dvd - and + questions

[SNAAKE]

whats the difference between just dvdr,dvdr-,dvdr+ ?? also I have some memorex 16x dvdr but I cant burn anything on these. maximum speed nero detects is 2.4 so I tried burning and it says "error illegal disc" but I am not even trying to copy anything..just burn data. I also have some compusa brand 4x dvdr they work fine on I can burn anything on them. I have the "maddog" brand dual layer dvd burner.

anything I can do here to make this work ?? are these memorex dvds defective or something ??

[Pi]

There's no DVDR. The original format is DVD-R, written like CD-R. DVD+R is an update to the original DVD-R format. The main change is slightly better initial access times, and a better error correction. Since DVD-R already existed, they just changed the minus for the plus sign. DVD+R is more recent, so old DVD drives (both for TV's and computers) will not recognize the +R discs, nor will be able to write to them. Finally, DVD+R is a propietary format which is not exactly part of the original specifications made by the DVD consortium, although the companies behind it all are part of such consortium.

Choosing one is easy. DVD+R gives you slightly greater performance, but don't think that DVD-R will corrupt your data or something. The difference probably is only noticeable in borderline cases. DVD-R is now slightly cheaper (at least around here), and has better compatibility. Just choose your priorities.

As for your Memorex DVD's, I'd swap them for other DVD's with someone else. Chances are that they're just incompatible with your toaster. I've had the bad luck to see many disc-burner incompatibilities, even when using good brands. It's just a matter of luck, chances are that the discs are in perfect shape, but just not usable with your exact model of burner. I was once talking with a MPO representative some years ago (MPO is a big digital reproduction company from here) and he told me they were developing their own CD's and they worked with all burners in market except *one* and they didn't know why. It's just like that, too many combinations, some will always fail.

[Thenasty]

Its almost sound like finding the right girl for you. Some will fail and with a little luck, you get to find the right combo that your compatible with 


Need to go thru that cheesecake thread again..... 

[Pi]

Not really, just make a decision: blonde or brunette. In the end I don't think it does matter much unless there's a feature which really makes the difference for you: money, availability, console stuff (DVD+R doesn't work for a certain console). Just for the record, I always use DVD+R for me, and DVD-R for friends.

As for compatibility, you say it, it's a matter of luck. The difference with girls is that DVD burning *should* work, while you never have any guarantees that anything will work out with girls. When DVD burning works, it's the normal thing. When things with a girl work, then you are in heaven
Both give great feelings of frustration and pain when they don't work anyway

I forgot to mention that DVD+R allows for greater writing speeds (if drive and disc allow it).

With formats, it's always the same deal, specially if companies are trying to get all the cake instead of a portion. I guess most of you can remember (or have heard of) the videotape wars, VHS vs Beta and Video2000. VHS, not being the best, still won. With CD's it was fine (on the surface), but now they're back on it with Blue Ray vs HDVD or whatever the name is. Consumer is always the loser.

[DrumAnBass]

For me it was an easy choice as my Onkyo 6 disc DVD changer doesn't recognize DVD+R but has no problem with DVD-R. If you plan on burning video DVDs test your primary DVD player that is hooked up to your TV.

[thebrownshow]

http://www.videohelp.com/dvd

Also, that site is great for finding media that will work with your burner.

[Jabba]

The timing on this thread was great. Had the exact same question.

Sounds like DVD-R are the best all around from a compatability perspective.

Nice explanation there Pi!

[Harry Potter]

Definitely -R all the way. As far as compatibility is concerned, it rules. 

[lordtodd75]

I would just google to see what format your burner/player is compatible with and use that. Ofcourse it sux when your burner is -r and your player is +r, which is what happenned to me. 

[Barry Barcrest]

Strange as it may sound ther colour of the underside of the disc also seems to play a part.

[Pi]

Strange as it may sound ther colour of the underside of the disc also seems to play a part.

That's because each brand uses a different chemical composition for the recordable layer. Each type of layer has different colors, like blue, green, golden, etc. Lately the most popular is blue, although the exact composition is different from each brand (and most of the times, slightly different from month to month). I don't remember what element does it have to make it blue, the green one was copper IIRC. The blue type seems to be the most sensitive and durable nowadays, I guess that after many years of experimenting and seeing the results in zillions of discs, they've improved the formulas. You can still get other colors like green, but mostly on CD and not DVD, because each type has a different sensitivity and some formats don't need as much as others.

