What good is a dual format recorder really?

[overloaded_ide]

What good is a dual format drive really?
Now if you had a dual format disk, that would be better! Just plain R RW that anything can read or write just like cds! Time for a third format!

I mean even though the drive can write to -r or +r, you still have to decide which disk to use, correct?
So if you choose to write to -r disks then that's what you have. If you choose the other then that's what you have. If one becomes a standard and the other dies, you still have what ever you chose to record, either - disks or + disks!
Or am I missing something?

You cannot change all those disks to the other format! Sure you can buy new blanks then make new disk copies.
So what good is the dual format drive?

This is a serious question since I was gonna by one myself, but they were alot more money than my toshiba -r drive I got instead. This was a question I asked myself in deciding what to buy.
Also I could almost have bought one of each format and had 2 drives for the cost of the dual drive. And the way prices drop on everything if one ever wins over the other, by then you can probly get a new drive for $90. Just like I paid almost $200 for a 4x cd burner but now pay $50 for a 52x burner.

And if the answer is to be compatible with almost all set top players, well once again, unless you burn the same movie twice, once to each type format disk you'll have the same problem. Choose what format you want now for this player, then the new one will only play the other format you'll still have the wrong disks.

Only advantage I could see is if your burning disks for other people, then when you find out one doesn't work you can try recording to the other format for them.

[spiderman2k1]

IF you want a dual burner wait for the pioneer AO6 Pioneer makes the best DVD burner's