-r +r -rw +rw

**Dorsk81** · November 18th, 2005, 12:36 PM

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** · November 18th, 2005, 02:18 PM

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** · November 18th, 2005, 02:51 PM

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** · November 18th, 2005, 04:17 PM

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** · November 19th, 2005, 03:44 AM

Originally Posted by slgrieb

..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

**NooNoo** · November 19th, 2005, 06:30 AM

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** · November 19th, 2005, 07:38 AM

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** · November 19th, 2005, 07:52 AM

The model number is Dirt Cheap

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** · November 19th, 2005, 07:59 AM

Originally Posted by TechZ

What model is your player? ..

One that won't read "+r" type disks

- 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** · November 19th, 2005, 08:11 AM

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** · November 19th, 2005, 03:37 PM

-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** · November 19th, 2005, 10:25 PM

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

**TechZ** · November 20th, 2005, 04:18 AM

Originally Posted by xpuser357

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** · November 20th, 2005, 05:22 AM

Originally Posted by TechZ

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

**brvdon** · December 11th, 2005, 07:12 PM

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