movies, do you need the new Sony?

[Kennyshin]

Additional flexibility. Some players and drives can recognize only + media while some others can play only - media. 2.4x DVD+RW media are everywhere but even 2.0x DVD-RW media are extremely rare. 1x DVD-R media could be very cheap depending on where you live. DVD-RAM 9.4GB costs as little as US$5 now and it can be also useful at least to some people. Therefore, I want one that can write to CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM.

[dodecahedron]

I want one that can write to CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM.

me too!
too bad no such beast exists...