What's the diff between DVD+R and DVD-R

[Holomatrix]

Hi, not to sure on why there is this ( + ) and ( - ) difference with DVD disks. Can someone please explain. What is better and if buying a burner what works best.
Thanks

[Remco]

Hmmm, I don't wanna go techno on ya so I'll keep it simple.

DvD+R was originally designed for data
DvD-R was originally designed for video

Nowadays the difference seems to fade.
Personally I would buy the Pioneer A05 (DvD Minus) or the Pioneer A06 (Dual format) drive.

gr.
Remco

[Ollie W. Holmes]

Originally posted by Remco


DvD+R was originally designed for data
DvD-R was originally designed for video


There is a difference in performance too. I have a 266MHz laptop and depending on whether a movie is burned on dvd+r or dvd-r, there is a huge difference in playback between the two, i.e., smooth vs. jerky. Dvd+r is much smoother. The drive reading the disc was designed for dvd-rom but can read both -r and +r formats. Who knows why it likes +r better? Another of life's mysteries.

[Holomatrix]

Ok, I didn't want to buy an older DVD-R burnder if DVD+R is better but I guess it would really depend on quality media too, right?

[StrawMan]

Originally posted by Ollie W. Holmes
There is a difference in performance too. I have a 266MHz laptop and depending on whether a movie is burned on dvd+r or dvd-r, there is a huge difference in playback between the two, i.e., smooth vs. jerky. Dvd+r is much smoother. The drive reading the disc was designed for dvd-rom but can read both -r and +r formats. Who knows why it likes +r better? Another of life's mysteries.

This must be your drive, because -R works great with mine.

[waldok]

Holomatrix,

I would say none is "better" than the other. DVD-R are usually cheaper, but DVD+R write 2.4x and it appears I had less playback problems on standalones with DVD+R. OK, you can find DVD-R at 2x and even 4x, but not all media are reliable and not all burners can write at this speed. I find +R at 2.4x quite convenient (about 20 minutes to burn a DVD).

All in all, after hesitating for weeks about it, I finally bought the sony DRU500A, which can deal with both +R and -R. I never did regret it. It is really convenient, allows me to try different brands in both +R and -R format. Price is not "that" high. Maybe you should have a look at upcoming dual format writers, price is likely to drop a bit.
But for me, the DRU500A never failed so I would still recommend it.

Hope this helps.

Waldok:cool: