The difference in DVD formats
 

From my knowledge of the technology here is whut it is and the difference.. and my opinion on what you should buy.

DVD-R/RW
May not be as fast as the DVD+R/RW at the moment. But it has the highest compatiblity with older and newer DVD players and consoles. Its blank media is dropping in price everyday. You can now buy a pack of 3 DVD's for 9.99$. Since they use the same technology as CD-r they will soon be around a dollar a disc.

DVD+R/RW
This cd is able to be recorded the fastest of all the drives. But it really lacks compatiblity with older DVD players. I believe they don't have any problems with consoles. But I am not completely sure at this time. When i tired it with my Xbox the 'backup' worked perfectly fine.

My pick out of the both would be DVD-R/RW It is a cheaper media with much greater compatiblity.

And I think the best DVD burner would be the Sony's Internal DVD±RW Drive DRU500A... It is able to record DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-R/RW. everything it is a 6 in one drive with a really cheap price. For more details visit sony's website. At the moment I feel it is the best way to go. Because if one format gets obsolete then you still have a burner able to burn the latest cds and not a usless thing sitting in you computer.

Anywayz a lot of people were asking the differences in formats and that is the basic run down of both of them. If you would like to know anymore information just ask.

~-=IceCube=-~

TO CLEAR UP UR CONFUSION!

How is DVD+R/+RW related to competing formats like DVD-R/-RW/-RAM?

DVD+R/+RW, DVD-RAM and DVD-R/-RW are all rewritable DVD formats, however, only DVD+R/+RW is designed from the start to be compatible with existing DVD-ROM drives and DVD-Video players, both on a physical as well as on a logical level. This means that a DVD+R or DVD+RW disc recorded in a DVD+R/+RW video recorder can be played in virtually all DVD-Video players or DVD-ROM equiped PCs, and that any DVD+R or DVD+RW disc recorded with data on a PC DVD+R/+RW drive can be read by most DVD-ROM drives.

DVD-RAM uses a totally different kind of physical recording method, which is absolutely incompatible with DVD (hence, it can hardly be called 'DVD'). No normal DVD player will be able to read DVD-RAM discs, even if you use the newer DVD-RAM version without a cartridge housing.

DVD-R and DVD-RW were initially not designed to be used as a DVD-compatible recording solution. DVD compatibility was added at a later point, however since the formats were not developped for this purpose, they do not offer the level of compatibility and flexibility (while remaining DVD compatible!) that DVD+R/+RW offers. Furthermore, DVD-R/-RW is less suitable for data applications as well due to a number of technical limitations (such as the inability of random access writing). For a very extensive comparison of the various formats, please refer to Comparison with DVD-R/-RW Video Recorders and Comparison with DVD-R/-RW PC Drives.

The DVD-RAM and DVD-R/-RW supporters have announced numurous compatibility programs for their DVD players (such as "DVD-Multi" and "VR support"), however only a small minority of players will include these (costly!) additions. DVD-RAM/-R/-RW lies the burden of compatibility on the player, :)

OMG! do you work for the DVD+r alliance or something!?! gemme a break! the + format is garbage! it's getting it's ass whiped by the - format in every way! considering the disks themselves which cost like 5x as much as dvd-r disks I'd go with the dvd-r format. But considering that EVERYONE I know uses the -r format and I am always reading how the +r format is less compatible with dvd players I would think that your response is false... I'm not an expert but I've read a lot on the issue and I know for a fact that the -r format is getting way better reviews across the board! and with everyone buying them (which in turn will make all the drive makers want people to be able to use them in thier dvd players) you will see TONS more support for the -r format and the +r format will fade away... heck! Even sony has realized it! Thier new DVD burner is not just +r format anymore! they've added -r format as well! because they knew that the +r format was flaundering! It's all about $ and cents in this and any buisness... if no one is buying the +r format there wont be support for it. Without support for it... well... see ya!