DVD Recording Media (1 Viewer)

[Larry Bevil]

Does anyone have an idea which of the dvd recording formats offers the highest level of compatibility for other DVD players? I had understood that the DVD-R format was the most compatible. Then I read something yesterday where the DVD+R format offered the highest compatibility. I know the DVD recording units still seem to be vying for sales, but offering different formats. Any ideas?

 

[Michael St. Clair]

In the only independent, third-party, professional test I've seen (DV Magazine), DVD-R was the most compatible.

Both are compatible in MOST current players. -R definitely seems more compatible in more older players.

Of the two, only -R is recognized by the DVD Forum.

 

[Larry Bevil]

Michael, thanks for the info.

 

[Jon W (NoVA)]

Did you see a report where they tested +R explicitly and not just +RW?

+R has a higher reflectivity and from what I've heard so far has very similiar compatibility to -R, whereas +RW has about the same compatibility as -RW.

Whereas -RAM pretty much only works on some of the Panasonic players.

 

[Robert Spalding]

I've had both kinds (+r and -r) and I've found them to be about the same. +RW and -RW are also very similar in the three different players I put them in. One is 3 years old, and the other two are 1 year old from two different manufacturers.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Reflectivity is not the only issue with compatibility, there are also subtle differences in format which can trip up some players. At least between -R/W, -R Authoring Media, +R/W, -RAM. I'm not sure if there are any format differences between -R and -RW, or +R and +RW.

The most compatible media ever is -R Authoring Media, but it is limited to 3.95 "GB" (actually billion bytes, not gigabytes). It works in almost every player ever made, but it costs about $15 a blank and I believe settop writers don't write to it.

There is also the possibility of CE manufacturer politics. If this battle gets ugly, you might see Toshiba, Panasonic, JVC, etc. intentionally block +R/W discs from working in their players. DVD Multi is what everybody other than Philips and perhaps Sony is behind, and DVD Multi doesn't include the '+' formats. Sony is straddling the fence.

 

[Ernest]

I recently purchased a Samsung DVD R3000 recorder and have converted over 100 VHS, SVHS and laserdisc to DVD-R with excellent results. It is important to note that DVD-R in itself will play on very few players. After recording video / audio information on a DVD-R the DVD-R is then finalized by the player and converted to DVD-Video. DVD-Video is the end product that will play on all new players.

I own Pioneer, Samsung, JVC and Panasonic players and the DVD-R's finalized to DVD-Video play on all my players. I have never experienced a problem. It takes the player approximatley 4 mnutes to finalize a DVD-R.

 

[AaronD]

Ernest:
The player isn't actually changing the format of the disc in any way... It's just closing the disc so no more writes can be made. It's the same sort of process found with CD's, if you don't close the disc then you can still write to it, but once you close you're done.
Larry:
If you're wondering what players work with what media check out the compatibility list at VCDHelp. It's not a comprehensive list, but it'll give you a general idea. My opinion on the subject depends on wether you're using a set-top recorder or a PC based recorder. I think for a set-top recorder DVD+R/RW is the best right now, and for a PC based solution DVD-R/RW is better.
-Aaron

 

[Eugene Hsieh]

Check my sig. It's a bit dated, but there is some useful info there. As Michael has said:

DVD-R (Authoring) highest compatibility, but consumer recorders do not work with it.

DVD-R (General) and +R very close.

DVD-RW and +RW also very close, but both significantly worse than DVD-R and +R.

DVD-RAM - least compatibility with set top players, but most common rewritable format for set top recorders (ie. DMR-E20/30)

As I understand it there are slight physical differences between the - and + formats, but much of the incompatibility comes from players not recognizing a disc type, not reflectivity. eg. when +RW came out, some machines could not recognize +RW at all until there was a firmware update. Then they worked fine.

I think for a set-top recorder DVD+R/RW is the best right now, and for a PC based solution DVD-R/RW is better.

Well, based on what I've read, I wouldn't agree with that.

For editing features it would probably go to DVD-RAM in the set top arena. Also, the DVD-RAM are by far the least expensive and hold probably over half of the market. However for highest compatibility one will need to use DVD-R discs (which the DVD-RAM decks support), but DVD-R is not as flexible as DVD-RAM. The +RW and -RW decks do have some different features however, that you may be interested in. So, pick a price range and then look at the offerings before you make a decision. I think it's unwise to make a decision on format type alone.

In the PC arena it depends. +RW has the fastest rewrite speeds, DVD-R has the most drive compatibility, and DVD-RAM has the most robust data capabilities. It depends on what you need.

