DVD-Rs less available in stores

[navatweb]

I have been scouring BestBuy/CircuitCity/OfficeMax/OfficeDepot/BJs for DVD-Rs, and have found that they have better deals on DVD+Rs than DVD-Rs. Stores appear to carry a lot more DVD+Rs and have more mail-in rebates etc on these disks.

It appears that DVD+R is winning the battle of standards. There are more DVD+R,DVD+-R burners also in these stores.

[tompika]

DVD+R is winning the battle

That's really great!!!
So can we celebrate now?


That's what you meant with this post????

[garryheather]

SVP here in the UK has clearly stated recently that they will stock both formats so long as there is demand... so with me around recommending them and exclusively using their supplies, that's DVD-R secure in England at least !

[navatweb]

I own a DVD-R drive and am very happy with it. I decided to buy a DVD-R disk last year after looking at the DVD-R/+R closely, and decided DVD-R was the way to go.
I am just dismayed that I cannot find the DVD-R disks at good prices in local stores. I have been ordering online, but that is not convenient always. I currently need 4X DVD-Rs and ordered some online, but they have still have not arrived after 1 week.

My post is not to start a flame war. People on the site should have the best info there is, that's all.

[Gazorgan]

Did it ever occure to you that there are specials on DVD+R because they are not selling. Did it ever occur to you that they don't have DVD-R becasue they are always sold out?

#1 Rule of retail: You don't mark something down that sells well, there's no point. You markdown/discount items that aren't selling as well. Loss-leaders don't count ( the 10 units/store of some 4x DVDR burner for $99 after 3 MIR's).

[smearbrick1]

Can we stop with the DVD-R DVD+R war/battle/who's winning posts? I am tired of it! People will buy what they buy! Besides, who cares what office max/depot/staples is selling? I never buy media from them. Their prices are rediculous. www.allmediaoutlet.com is a great place to buy any media/cases for that media, and usually shipping is free. You usually receive the items within days! NO this is not an advertisement for the aforementioned company.

[SLK001]

Have you ever thought that the reason that there are very few DVD-Rs on the shelves is because the demand is so high that the stores can't keep them on the shelves?

And depending on BestBuy/CircuitCity/OfficeMax/OfficeDepot/BJs to be technology "gate keepers" is pretty silly.

[manosteele12]

Every time I look the DVD+R's are the majority of what they sell because they all only sell DVD+R drives or +and-. It seems like because the media is more expensive there gona screw you over by not giving you a choice and only selling+R.

[navatweb]

When I bought my DVD-R last year, DVD+R drives were more expensive, as were the few +- drives. I decided to buy the pioneer DVD-R burner because it was cheaper and I knew it would not matter what format I use because DVDs would play in my DVD players.
One year later, it is no longer true that DVD-R drives are cheaper. They are the same price. And because retail stores mostly carry DVD+R or +- versions, it is reasonble to assume that most of their customers will get +Rs.
It is not that -R sells better and stores are unable to stock them. They just don't carry much of -Rs. I am not sure what the reason is, but that is what I have found.
Online is a different story altogether. I do not have any difficulty finding DVD-R media at good prices online.

[oldfart13]

Don't know where you are but the stores where I am in Canada can't keep -R's on the shelf. As soon as a shipment comes in to the big retailers like Futureshop, Staples and Wal-Mart, THEY ARE GONE. However...if you want +R's, they are just sitting there even as I speak. I haven't been able to get quantity out of the small retailers either since in many cases their employees are buying the disks as soon as they get them, leaving nothing for their customers. Hey, I'd love to get an LG/Hitachi multidrive since they are now what my A05 cost some months back ($400CAD), but that's so I can use the DVD-RAM with the Panasonic E80 I also plan on getting. The -R burner I have now suits me just fine. The Panasonic with it's -R/RW/RAM will suit me fine. I guess our experiences are different, no?

[courtrrb]

Here in the US (Iowa) I can find the DVD-R's at Target, Walmart, Kmart and just about eveywhere I look. The price avg about $23.00 per 10 disk box with or with cases with all brands about same price.

[coyote]

OK, first of all...everyone is going to sell both because at this point the market has enough people with -r and +r.....so yes...THE WAR IS OVER.....nobody one....its a STALEMATE.

