DVD+RW and DVD-RW, what`s the difference?
Discussion
Lots of words to read on the subject here:
www.dvd-supply.com/whisdvdvdvan.html
Editted to say:
That link completely contradicts what I posted earlier
, I knew I was wrong 
Anyway, it seems as if you need to choose the +/- dependant on which burner you will be using
Pioneer, Apple = -R
Sony, HP, Dell = +R
Although, when it comes down to it, I'm no expert on the subject, I was just googling. Hope someone else can help you with some clearer information.
>> Edited by forever_driving on Friday 15th April 16:46
www.dvd-supply.com/whisdvdvdvan.html
Editted to say:
That link completely contradicts what I posted earlier
, I knew I was wrong Anyway, it seems as if you need to choose the +/- dependant on which burner you will be using Pioneer, Apple = -R
Sony, HP, Dell = +R
Although, when it comes down to it, I'm no expert on the subject, I was just googling. Hope someone else can help you with some clearer information.
>> Edited by forever_driving on Friday 15th April 16:46
KITT said:
Make sure whatever you buy has DVD-RAM. It's the best of all the formats as you can record and watch at the same time as well as "time shift" live broadcasts.
Having got one of these, I can safely say hard drive and DVD writer is far more versatile.
Re the plus and minus, it's six of one and half a dozen of the other. Plus tends to be associated with the cheaper products. When you finalise a disk it becomes DVD-Video and any difference is lost.
I did read somewhere that the dvds can either be recorded where the machine automatically writes from the beginning of the disc and others will record from where the last recording on that disc finished, eg they don`t overwrite but use up the unused space. I assumed that was something to do with the + or - , but I could be completely wrong!
KITT said:
Make sure whatever you buy has DVD-RAM. It's the best of all the formats as you can record and watch at the same time as well as "time shift" live broadcasts.
I have just brought a Panasonic DVD player, It uses the Ram format but it won't play anything else, I have got loads of home made dvd + and - r/rw so I have had to buy a cheap (£29.99) dvd player that plays anything to go along side the Panasonic. I can't get the pc to burn ram discs.
iandbeech said:
I did read somewhere that the dvds can either be recorded where the machine automatically writes from the beginning of the disc and others will record from where the last recording on that disc finished, eg they don`t overwrite but use up the unused space. I assumed that was something to do with the + or - , but I could be completely wrong!
You're right, you're wrong
Both +R and -R can be written in stages if you keep the disk open, ie not finalised. However you can't remove data, as you can with rewritables.
However, I've had very poor rates with RWs so I stick to -R for things I want to keep and RAM for things I'll watch once and delete.
I thought a DVD Recorder would be a panacea, but frankly I should have stayed wth VHS for a while longer.
My Sony recorder can write to both DVD-RW and DVD+RW. The main differences seem to be that DVD+RW disks don't need finalizing (4-minute operation) before you can play them on a DVD player or PC, DVD-RW does need finalizing. On the other hand, DVD-RW understands anamorphic 16x9 (widescreen) format, but DVD+RW doesn't, I have to manually set the TV to widescreen on playback of DVD+RW recordings.
>> Edited by mikef on Friday 15th April 22:53
>> Edited by mikef on Friday 15th April 22:53
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