Verbatim to release single-sided 8.55GB DVD-R ! (1 Viewer)

[John Parris]

Full story

I for one am kind of excited, and kind of pissed. Those new discs will be great for all us with files to burn... but I JUST got my DVD burner for christmas (because I was wating for Plextor to release one with error checking and a BURNproof-equivelent for DVD-/+R/W)-- and now they're telling me it'll be obselete by April. Such is the way of things, I suppose.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

They're actually +R, not -R.

It's all quite funny really. A year ago everyone (including me) was saying this would never happen.

Dual-layer equipment was announced about three months ago and is the main reason I've put off buying another burner (my Sony x4 is perfectly good). Going to x8 speed or even x16 is all very well but you only have to use recordable DVDs for a while before that 4.7gb limit starts feeling cramped. Dual-layer (presuming the compatibility with standalone players is OK) is the way forward.

Looks like I'll be having to re-encode my Star Wars LD conversions again!

 

[KyleS]

It will be a great step for DVD burners and is another reason studios are pressing so hard to limit copying of the movies now that they can fit on one disc.

I thought about waiting but when the burners come out the Media will still be rather expensive for another 6+ months. I went ahead and bought the Plextor 708A so that I could use it until the Dual layer burners come out. If you are always waiting for the next greatest thing in computers you will ALWAYS be waiting. Heck when they release these they will probably come out with something new shortly after that is only "X" number of months away.

KyleS

 

[John_Berger]

Until the +R format becomes more compatible or more older, incompatible DVD players get flushed out due to age, I'm for one am not going to care. I've had gobs of compatibility problems with +R yet never a single issue with -R. I'd rather have the inconvenience of a flipper DVD-R or two DVD-Rs than incompatilibity with 1/2 of my set-top DVD players.

 

[Patrick Sun]

As a lark, I have been experimenting with bumping up the bitrate to around 8000 to produce better video quality DVDs, but only getting an hour of playing time on the conventional blank DVDs with 4.7GB of capacity, which means 2 DVDs per 2-3 hour film (transferring from LDs). I hope in a year from now, the dual layer DVD recordables will be more widely available. I can always give my current DVD burner to my dad if/when the higher capacity DVD burner drives show up.

 

[John Parris]

That's a common problem. You're hardly alone on that one. I'd be willing to bet the new format will be in LESS compatible...

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

If the dual layer burners and discs are inexpensive enough, and if DVD-R proponents don't come up with their own dual layer format to answer, then I think DVD+R/+RW will win the format war.

 

[Diallo B]

i have a +r burner (hp dvd300e - 4X) and have had no compatibility issues except with media. all media that i have used with the exception of TDK plays on all my set tops and my friends/family set tops and even playstation 2's. granted most of these set tops are no more than 18-24 months old.

p.s. best buy has memorex 4X +r's on sale this week. 50 for 50 bucks. great buy and you don't have to wait for them to be shipped.

p.s.s. also, microcenter has a dvd +r called 'platinum' on sale for .69 if you buy 100 but they are all on backorder. they also have them for 40 bucks for 50. but they are on backorder too. i have never used these. but for the price, and the fact that i have a b&m microcenter here that i can return them to, i was going to experiment.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

likewise. now if only i could get my sony drive to work, i'd be in business.

CJ

 

[NickSo]

I have the internal version of Diallo's HP, the 300i, and with the bitsetting, it works great even on players that normally wouldnt play ANY sort of burned media (CDR, CDRW, DVD +- R/RW) like my Toshiba SD2109.

 

[John_Berger]

That's exactly how writable DVD-Rs calculated. Unlike CD read/write speeds, which are based on 150 KB/sec transfer rates (the first CD-ROM speed), DVDs are calculated more by the amount of time that they hold. Hence why a 2x disc takes 30 minutes to write, 4x takes 15 minues, and so forth. A bit rate of 8,000 is one hour's worth.

Just one of those little useless bits of info that I ran across.

