Creating 70 DVDs of a project. Which will work in more players: -r or +r ?

[glennunland]

Hello,
I have created a movie (in windows movie maker) using the pics taken by my child's kindergarten teacher throughout the schoolyear. When finished I will be authoring the movie file to DVD using DVD Archetict. When it is finished, I will need to burn 70 copies - one for each family in the district's K classes.

I know that I will be using name brand media - Maxell, Verbatim, Sony, etc however... my question is, which TYPE of blank media should I purchase that would have the best success ratio among all the different DVD playersn that people have in their homes?

DVD -R or DVD +R ???

Should I purchase both and give people their pick?

I value your responses, thanks very much!

[redwudz]

I've always had better luck with -R. lordsmurf's site has quite a bit of media information: http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm

[aedipuss]

-R or +R bitset to dvdrom(if your burner supports it) work in about as many players.

[FulciLives]

I would use DVD-R and I would go with either Taiyo Yuden DVD-R discs or Verbatim DVD-R discs. Also this depends on your burner but it's best to burn 8x media at 4x and it's best to burn 16x media at 6x but that is more "opinion" than "fact" as some will say.

If you want to go DVD+R then use Taiyo Yuden and do the bitsetting to make it a DVD-ROM but your buner has to support bitsetting. If your burner does not support bitsetting then definately go DVD-R instead of DVD+R although I prefer DVD-R over DVD+R anyday even with a DVD+R that has been changed to a DVD-ROM with bitsetting.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[otpw1]

I would use DVD-R and I would go with either Taiyo Yuden DVD-R discs or Verbatim DVD-R discs. Also this depends on your burner but it's best to burn 8x media at 4x and it's best to burn 16x media at 6x but that is more "opinion" than "fact" as some will say.

If you want to go DVD+R then use Taiyo Yuden and do the bitsetting to make it a DVD-ROM but your buner has to support bitsetting. If your burner does not support bitsetting then definately go DVD-R instead of DVD+R although I prefer DVD-R over DVD+R anyday even with a DVD+R that has been changed to a DVD-ROM with bitsetting.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

I have a laptop that will only play DVD-ROM so DVD+r bitset is my only option. FWIW

[hech54]

DVD -R or DVD +R ???

Should I purchase both and give people their pick?

I value your responses, thanks very much!

Either way....out of 70 people.....odds are you WILL have someone who will not
be able to play one of the discs....whether you use plus or minus.

Give them their choice?....most people don't even know there is a choice.....in my opinion.

[Richard_G]

I do this sort of thing regularly and have always used -R. I put a slip of paper in with each DVD pointing out that home produced discs are different to commercially produced ones and they may not play in all players. If anyone has a problem I can then supply with +R instead. Out of the last 250 or so I've done, nobody has come back to me saying they can't play the disc. I've been using Ritek G05 (8X) discs up until now too. The latest batch I've done is on Panasonic branded TY02 discs as the 8X Ritek are now being phased out and the 16X don't seem to be as good.

[OneSickPup]

-R or +R bitset to dvdrom(if your burner supports it) work in about as many players.

agreed.

Either way....out of 70 people.....odds are you WILL have someone who will not be able to play one of the discs....whether you use plus or minus.

absolutely.

I do this sort of thing regularly and have always used -R. I put a slip of paper in with each DVD pointing out that home produced discs are different to commercially produced ones and they may not play in all players. If anyone has a problem I can then supply with +R instead.

Sounds like a very good solution.

[glennunland]

Hi all... original poster of this topic.

Thank you all for your thoughts and suggestions for my project.

I have a followup question... should I burn at 4x no matter what media I purchase?
Meaning even if it is 8x or 16x or whatever, should I burn at 4x if the disc supports it?

BTW... I plan to find the Ritek G05 (8X) or Panasonic branded TY02 per Richard_G's suggestion- if I can find them.

...and I am very grateful for this forum and all that give of their time offering ideas and suggestions.

Thanks!

[FulciLives]

You can buy Taiyo Yuden direct from RIMA.COM for a very reasonable price.

