DVD + - which way to go?

[Skippa]

I've been wanting to buy a DVD burner for some time now and been
wondering what to buy. I've gathered info about what the differences are
between the + and - format but I've also been told contradicting info by
salesman about what they do and ultimately which way to go.

I want a DVD burner mainly to archive important data. But I also want a
burner that would let me create my own DVDs that would play in a stand
alone DVD player. Certain salesman told me that the format didn't matter
and that both would make it possible to do the two things I wanted. Some
told me to go with a + burner, others with a - burner. One told me that
it wasn't certain yet which way the market was gonna go, + or -, so he
couldn't really recommend anything. He told me to go with the Sony one
that supports both (maybe he just told me that to get me to buy a more
expensive burner). Anyway... For what I want to do which is:

- Archive data
- Create my own DVDs that would play in a normal DVD player

What would you recommend? + - or one that does both?
Also, any specific DVD burner you could recommend?

TIA for any suggestions.

 

[Cyde Weys]

I've been wanting to buy a DVD burner for some time now and been
wondering what to buy. I've gathered info about what the differences are
between the + and - format but I've also been told contradicting info by
salesman about what they do and ultimately which way to go.

I want a DVD burner mainly to archive important data. But I also want a
burner that would let me create my own DVDs that would play in a stand
alone DVD player. Certain salesman told me that the format didn't matter
and that both would make it possible to do the two things I wanted. Some
told me to go with a + burner, others with a - burner. One told me that
it wasn't certain yet which way the market was gonna go, + or -, so he
couldn't really recommend anything. He told me to go with the Sony one
that supports both (maybe he just told me that to get me to buy a more
expensive burner). Anyway... For what I want to do which is:

- Archive data
- Create my own DVDs that would play in a normal DVD player

What would you recommend? + - or one that does both?
Also, any specific DVD burner you could recommend?

Honestly, just go with whatever's on sale at the time. Most set-top DVD
players should play all formats, +, -, R, RW, what have you. The only
thing I can think of is if you want to play DVDs on a PlayStation2, they
have to be in DVD-R format. Other than that, just go for what's cheapest.

 

[dm]

I had a similar debate.

From what I've read, there's no winner so far. Both + and - seem to have
somewhat equal market share, prices, capability. There's no clear reason to
choose one over the other.

My inclination would be to recommend a drive like the Sony that supports
both + and -, then you don't care who wins down the line.

However, given that there are already many burners for both + and - out
there, and media prices are pretty close, articles I've read say that its
unlikely that either media will ever go away. The next better format will
probably show up before one of these goes away. There's blue light DVD with
capacity of 30 gig is in the works but there's infighting going on with the
standard (what else is new!). First burner is available for $3800.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-984520.html

In my case I ended up buying a + drive because it was 1/2 the price of any
+/- drive I could find locally. They have a + drive on sale for $150 at
Staples locally. The stores around here seem to carry mostly + drives so I
assume that format will be around for a while. Microsoft has also explicitly
sided on the + camp.

 

[Calvin Crumrine]

The only



My PS2 plays fine with CD+RW

There is no CD+RW. The plus formats only apply to DVD's.

 

[Paul]

Check out the Iomega Dual +/- Drive. Just bought one for £170 - works
brilliantly on my old PIII 500 PC. No playback probs so far with quite a
few standalone players in our household.

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[J.Clarke]

I had a similar debate.

From what I've read, there's no winner so far. Both + and - seem to
have somewhat equal market share, prices, capability. There's no clear
reason to choose one over the other.

My inclination would be to recommend a drive like the Sony that
supports both + and -, then you don't care who wins down the line.

However, given that there are already many burners for both + and -
out there, and media prices are pretty close, articles I've read say
that its unlikely that either media will ever go away. The next better
format will probably show up before one of these goes away. There's
blue light DVD with capacity of 30 gig is in the works but there's
infighting going on with the standard (what else is new!). First
burner is available for $3800.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-984520.html

In my case I ended up buying a + drive because it was 1/2 the price of
any+/- drive I could find locally. They have a + drive on sale for
$150 at Staples locally. The stores around here seem to carry mostly +
drives so I assume that format will be around for a while. Microsoft
has also explicitly sided on the + camp.

Best bet right now, if you can find one and if it works as well as other
products by the manufacturer, is the LGE GSA-4040B--it's the only drive
I know of that writes all the common DVD formats--+/-R/RW and DVD-RAM.

Only one vendor is listing them as yet, and they show it "on-order" for
$225. Probably worth waiting a bit for.

 

[David Brewster]

I have a multi format burner and have been experimenting with + and -
formats.

I have a Panasonic portable player which reads anything.

I also have a recent model Toshiba player but this will only play the -R
format (a friend has a different Toshiba model that plays +R)

From my experience go for -R to get the most widespread compatability.

David B

 

[John]

I should have said that I did have a Pioneer A03 burner and the -r's could
not be played in a multitude of players. My family has between us 5 DVD
Players. In addition I have a DVDR1000MkII +R/RW Recorder. Everything I
have burned on +R/RW plays on everything including an old pick Sony DVPS525D
player.

Yeah thats my experience. Well not with the - because no one I know
has the - . Everyone I know has the + and we havent found one player
yet that couldnt play the + including various old players. Thats why
Ive alaways thought the - zealots were exaggerating a bit , repeating
what others said about - and + compatiblity whther it was true or not.

-R's most will play, but there is some really c**p media out there.
The + format doesn't seem to have as many in my experience. e.g.
Princo -R's are rubbish and I often wonder why peopl go to the bother of
spending so much time flashing their firmwares just to play these. We had
this 18 months ago with normal speed discs now we are seemingly going
through it again with the 4x media. Why - just get decent media in the
first place or switch dare I say it to the + format. Just my tuppence
worth.