 

[Diallo B]

john,

i have the updated firmware to 300n as well. what burning program do you use???

 

[John_Berger]

I think that I know where you're going by asking that, but I doubt that it's the software. If it was a compatibility error due to the software, the discs theoretically shouldn't work on any of my set-top systems. Instead, the discs do work on some of my players but refuse to even be properly read on other players, one of which is the newest of my players. I've been using the same software for over a year with my DVD-R with no problem, yet the same brand names (Ritek and Memorex) of DVD+R work on some drives but not others. Authoring software? I doubt it due to the partial compatibility.

But to answer your question, Ulead DVD Workship to generate the DVD directory structure then Nero 5.5.10.20 to create the actual disc.

 

[Diallo B]

gotcha john!

hey check out these links below for compatibility of the media that you use with your players.

this one is for media:
http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdmedia

and this one is for players:
http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdplayers

and maybe browse around and post a question that can help you solve your compatibility problems. they were a big help to me when i first started.

by the way i use tmpgenc and nero 6.3.0.2.

 

[Ken Chan]

For DVD, 1x is based on the constant 11.08 million bits per second of the track buffer, which turns out to be almost exactly 9 times CD-ROM speeds (as opposed to CD-Audio, which is higher); e.g. 2x DVD is equivalent to about 18x CD-ROM, i.e. 18 x 150 KB/s.

If I did the math right, a single-layer DVD can hold just over an hour at max bitrate, which is 10.08 million bps. That includes video, audio, and subtitles.

//Ken

 

[John_Berger]

Um ... no. DVD-R has proven to work on all of my hardware, so I'll just stick with that. I'm not going to switch to DVD+R, which is proven to be less compatible in just about every test that is done "professionally", just because that's what HP decided to shove down my throat when I have a 4x -R system that runs just fine. I'll stick with -R for video and +R for data.

 

[Greg*go]

I got a DVD+/- in October and I'm not regretting it yet. I haven't had one compatible problem with + or the - discs. I credit the software I use too for that though. I'd like to see the first batch of DL hardware come out first and make sure there aren't any bugs before I commit to it. It does make me happy to know they are coming out with this though. Now the - camp has to respond to this or fall by the side of the road.

There is something about a watching a movie then seeing a permanent layer change that just sends chills down my spine.

 

[Will_B]

Here's what PC World says, in the January 2004 issue on newsstands now:

"Most DVD writers are now a combination design, offering support for both formats. We don't have space here to delve into the pros and cons of each, but the short story is that (for video) DVD+R is more compatible with standard DVD players."

That's from the article "Step-By-Step: Burn Your Own DVDs for Backup or Video Playback: Here's how to install a DVD drive and transfer videotape to DVD. by Stan Miastkowski, From the January 2004 issue of PC World magazine.

Maybe it was a typo.

That said, we've yet to see if the dual layer version comes anywhere near being as compatible with existing players as EITHER + or _ single layer discs are! My bet is that they won't play back in hardly anything.

 

[Diallo B]

I read this today in the same magazine and this is what i had heard previously as well. however, does anyone really have any empirical evidence this is the truth beside the information from the alliance.

 

[John_Berger]

I sincerely doubt that PC World has run both formats through the same kinds of tests like other media outlets that are dedicated to things like DVD video authoring and playback. There have been several links on HTF and other DVD-related newsgroups to A/V and DVD+/-R related web sites that ran numerous tests using different media of both DVD formats that were burned on different writers and played back on different DVD players. The conclusion of all of them was that DVD-R was more compatible, but not by much.

Keep in mind that PC World depends on advertising from companies like HP and Sony, both of whom are backers of DVD+R. This is why I also take pro-Microsoft statements from shows like Kim Komando with a grain of salt, since Microsoft is a BIG supporter of her show. In addition, PC World has to deal with a lot of other topics besides DVD writers. I don't expect them to go into the thorough and in-depth kind of reviews and experimentation that other DVD-related sites will do.