Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

DVD-R....DVD-RW...DVD+RW etc etc.....What is the difference?

Feb 10, 2006 6:48AM PST

Hi,

I cannot seem to find out the differences between ddv rewritters in there symbols they have in their name. Can anyone explain as i am thinking of buying a dvd rewritter but am not sure which type i should get

Thanks

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Read this link.
Feb 10, 2006 7:17AM PST
- Collapse -
The difference...
Feb 10, 2006 8:28AM PST
DVD-R:
* Older of the two DVD format siblings.
* Usually used for burning your own movies.
* Accepted by over 90% of all standalone DVD players.

DVD+R:
* Younger sibling, but gaining popularity.
* Backed mainly by Philips/Magnavox and HP/Compaq.
* Not widely used or accepted by standalone DVD players until recently.

Now, the 'R' (recordable) formats can be burned once...once something is burned it cannot be erased, though you can usually add more data until you run out of space. The 'RW' formats stand for rewritable, meaning you can erase and reuse them like you would a floppy or hard drive.

DVD+RW is considered superior to DVD-RW because DVD+RW supports random write access, meaning you can erase a single file, not be forced to wipe the entire disk. Thus, it is more common when burning data DVDs on your computer.
----------------------
Most DVD burners for your computer now support both the '+' and '-' formats, and even DL (double layer), which is where you can burn both sides of the DVD to double the storage capacity. I'd recommend getting one of them so that you can handle all DVDs that come your way. (It's actually hard to find a single-format burner any more.)

As to the media, it's your choice, but here's a nice guide:
* DVD-R for video you want to play back on most DVD players.
* DVD+R if the DVD player is a Philips/Magnavox.
* DVD+RW if you are backing up data files.
* DVD-RW is you can't find DVD+RW media.
-----------------------
You should also stick to name brands...off-brands tend to have more flawed disks and fail to be read sooner, though expensive brands have their problems as well. (Memorex, Sony, TDK, etc are fine.)
-----------------------
After you're done burning, verify the data is all there and readable by playing the DVD or reading a few of the documents.
-----------------------
Always make sure you have backups in case one becomes unreadable down the road.
-----------------------
Don't use CD/DVD labels if you can help it, as the glue and acid can eat microscopic holes in the DVD's thin film layer causing it to be unreadable over time.

Hope this helps,
John


P.S. Bob, I keep getting the Cnet page cannot be found when clicking on your link.
- Collapse -
(NT) (NT) NVM...link waited until after I submitted to work. :)
Feb 10, 2006 8:29AM PST