DVD-RAM - compatible with existing DVD players? (1 Viewer)

[Philip Hamm]

I recently got a firewire card and made VideoCDs of some of my DV home videos. I'm surprised and happy with how they look in my home theater. I'm running them in NTSC on my old 50" projector, playing them in my late model Sony DVD player.

I wonder, if I got a DVD-R drive, would the DVDs that I made be playable on older DVD players like my Sony or any others that I have? I'm sure some of the member here have done this.

I'm using Pinnacle Studio 8 to capture and author, and it would make DVDs. For that matter, would Super Video CDs be playable in my Sony DVD player (or my old APEX for that matter)?

 

[DonRoeber]

I've no problems using burned DVDs on my old Sony S530D. It doesn't like CD-Rs, but is fine with CD-RWs. I haven't tried DVD-RWs, only Apple brand DVD-Rs. Be aware that DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM are all formats that most likely won't work with your existing dvd players (and maybe not new ones, for that matter). If you want to get a DVD-RW drive, I highly recommend the Pioneer A-05 drive. I've got the 105 drive (the OEM version, since I didn't need the bundled software) in my mac, and it works beautifully.

 

[David Lawson]

Yeah, watch the terminology...DVD-RAM is not DVD-R is not DVD+R/RW.

The Pioneer drive mentioned by Don is used by a number of other manufacturers, including CenDyne. Staples.com has it for $150 after rebates:

http://dealnews.com/articles/47767.html

As for VCDs/SVCDs, Sony players are allegedly the worst when it comes to compatibility. My old roommate had the DAV-S300, and we could never burn a VCD that would play correctly on it (despite having no problems on other players, including an APEX). We only had Macs at that point, so I don't know if VCDs burned with Windows programs fare any better.

 

[Rob Landolfi]

There are sites such as DVD compatibility list that you can look up your DVD player model, and it will tell you which types of media you can use for your machine. If you click on "view X reports" in the far right "Reports & Comments" column, people have posted their experiences with media types and brand names of media that have worked for them. Good luck.

 

[Brian Ruth]

Phil: DVD-R discs SHOULD be compatible with about 80% of all DVD players. Generally speaking, the newer ones will be more compatible than the older ones.

THERE IS a chance, however, that the newer ones will EXPRESSLY prevent playing of opposing formats (companies with a stake in -R/RW MIGHT NOT play +R/RW, and vice versa), but I haven't heard any examples of this, so I might be blowing hot air.

I've HEARD that + and - formats are roughly the same compatibilitywise (80% or so for R, 60% or so for RW). DVD-RAM is a whole other story though - few standalone DVD players will play DVD-RAM media.

If you want a good DVD writer for your computer, I'd recommend the Sony DRU500AX. It burns both DVD+R/W and DVD-R/W media, so you don't have to be concerned that you're getting the wrong DVD discs for the job. It runs about $350 plus tax.

If you'd rather spend a little less, you can get the Pioneer A-05 instead. It doesn't write to +R media, but it costs about $300 for the standard boxed (i.e. non-OEM) version.

As far as playing on older players: It may or may not. If it's less than 4 years old, you should have no problem playing discs, but beyond that, it's anyone's guess. This can be a concern if you're sending discs to relatives with older DVD players, or if you're trying to play a DVD-R on an older DVD player in your house. If your player ends up being unable to play your DVD-Rs, you might want to use the opportunity to purchase a new DVD player (and we can give you plenty of good recommendations should you choose to do that).

 

[Robert Spalding]

I have seen pretty good results with my Pioneer A04 dvd burner. The oldest DVD player I have played dvd-r's on was a Panasonic A110. it's about 4 years old. I have noticed that certain brands of blank media are better than others as far as compatibility goes. I had a DVD+RW drive for one day but my existing player (Panasonic DVD-c220) woulnd't play the DVD+R's or +RW's it made.

the long and the short of it is this:

both +RW and -RW are equally good. don't let the FUD spread by either supporters scare you off. If your player is newer than 3 years, it'll probably have no trouble playing either kind.