I'm looking at replacing my CD-RW drive with a DVD burner...what's the difference between the -R and the +R suffixes?

okay the DVD-R and +R is the technolgies used by the dvd burner i guess what you need to know is whic one should i buy and why
If you get the dvd-r you can burn 4.7GB dvds and you need to buy a blank dvd-r for this

if you buy dvd+r you can burn higher capacity dvd's but you cant use dvd-r blank cds for this only you can use dvd+r

if you buy DVD-+r you can do both ----watch out this option is very expensive

Here's a link (and more) on DVD nomenclature:
http://www.videohelp.com/dvd

Enjoy, GP

actually dual format burners are starting to get pretty cheap. there are even one's available for less than $80.

Yeah Dual Formats DVD -/+ R (W) are cheap, check out the Liteon's DVD Burners
www.liteonit.com

I have a Pioneer A07U it's a very high quality dual dvd burner and... CHEAP!


JC

Well, thanks for all your replies and information! Guess I need to start burner-hunting...

i would start at newegg.com some of the best prices anywhere

I did extensive research on both formats about 2-3 years ago because I didn't want to get stuck with the modern day "Betamax", (Yes, I still have one and a ton of movies too.)

The main difference I found was that the + format didn't need to be finalized, meaning write and rewrite times were reduced. I found compatability to be a give and take between both formats. - would work in dvd x but, not in y, while + wouldn't work in x, but would work in y. Personally, I think compatability is a none issue if you've got a newer dvd drive/player.

I settled on + believing it would win out over -, then the combo drives came out. Now, I'd just buy a combo drive. I do remember reading somewhere, however, that - actually has a, "speed limit". Meaning it will top out at 8x, maybe it was higher, while + didn't have this problem and has higher potential in the speed department. Also - engineers were having a harder/slower time increasing write speed than their + counterparts.

If you really want to do some research check this:

http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#4.3.6

I used these sites during my research too:

http://www.dvdplusrw.org

http://www.dvdrw.com

Guess I was kinda leaning in the plus direction from the get go.

I'm sure that the - must must have some advantages that + doesn't or there would even be a battle.

UnknownDarknessX wrote:

I'm sure that the - must must have some advantages that + doesn't or there would even be a battle.

True, it did. At the time +r didn't exist yet, only +rw, which wasn't as compatable as -r/rw. With the introduction of +r the compatablity issue become moot, in my view anyway, with -r/rw being slightly more compatable, (Around 3-5% I think). Compatablility becomes even less of an issue if you've got a newer player which will more than likely be compliant with either format.

The other benefit noted by the - side was blank media cost. 3 years ago -media was considerably less expensive. Today they're the same price, $25 for 2 25 packs, either - or +.

Like others have said, I'd go combo just to hedge my bet.