What is the difference between dvd -r and dvd +r?

Answer 1

Basically, they are different / competing formats for writeable DVDs. Without the "W", they are single-write formats. For detailed info, check out these entries on Wikipedia:

DVD-R: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD-R

DVD+R: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD+R

From Answerbag.com:

DVD-R:
Benefits: Better DVD playback compatiblity within home DVD players.
Drawbacks: Older technology and less money behind the format means that they come out with faster media and burner technology slower. You will frequently see DVD burners that will support (for instance) 16X DVD+R and only 8X DVD-R.

DVD+R:
Benefits: Faster speeds, more inovations like Double Layer discs (8.5 GB)
Drawbacks: Will not play is some home DVD players. If you know your home DVD player will play DVD+Rs then there is no reason to not use them.

Answer 2

They are different formats. The fact of the matter is when DVD burners first became available, you had to use the - formula. At this point almost every new burner supports both. I don't think there's any real difference other than that, either in the amount of data stored or the speed of writing.

Answer 3

dvd -r is an older technology, and dvd +r is newer.
dvd -r seems to be compatible on more devices than dvd +r
dvd +r is said to be of better quality than -r
Many advice is: Find out if your device is +r compatible
If it's not or you're not sure: Buy dvd -r.

Answer 4

Hi. The recording and playback format. One uses a bit more overhead (- r I think) but they both work. I use + r because I have had good luck with it.