Cd+r, Cd-r, Dvd+r, Dvd-r ?????

[Amy]

What's the difference between all of these recordable formats?

I've got a CD burner on our computer, and so far we've been using CD-R's for music CD's and as a backup for digital photos. Don't know why we got the "-" R - I think the salesman at Best Buy recommended it.

We don't have a DVD recorder for our tv (just a DVD player), but now that they've come down in price, we'll probably get one (maybe for Christmas). I assume we'll need the DVD±R for that and keep using the CD±R for burning on the computer? What's the difference between "+" and "-"???

Thanks for your help!

 

[NewJersey]

CD-R means it's recordable for a CD burner. CD-RW means it's rewriteable for a CD burner, meaning if you burn pictures on there and want to go back and add more or erase some and add music, you can. With a CD-R, you can only record once and that's it. Its why RW are usually more expensive than R.

As for DVD-R and RW, I believe it's the same concept there.

Not sure about the plus/minus thing though.

 

[bicker]

It's not actually "plus/minus" -- it's "dash/plus" -- DVD-R is "dee vee dee dash are", while DVD+R is "dee vee dee plus are". The difference is just a matter of format: Like VHS and Betamax for videotape -- just two different formats, comparable but competing. DVD-R was developed by Pioneer and is supported by something called the DVD Forum, a standards group. DVD+R was developed by a bunch of other companies together (Dell, HP, Philips, Sony, etc.), developed deliberately to compete with DVD-R. Luckily, most DVD players support either format in playback.

 

[TDC Nala]

I have been copying some video files I made with a digital camera to DVD-R.

They play on the computer I used to copy them, but they will not play on my laptop. If I give them to people, I doubt they will play on their computers, either.

Anybody know which format I should be using? Or can I only play the DVDs on the computer that recorded them?

 

[bicker]

CDRinfo reports that DVD-R is 96.74% compatible, while DVD+R is 87.32% compatible. However, please recognize that such statistics are only meaningful in the abstract. If you're in that 3.26% where DVD-R doesn't work, then it is 0% compatible for you.

 

[Amy]

Thanks for the replies! So I really shouldn't worry about "-" or "+", but if I have a choice I should got for "-". And RW are more useful than plain old R.

CD for photos and computer files, DVD for movies on tv. Got it!

 

[bicker]

Uh.... RW (plus or dash) is much less compatible than R. It's principally for temporary storage, in cases where you'll most likely draw the data off the disc using the same drive as you wrote the data onto the disc.

 

[BeckWhy]

It appears that most of what everyone has said seems correct. I just want to add a little bit of info I know.

The people I housesit for have a DVD Recorder, and it will only record on one format (DVD-R or DVD+R), but not both. So if you buy one, make sure you check it out, and then don't accidently buy the wrong type. Many of the new ones support both.

There are also DVD Recordables Dual Layer. If you don't have a Dual Layer (DL) recorder they are worthless to you, DO NOT BUY THEM. Otherwise DL have 8 Gigs of space as opposed to the 4 Gigs of the regular DVD-/+Rs. I'm not sure how to use them though, because I don't have a DL recorder.

 

[Charade]

Fortunately, CDs only come in two styles (there are different storage capacities).

CD-R = write date to it ONCE (some programs will let you add data but once the disk is full, it can't be written to anymore).

Don't confuse the "-" in CD-R as a minus. It's just a dash.

The other CD type is CD-RW which means it can be written to, erased and written to again. Many many times. Again, the "-" is a dash.

DVD's on the other hand come in quite a few types.

DVD-R (the "-" IS a MINUS)
DVD+R (the "+" IS a PLUS)
DVD+RW(erase and rewrite)
DVD-RW(erase and rewrite)
These will only accept data on one side of the disk. The other side is for a label. They hold about 4.7 gigabytes of data.

The difference is the way the DVD is burned to hold data.

Most new DVD burners (PC) will burn both "-" and "+" and will play them as well.

Home theater DVD burners are a bit more restricted to their media type. Some are "-" only, some are "+" only. Some are both. Some will do +-R but not +-RW. Some will do all. It's important to read the instructions. Most home theater DVD recorders have that info on the outside of the box.

Be sure to buy the correct type. Brand isn't usually important but some recorders and players will refuse to record/play certain brands. If you find a brand it likes, just buy that brand.

 

[bicker]

Here's a great primer on DVD formats:

http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#4.3

Here are some important points:

There is insignificant compatibility difference between the "dash" and "plus" formats (see 4.3.6). There are much bigger compatibility differences between brands, so be careful about buying cheap discs.

There are lots of places where you can get information about which brands are best. Here's one:

http://www.cdr-zone.com/articles/recordable_dvd_quality_page_1.html

The ramification of bad brands is that more often your burn will fail, and of course the chances that in the long-term you'll lose your data increases. I stick with Ridata -- it's consistently the best price in the category.