Hi all, I recently got a dvd burner, could you tell me the difference between -R and + R dvds?

Question

Actually im finding that the +R's seem to skip after they are burned, as in the movie skips or freezes and was wondering if the problem was they were +R's and not -R's.. The skipping is very frustrating

Answer 1

DVD stands for Digital Versatile/Video Disc, DVDR stands for DVD Recordable and DVDRW for DVD ReWriteable. If you're familiar with regular audio/music CDs or regular DVD-Video discs, then you will know what a recordable DVD looks like. A recordable DVD stores up to 2 hours of very good quality DVD-Video, including several audio tracks in formats like stereo, Dolby Digital or DTS and also advanced menu systems, subtitles and still pictures that can be played by many standalone DVD Players and most computer DVD-ROMs. If you choose to lower the video quality it is possible to store several hours video on a recordable DVD using low bitrates and low resolution with video quality more like VHS, SVHS, SVCD, CVD or VCD. It is also possible to have up to 4.37* GB ordinary data or mix DVD-Video and data on a recordable DVD that can be played by most computer DVD-ROMs.

There are three competing DVD Recording standards, DVD-R/DVD-RW and DVD+R/DVD+RW have pretty similiar features and are compatible with many standalone DVD Players and most DVD-ROMs while DVD-RAM has less DVD Player and DVD-ROM compatibility but better recording features.

DVD-R and DVD-RW
DVD-R was the first DVD recording format released that was compatible with standalone DVD Players.
DVD-R is a non-rewriteable format and it is compatible with about 93% of all DVD Players and most DVD-ROMs.
DVD-RW is a rewriteable format and it is compatible with about 80% of all DVD Players and most DVD-ROMs.
DVD-R and DVD-RW supports single side 4.37 computer GB* DVDs(called DVD-5) and double sided 8.75 computer GB* DVDs(called DVD-10).
These formats are supported by DVDForum.

DVD+R and DVD+RW
DVD+R is a non-rewritable format and it is compatible with about 89% of all DVD Players and most DVD-ROMs.
DVD+RW is a rewritable format and is compatible with about 79% of all DVD Players and most DVD-ROMs.
DVD+R and DVD+RW supports single side 4.37 computer GB* DVDs(called DVD-5) and double side 8.75 computer GB* DVDs(called DVD-10).
These formats are supported by the DVD+RW Alliance.

DVD+R DL
DVD+R DL or called DVD+R9 is a Dual Layer writeable DVD+R. The dual layered discs can hold 7.95 computer GB* (called DVD-9) and dual layered double sides 15.9* computer GB (called dvd-18).

DVD-R DL
DVD-R DL or called DVD-R9 is a Dual Layer writeable DVD-R. The dual layered discs can hold 7.95 computer GB* (called DVD-9) and dual layered double sides 15.9* computer GB (called dvd-18).

DVD-RAM
DVD-RAM has the best recording features but it is not compatible with most DVD-ROM drives and DVD-Video players. Think more of it as a removable hard disk. DVD-RAM is usually used in some DVD Recorders.
This format is supported by DVDForum.


Read our DVD Writers and Recorders list and read also our DVD Players Compatibility list to see what types your standalone DVD Player supports. You find more detailed comparisons between the formats in the more info section here.



DVD Sizes

The DVD sizes can be a bit confusing. There are basicly 4 different DVD Sizes,

DVD-5, holds around 4 700 000 000 bytes and that is 4.37 computer GB where 1 kbyte is 1024 bytes* . DVD+R/DVD+RW and DVD-R/DVD-RW supports this format. Also called Single Sided Single Layered. This is the most common DVD Media, often called 4.7 GB Media.

DVD-10, holds around 9 400 000 000 bytes and that is 8.75 computer GB. DVD+R/DVD+RW and DVD-R/DVD-RW supports this format. Also called Double Sided Single Layered.

DVD-9, holds around 8 540 000 000 bytes and that is 7.95 computer GB. DVD+R supports this format. Also called Single Sided Dual Layered. This media is called DVD-R9, DVD-R DL, DVD+R9, DVD+R DL or 8.5 GB Media.

DVD-18, holds around 17 080 000 000 bytes and that is 15.9 computer GB. DVD+R supports this format. Also called Double Sided Dual Layered.

* In the computer world is 1 KB data = 1024 bytes so 4 700 000 000 bytes / 1024 = 4 589 843KB / 1024 = 4482MB / 1024 = 4.37GB. See section 3.3 in the DVDDemystified FAQ here.


DVD+R/DVD+RW/DVD+R DL and DVD-R/DVD-RW exact sizes
DVD-R/DVD-RW = 4 706 074 624 bytes ( 4488 MB )
DVD+R/DVD+RW = 4 700 372 992 bytes ( 4482 MB )
DVD+R DL = 8 547 993 600 bytes ( 8152 MB )

Answer 2

Ok I see no one wants to bit on the answer So here is the answer
true that one of the two will die out and that one will be -r

the difference between the two is that they arte useing a computer dos command to make the disk copy proof or not copy proof after you recorded on it . have you noticed most DVR player sold today are DVD +r only ? that means that you can not make copies of what you recorded
so there is the answer

Answer 3

Chances are if you bought a DVD burner recently, it'll burn both types. It's been my experience, though, that DVD-R discs play more reliably with most DVD players than DVD+R discs.

Answer 4

DVD-R is the best type of DVD media for playing on any type of DVD player. DVD+R sort of restricts the compatibility.

Answer 5

-R and +R are simply two formats for recordable discs. The theory was that, eventually one would die out and the other would saturate the market which hasn't happened as of yet.

Either disc will work fine and have the same capacity.

Answer 6

DVD-R Once only -- 4.7 GB Highly compatible with set-top DVD players.
DVD+R Once only -- 4.7 GB Compatible with set-top players.

Answer 7

there is almost no difference in them, if any. right now the ones i have are dvd+r, but i always wanted to know the difference. if you find out, email me.

Answer 8

i believe dvd-r is slightly better, but not very noticeably. so it is mostly personal preference.

Answer 9

disks don't matter its the player if they can read both you are ok. But there are some out there that cannot read both.