Just bought my first DVD burner, need some advice please

[belveder]

I just bought a Pioneer DVR 106D burner and am a little confused about something.


How do I change the size of the disc to the right size etc. I presume now that I could fit a couple vcd's onto one disc and make some sort of a menu, or is that not right?

Or, say for example, I chose to put data onto a dvd disk, with the size difference.

Which disc's are better, DVD+R or DVD-R? Can I just use maybe the DVD+R for everything or do I have to use the different disc's for different purposes?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

[sacajaweeda]

I presume now that I could fit a couple vcd's onto one disc and make some sort of a menu, or is that not right?

Yes and no.

Yes you can put multiple VCD's on a DVD. There's a little more to it than that. If you want it to play on your set top DVD players you'll have to convert the audio and author a title set with your movies. You can do whatever you want with menus.

[Perro Grande]

Hi Belveder,

Welcome to the world of DVD Video!

The +R vs. -R debate continues to rage on, and everyone has their own particular feelings on the matter. As such, I offer the following disclaimer: The following represents my opinion on the matter!

DVD-R is *generally* more compatible with set-top players.
DVD+R, as a format, tends to be first to the market with newer goodies (like 8X and dual-layer).

Most newer players are dual format, so really the choice comes down to the discs themselves. Regardless of which one you use, you will have the best chance of success if you buy quality media. Check out the various reviews on this site to determine what is good and what isn't, and of course, experiment on your own with non-critical stuff.

Personally, I stick with -R's for video stuff and either + or - for data stuff. Most of my set-top players play the +R just fine, so it doesn't matter as much for me.

*****

There are some awesome conversion guides on this site -- always a good place to start. You should be able to re-author your VCD's like you described, but it isn't an instantaneous drag-n-drop operation. As with all things video-related, it will require multiple steps and some patience.

[sacajaweeda]

https://www.videohelp.com/vcd

Useful chart (scroll down to bottom)

[belveder]

Thanks a lot for your fast replies, appreciated muchly.

About the + or - cd's, I have been reading around the place and it seems that generally (correct me if I am wrong) Verbatim seems to be the way to go, and I seem to be only able to get them here as a + cd so I'll have a go at that.

I've been reading the tutorials, and I find them helpful, but there are so many using so many different programs that it became a bit daunting lol.

All I am basically interested in backing up some of my favourite DVD's before my kids wreck them which I gather I can do using ANYDVD and CloneDVD or Alcohol 120% or Nero 6 (correct me again if I am wrong)

And backing up my AVI's which I can use Easy CD / DVD creator for alllowing me the option to make menus.

But if I chose to back up all my valuable data such as drivers, work sheets etc in Nero how do I accomodate for the size difference in the cd's?

Thanks again

[jaxxboss]

Dude, a CD is a CD and a DVD is NOT a CD. Do yourself a favor and get a dvdrw disc and fart around with that. Get your mistakes out of the way on a re-writabe disc. Everything you need to know is here to read.

[Kolosus]

But if I chose to back up all my valuable data such as drivers, work sheets etc in Nero how do I accomodate for the size difference in the cd's?

When backing up data to a dvdr, you treat it just as you would a cdr.
The main difference is that a dvdr will hold a heck of a lot more.

Take jaxxboss advice. Get some 4x rewritables and do some experimenting with the different guides on here. You'll get the hang of it.