As my iMac can burn any of these formats, which one should I use?
Are there any differences in quality?
Are there any differences in quality?
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DVD-R or DVD+R?
- Thread starter yoak
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I always try and go for DVD-R, because I think most older DVDs don't recognise DVD+R, so I figure DVD-R is a safer bet.
It's still confusing tho' - Damn those electrical companies and their multiple formats!
It's still confusing tho' - Damn those electrical companies and their multiple formats!
Not really both are pretty much the same. Some say one is better then the other but there probably isn't much in it. I'd just go for which ever format you find cheaper
DVD-Rs are typically meant for videos and DVDs.
DVD+Rs are typically meant for archival purposes, like backups.
Almost all of the new DVD players today will read either format fine. Older DVD drives might have problems with +R media, but are able to read -R just alright.
The advantages of +R over -R is that you can set DVD+R's booktype which allows the disc to be burned as a DVD-R.
Many old iMacs (CRT G3s) are known to not be able to read +R discs. (Though they will read +R media fine if the booktype is set to -R) The majority of discs I burn are DVD+Rs with the booktype set to -R. The +R media was cheaper than the -R media.
DVD+Rs are typically meant for archival purposes, like backups.
Almost all of the new DVD players today will read either format fine. Older DVD drives might have problems with +R media, but are able to read -R just alright.
The advantages of +R over -R is that you can set DVD+R's booktype which allows the disc to be burned as a DVD-R.
Many old iMacs (CRT G3s) are known to not be able to read +R discs. (Though they will read +R media fine if the booktype is set to -R) The majority of discs I burn are DVD+Rs with the booktype set to -R. The +R media was cheaper than the -R media.
DVD-R is part of the offficial DVD standard. DVD+R is not, though it is explicitly supported in the Wintel world. Support for DVD+R was recently added to the Mac. Given a choice between an official standard and a rebel format, I recommend the official standard.yoak said:
Basically you should be using -R media unless you have a specific DVD player which requires/performs better with +R media (and those would be from specific companies I think, like my girls Sharp progressive scan DVD recorder. Edit: she just told me her Sharp is -R only, not +R)
Check this from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD
The DVD Forum created the official DVD-ROM/R/RW/RAM standards and the DVD+RW Alliance created the DVD+R/RW standards. Since DVD+R/RW discs are not technically DVDs as per the DVD Forum standards, they are not allowed to display the DVD logo. Instead, they display an "RW" logo, even if it is not rewritable, which some consider to be deceptive advertising. However, they are readable by most DVD drives, so they are commonly referred to as DVD+R and DVD+RW.
The "+" (plus) and "-" (minus, dash) are similar technical standards and are partially compatible. As of 2005, both formats are equally popular, with about half of the industry supporting "+", and the other half "-". Around 90% of DVD readers (drives and player) can read the recordable formats, with DVD-R having the best overall compatibility in independent tests. Almost all DVD writers can write both formats and carry both the +RW and DVD-R/RW logos.
Check this from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD
The DVD Forum created the official DVD-ROM/R/RW/RAM standards and the DVD+RW Alliance created the DVD+R/RW standards. Since DVD+R/RW discs are not technically DVDs as per the DVD Forum standards, they are not allowed to display the DVD logo. Instead, they display an "RW" logo, even if it is not rewritable, which some consider to be deceptive advertising. However, they are readable by most DVD drives, so they are commonly referred to as DVD+R and DVD+RW.
The "+" (plus) and "-" (minus, dash) are similar technical standards and are partially compatible. As of 2005, both formats are equally popular, with about half of the industry supporting "+", and the other half "-". Around 90% of DVD readers (drives and player) can read the recordable formats, with DVD-R having the best overall compatibility in independent tests. Almost all DVD writers can write both formats and carry both the +RW and DVD-R/RW logos.
From my experience, which seems to be different from others, +R works best in DVD players. That is what I alwasy burn with.