Best yet these have a plain "shiny" silver top with no writing on them.

Casio makes a cheap printer that will print directly onto them ... the printer is only about $80 or so and it can only do simple text ... but it adds a nice professional touch.

I would buy the 8x DVD-R by Taiyo Yuden as they are a hint better than the 16x DVD-R that they make and a 100 pack of the 8x DVD-R discs is only $31.99 + shipping.

Most people buy Taiyo Yuden direct from RIMA.COM since they are very reliable and you always get top notch Taiyo Yuden discs ... some other on-line websites have been known to sell subpar Taiyo Yuden (often fakes or rejects).

I suppose some burners differ from others but I know Pioneer burners only give you a nice "constant" burn up to 6x speed ... faster than that and it ramps up and down and up and down and I find it annoying and in my opinion it creates a less than "peferct" burn.

I never burn over 6x myself even though I sometimes use Verbatim 16x DVD-R discs (which are very nearly as good if not better than the 16x Taiyo Yuden DVD-R discs).

Most people I think will agree that the 8x DVD-R discs by Taiyo Yuden is about as good as it gets.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[lenti_75]

+R bitset as dvd-rom

[Already Taken]

+R bitset as dvd-rom

Agreed. Also use either Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden.

[BSpielbauer]

Most here will not be able to avoid the tendency to simply put down what works for THEM and for their own players, and also their own circle of friends' players.

There was one answer way up above which actually pinpointed the best answer to your question, as asked... (Thanks to Aedipuss, who hit the answer dead on).

If your goal is to produce a disc which is the "most compatible" with the largest number of players out there in people's homes right now, then it is almost a virtual "tie" between the following two choices:

1) DVD-R discs (in and of themselves, hold a narrow margin or compatibility);

2) DVD+R discs, but only if you make certain you choose to "booktype" these, and this also assumes your hardware is capable of this, and also that your software is capable of this.

If your burner cannot booktype, then you should probably stick to the DVD-R discs. If you CAN do the booktyping, then just choose either, and "go to town."

However, as some have tried to point out, there can actually be a greater compatibility issue if you try to stray into media which is less than "Grade A' or "Grade 1." Use a DVD+R disc for this project, with no booktyping -- and you might get one or two back with a complaint. No big deal. You just burn the other format, and explain the issue. Use a second class media, or a third class media, and you are likely to get as many as fifteen or twenty discs back, or perhaps even more.

That is why you received the recommendations for the Taiyo Yuden discs, or the Verbatim discs. In the grand scheme of things, this may be the more important choice.

I am not trying to complicate the issue, just trying to be as accurate as I can. I hope that this helps...

-Bruce

P.S. The insert with an explanation is a terrific idea, and I have done this as well on some family projects. It lets the more timid viewers know that they need not be afraid to notify you of any issue they may have, since it is easily remedied.

[Richard_G]

As the OP does not say where in the world he is, recommendations on where to buy media may be less than useful. I buy all mine from www.svp.co.uk but that is because I am in the UK (although they do now ship worldwide) and they always tell you exactly what you will get and quote the media code on their ad.

I burn everything at 8x. My burner reckons that both the Ritek G05 and TY02, although rated as 8x media, will burn at 12x. However, as the burn starts at 6x and then ramps up part way through, even if I try at 12x that only happens at the very end of the burn.

I always use inkjet printable media and print with a Canon iP3000. Doing that, along with putting the DVDs in proper cases with printed inserts, makes the whole thing look that much more professional. Adding the insert just gives the customer the final impression that they are dealing with a pro outfit and not someone chucking out the odd disc in their back bedroom.

If anyone is interested, I'll post the text of the insert I use in case anyone else wants to use it (I won't even charge copyright....).

[bevills1]

Totally agree with Already Taken on media choice. I used to have good success with Ritek until I tried Ritek Arita +R 8X that produce reliable copies only when burned at 4X. I have some Ritek G04 -R that burns at 12X and produce reliable copies which is similar to Richard_G results. Burning at media rated speed is probably best as long as quality media is used.