DVD-R....DVD+R?

I got a DVD burner for christmas and i'm trying to figure out what kind fo DVDR's i should get....i have found that there are 2 different kinds.....DVD-R and DVD+R....i have no idea what he difference is and i can't seem to find what the difference is either...so i'm wondering if anyone could tell me what the difference is?

Thanks

 

Bit of C&P'n.

DVD-R and DVD-RW
DVD-R was the first DVD recording format released that was compatible with standalone DVD Players.
DVD-R is a non-rewriteable format and it is compatible with about 93% of all DVD Players and most DVD-ROMs.
DVD-RW is a rewriteable format and it is compatible with about 80% of all DVD Players and most DVD-ROMs.
DVD-R and DVD-RW supports single side 4.37 computer GB* DVDs(called DVD-5) and double sided 8.75 computer GB* DVDs(called DVD-10).

DVD+R and DVD+RW
DVD+R is a non-rewritable format and it is compatible with about 89% of all DVD Players and most DVD-ROMs.
DVD+RW is a rewritable format and is compatible with about 79% of all DVD Players and most DVD-ROMs.
DVD+R and DVD+RW supports single side 4.37 computer GB* DVDs(called DVD-5) and double side 8.75 computer GB* DVDs(called DVD-10).

DVD-R are also cheaper, around £5.00 for 25 (Datawrite Prodisc Dye).

If I'm still talking jargon to you the pop over to www.cdfreaks.com and their forum is rather helpful

 

Dumb question...how do you know if their doubel sided? It will say it on the package...? Sorry forgive my stupidity.

P.S. I also just got my first DVD burner.....

 

And DVD-9 which at the moment is only in DVD+R which is dual layer. Cost about £3 each.

 

it depends on what burner u have... many seem to be +/-, but u have to check the stats. if only one format is compatible, go with that (hmm... i wonder why...?) if not, theres really not much of a difference. if ur wondering, see ashlvsya's post.

 

3 posts in the same second... wow... way too much time on my hands... but has anyone seen that before...

<edit> sry, i was reading the mins as secs ... sry for stealing ur thread</edit>

 

Double sided are not as common as single sided or dual layer. You should be able to tell because they will say and be more expensive [than normal single sided].

Just to confuse matters some other formats are:
DVD-14 double sided and one side also dual layer.
DVD-18 double sided and both sides dual layer.

Though TBH all you have to worry about is single layer (DVD-5, available in + and - formats) and dual layer (DVD-9, available in + format ATM).

I would try -R discs first because they are cheaper and more compatable (though this isn't really a problem anymore). Don't go by brands however, it is the dye used on the disk that matters (and decent stores will tell you), good ones are Ritek G04 and G05, CMC (not to be confused with CMM), YY (though beware of fakes), etc. There are plenty of sites that keep track of the latest dyes, check them out.

EDIT: uwannabigmak has a good point, lol. I just assumed that since you were asking about + and - that you had a +/- writer. What writer do you actually have?

 

I sugest using the DVD-R discs, they are more compatible with set top DVD players than the +s and usually are cheaper.

 

I use DVD-R with Ritek G04 dye. Very cheap and compatible with lots of stuff. Only 4X burn but thats fast enough for me TBH. My xbox reads them perfectly.

Ritek dyed DVD-R would be a good place to start. At one point they were the undisputed champs. They aren't as good as they used to be (apparently) but still work fine for me. See what works best for you.

 

-r have faster access times (and better compatability with dvd players), +r is better suited to use with pcs. the +r format is similar to how cd-r's word.

if your using the rw disks though theres not a big difference in compatability.
-r disks used to be cheaper (about a year ago), but tbh there isnt alot of differance. www.blankdiskshop.co.uk
www.bigpockerts.co.uk

http://www.bigpockets.co.uk/product...4-25&session=f40a3c74fd0b12f4768705e0151b67c4

http://www.bigpockets.co.uk/product...3-25&session=3cb62c9052ade78d95bbb523696bdba3

For some reason more people use -r i guess cus its been arround longer, +r is coming along quite well.

 

Due to my image host being down temporarily i will just provide a link to the drive on newegg.com, here it is:

DVD Dual Layer Burner

I think i'm going to go with just using DVD-R first....and i think i'm going to go with Ritek ink. Any other suggestions before i start burning random stuff?

Thank you for all the replies!!

 

the specs seem to indicate that you drive will do +R at twice the speed of -R ...

for RW I normally use +RW as (depending on your s/w) you can use as a "giant floppy", i.e. add & remove individual files - IIRC with -RW format you can only burn whole disc at a time

another good reference site: http://www.videohelp.com/dvd

 

also when choosing dvd blanks it's worth noting that you get what you pay for - there was a load of articles over here in the uk a few months ago about "dvd rot" which generaly concluded that if you're storing stuff you want to keep for quite a while (e.g. home movies, valuable data backups, etc) then it was worth going for the "big names" in discs, by which they meant Verbatim/TDK/Maxell etc