help re DVD rewriters

Im a new user and am struggling to come to terms with the following
regarding DVD burners:
What are the meaning of DVD -R ,+R ,-RW,+RW and +R DL ?? and the associated
speeds?

Any help much appreciated.

-R and +R are writable once, readable as often as you like. Once burned,
that's it, if you don't like what you've burned, you can't erase it and
start again.

-RW and +RW and re-writable.... if you don't like what you've burned or had
enough of it, you can erase it and burn on it again.

The fastest burners at the moment write at 16x. Don't confuse this with the
52x for CD burners. It's NOT that much slower for DVD drives, you are
transferring a LOT more data.

However, the 16x DVD burners are for the FIRST write.... the re-write will
be slower....

AND you must have the DVDs of the corresponding speed to write that fast.
My Pioneer A06 writes at 4x. OK, so I could get an 8x burner, but the DVDs
I have right now are all 4x, so it would be a fairly pointless exercise
since I'm limited by the speed of the disks that I have. When they're all
gone, I might consider upgrading.

If you're wondering what your standalone DVD player will cope with, see the
articles at www.dvdrhelp.com
--
Cari (MS-MVP) Windows Client - Printing/Imaging and Hardware
www.coribright.com

"Andy" wrote in message
...
Im a new user and am struggling to come to terms with the following
regarding DVD burners:
What are the meaning of DVD -R ,+R ,-RW,+RW and +R DL ?? and the
associated speeds?

Any help much appreciated.

In addition to what Cari posted I'll add that -R and -R/W (pronounced "dash"
R, "dash"R/W) differ somewhat from +R and +R/W (pronounced like it looks
"plus" R etc). Both are like their counterparts in CDs but the +R and +R/W
format is newer and is an enhanced format. Some older DVD players won't
accept the + format. However most newer players will handle both formats
fine. But if you intend to create DVDs to be read on any DVD player like one
connected to a TV then check to ensure it will accept the DVD + format
before using that type of disk. I create photo albums for my family. Some
have older DVD players therefore I use on the - format. My home system can
accept either so it doesn't matter which type I use.

Some DVD writers will only accept either the - format or the + format
therefore blanks are not interchangeable on those burners. Many new DVD
burners will accept either format but check to ensure that it does. As a
rule the + format burns faster than the - format. If a DVD burner is rated
as a 16X burner it is highly likely it will burn + R at the speed but will
likely burn a -R at a slower speed.

Finally I've found that +R/W media is more stable than -R/W on both my
liteon DVD and my Toshiba DVD.

--

Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


"Andy" wrote in message
...
| Im a new user and am struggling to come to terms with the following
| regarding DVD burners:
| What are the meaning of DVD -R ,+R ,-RW,+RW and +R DL ?? and the
associated
| speeds?
|
| Any help much appreciated.
|
|

Harry Ohrn wrote:

In addition to what Cari posted I'll add that -R and -R/W (pronounced "dash"
R, "dash"R/W) differ somewhat from +R and +R/W (pronounced like it looks
"plus" R etc). Both are like their counterparts in CDs but the +R and +R/W
format is newer and is an enhanced format.

In fact, they're concurrent; they were developed by two different
consortia and have been battling (like VHS and Beta) ever since DVD
recording came onto the market. They are almost distinct without a
difference, so while capabilities (higher speeds, etc.) seem to be
coming to +R/+RW first, that's because Philips is behind the format.

The key is that some recorders and some players take only one type. A
second factor is that DVD-ROM is a bit trickier (and less likely to give
happy results) on the + media.

Mike
--

http://www.mrichter.com/

.. --------------------------------------
Mike Richter, were you born with
"Scam Artist" emblazoned on your face?
--------------------------------------
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm...mindspring.com

( No Pipsqueaks have been able to prove ANY of the above is a LIBEL )
( -- despite Mikey claimed to have proof of misquotes !! )


Mike Richter (Friggin Scum) screeched:

Harry Ohrn wrote:

In addition to what Cari posted I'll add that -R and -R/W (pronounced "dash"
R, "dash"R/W) differ somewhat from +R and +R/W (pronounced like it looks
"plus" R etc). Both are like their counterparts in CDs but the +R and +R/W
format is newer and is an enhanced format.

In fact, they're concurrent;

Sure, Mikey:

What about recordable DVD: DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD+R?
http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#4.3

DVD-R was first available in fall 1997.
DVD+R was released in mid 2002.

DVD-RW came out in Japan in December 1999
DVD+RW became available in fall 2001.

.. --------------------------------------
Mike Richter, were you born with
"Scam Artist" emblazoned on your face?
--------------------------------------
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm...mindspring.com

( No Pipsqueaks have been able to prove ANY of the above is a LIBEL )
( -- despite Mikey claimed to have proof of misquotes !! )


Mike Richter (Friggin Scum) screeched:

Harry Ohrn wrote:
In addition to what Cari posted I'll add that -R and -R/W (pronounced "dash"
R, "dash"R/W) differ somewhat from +R and +R/W (pronounced like it looks
"plus" R etc). Both are like their counterparts in CDs but the +R and +R/W
format is newer and is an enhanced format.


DVD-ROM is a bit trickier on the + media.

Sounds like you have extensive experience in DVD burning.
Forgot about DVD-Video?

======================
From: Mike Richter (Friggin Scum)
Date: 9/2/04

My own experience is limited
- assuming you mean DVD-Video:

DVD+R is a bit trickier
=======================

BTW, what you mean by "trickier"? Did burning to the + media require
you to use a needle, a magnifying glass and a cigarette lighter?

--------------------------------------
Mike Richter, were you born with
"Scam Artist" emblazoned on your face?
--------------------------------------