-r +r -rw +rw

[Dorsk81]

Hello all,

I apologize for what is probably a very simple question but my time available for reading up on the latest tech news has been cut drastically lately.

My question is what is the difference between + and - when refering especially to DVD burners. I know what the R and RW mean I just cannot figure out the + and - , and the advantages or disadvantages of each.

Thanks for your time

[TechZ]

In burning DVD-Video and DVD-Data media, I've noticed no difference interms of + or - Both work with all the dvd-players (standalone) and all the dvd-drives (computers) I've used.

They're just two standards and all new DVDRW drives can read/rewrite to both these formats. DVD Media companies, make both format media as well.

Good reading: http://www.videohelp.com/dvd (you will notice a few more formats such as DL & DVD-RAM)

Also for help in choosing the right media brand: http://www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia

[confus-ed]

The technical whatsits between the DVD+ & DVD- formats are far too hard for even me to contmplate a full explanation - its like the battle between vhs & betamax is about all anybody needs to remember, different manufacturers originally used their own 'sponsored' format (& on the original standards there were some appreciable differences in capacity etc, but after various revisions they are very similar), but now its simple, just buy a dual format burner ;) !

& then buy yourself one of each kind of dvd to test amongst whatever standalone players you might have to figure out which works best in them.

[slgrieb]

In my experience, DVD +R seems more compatible with stand-alone DVD players, followed by -R, with the rewrittable formats trailing way behind. The newer the player, the less difficulty it seems to have with any of the formats in general.

[confus-ed]

..The newer the player, the less difficulty it seems to have with any of the formats in general.

That'd be because most standalone players now are also dual format :thumbs:

[NooNoo]

My experience is that +R don't work in my standalone dvd players but the -R do.

You need to look at where you are going to use these burnt dvd's then make a decision on which media you need then.

Most dvd writers are dual format (and now dual layer) so you can burn anything you want... but not all players can play everything. videohelp.com has a list of what plays in what and is pretty accurate.

[TechZ]

My experience is that +R don't work in my standalone dvd players but the -R do. What model is your player? I got a Philips DVP642, a Grundig, and a Sunstech player. Both + and - work in all of them. I get only Imation 8x DVD media.

[NooNoo]

The model number is Dirt Cheap :D
mx11-35 (Maxim)
The other two are at the parent's house - an expensive sony and a stereo only dirt cheap beginning with Y. And yes I have looked them up and tested them... I am just pointing out that your experience isn't necessarily representative of all dvd players.

[confus-ed]

What model is your player? ..

One that won't read "+r" type disks :p :devil: - her experience seems to me 'representational' though :) - generally '-r' type disks work best in a random selection of standalone dvd's, it just depends how new those might be(so I'm not saying slgrieb's wrong earlier, he might just live in a market where there were more 'native' manufacturers who supported +r over -r) , once upon a time if you had standalone players that played 'any' dvd then you got 'real lucky' but now, nearly all seem to work 'with any old dvd' ..

[TechZ]

No doubt they arent guarenteed to work in all Players. Sometimes I've seen them write DVD+R only, and they've worked with DVD-R as well. Also stick with quality media, cheap/generic media (check http://www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia ) is quite bad with compatability, as I've seen for myself, regardless of - or +.

[slgrieb]

-ed, I expect it does depend somewhat on your location and market. Here in Bullwind, Texas, the cheap and common DVD players are Sanyo. My daughter's player is about a year old and can't deal with DVD-R format at all. Our newer Sanyo reads both media equally well.

[xpuser357]

I have a HP 300n DVD burner 4x, I cannot burn DVDr- with DVD Cloner
it has to be DVD R+.

[TechZ]

I have a HP 300n DVD burner 4x, I cannot burn DVDr- with DVD Cloner
it has to be DVD R+.
Thats because, its an older model, and back then the + vs - war was going on, as it is now between BluRay DVD and HD-DVD, but they realise after a while the consumer wants both formats, and eventually release drives that are Dual Format.

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/54645

Drive Information
------------------
Drive : HP DVD Writer 300n
Type : DVD+R/RW Combo Drive

Write DVD-R : No
Write DVD-RW : No
Write DVD+R : Yes
Write DVD+RW : Yes
Write DVD-RAM : No Its specifically a DVD+R drive.

[confus-ed]

Thats because, its an older model, and back then the + vs - war was going on, as it is now between BluRay DVD and HD-DVD, but they realise after a while the consumer wants both formats, and eventually release drives that are Dual Format..

That sounds a pretty good summary to me of how matters will pan out .. again :thumbs2:

[brvdon]

I have a compaq desktop with the HP DVD Writer 300n, i did not realise it would not burn DVD-R until i had spent money on discs (i know i know should have checked first lol)

My question is can i get any software that will convert this drive into dual burner?? (ie DVD+R and DVD-R)

Thanks for any help and advice that you can offer

B

[xpuser357]

No there is not any software to change it to - :devil:

[Atodini]

Hi brvdon, welcome to Windrivers...

No unfortunately there is not any way of converting this drive to dual format.

DVD writers are far less expensive these days and it would not cost the earth to replace the unit with a new dual format, dual layer drive.

John

[brvdon]

thanks for the replys. i bought some DVD+R discs and the drive now see's them.

My new problem is everytime i try to burn onto the disc it gets to the burning part of process and stops with error msg

'failed in performing power calibration.
Error DVD+'

I have read about this error and apparently it could be the drive, the computer or the disc (seems obvious i thought) and have tried a couple of tips i read...

1. updated drivers to latest version.
2. plugged the power source to writer only.
3. tried several discs.
4. cleaned computer and drive.

none of the above have helped and after several hours i am ready to destroy my computer with any random object i can find!

I have used these discs before in my drive and they worked fine for recording games and movies so i am at a loss as to what is going wrong.

My next step is to reboot the computer and start again (maybe that could work) but i cant back up my data and i really really dont want to loss all my data but cant see another option.

Any help or advice would be greatly appriecated

B

PS - it got past the error one time and said it had writen the disc but the disc was still blank once it had finished!?!?!?!

[confus-ed]

..No unfortunately there is not any way of converting this drive to dual format..

In theory for most units its just a matter of firmware, find some dual format firmware & away you go ..

[Motormouz]

I have used these discs before in my drive and they worked fine for recording games and movies so i am at a loss as to what is going wrong.

The same brand doesn't say anything. Your brand may have switched supplier and the dye on the disk may be different now.

The only thing you can do is to see if you can update the firmware on the drive. That usually gives better support for new disks. Or you can try out different brands to see if your burner likes those.

But you might go the route I did: buy a new burner :)
That will save you a lot of headaches.

[TechZ]

The same brand doesn't say anything. Your brand may have switched supplier and the dye on the disk may be different now.

The only thing you can do is to see if you can update the firmware on the drive. That usually gives better support for new disks. Or you can try out different brands to see if your burner likes those.

But you might go the route I did: buy a new burner :)
That will save you a lot of headaches.
Very true, never just go by the label on the disk, it can easily be a different dye, that makes all the difference.
www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia (http://www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia) <-- I check there, to be sure as to what media dye I'm getting from what brand.

[brvdon]

thanks for all the advice, i updated to latest firmware and it still did nothing so i binned it and bought a new burner. It was only 40quid and it will burn on everything ive tried so far :)

Thanks again