The impressions I'm getting are nobody cares what the format is as long as it works and looks good. I use the -R myself as I have not purchased the newer dual burner yet. What I really like is the new Sonic Record Now DX software for burning (old Prassi).

JJK

Personally i can't imagine how +R could produce a better quality image than -R. It's digital data. The player can either read it or it can't. If the player can read the same video from both +R and -R discs then the image on the TV will be identical.

You won't see a difference in visual or audible quality between +R and -R formats. The dye formulation and assembly proces in the discs are the most important physical quality of those discs. Yes, -R is more compatible than +R, and it's the only standard sanctioned by the DVD Forum. If you want to create the most compatible DVDs, use high-quality -R blanks and encode audio using AC3 (or PCM).

There are no diffrences in video quality between +R and -R it's all 1's and 0's. DVD-R is the industry standard format and is the only one approved buy the official DVD Forum (the people who wrote the DVD spec) +R is more targeted for consumers that are under the false impression that it is better becasue there is a + instead of a -.
Also sticking with the -R format your discs will be the most compatable for ALL DVD players that are out in the world today.

There are other issues at which +R is superior, but not to do with video or compatibility.

Compatibility differences in set-tops are small and generally have more to do with older machines. Nobody's done a definitive test; the ones I've seen were small and/or not done very well. Neither format "wins" all the time, and they generally come out about equal. That is for end-users, though. For mastering and replication I'd go with DVD-R too.

I don't think consumers go for "the + factor"; rather it's the generally faster writing speeds. They're impatient folk ;-)

JJK - I also like the Record Now DX software - I didn't know it was a replacement for Prassi.

It came on a "My DVD" disc which was part of the package when I bought a new Lite-On Plus/Minus Burner. I didn't initially bother installing this, then I found that DVDA only detected the burner when it contained a + DVD.

Fortunately, I discovered the Record Now DX program on the disc, and this has no problem burning the DVDA folders to + or -.

Peter:
Sorry for the hijack, but how has your LiteOn DVD writer performed? Any compatibility problems? What blank media are you using? I'm planning on buying one myself.
Thanks in advance.

Looks like a recent test shows -R to be slightly more compatible. Again, with 46 machines tested (about half set tops) it is limited, but it's among the better tests I've seen.

Still, it depends on how you work and what you need. For example, one +R burner made disks that worked fine in every set top player they tested.

GrizzlyIke said:
> DVD+R produces slightly better quality while the DVD-R is more compatible with various
> players. Is this a correct assumption on my part? I plan to use DVD+RW for backing up
> data and Vegas files. Any alternatives? Thanks for your help again.

I have only recently started DVD burning. I had read that DVD-R worked on more players so I bought into that - $1.20 AUD per disk. Got a lot of glitches - e.g. bits of pixilation, jumps, temporary 'sticks' before continuing, one track not playing to the end etc.

I then bought more expensive brand name disks - TDK DVD-R at $3.00 AUD per disk. Same thing happened - wasted my money.

I then played both disks on my PC using Power DVD XP that came free with my burner. Both were perfect in every way.

So - off to buy DVD+R at $5.00 AUD per disk. I had bought packets of the others but I just bought 1 of these. Works perfectly. i.e. the problem appears to have been with my Samsung home DVD player rather than the quality or type of disks.

Conclusion? You might have to do a lot of expensive experimenting. If you have customers, you might have to go to the place where their DVD player lives and test out one of every kind of variations that you have in your complete set of demo DVDs that you have prepared.WHen you find the one that works you can build that for your customer.

Tedious, eh?

TVCmike said:
> You won't see a difference in visual or audible quality between +R and -R formats.

Not true! See above.

Several other letters also said that DVD+R was not better, some suggesting that +R was more of a come-on for the more gullible. However, clearly my case says there's more to it than that.

Regards,
Neil Porter

The Lite-On has performed faultlessly so far, both with + and -.

I've tried it with a few brands, TDK, Princo, and just received a new batch of Ritek (+ and -) as recommended by many, and no problems.

It won't record + discs lower than 2.4x speed, but that seems common.

As I said, DVDA only finds it if it contains a "+" disk, and my previous general burning software, B's Recorder, doesn't find it at all, but the Record Now DX software is a nice package and works faultlessly with the drive.

Oh, and the Lite-On model I have is the 411S. Up to 4x speed.

"Oh, and the Lite-On model I have is the 411S. Up to 4x speed."

Or 8x, if you take the risk of flashing it with an 811 firmware...
http://short-circuit.zapto.org/ftopic2.php

Interesting, jester - I didn't realise that such things were possible.

Not for me, though, with fickle things like DVDs, 4x is plenty fast enough.

Dual format is nice to have. It does appear that -R is more compatible with a few % more machines but I have seen cases where a +R disk worked where a -R disk did not. I usually use -R as my baseline for giving out disks.
I use +RW for backups of various data files. I use +R when a -R does not work (not that there are not that many cases where this helps...).

I never use -RW.

Its all in the set top player you purchased. Some have problems with DVD-R and some have problems with DVD+R. No big deal. Just do what you have to do. But I would listen to the people who crank out hundreds of these things at a time.

JJK

> You won't see a difference in visual or audible quality between +R and -R formats.

I saw what you wrote above. Source yourself a Verbatim DatalifePlus 4.7GB DVD-R disc or a Mitsui/MAM-A Gold Archive DVD-R and try again. The TDK discs are rebadged Riteks which are hit-and-miss in quality though usually TDK filters them out pretty well. The generic discs are complete crap and I wouldn't trust them. The "-R" format is the only format sanctioned by the DVD Forum. The problem could also be in your burner or your burning software. Don't be so quick to blame "-R" as a format.

T'd agree,
I've struck quite a few problems with STBs that will not play +R and now stick entirely to -R, but I do use good quality -R media, I pay around AUD4 per disk in spindles of 50 and have very few problems.
My biggest clients is now burning 100s op copies off my masters, again without problems.

Would like to bury this question in here for obvious reasons.

If I wanted to make a back up copy of my DVD , what should I use ?

I've seen mention of copying DVD to disk and using virtual DVD player, and guess frame serving is a possibility, and have seen a post where someones problem was because they made a backup and were working with it.
But some clean and easy ways to do this would be good for me.

Try visiting www.doom9.net

"Interesting, jester - I didn't realise that such things were possible."

Actually at CES I believe, Pioneer took a A-06 drive, did nothing but change the firmware and it was able to write to a dual layer disc 8.4GB I believe. I'm hoping that's all we have to do when these monsters come out is update the firmware instead of having to buy a new drive.