[Harry Potter]

-R is usually  purple and +r is usually blue. Dual layer is pretty much the same colour and RW is grey.

I would just google to see what format your burner/player is compatible with and use that. Ofcourse it sux when your burner is -r and your player is +r, which is what happenned to me. 

Didn't know they still made format specific drives. 

[coasternuts]

Is DVD## compatible with my #### DVD player?

Go here:  http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers

FYI.

[hyiu]

I read this site, and it seems like it contains pretty good info...

generally speaking, dvd-r is more widely compatible...

http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm
 

[SirPeale]

Weird...everyone saying -R is more compatible.

I've had the opposite experience.  Of the three DVD players in my house, only one will read -R.

+R burners seem to be the easiest to work with.

Cool Guy burns literally hundreds of DVDs a month. He has all kinds of problems with -R, but welcomes +R with open arms.

*shrug*

[crashwg]

LOL! Peale, your avatar is headbanging to Symphony of Destruction which my GF is currently playing on Guitar Hero.  It's pretty funny and actually lines up well for a few seconds at a time.

As for the topic at hand, I personally prefer DVD-R.  Whichever you choose, I would just sugest that you get a good quality brand.

Personally, I only burn Taiyo-Yuden DVD-Rs.  Yea they're about 60

[SOAPboy]

As for your Memorex DVD's, I'd swap them for other DVD's with someone else. Chances are that they're just incompatible with your toaster. I've had the bad luck to see many disc-burner incompatibilities, even when using good brands. It's just a matter of luck, chances are that the discs are in perfect shape, but just not usable with your exact model of burner. I was once talking with a MPO representative some years ago (MPO is a big digital reproduction company from here) and he told me they were developing their own CD's and they worked with all burners in market except *one* and they didn't know why. It's just like that, too many combinations, some will always fail.

Memorex has a 6 million disc quota, first 2 million are made by company X and branded memorex, Company Y is now cheaper, memorex gets the next X milllion from them.. Repeat for the lifecycle of that company..

You could simply just be having random bad luck on batches. or have crazy picky hardware.

Weird...everyone saying -R is more compatible.

I've had the opposite experience.  Of the three DVD players in my house, only one will read -R.

+R burners seem to be the easiest to work with.

Cool Guy burns literally hundreds of DVDs a month. He has all kinds of problems with -R, but welcomes +R with open arms.

*shrug*

100% Agreed

+R isnt only newer, but its the new standard..

-R is on its way out, and every writable compatable drive out there be it a dvd drive for a pc, or a stand alone dvd player for you home, or hell even a dvd player for your car, is most likely +R compatable..

[thebrownshow]

-R is on its way out, and every writable compatable drive out there be it a dvd drive for a pc, or a stand alone dvd player for you home, or hell even a dvd player for your car, is most likely +R compatable..

Just curious why you think DVD-R is on its way out, and why you think that PC dvd drives, stand-alone dvd players, and car DVD players are NOT -R compatable.  Numbers seem to say that -R is more compatable:

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).
These formats are supported by DVDForum.

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).
These formats are supported by the DVD+RW Alliance.

You may personally like it better because of whatever experiences you've had, but claiming something like that just seems a little off-base.  I've used DVD-R exclusively since I got my burner a few years ago, and I've had great success with it. 

[SOAPboy]

-R is on its way out, and every writable compatable drive out there be it a dvd drive for a pc, or a stand alone dvd player for you home, or hell even a dvd player for your car, is most likely +R compatable..

Just curious why you think DVD-R is on its way out, and why you think that PC dvd drives, stand-alone dvd players, and car DVD players are NOT -R compatable.  Numbers seem to say that -R is more compatable:

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).
These formats are supported by DVDForum.

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).
These formats are supported by the DVD+RW Alliance.

You may personally like it better because of whatever experiences you've had, but claiming something like that just seems a little off-base.  I've used DVD-R exclusively since I got my burner a few years ago, and I've had great success with it. 

I didnt say they WERNT i said they were + compatable, Please read and understand before telling me im wrong, because im not..

