"but xytrell, it IS backwards compatible! I burn CDs in my DVDRW drive all the time!"
Yes, in the strictest sense. But you're not using a red diode to burn them, you're still using those old IR diodes. I understand why an IR diode can't burn DVDs (because the focal point is too large to fit many more pits on the same surface) but why can't red diodes burn CDs? Why can't Blu-ray diodes burn CDs or DVDs? And why can't a DVDs-worth of data be written on a CDR using a red laser instead of an IR laser?