DVD-R and Dvd+R help.. Newbie!

[X-treme]

I've always purchased -r for my pioneer 106 because I've always been told that my dvd player won't play +r. I've checked the specs on my dvd standalone player and it doesn't state whether it will or won't play it. I would like to test and find out if they do work.

What is such the BIG difference between -r and +r? Is it cheaper made? qaulity cheaper on the dvd? I always notice them cheaper then the -r, and if there is no difference except that most dvd players won't play +r, then I may have myself a new brand.

Any help would be great. I don't want to waste my money on the +r if they have some flaw about them.

Thanks!

[Faustus]

Its not cheaper meda media, meaning is not bad stuff. It does however (though many would argue) appear not as compatible as most good -R medias. However if you find one that works for you and you can get it cheap there is no reason not to use +R media. I'd start by getting a small sample of some ricoh and going from there to test and see how well they work for you.

[aggies11]

The nuts and bolts of it.

The difference between the two, for you and me, is pretty much nothing. They are the same.

In terms of stand alone player compatibility, -R has traditionally had the edge. And a slim one at that. Note that this difference isn't really from new players, but more of the old players. IE. a -R on average, has a slightly better shot at working in an older player (one that wasn't designed with dvdr in mind) than a +R.

Why the difference? Not necessarily quality. The goal of both of these types is to try and reproduce the physical surface of a pressed DVD disc. More accurately, they want the player's laser to *react* to the burnt disc in the same way it would a pressed one. They use somewhat different systems, which thus have somewhat differing results. One simple (and just hypothetical) difference could be that the dvd-r media process leads to discs that are a little *more* reflective than +R. Meaning that you'd need a more powerful laser to read +R discs (compared to -R) the same as pressed DVDs. So some players with weaker lasers, might be able to read DVD-R discs, but not DVD+R. The end result being that, taking into account all players, -R has a slight edge. (Of course, if new players comming out all have high powered lasers, this difference will gradually dissapear).

The above ofcourse is just an illustrative example. I have no idea if that is and/or could be a factor.

The jist of it: It's not necessarily that one is of better quality than the other. It's just that the two formats try to complete the same goal, in slightly different ways. Which can lead to small differences (eg. compatibility with stand alone units) in certain conditions.

With dual writers, and more and more new cheaper dvd players, the differences between the two really do become moot. The end result is good for the customer, because competiting formats = competition = price wars = better deals for us consumers on media

Hope that helps,

Aggies