What's the Difference between DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM?

Dave, I have just installed a new DVD burner in my computer (a Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-105 internal drive) and am trying to figure out what kind of blank disks I should be using. There are apparently five different blank DVD formats. Do I want DVD-R? DVD-RW? or ??

Also, if I just want to burn lots of data onto a DVD disk, can I use my Roxio Toast Titanium to do so, or do I need to use a special DVD-friendly app like iDVD?

Dave's Answer:

Well, there are really only two "families" of DVD at the moment (unless you want to count the red laser vs. blue laser stuff that's starting to come on to the market at the high end), and one "outcast". You've got the "minus" ("-") formats (DVD-R, DVD-RW) and the "plus" ("+") formats (DVD+R, DVD+RW), then there's the older DVD-RAM format that's harder to find these days. All of these are for data, of course -- all but the newest DVD video players will choke on those, in the same way early CD players choked on CD-R discs.

A DVD-R is a write-once format: once you've burned the data onto that DVD platter, the disk is forever frozen with that information. Add the "W" to that, and you'll find that DVD-RW can be erased or rewritten up to a thousand times. Seems kinda weird, but if you can do so, DVD-RW obviously has significant advantages over DVD-R. DVD-RAM was even more flexible, however, since it let you erase and rewrite sections of an existing DVD, something that you cannot do with DVD-RW.

Moving to the plus side is where things get a bit confusing, because DVD+RW came before DVD+R. The plus formats have the same data storage capacity as the minus formats (4.7GB), but DVD+RW offers faster writing, better internal linking (a technical obscurity you don't have to worry about), and support for drag-and-drop desktop files, which makes it easy to compose the contents of a disk. DVD+R is a write-once format intended to be more compatible with more DVD players, though at this point it seems to be about even with DVD-R, which remains the most compatible computer-burned DVD format.

In your case, since your drive is a DVD-RW, you're effectively limited to DVD-R and DVD-RW format discs. Stay away from any of the "plus" formats, as those won't work with your drive (and being newer, they cost more anyway). As to whether you want to use DVD-R or DVD-RW, that depends on what you want to use them for. DVD-R is a write-once format, just like CD-R, and you can't erase the data once it's written. DVD-RW is rewritable, so you can use it somewhat like a 4.7GB floppy disc, for all intents and purposes. In general, I suggest that you use DVD-R for archival purposes -- stuff that isn't going to change, and DVD-RW for more fluid data. DVD-RW discs are more expensive than DVD-R discs, so that may also influence your decision.

How do you confirm what format your drive works with? One way, if you're on a Mac, is to use the System Profiler application. You'll find this useful utility in Applications -> Utilities. Launch it, then click on the "ATA" item on the list. If you have an internal DVD burner, you'll see something like what I get: "PIONEER DVD-RW DVD-106D". If it's an external DVD drive, you might find it in SCSI, USB or FireWire, depending on how you hook it up.

As far as your second question, your data-burning application definitely has to be aware of the DVD format you want to use (i.e. DVD-R or DVD-RW in your case). For Windows, you can use GEAR for burning CDs, but you'd need to upgrade to GEAR Professional Edition to be able to burn both CDs and DVDs. Toast Titanium does burn DVD-R and DVD-RW so you should be set in that department.

My thanks to Robert LeBlanc for his help on this question

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Categorized: Computer and Internet Basics , Mac OS X Help (Article 3864, Written by Dave Taylor)
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Reader Comments To Date: 214

Barry said, on March 31, 2005 3:21 PM:

I checked this site because I need to buy a supply of DVD's and was unsure of what the difference between DVD - and + R's is. I found this pretty helpful. Fortunately for me I have now found that my dvd burner will handle - and + types so I should be in good shape either way.
Thanks for the help.

Alex said, on June 17, 2005 5:59 PM:

Which is better for movies?? DVD+R or DVD-R

David G said, on September 5, 2005 11:55 AM:

DVD-RAM is not old and hard to find. All Panasonic DVD recorders use it because it is Panasonic's format. The idea is that it would act like regular RAM, or a hard drive, such that you could apply any file system you like. You are not restricted to writing sessions and tracks, because the whole disc is essentially formattable. It is by far the most useful kind of disc, however lack of implementation due to royalties means it is not a famous format. The reason you need a special drive for this disc is that the TOC only contains information regarding the size of the disc etc.

DVD+R and +RW are Philips formats. They refused to pay royalties to Sony to allow -R recording in their devices so instead developed formats that were close enough to the original -R and -RW specifications but deviated enough to be classed as separate formats. Pioneer and a few other Chinese brands were given cheap royalty fees to promote the +R format. The TOC on this disc is different to that found on a -R disc, and the actual burnable area begins at a different point, so a special drive is also required.

jim said, on October 25, 2005 10:25 PM:

http://www.askdavetaylor.com/whats_the_difference_between_dvdr_dvdr_dvdrw_dvdrw_and_dvdram.html

DVD+R is a write-once format

is this still true?
why the math email question?
others say you can always add to the DVD until it is full of course

Krish said, on November 8, 2005 4:56 AM:

Hi,

This is krish. I do have a doubt that whether the DVD+R is meant for writing Videos and other files and DVD-R is meant only for data / information. Whether both support writing on the session basis? If so, please guide me in getting a +R or a -R disks. Which is better?

