I have been converted to DVD -R, dont be embarrassed :)

[wipeout]

Well, the day has finally come where I have now converted to DVD -R. I was a DVD +R due to the fact I bought a hp +2 burner a long time ago.

I have some really good memorex +R DVD that will work on all my players...so I felt pretty good at staying at this format. I even read the dvd alliance stating that DVD +R is superior...blah blah blah..

Then I bought some cheap Teon +R DVD (CMC manufacturer). It work on some of my players even the panasonic rv-30, but not my memorex 2037 or Koss 2163 or venturer portable. I guess I could blame the cheap media for that--however...

Well, I tried an old maxell +R DVD (Ricoh) and it did not work on the same exact players......that got me thinking.

So I went back to staples and got some Teon -R DVD (CMC manufacturer)
Now it works on all players. Really cheap stuff for sure...

I notice that when I brought my +DVD to be played at other homes...there was problems too. I felt embarrassed and ashamed of my DVD +R.

There is an analysis stating that DVD -R is compatible with more players than DVD +R. My players consist of real old ones and brand new ones. DVD -R works on all of them...and that is using the el cheapo brand.

Sure, I could buy top notch DVD +R....but how do I know it will work? Do I want to be embarassed again?....I am going to DVD -R. DVD-r is the original format...so it seems all players are backwared compatible.

[steve2713]

I'm not sure what the point of this is, +R bitset to -ROM is AT LEAST as compatible as -R media. The physical media itself is nearly the same between -R and +R, the only issue is that some players don't accept discs that are recognized as +R. That's what bitsetting does to 'fix' the issue.

[xxiangg]

I was also in +R camp until a couple weeks ago. Here is my story.

I have two DVD burners, Plaxtor712A and LiteOn812@832. The +R disks
are either Ridata 4x(RICOHJPN R01) or TDK 4X (CMC MAG F01). The -R
disks is TDK 4X (TTG01). All disks are burned at 4X with nero6.3.
All burned disks are scaned either with PlexProfession for PI/PO
and DVDSpeed for reading speed. The results of the scan normally
is PI max is under 20 and total is arround 13K to 20K for +R and
13K to 100K for -R. DVDSpeed reading curve is smooth from beginning
to end. Because normally my burnners burn +R slightly better than
-R, so I choose +R as perfered format. After Plextor release
bitsetting, I choose bitsetting on as default. I was also sold about
the magic for bitsetting.

Until two weeks ago, I fond +R has some problems. I used Pinnacle
Studio8 to create my DVD disks. Each disk has either 3 or 4 half
hour long video pieces. SO I used two level manu (described in
a guide in this web site). The main manu has 3 or 4 buttoms pointing
to the sub-manu for each piece. Each sub-manu also has 6 buttoms
points to 5min, 10min, 15min, 20min, 25min, back to main maun.
The resulting DVD was played on 4 different DVD players. I.e.,
Pioneer 888 (7 years old DVD/LD comb), Apex1500(3years), Sampo601
(1.5years) and audiovox DVD/VHS comb (1.5years). I found all four
players play -R without any problem. But two of the four players,
Sampo601 and Audiovox hava some problems on +R at arround location
75% from the beginning after a few FF and FB. The problem is that
it will hang and skip the disk. After I eject and reinsert the
same disk, the problem is still there. Then, I insert a -R disk
and play a few seconds. Then, reinsert +R disk, the problem will
disappear for a while. But after a few FF and FB, the problem show
up again.

Then, I copied the problem disk to another disk using -R, the
problem is completely gone.

Because two of my players shown the problem, I do not believe
it is limited to 5% of players. In addition, the problem shown
on Sampo601 and Audiovox behaves very similar, I tends to believe
similar DVD processing chips probably used for both player. It
seems the more like cause is problem probably is compatibility
between the player and +R. Although all my players are supposed
to be compatible for +R. It seems they still has some problem,
even if bitsetting is used for +R.

I am currently think if I should replace my player or I should
switch to -R.

Anyone else has similar experience?

[wipeout]

the most recongized article has DVD +R at 85% but I thinks its much lower.

When you have different media manufacturer......its seems like DVD +R tends to suffer more.

The brand I bought last week may not be the same media make in the future.

Yes, I read the hype from the alliance...but the facts are here..based on two 2004 survey.....yes DVD+R maybe better....but that only matters if it works

DVD-R has better than 96% compatibility with DVD players and DVD-ROM players, says a comparison conducted by CDR Info.

By contrast, DVD+R, the rival format, worked in only 87.32% of players, the article says. The tests have been published in detail, including technical background to the testing.


Model by Model Lists of Reported Features
by DVDRHELP.COM
Reported DVD Compatibility (as of Feb. 2004)


60% DVD-R "minus" COMPATIBILITY - 2204 of ALL 3688 TOTAL DVD PLAYERS (click to check your model of DVD player for Minus or General compatibility)

47% DVD+R "plus" COMPATIBILITY - 1731 of ALL 3688 TOTAL DVD PLAYERS (click to check your model of DVD player for Plus compatibility)

[steve2713]

You're not telling us anything we don't already know, most users on here are well aware of the compatibility increasing with -R. I've personally had no issues with either format, every player I've used has played BOTH formats fine. For those that have problems with +R media and their player(s), that's where bitsetting comes in and resolves the issue. Many suggest that +R bitset as -ROM is even MORE compatible than -R. If your burner does bitsetting or if your players have no problems with either format, it makes little difference what you use.

