-R and +R ....doesn't it all come out the same?

[boden11]

I don't get the whole debate between -R and +R burners/media. Now from everything I've read, once you BURN the disc, it should be readable in any DVD-ROM drive and/or DVD standalone player. (Of course there are exceptions, mostly due to media and reflectivity rates and whatnot). So why does every single article I read talk about the conflicting standards and whatnot?? I mean it all works the same in a standalone, so why does it matter if you choose one over the other?? I guess eventually if one was to win out over the other, the discs of the 'obsolete' model might be expensive/hard to find. HOWEVER, considering -R was first, conservative buyers could always purchase a -R burner, expecting the larger user base of -R discs to negate any possible problems in the future.

Am I reading too much into this or not enough? I don't get the whole debate issue, it's all the same in the end. It'd be like arguing putting a slice of cheese on your burger while cooking or after its off the grill and letting it melt, it's still a frigging cheeseburger by the time you eat it (with melted cheese).

[SomeJoe]

Brian: Not a g*ddamned thing any one of those professors says makes a difference on the street.
Doug: If you know that, you're ready to graduate.

- Brian Flanagan (Tom Cruise), and Douglas "Doug" Coughlin (Bryan Brown), Cocktail, 1988

You're absolutely correct. The entire +R/-R argument is very overblown. In the end, it makes virtually no difference.

I have an HP 200i DVD+R/+RW burner, and a Pioneer DVR-105 DVD-R/-RW burner. The discs they both produce play just as well as the other everywhere I've tried.

[alexnoe]

DVD+ does not have a simulation mode

[gooki]

There is no war.

[mrbass]

There is a slight difference in size. I'm trying to get DVDShrink to change his default size so DVD+R users like me don't get left in the dust.
http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?&threadid=19056

blank DVD-R 4,489MB 4,706,074,624 bytes or 4.383GB
blank DVD+R 4,483MB 4,700,372,992 bytes or 4.377GB

[fslove]

In reality there is a difference if you are looking to play these discs on stand alone DVD players. Most players out there will play DVD-R discs but less will play DVD+R discs (i.e. my Panasonic RP91). You need to know what you will be playing back on before deciding the writer you want or you will be burning good DVD's that won't play on your player/drive. Also the DVD+R's I burn will play on my Sony DDU1621 DVD-ROM drive but NOT on my Toshiba SD-M1612 DVD-ROM drive.