oct 2002: -r or +r (not talking about prices)?

[jeremypps]

hi everybody.
i live in italy; here burners are about 450-500 euro (480-520 $ i think).
a friend of mine lives in the usa and should come here in a couple of weeks, so i asked him if he could buy me a burner and bring it to me, telling him to look for something under 300$.
he said he would take a look around for a +r one (he says they are better).
now i've read something in the forum, but most posts started 6 months ago or more, so they are quite a bit out of date; moreover, someone says -r sucks, somebody else says +r is shit, so i'm a little bit confused.
my target:
1) mainly have a media to put my camera shootings after editing them, something better than that f@#ing svcd format;
2) then, if possible, make a "backup" (...) copy of some movies.
3) backup data storage.
question is: by now (29/10/2002 ndr), without talking about burners and media prices, is it better to buy a -r one, a +r one or no matter?
thanks a lot and sorry if the topic was posted several times before, i'm just terribly confused ...

[epo]

You are starting from wrong end - it is all about money. Differences between formats are marginal. Same are differences in compatibility. "+" has bit more features (do You need these?), "-" is accepted by DVD Forum (is it relevant?). There is solution for unsure - new Sony drive, but You have to make decision, which media to use, anyway. All "-" capable drives are around $300 anyway. "+"-only seem to be little bit cheaper.

There are one more thing to check - will not Your friend have problems with Italian Customs? Doesn't value of drive exceed limit of VAT-free import?
Another option is to order online from another EU country where prices are lower: UK or may-be Germany ...

[snowmoon]

Just picked up at Office Max a CenDyne DVD-RW for $250 - $50 rebate. It's really just a Pioneer DVR-104 in a box with software and a DVD-RW disk. Good deal all things consitered. 2x on most 2x -R media and 1x on -RW media.

The sales rep told me they are hard to come by and they do not offer rainchecks they get new stock in on sundays.

The Sony sounds like a good deal it can be had for as little as $250, but it appears to be having the first revision blues. Many quirks still being worked out.

Cheers and good luck.

[jeremypps]

epo, thanks a lot for your kind reply.
i didn't think at all about customs, i think if he brings the burner without the carton box he can say it's his property ... hope so ...
anyway, looking around i've found a shop here in italy that sells a philips -r for 380 euro and a pioneer +r for 400 euro, may be it's better to wait after xmas and see if prices will fall a bit.
the most incredible thing is the price of empty disks: about 10 euros (we can say 10 $) each !!!
this is quite uncomfortable ...
so if i can decide now what burner will i buy in the immediate future, i coul tell my friend to buy just some empty disks, but my mind is still confused ... +r or -r ? still no idea !!!
thanks a lot again, cheers.

[epo]

I'm in (not from ) Finland. Here drive prices are bit lower, but media is as crazy priced as in Italy. Actually recordable-media-tax here is higher than whole prices in UK Check out www.bigpockets.co.uk and www.cdr-by-mail.co.uk . They both deliver all over the EU and I have ordered from both of them. Ofc You need CreditCard. BigPockets uses courier, so it is wise to fill 5kg parcel as good, as You can (reference weights are supplied). CDR-By-Mail sends packages below 2kg with regular Air-Mail, which is much cheaper, but took 3 weeks in my case. Isn't allways as slow. BigPockets has DVR-104 for £195 ~310€.

[jeremypps]

epo, thanks a lot again.
looking at the sites you told me it seems you can't even find a +r blank disk around !!!
so, is it a goal scored by the -r family? say, is it a fact to look at when you must decide wich kind of burner to buy?
wtf, a friend of mine has this cd-rw 2x since about 7 years, it's still a good writer (if you don't talk about speed), now it seems i could spend 350-400 euro for a dvd-rw that, may be in one year, could be thrown in the litter bin ...
cheers, jeremy.

[epo]

Yes, sure it will be trash some day I myself have thrown out couple of FDDs, not speaking of HDs. No matter, which format wins (if either), there will be disks out for both for at least 5 years from now (like there is Low-Speed CD-RW media). Disks of loser will cost more eventually, but probably less, than cheapest disks today. Even for ones, who belive "+" wins, buying/using "-" today is wise decision (depending on volume ofc) - price difference of 150 discs (sub £1, but not BulkCrap) is roughly equal with the price of drive itself. So, after burning 150 DVD-Rs You are winner, no matter the future brings.
BTW You were lazy - BigPockets has some "+" media too.