What's the difference between DVD-R and DVD+R??

MedlockMedlock Miramar, Florida Member
edited December 2004 in Hardware
My dad wanted me to help him back up some DVDs of his, so he got some blanks. They didn't work, so he got some more, a different brand. Still didn't work. At that time I finally figured out the burner is DVD-R and the blanks he was getting were all DVD+R. He was pretty mad that he wasted the money on 2 packs of useless DVD blanks, and asked me what the hell the difference is, anyway!

Well, I can't answer him that question. :confused:

-Rick

Comments

  • leishi85leishi85 Grand Rapids, MI Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    dvd-r and dvd+r are different DVD recording standards.

    dvd-r was released first, and is compatible with almost all dvd players. it is supported by http://www.dvdforum.com/

    and dvd+r is a competing format, and is compatible with less players on the market, and supported by http://www.dvdrw.com/
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    This should answer your question.
  • FormFactorFormFactor At the core of forgotten
    edited November 2004
    Also I think DVD-R can have region info and other misc harder to write info, making it better for software mfgrs to use them for gold masters to send to the dvd pressing factory. DVD+R doesn't support those types of features...

    But in all honesty, I have use quite a bit of both, and they are pretty much equal in my experience.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    Software manufacturers don't use DVD-R, or DVD+R. Region/copy-protection on 9GB DVDs is written to the first few rings of the DVD; on writable DVDs, vendor information goes there. Neither format, therefore, is capable of writing region info, or traditional copy-protection.

    DVD-R is superior to +R if you're attempting to write the discs for play on a set top DVD player. If you're going for archival, it doesn't matter.
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited November 2004
    DVR+R is the only one with Dual Layer Capability atm. Not like that matters because those blank disks cost way too much.
  • sforzasforza SPAIN
    edited December 2004
    This is a good read too.
  • rykoryko new york
    edited December 2004
    leishi85 wrote:
    dvd-r and dvd+r are different DVD recording standards.

    dvd-r was released first, and is compatible with almost all dvd players. it is supported by http://www.dvdforum.com/

    and dvd+r is a competing format, and is compatible with less players on the market, and supported by http://www.dvdrw.com/


    I would say that this was true when DVD-R and DVD+R first came to market. But if you take a look at many of the new dvd players out there at Circuit City or Best Buy you will find more support for DVD+R these days. Most brand new players support both standards actually....
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited December 2004
    ryko wrote:
    ...Most brand new players support both standards actually....
    That's been my experience, too. :thumbsup:

    TheGr81: If the +R discs your dad bought were 50-packs or larger he might do well to upgrade to a new burner. Assuming he spent $60 on the discs, he could just about buy a new drive for that price and end up breaking even.

    Then he could give you the old drive- win/win. :D
  • floppybootstompfloppybootstomp Greenwich New
    edited December 2004
    Dang, I was going to post the link that sforza did :D

    That's a deep article and whilst I don't necessarily agree with the views of the author it does explain the differences in a technical sense quite well.

    It used to be the case that most stand alone DVD players would only handle -R discs but not any more.

    My player (Toshiba SD-220E) is over two years old now and handles both formats OK.

    I was thinking of buying a dual layer writer, but here in the UK a 4.7Gb blank disc can be had for around 40p whereas a single dual layer disc is around £4.00. I shall wait.
  • danball1976danball1976 Wichita Falls, TX
    edited December 2004
    Pretty much all drives nowadays are mutli-format and can read and write to both +R/-R and +RW/-RW
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited December 2004
    Set top DVD players still prefer -R, despite claims that they support +R/RW, -R still boasts superior compatability in real-world testing.
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited December 2004
    profdlp wrote:
    Assuming he spent $60 on the discs, he could just about buy a new drive for that price and end up breaking even.

    Ouch, I just spent $20 on a 100 pack of 4x DVDs from Compusa.
  • PressXPressX Working! New
    edited December 2004
    Thrax wrote:
    Set top DVD players still prefer -R, despite claims that they support +R/RW, -R still boasts superior compatability in real-world testing.


    Every 10 -R packs I sell 1 +R. The pirates prefer -R as they know they get a lot less hassle. Proof in the pudding and all that... -R are cheaper to buy wholesale, although I sell them at the same price... £9.99 for 25 - All though we have just had some cheap ones in at £14.99 for 50. Waiting for feedback on those before I will buy more. :D as Thrax said -R for compatability. It is just like VHS vs BETAMAX
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited December 2004
    mmonnin wrote:
    Ouch, I just spent $20 on a 100 pack of 4x DVDs from Compusa.
    I was basing the $60 on the regular price for two packs of 50 8X discs. Of course, with every store in town seemingly always having at least one brand on sale you might have a hard time paying full price.

    Even so, if TheGr81's dad bought two packs like yours it would be worth it to slap a brand new $60 drive in there to use up his stock. :)
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