Newbie question - Can I burn DVD-Rs in a DVD+RW drive??

[dvd-dude]

I'm sure this is old news... but I'm looking at buying a new computer (HP or Compaq) and the DVD burners in those systems are DVD+RW drives. Will I be able to burn DVD-R(W) media in those same drives or will they only work with DVD+R(W)? Thanks for the help!

-DVD-Dude

[richdvd]

If a burner says +, then that's what you can burn.

[daamon]

Will I be able to burn DVD-R(W) media in those same drives or will they only work with DVD+R(W)? Thanks for the help!

No. Yes.

For only a few bucks / quid / euro more you should be able to get a dual burner that'll do +/-R & RW.

If the vendor won't put one in, look elsewhere.

[Vanderlow]

Hope your getting a good deal cause you'd be better off with a homebuilt computer. If you get a P4 and you can have 800mhz hyperthreading for $30 more do it.

[daamon]

...you'd be better off with a homebuilt computer...

I totally agree. A word of warning - make sure whoever builds it knows what they're doing, and I mean really knows what they're doing.

Some people are of the opinion that it's easy to "stick it all together" coz there's only one way it can go together. True, but do they know how to handle memory, the dangers of static electricity, which slots are best for which cards etc.?

It's that sort of knowledge that home-building a PC requires. In the UK, you can expect to pay around £25 - £30 per hour, with it taking about 2 - 3 hours to build and make sure all's OK.

[jimmalenko]

I have two homebuilt computers (built myself) and have had no problems because I know what I'm doing. In my work we have purchased "generic" computers if you like from computer stores as well as name brands direct from supplier and I have to say that we're leaning towards name brands as better. From a corporate point of view, we have found the warranties and service to be much better from places like Dell than the local store. It is at a price though, but if money is not an issue and your own knowledge pf PCs is not great, it may be worth sticking to a name brand.

[dxj40c]

Mass produced computers are too propriatary. Other than adding memory or a hard drive, some are not very easy to make upgrades. They are designed for speed of assembly. Even the cases are sometimes unusable for common ATX motherboards.

I would bet that most of the people who participate in this forum build their own computers. Knowing what is in the 'box' has a lot to do with understanding why something may not be working. It's a great education to build your own computer.

On the other hand, if you are not a person in constant upgrade mode, and plan to make no changes. Shop for computers that are built for what you plan to do. Example: If you are going to be doing mostly multimedia, don't buy one that is generally used in a business environment. I've seen some pretty nice 'Multimedia' computers and they do tend to cost a little more. Don't depend on the salesman, read, read, read. Good Luck!

[Craig Tucker]

I'm sure this is old news... but I'm looking at buying a new computer (HP or Compaq) and the DVD burners in those systems are DVD+RW drives. Will I be able to burn DVD-R(W) media in those same drives or will they only work with DVD+R(W)? Thanks for the help!

-DVD-Dude

Be carefull also if this drive will only burn +RW. Some will burn +RW exclusively, so they will not even burn +R discs. This will mean that in the long run it will cost you a hell of a lot more money in media alone, as +RW are considerably more expensive than +R.

[KDH]

New HP/Compaq PC's ship with 8x DVD+R/4x DVD+RW drives(or sometimes 4x DVD+R/4x DVD+RW is specified as a cheaper option)

The 2.4x DVD+RW only drives disappeared off the scene about 18months to 2 years ago!

KDH

[Craig Tucker]

The 2.4x DVD+RW only drives disappeared off the scene about 18months to 2 years ago!

KDH

Tell that to the poor guy on this forum who bought one just a few weeks ago for a knock down price, thinking he was getting a bargain.

[KDH]

Sorry, I understood that DVD-dude was" looking at buying a new computer (HP or Compaq)..................

[Craig Tucker]

Sorry, I understood that DVD-dude was" looking at buying a new computer (HP or Compaq)..................

I am sure you are right and I have no idea what drives come in these machines, its just that he stated it was a DVD+RW drive and I just wanted to raise the issue that there are (or were) drives that would only write to +RW media, and that these are a false economy.

[makntraks]

I'm sure this is old news... but I'm looking at buying a new computer (HP or Compaq) and the DVD burners in those systems are DVD+RW drives. Will I be able to burn DVD-R(W) media in those same drives or will they only work with DVD+R(W)? Thanks for the help!

-DVD-Dude

IMHO I think if a drive can write -R than it can do both -R and -RW, if it can only do +R than it stands to reason that it can do both +R and +RW... if it SPECIFICALL says it can do both, both - and + than it can handle both -R/-RW and +R/+RW
I've never seen a drive that will only do -R or +R without doing the corresponding RW part (maybe a few years ago but not in this day and age)

makntraks