Which recordable DVD should I use, DVD-R or DVD+R?

May 11, 2004 10:37 PM

DVD-R or DVD+R? [More inside]

I recently got a shiny new NEC 8X Black DVD+RW/-RW Drive, Model ND-2500A, and I know if I want to make DVD copies for friends who have Macs, I need to use DVD-R, but beyond that I'm not sure which format is better. I see far more DVD+R media available in stores here in NYC than DVD-R.

What's your take on the two formats? Which one do you use the most and why do you prefer it over the the other?

posted by riffola to technology (8 comments total)

What's the cheapest? Buy that. If you can't tell the difference then there is no difference.

I think the quality of the media itself far outweights the formatting differences of the two standards. Check at VCDHelp to see what the best/cheapest media is.

That said I only assume Macs could read both formats. Another member can answer that question better than I.
posted by geoff. at 11:03 PM on May 11, 2004

DVD-R is the standard. However in an effort to drive DVD+R some manufacturers (Sony is one) deliberately cripple the recording speed of DVD-R to make +R more attractive.

I use +R because they're cheaper and because my DVD drives (and DVD player) can support it. If you really want to be 100% absolutely sure that someone can use your DVD then use -R (as anything that supports +R also supports -R, but some drives support only -R).
posted by ralawrence at 1:54 AM on May 12, 2004

Check your DVD player to see which formats it supports. Most support DVD-R, but it seems not that many support DVD+R. If that is not important to you I would go with whichever is cheaper.
posted by caddis at 8:11 AM on May 12, 2004

This might be of assistance.
posted by signal at 8:12 AM on May 12, 2004

Thanks for the tips. compatibility is more important to me than price, so I guess I'll stick with DVD-R usually.
posted by riffola at 10:10 AM on May 12, 2004

If you are making movies, do NOT get the cheap media. It doesn't last near as long and the playback on players can be bad. The quality is in the dye that is used. Stay away from Princo media as they are some of the worst.
posted by thebwit at 1:09 PM on May 12, 2004

I've used both, and now I only use DVD-R. I find the media is cheaper online, and Mac compatibility is sometimes important to me. DVD-R is supposed to have slightly higher compatibility with console players, too. If you've ever tried to impress your friends by bringing a movie over, only to have their console choke on it, you know why this matters. I don't like having to think about two formats, so I've just gone completely DVD-R now.

I recommend Ritek media, incidentally. It's not always the most expensive, either.
posted by scarabic at 2:42 PM on May 12, 2004

While DVD+R is arguably technically superior to DVD-R, DVD-R is more compatible. My rule of thumb is DVD-R for video, DVD+R for data, but since I can't be bothered to buy both, I buy DVD-R media most of the time so I can burn discs that will play in old DVD players like mine.
posted by hashashin at 10:32 PM on May 12, 2004