Which is a more compatible format? DVD+R or DVD-R?

[SirMack]

Hi guys,

I use to typically burn the DVDs in DVD-R format but lately I've had problems playing them in various models of DVD Player. Do different DVD Players have different formats they support (-/+) I mean is it just luck of the draw in regards to if they are compatible or not? or is one a more compatible format then the other?

For example, I burned a DVD in the DVD+R Format, a slideshow, for a friend. He watched the 40 min dvd for about 25 min before it locked up to the point where he had to shut off the DVD player by unplugging it. It played fine in his computer and also fine in my DVD player. Is this due to the format not being compatible?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

[glockjs]

-R is supposed be a little more compatible, but it's not that big of a margin. personally i found that the actual quality of the media makes more of a difference than + or -

[lordsmurf]

-R is supposed be a little more compatible, but it's not that big of a margin. personally i found that the actual quality of the media makes more of a difference than + or -

Excellent description.

[glockjs]

thanks mod boy :P i was gonna use jaxxboss's(what ever happen to him?) old description but i couldnt find it

[Skith]

Another note (although a bit more complicated) is that DVD+R & DVD+R DL media compatability can (sometimes) be improved by bitsetting (also known as changing the booktype) to DVD-ROM when burning the disc.

There is a catch:
The recorder must support bitsetting in it's firmware. Many LiteOn drives have this capability (or can have it added via firmware upgrade).

Some drives that do bitsetting

The Plextor 708, 712, and 716 drives can have bitsetting DVD+R to DVD-ROM through the use of plextools and (newest firmwares required).

The NEC3500A has bitsetting (with the appropriate firmware
Official OEMs that offer firmwares with bittsetting:
TDK ( I believe it is the 1616N model)
MADDOG

Unofficial (hacked) firmwares based on many firmwares are also available. Lots of info about this at www.cdrinfo.com forums, and on the CDFreaks forum CDFreaks NEC forum.

***WARNING: Flashing a drive incorrectly or with incorrect firmware can render a drive useless! Hacked/modified firmwares VOID ALL WARRANTY! IF you ruin your drive it is YOUR responsibility!***


(videohelp.com is great too, but www.cdfreaks.com focuses more on hardware, as does www.cdrinfo.com - a dynamic trio of tech infused optical madness!)

-mewhewahahaha....you are now one of us!

[glockjs]

thanks for the time...but still it comes down to this...what works works and what doesnt doesnt....bitsetting this and that....-r this and that...+r this and that.... you can do all you want but the reality comes down to this... "does this work for me?" and im done

[Marvingj]

- was the standard of compatibilty but the new players that are out uses both - & +. Can't wait for Blue Ray!!

[Sam Ontario]

Hi guys,

I use to typically burn the DVDs in DVD-R format but lately I've had problems playing them in various models of DVD Player. Do different DVD Players have different formats they support (-/+) I mean is it just luck of the draw in regards to if they are compatible or not? or is one a more compatible format then the other?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Based on my experience, +R is more compatible with bisetting management of the DVD burner. It virtually turn +R DVD into DVD ROM. Correct me if I am wrong.

Your friend might have a failing DVD player.

[Skith]

Based on my experience, +R is more compatible with bisetting management of the DVD burner. It virtually turn +R DVD into DVD ROM. Correct me if I am wrong.

Your friend might have a failing DVD player.

The cold, harsh, nasty, evil truth with sharp pointy teeth (like the white bunny from Monty Python's "Search for the Holy Grail") is that there is no absolute answer (no "Holy Hand Grenade" - to use another Python reference).

Variables that influence playability:

Type of media (+R/RW, -R/RW, +R DL)
Media Manufacturer/dye/quality (Brand names often contract multiple manufacturers)
Recorder (and firmware revision) used
Speed the disc is recorded at
Make/Model of player (in some cases, firmware can be upgraded)
---------------

The largest difference between Pressed (commercial) DVD-ROMs and DVD-recordables is the amount of light they reflect. Recordable discs reflect less light, DVD+R DL discs have even less reflectability. Some players/readers simply can not read them.

Some players also check discs for a "booktype." This is a small amount of info prerecorded on DVD-Discs. Possible booktypes include: DVD-ROM, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL, DVD-R, and DVD-RW. (I am not sure if DVD-RAM discs have a booktype field). Some players ignore this information, others may be programmed to look for and play only specific types.

If a player looks at a booktype field and seed DVD+R it may not know what to do. Bitsetting the disc to DVD-ROM fools the player into thinking the disc is a known format. The player will then proceed to playback the disc.

The physical layout (the way data is stored) on the different formats (ROM, +/-R) is, for all practical purposes, identical. It would take someone with an engineering backround to explain in more detail.
---------

The only way to know what will work, is trial and error.

***The above is my understanding of the discussed subjects. As always, feel free to correct, humiliate, and further educate me, should I have stated something incorrectly.***

[lordsmurf]

What people seem to forget (or never knew) is that before bitsetting, the compatilibity of DVD+R was about 20% away from DVD-R. With it available, the gap is narrowed by far, but still slightly below DVD-R by about 5% on average.

If you do any kind of distribution/services, you need DVD-R. Less returns and problems. If not, then whatever works for you is probably best.

[RowMan]

Personal experience from the hundreds of DVDs I have distributed to people all over the country...

DVD-R seems to me to be more compatible. +R discs were the only ones to come back as "won't play in my DVD player." I now have been only using -R and no longer ask my clients about their DVD players. The only DVD-Rs that would come back were from people whose players just would not play recordable media of any type.

[RickTheRed]

What people seem to forget (or never knew) is that before bitsetting, the compatilibity of DVD+R was about 20% away from DVD-R. With it available, the gap is narrowed by far, but still slightly below DVD-R by about 5% on average.

LS, we know where you stand, regarding -R/+R. However, some people think that +R with bitsetting is close to 100%, if not 100%. I'm not talking about myself because I have not flashed my pioneer 108, so I cannot bitset +R.
But where does the 5% come from?
Thanks.

[lordsmurf]

It's a fairly common margin, approximately. It's never reversed, DVD-R always has the slight edge. This site has (or at least had, I cannot find it readily) compatibility ratio from user-generated feedback. Several other big sites online have this too. Again "BIG PICTURE" kind of thing.