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G5 Dvd +- Rw

A

agdickinson

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 17, 2003
102
3
Marston Green, West Midlands, UK
Got my G5 Dual today, and thought I'd try out a DVD+RW with Toast 6 Titanium out of interest and it worked ok :D Yippe that means I can use either:

DVD-R
DVD+R
DVD-RW
DVD+RW

All with my Mac, a lot of stores have stopped selling DVD-R and instead are selling DVD+R. So that's quite good news. Albeit Finder cannot Format/Write to the discs. But still good :)

Not sure if anyone else has noticed this.

I have a : Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-106D in my Mac.

Anyone else noticed this, or am I 5 months behind the times :)

Andrew
 
Not sure what the physical difference between the + and - formats are, even though I've heard it explained several times.

Basically, some players can read one or the other, while some can read both. Which format you burn to depends on what player you're planning on playing it on. The DVR-106 just gives you the choice.

DVD-ROM which is what commercial DVD movies are on can be read in any player.
 
I assume that disk copy or the new disk utility as it appears in 10.3 are capable of writing to and formatting DVD-/+RW's. Never used an RW except in CD form so can't personally comment but it would be a poor deal if it couldn't.
 
Finder and DVD+RW

Well I've just checked and Finder can read DVD+RW quite well, though I'm unable to Write/Erase a disk.

So I have to use Toast 6 Titanium in order to do it.

I believe the formats are in relation to how the data is written to the disk. I think Phillips had one standard and Sony the other. I'm probably wrong, could somebody correct me please. :)

The drive, at least the one I have :

Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-106D
Firmware: A606 / MMC-3

Seems to handle DVD +/- with ease, which is really nice :)

Any one else tried it?

Andrew
 
In very general terms: The two + formats (+R and +RW) have some features that make them a little more convienent for writing data from a computer--built-in buffer underrun-style protection, for example.

The - formats are a bit more simple, but as a result at least DVD-R is much more likely to work in older DVD players than DVD+R discs. That's the reason that Apple decided to go with -R, and why I always buy -R media--it's just more likely to work properly.

For writing data, however, the + formats are probably a little bit better, though it would seem that the finder doesn't support them natively yet. I guess I should go buy a blank disc and see what it does.

Every normal store I've been to recently seems to have both formats for sale (Staples, Sears, Longs Drugs, K-Mart), and I've noticed no preference one way or the other.
 
Originally posted by crazzyeddie
Ive noticed that +R is much easier to buy... usually 10 different brands or packages of +R to every package of -R.
Click to expand...
Probably because it's being pushed so much. DVD-R is the better format. That's what Hollywood uses, so that's what almost every player is able to read. There are a couple of +R readers, but virtually all of them read -R. +R only exists because I think it's Pioneer and Sony want to get royalties off of it, so they're trying like hell to make it happen. Though I hear they've created a drive that can burn 8GB DVD+R discs, which, if true, might severely change the game.
 
Originally posted by LimeLite
Probably because it's being pushed so much. DVD-R is the better format. That's what Hollywood uses, so that's what almost every player is able to read. There are a couple of +R readers, but virtually all of them read -R. +R only exists because I think it's Pioneer and Sony want to get royalties off of it, so they're trying like hell to make it happen. Though I hear they've created a drive that can burn 8GB DVD+R discs, which, if true, might severely change the game.
Click to expand...


What do you mean "that's what Hollywood uses"? The DVDs you buy in stores are replicated media, not burned (so they are neither + or -). They are pressed from a glass master just like commercial CDs are.


Lethal
 
Personally I feel that the + format has some VERY good pluses over the - format. Especially the +RW, which allows single file additions or removal. No matter where the file is on the DVD. In other words "ghj.doc" is in the middle of the written section of DVD, +RW technology allows you to actually erase ONLY that file, or even update it if you were to change ghj.doc. Also while orginal tests showed -R to be the most compatible that is no longer true, +R is compatible with more set top players than -R. Oh and he's right about Hollywood not using DVD-Rs, MPAA's overpriced coasters are pressed not burned.

I suggest DVD-R Digest (dont know the URL just google for it) to learn the differences both good and bad of +/-R/RW
 
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