DVD + - which way to go?

I've been wanting to buy a DVD burner for some time now and been
wondering what to buy. I've gathered info about what the differences are
between the + and - format but I've also been told contradicting info by
salesman about what they do and ultimately which way to go.

I want a DVD burner mainly to archive important data. But I also want a
burner that would let me create my own DVDs that would play in a stand
alone DVD player. Certain salesman told me that the format didn't matter
and that both would make it possible to do the two things I wanted. Some
told me to go with a + burner, others with a - burner. One told me that
it wasn't certain yet which way the market was gonna go, + or -, so he
couldn't really recommend anything. He told me to go with the Sony one
that supports both (maybe he just told me that to get me to buy a more
expensive burner). Anyway... For what I want to do which is:

- Archive data
- Create my own DVDs that would play in a normal DVD player

What would you recommend? + - or one that does both?
Also, any specific DVD burner you could recommend?

TIA for any suggestions.

Skippa wrote:
I've been wanting to buy a DVD burner for some time now and been
wondering what to buy. I've gathered info about what the differences are
between the + and - format but I've also been told contradicting info by
salesman about what they do and ultimately which way to go.

I want a DVD burner mainly to archive important data. But I also want a
burner that would let me create my own DVDs that would play in a stand
alone DVD player. Certain salesman told me that the format didn't matter
and that both would make it possible to do the two things I wanted. Some
told me to go with a + burner, others with a - burner. One told me that
it wasn't certain yet which way the market was gonna go, + or -, so he
couldn't really recommend anything. He told me to go with the Sony one
that supports both (maybe he just told me that to get me to buy a more
expensive burner). Anyway... For what I want to do which is:

- Archive data
- Create my own DVDs that would play in a normal DVD player

What would you recommend? + - or one that does both?
Also, any specific DVD burner you could recommend?

Honestly, just go with whatever's on sale at the time. Most set-top DVD
players should play all formats, +, -, R, RW, what have you. The only
thing I can think of is if you want to play DVDs on a PlayStation2, they
have to be in DVD-R format. Other than that, just go for what's cheapest.


--
Usenet is a strange reality where you see people beating up a patch of
grass where nine years ago there used to be a horse. -Nuke

I had a similar debate.

From what I've read, there's no winner so far. Both + and - seem to have
somewhat equal market share, prices, capability. There's no clear reason to
choose one over the other.

My inclination would be to recommend a drive like the Sony that supports
both + and -, then you don't care who wins down the line.

However, given that there are already many burners for both + and - out
there, and media prices are pretty close, articles I've read say that its
unlikely that either media will ever go away. The next better format will
probably show up before one of these goes away. There's blue light DVD with
capacity of 30 gig is in the works but there's infighting going on with the
standard (what else is new!). First burner is available for $3800.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-984520.html

In my case I ended up buying a + drive because it was 1/2 the price of any
+/- drive I could find locally. They have a + drive on sale for $150 at
Staples locally. The stores around here seem to carry mostly + drives so I
assume that format will be around for a while. Microsoft has also explicitly
sided on the + camp.

Proto wrote:
The only

thing I can think of is if you want to play DVDs on a PlayStation2, they
have to be in DVD-R format.


My PS2 plays fine with CD+RW


There is no CD+RW. The plus formats only apply to DVD's.

Check out the Iomega Dual +/- Drive. Just bought one for £170 - works
brilliantly on my old PIII 500 PC. No playback probs so far with quite a
few standalone players in our household.

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"Skippa" wrote in message
...
I've been wanting to buy a DVD burner for some time now and been
wondering what to buy. I've gathered info about what the differences are
between the + and - format but I've also been told contradicting info by
salesman about what they do and ultimately which way to go.

I want a DVD burner mainly to archive important data. But I also want a
burner that would let me create my own DVDs that would play in a stand
alone DVD player. Certain salesman told me that the format didn't matter
and that both would make it possible to do the two things I wanted. Some
told me to go with a + burner, others with a - burner. One told me that
it wasn't certain yet which way the market was gonna go, + or -, so he
couldn't really recommend anything. He told me to go with the Sony one
that supports both (maybe he just told me that to get me to buy a more
expensive burner). Anyway... For what I want to do which is:

- Archive data
- Create my own DVDs that would play in a normal DVD player

What would you recommend? + - or one that does both?
Also, any specific DVD burner you could recommend?

TIA for any suggestions.

On Wed, 09 Jul 2003 19:21:10 GMT
"dm" wrote:

I had a similar debate.

From what I've read, there's no winner so far. Both + and - seem to
have somewhat equal market share, prices, capability. There's no clear
reason to choose one over the other.

My inclination would be to recommend a drive like the Sony that
supports both + and -, then you don't care who wins down the line.

However, given that there are already many burners for both + and -
out there, and media prices are pretty close, articles I've read say
that its unlikely that either media will ever go away. The next better
format will probably show up before one of these goes away. There's
blue light DVD with capacity of 30 gig is in the works but there's
infighting going on with the standard (what else is new!). First
burner is available for $3800.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-984520.html

In my case I ended up buying a + drive because it was 1/2 the price of
any+/- drive I could find locally. They have a + drive on sale for
$150 at Staples locally. The stores around here seem to carry mostly +
drives so I assume that format will be around for a while. Microsoft
has also explicitly sided on the + camp.

