Re: DVD+R vs DVD - R

MikeM added these comments in the current discussion du jour ...

I was told by a salesman that the 50 packs of TDK DVD+Rs are
$20 dearer than 50 packs of DVD-Rs because the DVD+Rs are
intended for archival use whereas the DVD-Rs are for recording
things like TV shows. This is not what I've been told about
the difference in the past. The packs seem to be almost
identical, no mention of quality on either pack.

Mike, are you intending to use either of these DVD types on your
PC or a TV DVR or both? I personally like Verbatim DVD-R the best
on my PC because they are the most reliable. Most other brands of
DVD-R also work generally very well on my PC but I stay away from
the no-name discs or store brands. The reason is that these
things are a dollar or less, sometimes two bits when on sale for
a spindle of 50 or 100 and it makes no sense to shave a few
pennies only to find out later there was some corruption even
with a no-errors burn.

I also have a Panasonic DVR with a VHS tape drive and a DVD
reader/burner. It will use either DVD-R or DVD+R but wants to
format the +R even though it is unnecessary. Some brands, such as
Memorex -R or +R simply will not burn on the DVR. It gets
anywhere from 50% complete to 100% and is in the process of
"finalizing" the disc when it fails. So, I use Verbatim -R
exclusively.

You didn't mention dual layer DVD-R/+R, but here's my experience
with those: I find that both Memorex and Verbatim of either type
work perfectly fine on my PC. Other name brands such as Sony also
work OK. I use these when I need to either pack as many gigs
worth of files as I can onto one disc or the size of the file
exceeds a single layer capacity. e.g., my Acronis True Image
image files average between 5 and 6 gig depending on compression.

My Panasonic DVR will burn a dual-layer disc but it is quite
unreliable, sometimes over a 50% failure rate. So, to get around
that, I increase the compression of the copy from either cable TV
or VHS tapes so movies fit. Since I am still on analog cable and
do not (yet) need higher quality DVR files to burn to DVD for
HDTV shows, the lower quality ratings do not show visible
degradation, at least for me.

As to what your salesman told you, it is exactly what the droids
at one computer store, Best Buy, and Circuit City tell me, but
when I challenge them as to why a +R is better, they give me a
blank stare and mumble some nonsense about it being a newer
technology. Well, OK, but new is not synonymous with better
always.

As far as longevity is concerned, what I have learned Googling on
this issue some time back (so I am likely out of date), discs can
and do degrade over time but I couldn't find a clear consensus on
the lifely life before failures. But, a far bigger issue to me is
that 10, 20, 50, 100 years from now when your children's children
attempt to view your family or vacation movies, DVD technology
and the multiple kinds of files that can be burned may well be as
obsolete as 8" or 5.25" floppies or 8-track tapes. But, to try to
mitigate the possibility of an immediate failure of some kind
and/or some unknown failure over time, I create new discs
periodically for the most important of my data. I did the same
with CD-R before I had a DVD burner and discs were economical
enough.

I'm sure I went beyond your basic question and may have missed
your entire point but I hope I've given you some personal
experience for you to evaluate in your situation.

Good luck and have a great week!

P.S. I have also had very good results with TDK. I always buy
spindles because I can buy a box of 100 thin jewel cases for only
$15 in clear or about $35 or so for the fancy multi-colored jobs.

--
HP, aka Jerry

"Never complain, never explain" - Henry Ford II
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: DVD+R vs DVD - R
    ... The packs seem to be almost ... DVD-R also work generally very well on my PC but I stay away from ... the no-name discs or store brands. ... layer DVD+R, but, I've never bought any such discs. ...
    (rec.photo.digital)
  • Re: Modern Video sent this to me...
    ... DVD-R or CD-R when using a MAC to burn disk. ... When burned properly, these discs are ... Set your software to burn DVD-R discs in UDF 1.02 format. ... FPS NDF time code DEVA IV & V PLEASE use at least Ver 2.27 per ...
    (rec.arts.movies.production.sound)
  • Re: Modern Video sent this to me...
    ... DVD-R or CD-R when using a MAC to burn disk. ... When burned properly, these discs are ... Set your software to burn DVD-R discs in UDF 1.02 format. ... FPS NDF time code DEVA IV & V PLEASE use at least Ver 2.27 per ...
    (rec.arts.movies.production.sound)
  • Modern Video sent this to me...
    ... Including the Sound Devices 744T, 702T, Nagra V, Metacorder, etc. ... DVD-R or CD-R when using a MAC to burn disk. ... When burned properly, these discs are ... Set your software to burn DVD-R discs in UDF 1.02 format. ...
    (rec.arts.movies.production.sound)
  • Re: DVDs or FOSTEX dv40
    ... I received a very nice email from Mike Paul at Location Sound. ... Does not play files larger than 8 tracks. ... I have successfully tested discs from the following machines ... Aaton Cantar (DVD-RAM, DVD-R, CD-R) ...
    (rec.arts.movies.production.sound)
Loading