Could someone please tell me the differnce between all the different DVD's available, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW? What is the differnce between them all and which one is the best to use? Also can all DVD burners burn all 4 of them? Thanks! Edit: How do I find out what kind of DVD burner I have? I dont know what kind it is exactly because it just came with my computer. I want to order some new DVD's but I dont know what kind my burner uses. How do I see what kind it uses? Also what is a good brand for DVD media? I see a lot of people talking about verbs. Is this them and is it a pretty good deal? http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t..._2/102-8320945-0772151?v=glance&s=electronics And I see everyone saying Memorex is so bad. What is so bad about it? Sorry for all the questions, I'm new to burning so I dont know much yet. Thanks!!!
In a nutshell, - and + are the creations of two different groups of corporations when DVD was being developed (technical differences are a moot point for the average user). Both formats will play in over 95% of DVD players with older players (3 years or more) favoring the - format. The + format can be booktyped to DVD-ROM for compatibility with all DVD devices. When it comes to RW, just read your equipment's specs to see which it supports. The major burners (Pioneer, LiteOn, NEC, BenQ, LG) will burn them all and support booktyping out of the box or with modified firmware. Personally, I prefer the + format booktyped to -ROM. The most important issue with DVD media is getting quality. I recommend Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim as the two best... Memorex is considered crappy because they use so many different suppliers and the quality varies greatly...
Ok thanks for replying! I think I have a Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-107D. Should it be able to burn all 4 types of the DVD's?
Check out this site for some info on your burner: http://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters...=&orderby=Name&hits=25&Search=Search&country= It'll burn both plus and dash format. The main thing is,some of those stand alones players are the ones who'll have the format compatability issues,rarely a dual format burner. It's best to try a small batch of quality media on both formats and play those backups in your stand alone/s and let them decide. Those verbs at amazon.com are pretty high. Office depot has 50 pack 16x spindles for under $20 if you have a local store.
@bamimami, welcome aboard! Memorex is not produced under the same quality tests as Taiyo Yuden, Verbatims, Maxells, FuJi's, and Sony's...the key is the look for the products produced in Japan. I burn Taiyo Yuden (purchased from supermediastore.com), Verbatims, Maxells, and FuJi (made in japan). I burn slow (as many do!) like 4x or slower. Your burner will be able to be adjusted right before you would burn anything. Also, in beginning I would suggest a couple of free programs that can be downloaded from ad and there are guides that go along with them. Dvd decrypter (no longer undated ut decrypts the movie as well as any), Dvd Fab Decrypter from www.dvdidle.com (does the same thing decrypter does but it is updated!), Shrink (Able to compress a Dvd 9 (most movies) to a Dvd 5 (single layer blank media). As you dive deeper into this new hobby you will hear of many more programs that many users recommend. Agin, Welcome aboard, use the guides and ask questions. We are all here to help. MovieDud
You might want to start with a small package of quality dvd-r media since dvd-r is more compatable than dvd+r with stand-alone dvd players and since your dvd burner is not capable of booktyping dvd+r media to dvd-rom (most compatable format). Dvd+r can be booktyped dvd-rom but dvd-r can not. Dvd-rom is most compatable followed by dvd-r then dvd+r. Most new stand-alone dvd players will play all three formats. There are several ways but here's an easy way. Download this free program http://www.vso-software.fr/inspector/inspector.htm tell us the make, model, and revision and I can check for any updated firmware available for your drive. Mort
Thanks so much to everyone who replied to me! I really appreciate it! I dont think I have a stand alone DVD burner, though. It is an internal burner, it came already a part of my Sony computer. Is that a stand alone? Is it ok if I use DVD+R's? Or do I have to use DVD-R's? And I have a Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-107D burner. It is only a little over a year old.
A stand-alone dvd player is the set top dvd player you use to watch your dvd's on your tv with. You can use dvd+r as long as they are compatable with your set top player but like I said dvd-r is more compatable than dvd+r on older set top players. Mort
Ok, I gotcha now. Sorry, I'm sort of dumb when it comes to thse things. I'll get some DVD-R's next time I go to Walmart and try those. One of my DVD players is about 1.5 years old and my other one is only 1 month old.
Those are both new enough they will probably play either format without any problems as long as you get some good, high quality media.
Ok cool, thanks for all your help! How about these? Do they look like a pretty good deal? http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do...queSearchFlag=true&Ntt=verbatim+dvd-r&An=text
Yes verbatum is top notch stuff. If you buy them, right after you open them load one in your dvdrw drive and use this free program http://dvd.identifier.cdfreaks.com/ to ID them. If they are made by MCC (Mitsubishi Chemical Co), then they are some of the best you can buy (if not the best).
What if they are not made by MCC? Are some of the Verbatims not made by MCC? Does that mean they are bad if they are not?
95% of verbatums are made by MCC. There's always that very slight chance they are not. If not post here what they are and we can tell you whether to keep them or take them back. You're not going to have much better odds of getting good media than with verbatum. No brand is a sure thing and some the odds of getting good stuff are a lot less. Most any media will work for backing up files but for video reproduction you need good, proven, high quality media such as verbatum, taiyo yuden, maxell, sony mij, fuji mij (mij = made in japan), branded ritek ridata, Stay away from memorex, HP, phillips, no name, and retail store branded media eg. staples, compusa. Keep the burn speed to 4x. Mort
Ok, I see. I understand, now. So would it be ok to use Memorex or one of the cheaper brands just for data? I have a 10 pack of Memorex and a 10 pack of Maxell and was wondering if they could be used to just store data?
Memorex is probably ok for data and the maxell's should be ok for video. Use vso inspecter or dvd identifier and tell me the media ID for both those brands. You never did give me the revision of your dvdrw useing vso inspector so I could check for a firmware update for it. Out dated firmware can cause problems too. Mort
Ok, I'll do that. Oh, I'm sorry. The revision of my DVD-RW? Where do I find that? Edit: Oops, I'm so sorry. I didnt see your post above talking about the VSO Inspector. I'll do that now.
