Multi-session DVD-Rs..significantly harder to play or not?

[MurphGuitar]

I've been doing a dumb thing...I've been using Sonic Record Now to burn some data DVD+R's. I kept getting this message when I hit the "burn" button that said "the way your settings are you can burn in multiple sessions on this DVD. This may mean that the DVD is playable on fewer DVD drives." or something like that. Like an idiot I didn't investigate further and change the setting in Data > Advanced to "write once" (or "single session", whatever) for a few disks, although I eventually did change it.

So anyways, my question is, these DVD+Rs that I burned using the multi-session setting...how significant a difference will there be in their playability? Why is it that Sonic warns you they might not be playable on as many DVD drives? Have any of you found that to be true? Is it true to such an extent that it's worth re-burning them as "single session" just to make sure you won't find yourself unable to use them?

Kind of a silly thing to get paranoid over I realize. Thanks for any help.

[Gritz]

I keep my favorite utilities on DVD and CD-R disks so when I'm in the field working on systems I have a library of programs at hand for trouble-shooting and upgrades.

If my disks are Multi-Session and "not closed" I find that many of my customer's CD-ROM drives will not read either one or both of my disks. Especially if they are older cdrom drives. Conversly if the burned disks are closed I have a better chance of opening the data cd ... so I usually fill the disks on the the first burn as a closed session. Kind of defeats the purpose .... but the disks are more compatible.

On the other hand ... you could keep the multi-session disc in your burner until it's incrementally filled ... and then close it, it would probably be trouble free.

[oldfart13]

This is why I now put my preferred programs onto RAM drives. With 256 Meg ones running at $50CAD, it's the best alternative especially since most people I have to install these programs for have all new computers with USB 2.0 ports in them...