What is the difference between DVD+R and DVD-R?

Dillon · Post by **Dillon** » 2005-02-10 12:43am

Can anyone help me with this? I recently installed a DVD burner on my mom's computer, and when she went to buy recordable DVD's, she called me to ask what the difference is. Only problem is, I had no idea.

Post by **fgalkin** » 2005-02-10 12:44am

DVD+R disks will not work on DVD-R burners and vice versa. I've learnt this the hard way.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Dillon · Post by **Dillon** » 2005-02-10 12:47am

Thanks a lot!

Is there any difference in quality and performance between the two, or are they pretty much the same? Other than the incompatibility, of course.

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2005-02-10 01:35am

Pretty much exactly the same.

Lord of the Farce · Post by **Lord of the Farce** » 2005-02-10 01:38am

I'm not certain about it but IIRC (read it in a computer magazine a while back), DVD+R is supposed to be better when it comes to data, and DVD-R is better for playback.

andrewgpaul · Post by **andrewgpaul** » 2005-02-10 01:35pm

I am told the technical difference between the two, is one rotates in the opposite direction to the other

CDS · Post by **CDS** » 2005-02-10 02:06pm

The same difference between VCR and Betamax.

Don't worry about it. Most drives nowadays will read either type and only write to one (I think it's + but I cant remember) - but to be safe, check the description before you buy.

Datana · Post by **Datana** » 2005-02-10 02:13pm

Essentially, DVD-R is split into different subtypes depending on whether you're a consumer or author ([G] and [A] formats), and is oriented towards recording video. Compatibility with set-top units is supposedly higher as a result, but is also supposedly less optimal for data. DVD+R, however, was intended to be a multipurpose format from the start, with provisions for both data and video. In the end, despite the physical differences in disc design, there's not much of a practical difference between the formats except that you can't write one type of disc in the other type of drive (though +R has much more reliable multisession writing, in my own experience). Most drives made recently will read both formats and will write to one (usually -R if for a Mac, and +R if a PC).

desertjedi · Post by **desertjedi** » 2005-02-10 02:13pm

They are just different specifications using the same basic media DVD. Don't worry about it though, most dvd burners are made for both and alot of dvd players can read from both too.

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2005-02-10 04:06pm

Datana wrote:Essentially, DVD-R is split into different subtypes depending on whether you're a consumer or author ([G] and [A] formats), and is oriented towards recording video. Compatibility with set-top units is supposedly higher as a result, but is also supposedly less optimal for data. DVD+R, however, was intended to be a multipurpose format from the start, with provisions for both data and video. In the end, despite the physical differences in disc design, there's not much of a practical difference between the formats except that you can't write one type of disc in the other type of drive (though +R has much more reliable multisession writing, in my own experience). Most drives made recently will read both formats and will write to one (usually -R if for a Mac, and +R if a PC).

My PC has -R and no +. I think -R is more common.

The latest, just-released-last-week PowerBooks (Macs) have + and - burning.

Crayz9000 · Post by **Crayz9000** » 2005-02-10 04:09pm

I've made both DVD+R video discs and DVD-R video discs. DVD players tend to stutter and jump a lot with DVD+R discs, even when they were burned at a slower speed. DVD-R, on the other hand, has much smoother playback, likely due to the aforementioned features.

The Cleric · Post by **The Cleric** » 2005-02-10 04:13pm

One has a + and the other a -.

Have a very nice day,

SOD

Slartibartfast · Post by **Slartibartfast** » 2005-02-10 04:29pm

I have a BenQ drive that says DVD+R everywhere in little labels over it, and I bought a bunch of dvds that say "DVD-R", and so far I've successfully recorded about 4 or 5 (I made two coasters but I'm positive that's because I had repeated buffer underruns from trying to read from an older HD at 4x). I test them before I delete the crap I record, so they're definitely ok...

Maybe the label is misleading and the device is actually DVD-R? Or maybe it supports both formats? I don't get it, from this thread it shouldn't be working.

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2005-02-10 05:24pm

There are lots of dual format drives.

Icehawk · Post by **Icehawk** » 2005-02-10 06:07pm

The main companies from what ive seen (Plextor, LG, LiteON, etc) have their mainstreme DVD Writers fully compatible with reading and writing to BOTH forms (and others as well). Maybe 2 or 3 years ago they were limited but in the last year I have only ever seen DVD Writers which are fully compatible with reading and writing both formats.

As for the differences between +R and -R: I learned it as that -R is the most compatible with set top DVD players and thus best used for burning and watching movies from and that +R was the best for raw data storage but less compatible with set top DVD players and thus not as good choice for burning movies too.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2005-02-10 06:54pm

DVD+R with bitsetting to make it look like a DVD-ROM is most compatible with set-top DVD players. DVD-R and 'normal' DVD+R are marginally less compatible, in that order.

Try to buy quality media -- usually if something says "Made in Japan" it'll be good. This site is also a good guide.