DVD -/+ R/ RW ????Does it matter

mutley74

as previous people may know i have been asking various question son this baord, in my quest to learn more about PCs, before i order my new onenext week.

Another stumbling questing after reading the recent post on burning DVDs, is there is a difference between DVD-; DVD+, R and RW

All i wish to buy is a DVD rewriter that will copy all/most DVDs for playing on home DVD player. Can anyone explain the - to a +s?

miketebb

As you probably know, a DVD-R is recordable, and DVD-RW is re-recordable.

The minus and plus suffix relates to different standards (a bit like the old VHS/Betamax video battle). I believe DVD- is the Sony version and DVD+ is Philips, but could be wrong.

Anyway, different DVD players will read and or write to different formats of DVD. Some however will be happy with either format. The pre-recorded DVD's you buy in the shops are DVD-video which will play on any machine.

You need to make sure that the format used by your PC will be okay on your DVD player (refer to the manual).

Whether one format or the other will win out in the end is anyones guess of course.

mutley74

Thanks for the reply. You make it sound all so simple.
Yes it was the ‘ – ‘ and ‘+’ I was confused by. But while you are at it, what is the difference in hardware in terms of recordable, and re-recordable??

I understood that in terms of CD blank discs, but not in terms of the hardware used to perform the copying.

greatkingbowser

Yeah pretty much what Mike said.

Though I've heard that DVD+R/DVD+RW are more compatible, but don't quote me on that.

Also, you may want to look into what DVDRW drive will come with your PC as many DVDRW drives can have their firmware upgraded. You need to know what you're doing though as it can be risky, i.e. dead drive. But basically upgrading your firmware can allow such things as multi-region support and the ability to burn both DVD-R and DVD+R and -RW, +RW respectively.

Take my Dell Inspiron 8600 laptop, it came with an NEC 6100A DVD writer, the writer is compatible with the 6500A firmware which allows me to burn both + and - DVDs as well as multiregion support.

Might want to take a look at the following website;
http://tdb.rpc1.org/

Note: Flashing your firmware may void your warranty. Not entirely sure on that one. But you could always flash it back to the original firmware I assume.

Anyway, hope that helps somewhat.

GKB

EDIT - In terms of R and RW, +/-R discs can be burned once. +/-RW can be burnt infinite times.

mutley74

which is the preferable DVDRW to buy

a DVD-RW (Acer) or an DVD+RW (Dell)?

Joe_Bloggs

Buy your own DVD. If you buy from a direct PC seller you will tend to get old DVD products that are inferior to what you could buy today from the leaders in the DVD market. The same is true for nearly all the components contained within the PC.
J_B. (In a DIY do it better mood)

mutley74

maybe i will make my own pc, butmaybe after learning a bit more them first.

need to buy a package within the next 2 weeks at present.


to make a DIY pc, how does one start? is there a book or website to use for help?

Joe_Bloggs

There is nothing wrong with buying a PC from a major PC vendor. The problem lies in that they sign contracts for stuff at least six months in advance for all their components and by the time it eventually come to market it ends up, past its mid market mediocrity sell by date. No wonder it appears cheap.
@chipz you have to decide what you want your new PC for. The big vendors tend to cater for the middle of the road maximum profit for them.
J_B.

theloft

BEST METHOD FOR BACK-UP

Would you recommend the use of DVD or CD rewritable for back-up purposes. I too get really confused by the constant stream of new formats on the market. I backed up some stuff with my computer on to CD-RW but then when I went to write over it, the computer would not do it. I am told that one needs a formatting packet, whatever that is ? Anybody who can give guidance to a poor senior computer duff (not buff) would be appreciated.

::) ???

taxi97w

:P
This is an ongoing process. The more you find out the more you need/want to know. You will be posting till the cows come home at this rate; I would recommend borrowing some books from the library to get a basic overview in the first instance, and then go on from there. PC magazines are good for up-to-date ideas, although they cost somewhat.
::)

blinky

The one in the Dell will almost certainly be a rebadged NEC with modified firmware to restrict it to + format.

It's relatively easy to change the firmware so it also supports the - format.

-R(W) discs are generally slightly cheaper.

+R(W) discs can be book typed on some writers. This makes them appear as DVD-ROM discs, improving compatibility with older players which won't play +R discs.

Most modern players support both formats.

Only the +R supports Dual Layer writing at the moment (= Double capacity). The cost of dual layer discs is simply too high at the moment though (£5 / disc).

+ format was developed by Philips
- format was developed by Pioneer