OT: Which is more compatible... DVD+R or DVD-R?

PH125 wrote on 1/16/2005, 12:42 AM

I have been using DVD+R for my projects for about a year now and I've never had complaints. Although for future reference I was just wondering which format is usually more compatible with the spectrum of players out there, + or -

Comments

Steve Mann wrote on 1/16/2005, 12:48 AM

Even though there's only two competing formats, you'll get as many different replies as there are people burning DVD's.

I use both, +R and -r, whichever is cheaper at the time. With more than 200 DVD's delivered in the past year, only one came back because it wouldn't play in the user's five-year old DVD player.

Every DVD that I deliver comes with a note that if the DVD player is more than two years old, the disc may not play.

Steve

scifly2 wrote on 1/16/2005, 1:16 AM

I just got a new 16x double layer burner from Mad Dog Multimedia. The dvd's burned with it will play on players that previously would'nt, regardless of which ( + or -) type media.
The manual explains that it put information in the lead-in section of the disc to identify the disc as DVD-ROM providing " the greatest possible compatibility with existing and older devices".
So why didnt they do that before? Whatever it works. Im copying my past projects with it and they are now working in every player i put them in.

TorS wrote on 1/16/2005, 3:07 AM

>>>So why didnt they do that before?

They did. DVD Architect 1.0 burned DVD+R media as DVD-ROM on my old NEC 1100A. By default.

I have no -R burner, so I don't know what goes on there. But from my reading I am led to believe that the reflectivity of DVD+R and DVD-ROM is identical, and that makes it possible for the one to identify itself as the other to the players.
Tor

pb wrote on 1/16/2005, 6:15 AM

I'll echo what others have said: there is no real difference. A few months ago DVD+R 2X burned a trifle faster but with regard to compatibility, the only problem I ever had was playing stuffed +Rs on a Koss unit that has a Karaoke feature.

I've mixed Verbatim + and - for 500 unit duplication jobs and got zero returns.

Peter

ScottW wrote on 1/16/2005, 7:29 AM

The booktype can only be changed with +R media; -R doesn't let you do this. if your booktype was getting set to DVD-ROM for your +R media then it was a function of your burner, not DVDA.

riredale wrote on 1/16/2005, 10:40 AM

The general word on the street last year (and echoed in several articles) was that the -R format was slightly more compatible. But that was then. I have no idea how things are now.

Although my more recent burners (Pioneer) can do both formats, I have never done a +R disk.

scdragracing wrote on 1/16/2005, 12:42 PM

booktype is not an issue with dvd-r, it's only a problem with dvd+r... so you can't change the booktype with -r because there is no need to... but you do have to worry about book type with +r.

i would stick with -r media if i were you.