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DVD + -


Gowator
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This is my understanding:

Different machines understand +R/RW or -R/RW for reading. No one is sure which protocol(?) is going to be the one to stick around. It seems that the older DVD ROMs in my experience do not understand +R/RW. I just bought the DVD burner seen in my sig and put it in my system which is now about 3 years old. My DVD ROM (original with the system) does not read +R/RW disks.

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the + dvds have more room. if I remember correctly, +'s store 8 hours/respective gigs while -'s only store 4 hours/respective gigs (I don't know the exact gig amounts-bad memory and all)

 

I may be off on the hours, but basically +'s store more info that -'s

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It's all about recording speed, I think, among a few other things. Also, you still have to deal with compatibility issues. As far as I know, the storage space is still the same.

 

http://www.dvdplusrw.org/pc/pccomparison.html#10

http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdplayers

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Some advantages of dvd+rw:

it has more precise (over)write capabilities, is technically 'better'.

Read also:

http://fy.chalmers.se/~appro/linux/DVD+RW/

scroll to the end to get the technically interesting info.

 

In other words, there is no difference on a dvd+rw written in multiple goes with some parts exchanges etc and a DAO (disc at once), as far as afterwards reading goes. This is a 'really good point' which shows the excellence of the format.

 

Check the links of steve_s, very interesting comparisons there too.

 

For me it is clear: dvd+ is the technology to go.

It is more advanced in several ways, more interesting...

1- faster rw write speeds (2.4 instead of 2, will soon be 4x)

2- soon to have 8x +r write speeds

3- formatting done in background

4- can be used as arbitrary file system, mount rainier compliant (drag and drop etc is possible, just as on a hard/floppydisk)

 

And don't worry about compatibility, just check with the last link of steve's post if your current drive is compatible. As long as people pay attention now, there won't be any drive in the near future that can't read both dvd+ and - discs. Just as you can't buy a cd-rom drive that doesn't read cd-rw discs anymore.

 

If people keep buying drives that don't read both, too bad... then it will be like the sony dvd-players that very often don't read cd-rw discs..

 

So for future compatibility, there's no big worry. And if you buy a drive for your own system, you don't even care if your current dvd-rom can or cannot read your discs, since you'll have your burner.

 

Somehow, people are blowing the issues out of proportion. This is NOT a repeat of the Video2000 vs Betamax vs VHS events. The discs are physically compatible (at least on the read level, not on the writing level), they all fit in the same drives, and it is up to the firmware to make sense of the data.

Compatibility is not so difficult to have (for the manufacturer). Except for dvd- video recorders that have to be set to compatibility mode when recording, ...

 

Note that for video applications, the dvd+ format is clearly better, you don't have to decide in advance if you want to make a disc with the best quality or with compatibility...

 

It seems that dvd+ clearly has the edge lately in terms of sales, and especially in terms of rampup of sales. Don't forget that dvd+ video recorders and data drives came onto the market a year or so after dvd- recorders/drives. And already they seem to be on par.

 

So for me it will clearly be dvd+

 

As an aside: Apple is in the dvd- camp, mostly pushed and developed by Panasonic. But even panasonic has a dvd-/+ drive now.

Dell and HP/Compaq are in the dvd+ camp (and only +), as is: PLEXTOR.

Dell and HP are not yet selling as many dvd+ drives as apple, since on apples they are standard, but their numbers are increasing and that will tip the scale.

BTW that Microsoft is on the dvd+ side has no relevance in the greater light of things, it merely means drag and drop will eventually work on an MSWin system. Big deal. Now you can do that with packet writing through a 3rd party app. Small difference, so no relevance there. Dell and HP backing dvd+ is much much more important.

 

Drives that do only - are getting rare, and there are still plenty of drives that do only +

Also, drives that do + and - are more expensive since they have to pay for both types of royalties.

 

In the end, the only thing that matters is the speed you can get (which will likely not be very different on + or - ) and the price you pay.

 

And don't worry too much, if you get a dvd+ drive today and that format fails, in 2 years (or whenever the drive wears out or the difference in price of the media gets too big) you just buy a drive that is the right format, or you buy the next drive in the evolution, which is Blue-Ray based.

Remember, in 2 years the drives are going to be about the same price as the cd-burners are today. That's right, about 50 to 80 dollars.

 

So in the end, the price of the empty media is most important, and that depends on the quantity of sales/production. Basically, per MB either dvd recording format is already cheaper or in the same range as cd-r(w).

 

If dvd+ is more sold (which it apparantly is in my part of the world), dvd+ discs will drop fastest and more in price.

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