And to the point that because you can't find dvd-r because they are always sold out......that's interesting logic.....with that logic betamax beat vhs cause I can never find betamax tapes in the stores. :P

[Synergy]

Ah, I just love it when people like to use their personal observations to generalize the world. Ritek alone currently produces close to 80% of the world's DVD+R discs, yet they are more expensive in Taiwan than the DVD-R discs because most 4X +R discs are exported to the US so BestBuy and Target can stock their shelves and have them on sale for US$1.20 per disc. On the other hand, I can hardly find any high quality 4X DVD-R discs in those same retail chains (except for crappy Memorex 4X DVD-Rs made by CMC), yet people in Taiwan pay about US$0.85 or less per disc for Ritek made 4X DVD-R discs. So I suppose people in different countries would form very different generalizations based on very different observations. Just some random thought.

[Cornucopia]

I don't know, you must be in the WRONG region of the country. I have no trouble finding DVD-R's or DVD+R's (at roughly same $ and usually in same quantities) anywhere--CC, BB, Sam's (this one's +only), Walmart, Walgreens!, OfficeMax, OfficeDepot, Staples, KMart, Meijer even some gas stations. (Living in Central Illinois, US)

Scott

[defense]

gazorgan said:

Did it ever occure to you that there are specials on DVD+R because they are not selling. Did it ever occur to you that they don't have DVD-R becasue they are always sold out?

#1 Rule of retail: You don't mark something down that sells well, there's no point. You markdown/discount items that aren't selling as well. Loss-leaders don't count ( the 10 units/store of some 4x DVDR burner for $99 after 3 MIR's).

And just like SLK and OldFart said....the same is true. Seems like people only look at the most basic things when trying to convince themselves DVD+R is a better format. Look at the real facts which others have stated.... -R simply doesn't stay on the shelves. It hasn't since I got my SONY DUAL FORMAT BURNER which I did when they first came out. Even then, when media was the same price in most retailers for BOTH formats.... the -R's were CONSTANTLY sold out! That's why there have been so many DVD+R "ONLY" sales as of late.

As I've said before countless times in these type of posts....wait until a major retailer has a sale on BOTH formats.....go there towards the end of the day and see how many DVD-R's you'll find compared to the DVD+R's. If it's a good sale, chances are you won't find a single batch of DVD-R's....or if you need media and really want to find out. Buy your DVD+R's early in the morning and make it a point to go back towards the end of the day. Find out yourselves.....you'll see the more popular format.

[Bob W]

There is plenty of both formats here in Reno, Nevada. In fact recently I bought 50 CompUSA brand DVD-R for $1 each then a week later I bought another 50 at $0.70 each (1x media burns just fine at 2x on my Sony).

[coyote]

as I said before.....both formats are in fine shape.

And checking out the sales won't help if the stores order more of one brand from the distribution point then the other.....if you really care this much check with the store to see which they are ordering more of.

If I walked into a store and saw they were out of an item....it wouldn't mean much if they only ordered 2 of them in the first place.

[Metaluna]

I have not seen this "+R's gathering dust while -R's sell out" phenomenon that everyone seems to be claiming. Everytime I'm at retail chain like Best Buy the two types seem to be about equally depleted, even when there are no sales going on. As coyote said, it's impossible to draw any conclusions from this without knowing how many the store had in stock to begin with or whether there are other factors affecting supplies. Only the store managers know for sure how much they are selling per month.

[oldfart13]

Again, I don't know where you are but you CAN ask to see how many units were ordered by the chain, how many are in stock and how many sold. Most of the sales people you despise will cheerfully do this for you...or maybe I have stroke and you don't. At any rate, it's still looking bad for the stores in my area (Wal-Mart, Futureshop, Staples and Superstore) with only a few packs of DVD-R between them and a ton of +R sitting there. And they are the same price for the same brand either + or - (ex. Staples sells the +R or -R Verbatim 2X Datalife 3 packs for $18.95/pack; Futureshop sells the Maxell 2X +R or -R 5 Pack for $22.95, etc.). If you say that the +Rs are selling better in YOUR area, that's fine. They are selling lousy in MY area. Just my observations since I have friends who work for the stores or I used to work for the stores and can get that kind of info.

Oh, and as far as Betamax, you can still buy tape. Radio Shack and Canadian Tire still had them for sale as of earlier this year. I still have a ton of unopened ones that I probably will never use but I still use my Betamax to transfer old TV shows over to SVCD or DVD. The Beta units have held up quite well all things considered. However, I have at least 6 dead VHS units sitting in my garage that are not worth getting fixed...

