DVD +R vs -R

[Vroomparrot]

Finally got around to getting a DVD writer for my pc. It supports most of the writable DVD formats including +R and -R - is there any real difference in terms of reliability, ability to play recorded video on DVD players etc? Or are they pretty much identical in this respect? Pricewise there seems to be nothing in it.

[Funkstar]

Compatability with standalone playes used to be (most compatible at the top):

-R
+RW
-RW
+R

Not sure where the dual layer disks come in that list though. But to be honest i don't think it matters too much these days. Modern players will read just about anything, and weirdly, the cheap supermarket players are more likely to read all the recordable disks without issue than some of the high end players

[Lowe]

Oddly enough I find it the other way around. For me, +R have always been far, far more reliable - but as all things in life, different strokes for different folks.

[xAmritx]

Yup reliability +R will come on top but COMPATABILITY with stand alone players will be what Funkstar said

[Mad-Max]

Short history of the DVD

While burning was becoming popular in the late 90s, so was playing high quality video on DVDs. Storing almost 7 times the data of a 700MB CD (or almost 13 in the case of dual layer DVDs), allowed companies to store massive amounts of data on one disc, leading to the movie industry to drop VHS tapes and the video game industry to drop CDs.

In 1995, the first DVD specification was ratified by over a dozen companies including Sony and Phillips, as well as Thompson, Pioneer, and Mitsubishi. By 2000, at least half the homes in the US and Japan had DVD players.

So, obviously, the next step was to produce burnable DVDs. Two separate, and incompatible, efforts took hold. The first one, Pioneer’s DVD-R (pronounced ‘DVD dash R’) was released in 1997, using different data storage methods than pressed DVDs (appearing to be more like CD-R than DVD), a poor error correction scheme, and the ‘wobble’ laser tracking system of DVD-R is inadequate for the job.

The second effort, lead by the DVD+RW Alliance (headed by Sony, Phillips, Mitsubishi, and Thompson) was released in 2002, as an alternative to the poorly implemented DVD-R. DVD+R uses a superior ‘wobble’ laser tracking system, a far better error correction method, and the media quality itself is typically higher. (See the ‘Why DVD+R?’ section below for a more technical explanation)

http://adterrasperaspera.com/blog/20...rchival-media/

I use either as I find both are just as good for burning/playing

[Vroomparrot]

Cheers for the comments. Seeing as I will be writing tv shows I have recorded from my TV tuner for playback on a DVD (rather than archiving) I have plumped for for some verbatim DVD-R's.

[Agent]

Use +R with bit-setting (google it, also known as booktype), and it will play on 99.9% of players out there

[mycarsavw]

I asked the same question here;

Tell me about DVD +r -r +-r +rw and so on.

Be warned, my PSU died shortly after <twilight zone music>

[ash_rm]

I wouldn't worry too much about the two different formats, just make sure you buy decent quality media.