DVD+R(W)

[chendagam]

I'm thinking of purchasing a new G5. I notice that ths super drives are still only DVD-R(W) and not +R(W). Will they (G5's) eventually ship with combo drives +/-RW or is the -R format a safe bet?

John

[brett]

from www.xlr8yourmac.com yesterday:

Latest comments on Panther/10.3 DVD+R/+RW Support - Over the last few months several Pioneer DVR-106 drive owners have commented that the Panther dev. versions have native support for the drive (also noted by a Dual G5 owner which had that model as the OEM Superdrive). One of today's drive db additions from a Pioneer DVR-106 owner commented on Panther/10.3 (beta) support for the drive and DVD+R/+RW media. (Without having to use Toast.)

" Just installed a Pioneer dvd+/-R/RW DVR-106D with firmware 1.05, in my dual 800 G4.
I am running 10.3 7B59, and its working as a charm. Native support in iTunes, iDVD and Toast. Bootable off course.

The coolest feature is that its supported without any hacks or workarounds, AND 10.3 supports DVD+RW discs! Just finished burning a DVD+RW disc with DiscBurner.
Recommed it to everybody. "



For those running 10.2.6, the FAQ's DVD and CDR section has a modified Pioneer device plugin file for this drive. (Some DVR-106 owners however have reported some problems such as lack of buffer underrun prevention in Toast 5 when burning DVD-Rs, buffer underrun errors burning at 4x with DVD-Rs, etc.)

Personally my dream "Super" drive (to date) is the Plextor PX-708A (8x DVD+R, 4x DVD+RW, 4x DVD-R, 2x DVD-RW and 40x CDR, 24x CDRW, 40x CD read speeds). It sells from $250 to $289 usually for the IDE retail box version (lots of software for PC but none for Mac in the internal drive box - FW/USB model has Toast 5 lite).
Toast 6 has the 8x DVD burn option and appears to fully support the drive - although no native iTunes, etc. support for it in 10.2.6. (I hope apple supports this drive eventually in Panther - otherwise I'll try editing the panther support files as noted in the Misc/OS topics page article from late June on Panther burn support/editing.)
DVD+R 8x media isn't easy to find currently (Ricoh is reportedly shipping now as of late August), but some have said that certain brands of DVD+R 4x rated media will burn at 8x in this drive. (This cdfreaks.com page commented that 4x media that can be written at 8x are manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical (Verbatim), Ricoh and Taiyo Yuden but I have not personally verfied that.)
The PX-708A drive has a ton of nice features, and for once is a DVD burner with much higher rated CDR/CDRW speeds than previous "superdrives". (A nice bonus for those with only a single drive for DVD burning and CD burning.) I just wish there was native support for it on the mac by Apple (hoping it will be eventually). The Plextor PX-708 has the features for a really "Super" drive.

well, i guess that doesn't really answer your question. anyways . . . .

[galactica]

WEll what it does tell you is Panther can support +r/rw disks *WITH THE CORRECT DRIVE!

Typically macs come preloaded with -r/rw drives. To be honest I dont see what the big deal is. -r/rw is the more compatible cross all platforms and all external dvd players.

The g5 comes with a superdrive that most likely will nativly support -r/rw drives. HOWEVER! if you opt to sell that drive and put in one of your own, say A106 (unless for some reason they ship with this drive, i have no clue what they come with because i dont own one)

SO, currently you would have to wait until panther came out and most likely put in an after apple superdrive to get the +r/rw support

My guess is WAIT! until panther is shipping and it shipps with the G5's (that way you wont have to buy it in addition to your G5)

[the future]

I've read that the superdrive in the new G5s is a Sony model supporting DVD-R/RW as well as DVD+R/RW.

[chendagam]

I'm still confused as to why DVD+R is on the market. I read on this site that DVD-R is more compatible (96.74%) with stand-alone DVD players and DVD-ROM drives. Is it that important to have a DVD+R writer? It seems as though it's getting harder and harder to find DVD-R discs in the retail stores...it's all DVD+R. What's going on?

[galactica]

Good question really. Actually, you are right about there being more support for -r/rw disks

Most likely the reason you see less in the store is not that they dont have any, its just they are selling more than the +r/rw disks that are sitting around.

to be honest, WHO CARES!
use what you want. If you want the hastles of +r/rw on your non g5 then go ahead and welcome the struggles
if you are lucky enough to get a g5 with dual support, knock yourself out, and get +r/rw disks.

honestly its personal preference.
hope that helps some.

there is an ongoing debate about to -r +r differneces in the Media Forum, so you can look there if you want more info.

[ZeroSix]

The +R/+RW is a better format, but the -R/-RW standard was adopted and on the market long before the +RW was. As Galactica stated, it is a matter of preference, however, if your DVD player supports all the DVD formats, and your drive can do them all, I would go for the -R for video, and +RW for data.




Hope this helps.