[daredevil]

In france, blank dvds are hard to find in retail stores.
Both formats. And at high price (7 euros is the cheaper in the stores) .
We have to buy it in other countries to have good prices, and I noticed that there is more choice with dvd-r.
But even if dvd+r wins the battle (I don't think so) I already have more than 200 dvd-rw and I can wait and see for a while.
The battle will not end before one or two years, the burners are going to be cheaper and I will buy the winning format at the end of the war.

Now, one question : do you think that the dvd burner you have bought will work fine at the end of the war?

[manosteele12]

I shop in augusta GA. or Columbia SC, both big cities and if I go in Bestbuy, Walmart, Target, or CompUSA every burner is a +R and they have one or two types of -R media on the shelf next two 50 types of +R media. IT SUCKS.

[navatweb]

Ditto in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina. BJs does not even carry -R disks, and as another post pointed out, neither does Sam's.
I don't find any -R drives in CircuitCity/BestBuy/OfficeMax/OfficeDepot. Very few brands of -R disks.
Other people report a different experience. May be it is a "South" thing. But it is hard to believe that these mainstream stores offer substantially different product at different places across the US.

[ebenton]

But it is hard to believe that these mainstream stores offer substantially different product at different places across the US.

Unlike fast food restaurants, which get the majority of their products dictated by the "Home Office", other types of stores allow their managers a certain amount of discretion in what things they sell in their store. They may not have a choice in some things, such as which brands of TV they sell, but they do have some choices regarding the non-"big ticket" items.

[schwinn]

It does look to me like in the short long run DVD +RW will win out perhaps. However many people are now buy the dual type drives which burn both types of media. In the long run there is a new type of DVD coming which will they hope replace both of them. Having said that I recently saw info that indicated that DVD-RW holds 80 percent of the market in drives sold and being used by people. Which might explain why DVD -RW disks disappear fast from the shelves at many stores. There is no doubt the big chains are all pushing DVD +RW Mircosoft has backed this formate so are we surprised?

[ktnwin]

There is no point to argue about DVD-R and DVD+R. You will buy what you need to buy anyway. I am sure that most folks are happy with their choice. As long as it's cheap and works, then who cares.
It's true that more DVD+R are available at Frys than DVD-R. I never buy from them anyway, the price is ridiculous. I found a local store where I can buy 1X DVD-R for 95cents, 2X DVD-R for 99cents which is cheaper than online store (after shipping cost added). Plus, I do not have to wait.
This store does not carry DVD+R which surprise me !!!
In the long way, things will settle down and by that time, I will have to buy a second DVD burner anyway for my newer system (yet to come).

[poopyhead]

sorry...got really bored reading all the middle posts...so sorry if i rehash what someone else has said...

-------------

yes, most of the good deals lately are with DVD+R and dual format burners and with +R media....however, that's ONLY CURRENTLY...

the -R came out before +R, so total market penetration still belongs to -R, even though +R lately may seem to be more common.

[bebrewer1]

Ditto in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina. BJs does not even carry -R disks, and as another post pointed out, neither does Sam's.
I don't find any -R drives in CircuitCity/BestBuy/OfficeMax/OfficeDepot. Very few brands of -R disks.
Other people report a different experience. May be it is a "South" thing. But it is hard to believe that these mainstream stores offer substantially different product at different places across the US.

You can't get any further south than where I'm at and I can find -R media at all the big chain stores (BB, OD, OM, CC), including Sam's with no problems. The issue is usually that the quality -R media doesn't go on sale that often.

That said, it does look like Best Buy is going to be running a 50 pack of Fuji DVD-Rs (either 2X or 4X TY) for $69.99 starting this weekend. I'll stock up on that if it's not a rebate item ESPECIALLY if the first spindle that I buy turns out to be 4X

[Gregg]

I have a DUAL format burner, my DVD player plays EVERYTHING I throw in it, so I DON'T CARE about any formats!

Enjoy!

DVD-R is winning...

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Articles/Specific.asp?ArticleHeadline=DVD%20Media%20Fo...Tests&Series=0

[hoyboy]

Well I have just purchased a A06, and I am having trouble getting ANY media for it. I think I must be one of the first people to get a burner in my area- so it is pissing me off trying to get discs- haven't even tried +R's yet