For a new PC, should I go with DVD-RW or DVD+RW?

[bpua]

I am about to splurge my life savings on a brand-new PC. I have scoured the manufacturers' websites and have finally reduced my selections to Compaq or HP. What I primarily want to do -- aside from the usual things (email, surf the Net, MS Office) -- is to record TV programs, get rid of commercials, rip to DVD and share with family and friends. So I have included ATI All-in-Wonder in my proposed system. The ONLY major difference between Compaq and HP appears to be that the former has DVD-RW while the latter has DVD+RW.

So my simple question is: Which system will accomplish my goal better?

I realize that what I'm asking is like religion so I appeal to those who are totally objective . Any and all suggestions from independent thinkers are welcome. Thanks!

[eatin sammiches for lunch]

i would say..right now at this moment itz better to go with a dvd-rw drive cuzz u can utilize dvd-r and dvd-rw medias

but with a dvd+rw u at this moment can utilize only dvd+rw media not +r which is comming soon but no telling if your now dvd+rw drive will support it...some say yes some say no...no way to tell FOR SURE until it can be tested.

[condone]

I would recommend the HP, DVD+RW seems to have better future compatiblity. but either should do as HP now owns Compaq so service for either would be great.
But I REALLY recommend a BYO system (Build Your Own). You get the best results, all the hardware/software YOU want, none of the proprietary BS they add. andu usually if u shop around u can build a damn good system for about $1000, i made a: 1.4GHz Athlon, 256MB DRAM, 30+60gb Maxtor HDDs, 8x4x32x HP CD-RW, 10x Acer DVD, V3 3500 AGP, and CL Soundblaster Live all for about $850. now this was a year ago. i recently thought about building a new comp and priced it out and i wound up with something i could build for between $900-$1300, it includes a DVD-RW, ATI AIW, DVD-ROM, Soundblaster, 1.6GHz Athlon, 256mb RAM and im gonna use the HDDs i used previously, just format them, i might add a little 20 or 30gb though, who knows?

[bpua]

Thanks for the BYO computer suggestion. But it is not a realistic option for me -- both for technical and time reason.

[Robbins1940]

It ain't rocket science to build your own pc. Very simple will only take you 2 hours at the most.

And you make a huge saving by buying the parts at internet auctions like Ebay and Yahoo.

David

[sommersby]

Personally after reading about all the reviews there are about dvd burners I would NOT buy one at this time, maybe the next generation will be better, the main reasons for my decision are poor performance in the pioneer, I mean 1x write speed with anything other than pioneer media is just TOO slow. And the reg cdr speed is pretty slow, but the pioneer is the most compatible of the two types, the dvd's it creates will play in most dvd players. The HP and like burners are a different story, while the performance is slightly better than the pioneer format the compatibiblty sucks, in on magazine the dvd's they created only worked in 1 out of 10 players. I must say I was pretty exited when dvd burners first came out and I am sure I will end up with one, but they have a long way to go before I would invest in one.

[RAAGAAman]

I would go with the Pioneer Drive since DVD-R has the best compatibility.
I expect that DVD-R media prices will get down to $3.00 by the end of the year. As far as performance goes you could wait because write speeds should increase to 4X by the end of the year. You will never see write speeds increase on non-approved media because DVD-R media is very sensitive and some of the lower quality stuff like GQ, Samsung and ect. will have problems burning faster than 1X.

[nittany]

"I would go with the Pioneer Drive since DVD-R has the best compatibility"
- RAAGAAman

Is this true? Everything that I have read seems to suggest that DVD+RW is more compatible than DVD-R and DVD-RW in regards to DVD players. Something like 98% compared to about 95%. Can anyone confirm this?

I do not plan on buying one very soon, but in the near future, I would like to purchase one as well.

[sommersby]

That was the hype on dvdrw, that is was supposed to be the most compatible but in three different magazine tests the exact opposite turned out to be true, in maximum pc's test they only worked on 1 out of the ten players they tried.

[RAAGAAman]

From what I have seen DVD-RW and DVD+RW are about 50% compatible with most DVD players. DVD-R is about 95%.
Check the DVD Players list and you will see that this is true.
The reason that DVD-R is better, it has higher reflectivity and is closest to DVD-ROM in characteristics.
DVD+RW group is saying they are more compatible but that is really a bunch of hype.
Sommersby - What magazine did you get the +RW compatibility issue from?

[Greg12]

I would wait


or


buy a DVD-RW/RAM


They can burn DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD-RAM

DVD-R is good for video

DVD-RAM is good for data storage

[nittany]

This is one place that I saw a list of supposed DVD player compatibility testing with DVD+RW:

http://www.dvdplusrw.org/resources/compatibilitylist_dvdvideo.html

[resnullius]

somersby i'm not sure what you're say are you talking about -rw or +rw? i'm guessing your talking about+rw cause from what i've seen they're alot less compatible.

[SatStorm]

I vote for DVD-R(W)

Also, I don't understand why americans with full/fast/cheap internet, keep buying ready-PCs from companies....
They have online access to all the market, with amazing prices! Why to buy 1 year-back technology for ready-made PCs?

[lizzoqops]

A large piece of advice! Make sure the computer (especially the Compaq) is compatible with the ATI card you want to use. I had a huge problem with this, and it took them a year to come up with a fix. By that time, I built my own computer.

I would highly recommend building something yourself.

lizzo