book type management

[MasterThomasMI]

Greetings Folks

My question covers a couple of areas so here is where I thought it best to ask.

Long time ago I started burning DVD's (movies for stand alone dvd player at home).
It was my understanding at the time that I needed to have a burner that used book type management along with DVD+R's. So I bought a BenQ 1620 Pro (yes that long ago). I was able to burn my dvd's and even got some media to burn at 16x.

Now I've moved that burner to a new build of mine and it burns only at 4x. I think it's the new media I just bought.

I've been reading and hear good things about the Pioneer 112D (which I have one of). The thing is that it does not have book type management.

So to my questions...
is book type management still important these days ?
can it be used on either DVD-R's or DVD+R's ?
which is better for my needs, DVD-R's or DVD+R's ?

[Baldrick]

Booktype is just for dvd PLUS, see https://www.videohelp.com/glossary?B#BitSetting,%20BookType

If you need best dvd compatibility I would use good dvd-r media, see www.nomoarecoasters.com

[jman98]

Is book type management still important? Not really. I never bother with it. It's useful only on old DVD players that need to be fooled to play DVD+R discs. If you and your friends and family have fairly recent DVD players or DVD players made by some of the better manufacturers, you shouldn't need to do this at all. If you aren't giving away a lot of DVDs to friends and family, don't bother with it if the discs play fine for you without it.

Book type can only be set on DVD+R discs. DVD-R discs are book type by default, which is one argument for burning to those discs. DVD-R and DVD+R are both fine. Use whichever is cheaper or whichever works better for your needs. Some older players may only support one or the other. Newer players should support both.

Finally, be sure to buy good media. It makes a world of difference. I'd recommend:
DVD+R/DVD-R: either Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden
DVD+RW/DVD-RW: Verbatim (TY doesn't make them)
DVD+R DL: Verbatim (TY doesn't make any DL media)
DVD-R DL: Verbatim if you must use this format, but DVD+R DL has a lot of advantages. I advise not using DVD-R DL discs at all.

[hech54]

I've used equal amounts of both +R and -R and have been known to booktype a +R or two....it has never been a major issue for me personally. my sister is the only one who had a player that required booktyped +R's.

Pioneers are probably the best burners out there but I like the flexibility of LG burners....especially the 4167B....and it's also been as bulletproof as my old 4040B LG burner.

[robertazimmerman]

It's simply a matter of which players are going to be used to view the discs. Toshiba (and other brands) did not/do not play +Rs, so you can either use -Rs exclusively (my choice) or set the booktype of your +R/+RWs to DVD-ROM to ensure compatibility.

BTW, DVD-Rs are NOT recognized by players as DVD-ROMs. When you insert your disc in a machine, it is recognized as either a DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW or a DVD+R/RW. If your machine does not designed to recognize DVD+R/RWs (like the Toshiba machines), it is because it has been set to recognize DVD-Rs and DVD-ROMs only. Setting the booktype fools the machine into reading the +R as a DVD-ROM.

Roberta

[MasterThomasMI]

All good to hear...

and if I heard correctly I shouldn't really worry about book type management anymore (for the most part).

The thing most important to me is being able to burn. I mentioned but didn't say much about it in my original post but I'm having trouble burning at 16x on my BenQ in my new build. I think it's the version of Ritek +R's that I got. So I am thinking about these these Verbatim's from OfficeMax. The cheapest set (oddly the 50 pack is cheaper than the 25 pack). But these are -R's along with being Verbatim's which I hear good things about out here.

Is there something particular that I should look at on the packaging when I buy them for specific characteristic ?