Thats another thing I suspected. You do see cheaper - media but +
media - all brands are supposed to be guaranteed tor record at 2.4
speeds when - brands were a mixture of 1x and 2x disks with probably
some 1x being sold as 2x out there.

Of course both are 4x now so its different now.

At CDFreaks I think or CDR Info I forget which - theres an article by
one the people there where he says the + is superior and goes into the
reasons why. Of course the feedback there disagrees. And frankly in
general I could go either way though of course I hope + wins since I
have a plus already. Not that it matter since Ill probably be
upgrading in the next 12 months.

 

[Markus]

However, given that there are already many burners for both + and - out
there, and media prices are pretty close, articles I've read say that its
unlikely that either media will ever go away. The next better format will
probably show up before one of these goes away. There's blue light DVD with
capacity of 30 gig is in the works but there's infighting going on with the
standard (what else is new!). First burner is available for $3800.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-984520.html

any idea when these will be widely available for reasonable prices?

 

[Calvin Crumrine]

Ya I know, sorry I mistyped. I meant DVD+RW...

'Sall right-happens to the bset of us.

 

[Buckaroo]

Well, you have a very problematical sample of players. I have A03 A05 A06
and NEVER EVER had
trouble with -R.

 

[Paul]

I don't agree - as I said the only probs I've had have been with
Princo -r's. -r's recorded on all other media have been perfect. I deduce
therefore that it is the Princo's that are problematic - indeed c**p I'd
say - not my players. Prico's refused to play back when recorded on my A03
and refuse to play back when recorded on my new Iomega Dual. I have one
left - tell me where to send it and you can have it.


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[abekl98034mypants]

I've been wanting to buy a DVD burner for some time now and been
wondering what to buy. I've gathered info about what the differences are
between the + and - format but I've also been told contradicting info by
salesman about what they do and ultimately which way to go.

I want a DVD burner mainly to archive important data. But I also want a
burner that would let me create my own DVDs that would play in a stand
alone DVD player. Certain salesman told me that the format didn't matter
and that both would make it possible to do the two things I wanted. Some
told me to go with a + burner, others with a - burner. One told me that
it wasn't certain yet which way the market was gonna go, + or -, so he
couldn't really recommend anything. He told me to go with the Sony one
that supports both (maybe he just told me that to get me to buy a more
expensive burner). Anyway... For what I want to do which is:

- Archive data
- Create my own DVDs that would play in a normal DVD player

What would you recommend? + - or one that does both?
Also, any specific DVD burner you could recommend?

TIA for any suggestions.

-----------------------
I went with the Pioneer DVR-A06, in the full retail packaging (does
both +/-) and 4X. For the few extra bucks it was worth it (to me) to
play it safe. The Sony DRU-510A (retail)/DW-U12A (OEM), which has the
exact same features as the Pioneer drive, is a good drive also, but
the Pioneer has a clearly sturdier tray mechanism.

The drive has been working flawlessly for me with a variety of media
and burning programs.

I got mine at AccuPC.com. $241 +$8 Fedex 3 day shipping.

If you don't mind a bare drive, allmediaoutlet.com sells the DVR-106,
(OEM version of DVR-A06) for $215 w/free ground shipping or $218.50
for Fedex 3 day shipping.

I mention these 2 places because I've had good buying experiences with
them. You can find the drives for $3-$5 less on Pricewatch.com, but I
tend to be loyal to places that consistently provide fast, error-free
service.



(Remove mypants to reply by email)

 

[BRanger]

I have made 700 Pinco baseed discs at 1x 2x and 4x....only two or three
discs were bad or
after burning failed to play on set tops. You have something wrong,

buddy.

Should we all bow down to your obviously superior PC abilities?

B

 

[Mark Leuck]

Get a combo drive from Sony, Pioneer or Plextor and have both formats

I have an older Pioneer A03 that supports -R, works great

 

[Buckaroo]

Absolutely.

buddy.

Should we all bow down to your obviously superior PC abilities?

B

 

[motecrepodibotte]

Get SONY DRU 500

the best DVD+-RW

Get a combo drive from Sony, Pioneer or Plextor and have both formats

I have an older Pioneer A03 that supports -R, works great

 

[Robert Baer]

Get SONY DRU 500

the best DVD+-RW

That is exactly what others said, so i got the DRU-500AX due to the
discount available at the time.
However, the software is shit - just toss it and use something else.

 

[SirScrub]

That is exactly what others said, so i got the DRU-500AX due to the
discount available at the time.
However, the software is shit - just toss it and use something else.

Amen!

4 more days till Nero 6 Ultra (unless you've already got it off the web)

 

[dm]

I've read a mess of stuff lately about the two formats. I've found several
articles that claim that + is superior. Apparently, technically, its not
really supposed to be even close.
I don't remember all the benefits, but the biggest one it that + has a
stronger addressing scheme to let the laser know where it left off writing
if it gets interrupted. It can start back up in exactly the right spot with
minimal effort and the resulting DVD doesn't behave any differently. Its so
good at this that you can use it in packet writing mode without affecting
the medias playability. DVD- on the other hand has to use a 32k segment to
link segments that have been recorded at different times. This can cause
compatability problems, so the best suggestion is to write it disk at a time
and don't interrupt it.

Biggest compatability issue I've heard of with DVD+RW is that DVDs
apparently have a book type field in the leadin. In their infinite wisdom
(or lack thereof), they decided to write DVD+RW instead of DVD-ROM. Some
players specifically check for DVD-ROM and refuse to play a DVD with
something else there. Many DVD+RW burners let you change the recorded book
type, but some don't, including NEC, Sony.