dvd burner....need more input

[KiLLaJ17]

I am in the market for a dvd burner and looking at the 8x lite-on or 8x pioneer.
I am just lost on the different types of dvd r's there is the + and - what is the difference?
which should i use and why?
is there a price difference in the 2 and which are better?
I am going to be using this to back up my dvd movies and storage for my important files and docs.
and what program lets me make a dvd r with a menu to select different avi and or mpg files? or is there such a way to do it.

all help is appreciated.

http://www.techimo.com/articles/index.pl?photo=139


types of media

[HeadBand]

a software for menus and stuff should come with your burner if you buy retail but the videos will need to be reencoded before you put them on the disk....i know nero does that for you though

and just fyi dual layer is coming this spring so you will be able to dirrectly back up your dvd's and not have to cut out the special features and shrink the video quality....so if you are planning to use this for a few years before you upgrade it you might want to wait

[KiLLaJ17]

i see the difference between the 2 types but which is better and how do i know what to use with my dvd player(s)??

[butch81385]

i will search for the link (but it may take time so you other people can look too). there was a website that had user reviews of which type worked with which dvd players. best thing to do is (if you know someone with a burner) try them for your self. i have a dual format so i got to try them both when i got it. every player in my house reads +, but only the computers and my xbox read -... different for every player though...

[butch81385]

here you go

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdplayers

[Jon11582]

Check this one out.

From thier tests, DVD-r's are more compatable than DVD+r's with DVD players. (96% vs 87%). My interpretation is that if your in the worst 4%, you cant play either anyways, and if your in the better 87%, you can play both, so theres only a 9% chance that you can play a DVD-R on your set top and not a DVD+R. IMO, its pretty doubtful that you fall within this 9% with any devices you have. (See Edit below)

However, DVD+r seems to scale faster. (DVD+R 8x came out before DVD-R 8x. I also read somewere that DVD+R is better for multisession since the gaps between sessions are smaller. There may be a few other things too.

Prices are about the same.

I know theres alot of fuss about if + or - is better, but my suggestion is just to find whatevers on sale and snag it. Each as subtle pros and cons, but its not enough to justify paying any more money for.

I personally have a Dual 4x Liteon drive, have only used DVD+-Rs for data, and have never burned a DVD+R, so I'm definitly not the most qualified to say "doesn't matter". I've been using DVD-Rs since they were the same price the last time DVDs went on sale, and I just read the compatability article I linked above.

All I know is I'm going dual layer once they come out. You can quibble about + vs - now, but u cant argue with 9 gigs on a disc. If you can make it through the winter, I'd suggest you do the same.


---EDIT----

I made the assumption that the 4% that couldnt play DVD+R also couldnt play DVD-R. Apparently its not, so my %'s are off. Assuming thier all mutually exclusive, there can be up to 17% of players that wont play one but will play the other. Maybe a dual drive is something that would be good to invest in if you are going to use it in several players, or you have an old DVD player.

Ive read that XBox will only play DVD+R and PS2 will only play DVD-R.

[butch81385]

about the xbox and ps2, it depends which dvd rom your specific model has. my xbox plays both..

[bfcx]

My PS2 plays +R's, but not cheap +r's. Got 200 +r's for like 85 cents a peace, they are really dull color and dont reflect enough light. Play fine in dvd players but not in the PS2, traded a friend for a few darker colored ones and they play fine. Cheap isnt always the best route

[Kreuzemissle]

Make sure to purchase a DVD rewritable drive that handles all the formats (+R/RW and -R/RW) otherwise you will be limited to the format that the drive is compatible with. I have a Liteon LDW 811-s, its an 8x; I had a few coasters at first but that was my fault for not doing my homework before burning and ripping. Scroll through some of the forums on this site, particularly in the Multimedia and Audio forum; you should find tons of posts very similar to the ?'s you are asking. Make sure to do your homework on this DVD ripping and burning so you don't get frustrated and waste money up front. Have fun!