Best bet right now, if you can find one and if it works as well as other
products by the manufacturer, is the LGE GSA-4040B--it's the only drive
I know of that writes all the common DVD formats--+/-R/RW and DVD-RAM.

Only one vendor is listing them as yet, and they show it "on-order" for
$225. Probably worth waiting a bit for.

--
--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

I have a multi format burner and have been experimenting with + and -
formats.

I have a Panasonic portable player which reads anything.

I also have a recent model Toshiba player but this will only play the -R
format (a friend has a different Toshiba model that plays +R)

From my experience go for -R to get the most widespread compatability.

David B


"Skippa" wrote in message
...
I've been wanting to buy a DVD burner for some time now and been
wondering what to buy. I've gathered info about what the differences are
between the + and - format but I've also been told contradicting info by
salesman about what they do and ultimately which way to go.

I want a DVD burner mainly to archive important data. But I also want a
burner that would let me create my own DVDs that would play in a stand
alone DVD player. Certain salesman told me that the format didn't matter
and that both would make it possible to do the two things I wanted. Some
told me to go with a + burner, others with a - burner. One told me that
it wasn't certain yet which way the market was gonna go, + or -, so he
couldn't really recommend anything. He told me to go with the Sony one
that supports both (maybe he just told me that to get me to buy a more
expensive burner). Anyway... For what I want to do which is:

- Archive data
- Create my own DVDs that would play in a normal DVD player

What would you recommend? + - or one that does both?
Also, any specific DVD burner you could recommend?

TIA for any suggestions.

Skippa wrote:

I've been wanting to buy a DVD burner for some time now and been
wondering what to buy. I've gathered info about what the differences are
between the + and - format but I've also been told contradicting info by
salesman about what they do and ultimately which way to go.

Hello, Skippa:

Well, I'm here to help. ;-)

I want a DVD burner mainly to archive important data. But I also want a
burner that would let me create my own DVDs that would play in a stand
alone DVD player. Certain salesman told me that the format didn't matter
and that both would make it possible to do the two things I wanted. Some
told me to go with a + burner, others with a - burner. One told me that
it wasn't certain yet which way the market was gonna go, + or -, so he
couldn't really recommend anything. He told me to go with the Sony one
that supports both (maybe he just told me that to get me to buy a more
expensive burner). Anyway... For what I want to do which is:

- Archive data

DVD-RAM. It functions as a hard disk, allowing drag-and-drop file
access, in Windows. Further, it can be rewritten, up to 100,000 times!
(Not nearly as universal as the other formats, unfortunately.)

- Create my own DVDs that would play in a normal DVD player

There's little to choose, between DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW, as either shall
suffice. Except, DVD+R/RW are somewhat newer and therefore, not as
compatible with older drives; they're a bit costlier, also.

Once, again, not a huge difference.

What would you recommend? + - or one that does both?

I'd prefer one of those, in combination with DVD-RAM. (See below.)

Also, any specific DVD burner you could recommend?

Matsu****a SW-9571-CYY (OEM)/Panasonic LF-D521 (retail version)
"Multi-Drive." This surprisingly inexpensive gem records to
DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM, in addition to CD-R/CD-RW.

I just installed a SW-9571-CYY, a few days ago, in fact. Lacking
DVD-RAM media, and still awaiting the arrival of my Nero "burning"
software, I haven't had a chance to give it a real test, yet.

TIA for any suggestions.

You're welcome, and good luck!


Cordially,
John Turco

"J.Clarke" wrote:

On Wed, 09 Jul 2003 19:21:10 GMT
"dm" wrote:

I had a similar debate.

From what I've read, there's no winner so far. Both + and - seem to
have somewhat equal market share, prices, capability. There's no clear
reason to choose one over the other.

My inclination would be to recommend a drive like the Sony that
supports both + and -, then you don't care who wins down the line.

However, given that there are already many burners for both + and -
out there, and media prices are pretty close, articles I've read say
that its unlikely that either media will ever go away. The next better
format will probably show up before one of these goes away. There's
blue light DVD with capacity of 30 gig is in the works but there's
infighting going on with the standard (what else is new!). First
burner is available for $3800.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-984520.html

In my case I ended up buying a + drive because it was 1/2 the price of
any+/- drive I could find locally. They have a + drive on sale for
$150 at Staples locally. The stores around here seem to carry mostly +
drives so I assume that format will be around for a while. Microsoft
has also explicitly sided on the + camp.

Best bet right now, if you can find one and if it works as well as other
products by the manufacturer, is the LGE GSA-4040B--it's the only drive
I know of that writes all the common DVD formats--+/-R/RW and DVD-RAM.

Only one vendor is listing them as yet, and they show it "on-order" for
$225. Probably worth waiting a bit for.

--
--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)


Hello, John:

Only two minor drawbacks, regarding the LGE GSA-4040B:

1) It's limited to DVD-RAM "Type II" (i.e., no cartridge) media.

2) It's not a Panasonic. G


Cordially,
John Turco

However, given that there are already many burners for both + and - out
there, and media prices are pretty close, articles I've read say that its
unlikely that either media will ever go away. The next better format will
probably show up before one of these goes away. There's blue light DVD
with
capacity of 30 gig is in the works but there's infighting going on with
the
standard (what else is new!). First burner is available for $3800.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-984520.html

any idea when these will be widely available for reasonable prices?