Should I buy DVD-R or DVD+R Media ?

[gregg]

I just got my first DVD writer that came with my Dell system.

It is 16 X Philips. Writer

Without knowing, I bought some Re - Writable DVD +R/W and it worked.

When I went to buy plain media for it, there were two kinds available.

DVD-R or DVD+R

I am confused as to which one should I buy & why ?

Thanks
Greg

 

[chunkymonster]

I've used both DVD+R and DVD-R and have the best compatibility results from DVD-R...of course, that also depends on the DVD burner and the DVD player you're using it in...for the most part, either media should work in recent stand alone devices and DVD ROMs, but as I said, I've gotten the best compatibility results from DVD-R.

Good luck!

 

[gregg]

That depends on which one your TV's DVD player prefer.
If both works then go for the cheaper of the two. DVD+R is normally the cheaper one and can be booktyped to DVD-ROM providing your burner supports such function.

I want to use it for backing up my data on my hard drive. I do not have a TV DVD Player. Just computer DVD ROM & DVD Writer.

I am also going to buy another DVD writer for my second PC. I am thinking about Sony. Do I need to mention any special specs like DVD+/- or anything else ?

I have a choice of LG OR Sony both are same price so which is better ?

Thanks

 

[Datman]

I use +R, it's been good for me & it's better for data but I don't think that really matters anymore..
Burn at a 1/4 of your DVD burners top speed for best quality.

Try & buy a Pionner, Lite-on or Asus burner instead, no prefference.
But Sony if you have no other choice.

 

[guruof3d-is-for-kids]

DVD-R works for me
I have a old Panasonic dvd player (A-320)
I use "Shink 3.2" and Nero 6
Never had any problems

 

[uninspired]

The DVD-R / DVD+R thing was a lot bigger a few years ago. Drives were more finicky than they are now, and some only worked with one type or the other. It's even less important, since, as you mentioned, you don't plan to burn DVD movies for watching in a home entertainment DVD player.

Decent media of either type should work without a noticeable difference...

-uninspired

 

[gregg]

I use +R, it's been good for me & it's better for data but I don't think that really matters anymore..
Burn at a 1/4 of your DVD burners top speed for best quality.

Try & buy a Pionner, Lite-on or Asus burner instead, no prefference.
But Sony if you have no other choice.

(1) Does that 1/4 speed apply to data too ?

I burned some data DVD-RW at 4X speed with the 16X burner & it took almost 45 min to an hour to burn.

So I am thinking about buying 16X DVD-R now.

Please comment.

Also only Sony OR LG is the only choice I have.

(2) Does Nero burn Long file names ? Most of my file & folder names are more than 212 characters with some upto 250 characters. So right now I have to use Sonic Software & UDF format to burn them.

Before I used to use ISO Level II to burn CDs using Sonic software.

Please help with this too.

Thanks

 

[Datman]

Does that 1/4 speed apply to data too ?

For best quality & life of the burnt disc & data integrity, DVD's still only have a limited shelf life also.
If you don't need to keep the data for very long then burn at 8x.
From my experience the +R's burn in half the time of the -R's at the same speed. I don't know why & people I have asked don't either.

Also only Sony OR LG is the only choice I have.

Are they OEM or boxed? Sony OEM is rubbish, the boxed is better (because of firmware).
I've heard of LG's failing at about the 1 year mark too often.
Any of the brands that wusy & I have mentioned are a far better choice.