DVD Media

TomG wrote on 12/17/2003, 7:33 AM

I burn DVDs using a Pioneer A05 burner and therefore use the -R & -RW media. Does anyone know if there may be a difference in playing back the -R & -RW media on a consumer desktop player? Specifically, is the -RW media more prone to hangs than the -R media?

Thanks,
TomG

Comments

Peyton wrote on 12/17/2003, 7:42 AM

The -RW media are slightly less compatible than -R. More important is the brand. The best brands seem to be Apple, Maxell and TDK. Another tip is to leave the labels off of your disks. They seem to confuse some players.

More discussion in the thread "DVD-R won't play anymore?"

Cheers,
Peyton

TomG wrote on 12/17/2003, 8:20 AM

Thanks, Peyton... That thread had some good stuff. Still not sure if there is any difference in the reproduction success using -R vs -RW.....

TomG

riredale wrote on 12/17/2003, 8:38 AM

I would assume there is a lot of technology behind the reading of light and dark areas. I do know that I've seen DVD players read -R disks fine but can't do a thing with -RW disks. One of the reasons I bought a cheap little Apex DVD player for my workstation is because it could read my -RW disks (I burn to -RW before committing to -R).

Also, the label versus non-label issue is one of the hot topics these days. Every one of the 350 or so DVD-R disks I have created for distribution to date has had a label, and with only a couple of exceptions last year the disks have all been fine.

Jay Gladwell wrote on 12/17/2003, 8:57 AM

Based on my recent experience (nightmares) with DVDs, it seems that the greatest variable in the equation is the DVD player itself, not the media. The newest players (one of which I bought at Best Buy for $29!) play just about anything you put in them, short of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Anyone experiencing any playback problems with any DVD format I would strongly suggest they spring for a new player. I can almost guarantee that this will solve any problem they are having playing the discs.

J--

johnmeyer wrote on 12/17/2003, 9:10 AM

DVD-RW are definitely less compatible than DVD-R. I have a first-generation DVD player in my old Pentium 450MHz Micron computer. It will read Pioneer, Samsung, and several other DVD-RW, but not Princo. I burn them with a Pioneer A05.

TheHappyFriar wrote on 12/17/2003, 11:19 AM

I've had a strange quark with DVD+RW disks. If something is already on the disk (like an old movie), if the new things I burn on it takes up LESS space on the RW, my Apex won't read it (computer will, and other players are hit & miss). If I burn something with MORE space, it works fine. The solution is to re-format the disk if I'm burning something the same length or shorter then what's on there.