+ is here its going, - will be around but you wont ever see anything that says - only anymore.. Dual layer is getting cheaper now anyways, soon itll just be DL


DVDRHELP while a nice site (aka Videohelp) is also counting damn near every dvd player from the beginning of time.. im talking now and future here, not early 2000

[thebrownshow]

Please read and understand before telling me im wrong, because im not..

Might want to lower your defenses there a little bit, buddy, was just a friendly little discussion.  Usually when people start a sentence with "just curious why you think" it doesn't mean "H3Y, j00 r t0tally wr0ng, n00b!"  I was looking for the rationale behind your opinion, perhaps you knew something I didn't...

[SOAPboy]

Please read and understand before telling me im wrong, because im not..

Might want to lower your defenses there a little bit, buddy, was just a friendly little discussion.  Usually when people start a sentence with "just curious why you think" it doesn't mean "H3Y, j00 r t0tally wr0ng, n00b!"  I was looking for the rationale behind your opinion, perhaps you knew something I didn't...

Sorry, i get a bit defensive here.. Every idiot and their brother seems to gun for me anytime i have something to say.. Consider this an appolgy

[mccoy178]

Am I the idiot or the brother?

[Pi]

It's all much simpler than that. DVD drives (be them players, PC drivers, burners, whatever) before 2004 are all DVD-R compatible. They can't handle DVD+R because the format wasn't developed for consumer products yet. Most DVD drives after that can handle DVD+R. Specially after 2005, one can say that 95% of any DVD product supports both formats, what has been called the DVD

[Harry Potter]

Whatever works for the burnee is the best.

Myself I use -R cause they're shlightly cheaper and easier to get. When +R is as cheap or cheaper, then I'll switch. I got no loyalties to companies who cause these damn format wars.

I do know people who use +R and will berate other people for using anything else.
All I have to say to that is a quote from a not-so-famous sort-of-song: It's the horse, not the horse ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---
(In this case that means what matters is the content of the DVD, not what it's made out of).

[ErikRuud]

It's all much simpler than that. DVD drives (be them players, PC drivers, burners, whatever) before 2004 are all DVD-R compatible

I don't know that that is true either.

The DVD drive in my work issued (circa 2001) IBM T23 laptop does not like DVD+R at all.  It will usually play DVD-R, but I often have problems stuttering audio.  I never have trouble with commercially produced DVD's.

I have good luck burning with Memorex DVD-R's and ESA DVD-R's.

[Pi]

It's all much simpler than that. DVD drives (be them players, PC drivers, burners, whatever) before 2004 are all DVD-R compatible

I don't know that that is true either.

The DVD drive in my work issued (circa 2001) IBM T23 laptop does not like DVD+R at all.  It will usually play DVD-R, but I often have problems stuttering audio.  I never have trouble with commercially produced DVD's.

I have good luck burning with Memorex DVD-R's and ESA DVD-R's.

That's what I said. You are using a 2001 drive. It doesn't like DVD+R, in fact there's no way it would work with it. It works with DVD-R (sometimes, more on this later). Reread my sentence, that's exactly what I explained. The fact that it's a quite early drive might explain the problems you have with recordable media. You need specific laser light sensitivity to read properly. While DVD-R was designed to be compatible with existing readers, they couldn't cover 100% of the products. After DVD-R had a wide release, new products had decent lasers, valid for DVD-R (most of the times).

[ErikRuud]

Your sentance said "DVD drives (be them players, PC drivers, burners, whatever) before 2004 are all DVD-R compatible"

And I am saying that my 2001 drive is not really DVD-R compatible.

[Pi]

Your sentance said "DVD drives (be them players, PC drivers, burners, whatever) before 2004 are all DVD-R compatible"

And I am saying that my 2001 drive is not really DVD-R compatible.

Sorry, my fault. I didn't want to imply *all* DVD products. Just the ones which were ready for recordable DVD's. It's known that old hardware simply doesn't like recordable DVD media even DVD-R, and they can't simply understand the DVD+R format.

[Harry Potter]

How's this for an older product.

A friend of mine still has his Toshiba DVD player from 1998 which states in the manual that it will NOT play recordable media.

So far it works with every DVD-R brand (and Verbatim -/+ DL), several DVD+R brands and even Imation DVD-RW (+RW failed).

If anyone wants a high level of compatibility, best to stick with name brands. My choice is either Pioneer, Panasonic, Sony or most recently, Samsung (They don't just make toasters  )