[xxiangg]

It is very likely that two problems players (Sampo601 and Audiovox comb) are considered +R compatible. Because they plays +R disks
to some extend. Bitsetting or not make no difference for the two player.

Next, how do you explain if the player hangs on +R, stop/play again
will not solve the problem. But insert a -R disk to play a few second
will "reset" the player to the correct state. So +R disk can play again
for a while, then problem will develop again? I certainly also consider
the chip used in the player might also buggy. But I do not think the chip
used in my player are rare. It might used in a number of players.
I do not know where is the exact problem, player or disk. But the
combination of them is not always working.

[wipeout]

Yeap...using DVD +R sometimes will work if u turn on and of the player...

Tryed the bitsetting...but it does not seem to work (part of DVDshrink).

Well, I use to own a betamax and discovered the world is VHS

Now I am seeing the world is mostly DVD-R (in asia thats the format they use as well).

I have 8 dvd players from multiple years and makes. They all work with DVD-R. Even the cheap brands work. Guess I am a born again DVD-R user

[Phantom Of The Opera]

Tryed the bitsetting...but it does not seem to work (part of DVDshrink).

It has nothing to do with DVDshrink. Bitsetting is a feature either supported or not supported by your DVD burner.

Listen to Steve2713, he's summed it up pretty well. For some people (me, for instance) DVD+R bitset to DVD-ROM booktype works perfectly, and DVD-R is less than perfect.

Use whatever works for you, it's as simple as that. And for God's sake do yourself a favor and ignore the religious-war fanatics who thump ltheir fists loudly on the table and yell "XYZ32 format is junk and a rogue format, use only XYZ33".

[jpconard]

Just a suggestion, but you may want to consider what may work for you in the future not just now. Since some of us are archiving video tape onto DVD with hopes to have 20+ years down the road.

You don't know if in 10 years you will still have the same player that you do right now.

[SaSi]

Just a suggestion, but you may want to consider what may work for you in the future not just now. Since some of us are archiving video tape onto DVD with hopes to have 20+ years down the road.

You don't know if in 10 years you will still have the same player that you do right now.

Good point. And not mainly for -R / +R compatibility.

My initial DVD Burns were "quality checked" on my - then a yamakawa - standalone player. They played fine. Subsquently it died and got myself a DENON universal player. Much better player BUT the DVDs burnt in the agonising days of finding a NERO version that works don't get recogized.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

I only use +R discs because after a great deal of trial and error, I have determined that they are what works best in my burner.
LG GSA-4040B is supposed to be a "Super Multi-Drive", but it takes FOREVER to burn a -R disc and even longer for RW's.....

[OldeMan]

I realize that this is a no-win battle...but

There are some older DVD players that won't play any rewritable media.
For the others, I have had great sucess with DVD+R bitset to DVD-ROM.

For a couple of years, I have videotaped , created and distributed DVD copies of a friends barbershop quartet. No playability complaints for the 100+ copies of DVD+R bitset to DVD-rom to almost as many people.

My son complained that a DVD I loaned him last week was bad... it wouldn't play on one of his players and he had never had trouble with one of mine before. It turned out to be a DVD-R that I used because I wanted an inkjet printable and I couldn't find reasonably priced DVD+R inkjet printables locally. Plenty available on the net.

I have burned both DVD+ and DVD- and in my personal experience, the plus has been more compatible. I have burned more than 800 DVD+Rs on my standalone DVD recorder and about 500 on my pc.

As always, your mileage WILL vary....

[HyperYagami]

simple. use whatever works best for you. if they both work for you, buy whatever that's on sale.

[xxiangg]

Well, it is quite true that pick the one which is working for you, if you
know which one is working for you. I thought both +R and -R were
working for all my four DVD players for ove half a year. Only two
weeks ago I realized that +R is only partially working for
two of my players. It is fortunate that I can use disk copy to burn -R
directly from +R. So my time to create/arthuring the disk was not
wasted. If I picked -R from the very beginning, I would not wast +50
burned disks and another 150 unburned disks.

[smearbrick1]

If your media is quality, regardless of which you prefer + or - (whatever is cheaper I say) and use bitsetting for + (if available) compatibility issues should be limited. If you are experiencing compatibility issues where others are not, you may want to take a look at your source material or the quality of the media you are using. Just because Memorex DVD+R are RICOHJPN doesn't mean their DVD-R are going to be (most of the time they are CMC, which some people actually use.) Point is: all of this is just rehashing of the same DVD-R is better than DVD+R or vice versa arguement. I say... VHS KICKS ASS!!!! Just try and find a compatibility problem with VHS!!!!!

[oldfart13]

My PAL VHS tapes don't play in my $1,500 NTSC SVHS recorder...