 

[Jon W (NoVA)]

From what I've read DVD+RW uses the DVD-Video format exactly, and the reason some players won't play it is because it has a lower reflectivity and some players confuse the primary layer (only layer) of a +RW with the second layer of a DVD-Video disc.

DVD+R on the other hand has the higher reflectivity and the only difference should be the fact that it's flagged as a +R disc and of course it still only has a single layer. For players who look for a specific flag and hence don't support +R there's a utility that can be used to set the flag so the disc looks pretends it's DVD-Video.

I thought the "authoring" media is intended for making masters discs that can be mass copied.

 

[Steve Phillips]

Using players made since 2000; I haven't had any compatitbility problems at all using DVD-R, DVD+R or DVD+RW with one exception: My friend's Toshiba model would play DVD+RWs but not DVD+R.

The only time you are going to run into trouble is in using older DVD players, and maybe some of the low end $69.00 players they sell at Walmart.

 

[AaronD]

In the PC arena it depends. +RW has the fastest rewrite speeds, DVD-R has the most drive compatibility, and DVD-RAM has the most robust data capabilities. It depends on what you need.

While I do agree that DVD-RAM offers a lot of good features it is the worst of all with regards to compatibility. If you plan to play it back using only the device you recorded the disc on, then this isn't an issue. Maybe it's just me, but I don't even consider DVD-RAM to be an option, mostly because of it's lack of compatibility with almost everything.
The reason I think that -R/RW is better for PC usage is mostly because of price. The media and drives are cheaper right now, but that could very well change. Both - and + are nice on the PC, and I'd be happy with either. But, given the choice today I'd pick -.
Just my $0.02
-Aaron

 

[Larry Bevil]

Aaron: Thanks for the link to VCD Help. I recently purchased the Panasonic DMR -E30 recorder and was having a problem with some of the DVD-R blanks I bought. I have tried to record three of the Memorex DVD-R blanks and none of them will play through. They will start and then after a while start pixelating bad and eventually "hang up" the player. I was beginning to wonder if the format was not the most compatible or if it was just those Memorex blanks. I have done some recording on other DVD-R blanks with mostly good results. So, for me, it appears that my recorder doesn't like Memorex DVD-R discs. Was wondering if anyone else was having a problem with this brand.

 

[Eugene Hsieh]

While I do agree that DVD-RAM offers a lot of good features it is the worst of all with regards to compatibility. If you plan to play it back using only the device you recorded the disc on, then this isn't an issue. Maybe it's just me, but I don't even consider DVD-RAM to be an option, mostly because of it's lack of compatibility with almost everything.

Again, it depends on the person and his/her needs. It sounds like you value compatibility with many drives the most. DVD-RW has a huge advantage over DVD-RAM in this respect. However, it would not be a good idea to use DVD-RW for data storage purposes, especially if you wish to use a packet writing method. In this type of situation (ie. small business drag-n-drop data backup, etc.), DVD-RAM would be the only viable option.

OTOH, if on a PC you only plan on making DVD videos, then DVD-RAM would not be the recommended format for most people. DVD-RW/-R offers many advantages.

This may end up being partially moot though by Q4 2002 or Q1 2003. Panasonic has already announced a DVD-RW/DVD-RAM/DVD-R drive for this year, and Sony is rumoured to be developing a DVD+/- drive for early next year. (The Panasonic DVD Multi Burner II is already fact. The Sony burner right now is vapourware though.)

 

[AaronD]

Again, it depends on the person and his/her needs. It sounds like you value compatibility with many drives the most. DVD-RW has a huge advantage over DVD-RAM in this respect. However, it would not be a good idea to use DVD-RW for data storage purposes, especially if you wish to use a packet writing method. In this type of situation (ie. small business drag-n-drop data backup, etc.), DVD-RAM would be the only viable option.

DVD-RAM's incompatibility with even PC DVD-ROM drives is horrible. I'm pretty sure that DVD-RAM is no longer the only format that supports packet writing to a writable DVD (am I wrong?). Even then, I've never considered packet writing to CD-R's a useful feature, so it's of little use to me on a DVD.

I just feel that buying into DVD-RAM right now is a large waste of money. It, in effect, was the first shot at a writable DVD solution. Sure, it works but it's not supported by most of the hardware out there.

-Aaron

 

[Jon W (NoVA)]

Yeah, DVD+RW is a good solution for PC use *AND* compatibility.

It can't be rewritten as many times as DVD-RAM, and it's not as speedy ... but 2.4X is pretty decent, and you can literally add a file, eject the disk, and plop it in to a compatible DVD-ROM drive and read it.

ie, no need to finalize to make the disc compatible.

btw, the Apex 3201 ($99 at Walmart) is compatible with DVD+RW.