DVD+R vs. DVD-R

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2002-09-15 02:30am

I'm just getting into DVD piracy, and I have the ripping and burning processes down pat, but can anybody tell me what the hell the difference is between DVD+R and DVD-R?

My burner (Philips DVD+RW/+R 228) does DVD+R but not DVD-R. This wouldn't be a problem except that I accidentally bought some DVD-Rs and was quite disappointed to find out that they didn't work.

Now that I know they don't work, can anyone tell me why?

Alferd Packer · Post by **Alferd Packer** » 2002-09-15 02:51am

Where I come from, admission of illegal activity such as DVD piracy is grounds for banning. But I don't run these here parts, so I guess I'll just leave that up to the proper authorities.

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2002-09-15 02:54am

LOL; sorry to hear you hail from Nazi Germany.

Alferd Packer · Post by **Alferd Packer** » 2002-09-15 03:03am

Well, it's Mike's goose you cook by discussing such things. If someone who goes around looking for pirates to nab comes across a thread on this board in which the act of piracy can be shown to have taken place, Mike's just as accountable as you are.

Since DVD piracy is a fairly new practice, however, and very few people do it (compared to MP3 piracy), I think you're relatively safe. Warez and the like, however, would not be a good idea to discuss.

Besides, aren't DVD-Rs or DVD+Rs very expensive? So much so that DVD piracy isn't really worth it anyway?

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2002-09-15 03:21am

Well, as long as nothing gets said that proves that I pirated anything. And to set the record straight, this isn't hardcore piracy where I sell anything; I'm just making copies of things I don't own, which for some dumb reason is illegal.

My best defense against any stupid e-narcs is that I could be lying. For all any of you know, I could be a twelve year-old girl.

So I don't see how there's anything wrong with us discussing the theory of ripping and burning DVDs, and telling me what the difference is between DVD-R and DVD+R, for simple technical knowledge. Doesn't everybody want to expand their intelligence by absorbing new knowledge?

Besides, Lord Wong has a bunch of detailed DVD burning articles on his site, so I don't think he minds.

Oh, and blank DVDs aren't that expensive. From my recon at Fry's today, a 5 pack of DVD-R will run you about $25-$30 American, but those turned out to be the ones I didn't want. DVD-RW are more expensive. The ones that I think I want to get go for $17 for three. If you get the movie you're copying for free (i.e. borrow it), that's very worth it.

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2002-09-15 03:27am

Oh, and just to make sure the government picks up this thread on their scanners:

CERAMIC PISTOL HEROIN BORDER SMUGGLE BOMB PRESIDENT ASSASSINATE.

That should do it.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2002-09-15 03:32am

Alferd Packer wrote:Well, it's Mike's goose you cook by discussing such things. If someone who goes around looking for pirates to nab comes across a thread on this board in which the act of piracy can be shown to have taken place, Mike's just as accountable as you are.

The DMCA is an American fascist law. However, I live in Canada. Besides, even under John Ashcroft's United Neo-Nazi States of America, it's still not illegal to discuss piracy or even to openly encourage it, as long as you don't make the software available to actually do it (for now).

Besides, aren't DVD-Rs or DVD+Rs very expensive? So much so that DVD piracy isn't really worth it anyway?

That's the bigger problem; you pay so much for a blank DVD-R that you're better off just buying the movie. But that was once true of CD-R's too, and look at what happened.

Enlightenment · Post by **Enlightenment** » 2002-09-15 03:53am

Darth Wong wrote: That's the bigger problem; you pay so much for a blank DVD-R that you're better off just buying the movie. But that was once true of CD-R's too, and look at what happened.

It's unlikely that anything similar is going to happen to DVD recordable/rewritable media prices. The entertainment conglomorates will be applying considerable pressure to keep DVD-R media prices from dropping to the point that DVD sharing becomes economical. Indeed, DVD-R prices will quite likely rise in lock step with increases in DVD movie prices. If the <cough> 'market' doesn't see to this through the invisible extened middle finger of anticompedative corporate corruption, you can be sure suitable blank media royalty legislation will be rapidly enacted as a result of a few hundred thousand dollars worth of bribes handed out by the Associations of America.

Crown · Post by **Crown** » 2002-09-15 04:05am

Enlightenment while I agree, we are also neglecting the fact that alot of electronic firms are bringing out DVD players/recorders, and I think that while DVDR's might never drop to the same price of CD-R's, once an industry standard is met, they might drop to VHS prices.

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2002-09-15 11:23am

Robert Treder wrote: For all any of you know, I could be a twelve year-old girl.

You mean you're not?

Subnormal · Post by **Subnormal** » 2002-09-15 02:47pm

I can't see the reasoning of buying and writing DVDs as you could cheaply rip the DVD and write in on a normal CD-R as a VCD, which will play normally on any dvd player. Not that I actually do this being as I don't have a readable writeable CD rom drive. Thought I believe you lose a small amount of quality and you don't have animated menus, but whoop de doo, AYE.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2002-09-15 03:35pm

countdooku wrote:I can't see the reasoning of buying and writing DVDs as you could cheaply rip the DVD and write in on a normal CD-R as a VCD, which will play normally on any dvd player. Not that I actually do this being as I don't have a readable writeable CD rom drive. Thought I believe you lose a small amount of quality and you don't have animated menus, but whoop de doo, AYE.

Actually, you lose quite a bit of quality. I've not seen an (S)VCD at the quality of DVD yet. There's simply not enough data on the CD-ROM for decent quality. Maybe MPEG4/DivX style codecs, but even those aren't quite as good (my two-CD Gladiator set looks good, but not DVD-good).

If MPEG4's framework is as flexible as the QuickTime one it's based on, it could support menus and such (QT is a remarkably flexible system, far more than AVI or OpenDMF).

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2002-09-16 01:37am

Yeah, with a DVD+R, it's exactly the same quality as the original. Even animated menus.
So it is better than making VCDs, which I used to do prior to getting my DVD burner.

And at 3 blank DVDs for $20, it's definitely worth it. I do hope the medium becomes cheaper with time.

Oh, and Tsyroc, let's try to keep that secret on the down-low, ok?