need help with buying a dvd writer

[whttabeach]

Im in the market to buy a new dvd writer and i am really confused about alot of things and need help selecting a writer. Basically i want a DVD writer that can replace my current CD-RW (caus DVD writers arent cheap and i can sell the CDRW to someone to make save a little money), so i heard there are combination writers (but they arent as fast as current cd writers but that doesnt really matter). The next thing (this is the part im confused about) the difference between DVD-r & rw, and DVD+RW.
I read in a magazine that +RW is a newer format that can play DVD-video in virtually any DVD player, but -rw doesnt play in every player. I also heard that the companies supporting +RW are trying to pass this format off as the new median and not releasing a write-once format (+R?) to avoid the complications of CD-r media and CD-rw, and make it more like a really large floppy drive. On the other hand, these dvd+RW drives do not write dvd-r and -rw (which i need dvd-r to backup my PS2 games). I've talked to a few people and they all have said that the Pioneer A03 DVR is the best bet.
I'd like to hear your insights on my situation. P.S. Price doesnt really matter.