With regards,
Krish.

Barbara the Geek said, on November 16, 2005 9:24 PM:

Thanks for clearing this up for me. Too bad the industry can't work together to solve some of this confusion. I may try some -r since it is cheaper. I am glad my burner does both though. I used some +r with no problem. They play in my dvd player as long as I write/save correctly for dvd players. I have also discovered cd-r does work well for video use on my computer. It just won't play on my dvd player of course.

kapil kirpekar said, on November 18, 2005 8:32 AM:

awesome site, helped a lot on buying decision !!

god bless !

KDK

cherry said, on November 28, 2005 6:23 PM:

I bought a GO-Video a year ago and a bunch of DVD+R blanks and now I find I can't use the +R...any suggestions as what to do with the blanks???

cindy said, on January 14, 2006 10:37 AM:

we bought a player to transfer our vhs tapes to dvd.No copyrighted material just family vhs tapes. we can not get the dvd to play on our dvd recorder, we have dvd-rw

please help, are we going to have to buy new dvd players

Bobbie said, on January 22, 2006 10:00 PM:

So DVD+RW are the only ones that are eraseable and re-writable. I guess I am just confused.

Phyllis Carchide said, on February 3, 2006 10:25 PM:

Hi Dave:
This site is great and I've learned a lot. I'm a newbie and still have a long way to go. I was wondering if there is any way to get around a copy protected dvd to burn a copy? This isn't for resale; I just want to leave a copy at my fiance's house.
Thanks a lot,
Phyll

Dave Taylor said, on February 3, 2006 11:03 PM:

There is, Phyll, but it's not something I write about on this site.

Mick said, on June 6, 2006 1:47 PM:

I purchased new Laptop Toshiba it has a DVD-RAM Drive. I was reading the info on dvd's to buy I am not sure which ones now to buy. Could you advise me on this.

Mike said, on June 19, 2006 11:11 PM:

Does anyone know of a way to rip chapters from a DVD onto a computer hard drive? I have been using DVD-RW to record with and the computer drive I use will play the disks in Power DVD but I can rip individual chapters from the DVDs. Any help?

Shelley said, on July 16, 2006 8:29 AM:

I have a Maxtor53073h4 with a driver of 5.1.2535.0. Could you tell me what would be better to use DVD-R or CD-R and why? I bought both and I'm not sure what to use. Thanks!

Kathy B said, on August 17, 2006 7:26 AM:

Ok... I am just a little confused. I believe that my dvd burner will burn + or - dvd's... my question is which would be the more universalally used format. I am burning a dvd for a family reunion and need to burn 50 dvd's. I would hate to do all that and have picked the wrong one... help!

John Beasley said, on August 27, 2006 5:25 PM:

Will DVD+R DL do multisesion? If I burn four DIVX movies at should I be able to come back later and burn a fith? My +RW disk will do this. How about a single layer +R disk.

Richard wolf said, on October 4, 2006 2:32 PM:

I have the new iMac with the Intel chips. What DVD/ Cd format should I buy should to burn to play on an old Sony DVD player?

bud freeman said, on November 5, 2006 9:33 AM:

many thanks for the very throrough explanations obviously I am new at this but your explanation will save me a lot of time and$...B.F.

jimbo said, on November 16, 2006 12:44 PM:

"

So DVD+RW are the only ones that are eraseable and re-writable. I guess I am just confused.
Posted by: Bobbie at January 22, 2006 10:00 PM "

Ummm...no. DVD+RW and DVD-RW are re-writeable.

jimbo said, on November 16, 2006 12:53 PM:

I would think that the +R and +RW would be more universal, since -RW format is SONY. I would think
that most modern machines would read both equally well.
I do have a Sony DVD camcorder it uses all of the + and - formats. And my computer's DVD player can read my dvds immediately with no hiccups.

doug said, on December 4, 2006 7:52 PM:

I am confused. please help I understand dvd-r is a one time write, but am I able to add data (pictures) onto the disc after I have written other pictures, or do I have to write everything at one shot?. also, on a rw disk, can I add data without writing over existing data

Matthew Reed said, on December 5, 2006 6:50 PM:

Well everyone has anyone heard of the newest and LASTEST tech on the market that will MOST LIKELY replace DVD technology....

If you haven't your in for a surprise... Go to Blueray.com to find out more!!!!

Oh yes these babies (the disks) can hold up to 50GB on a single dual layer disk!!!!

COOL!!! HUH!!!

CAZZEY said, on December 7, 2006 4:56 PM:

I GOT A CALL TODAY ASKING FOR ADVISE ON DVD-RAM IT SEEMS HE HAS RECORDED ON IT FROM A DVD RECORDER PLAYER BUT WHEN HE WANTS TO RECORD AGAIN SAYS DISC FULL.ARE ALL DVD-RAM REWRITABLE? DO YOU NEED TO ERASE PROGRAMMES BEFORE RE-RECORDING?
PLEASE SAVE ME FROM A 3HR TRIP TO SORT THIS OUT
CHEERS CAZZEY

lewis said, on January 3, 2007 8:41 PM:

First of all, you need to identify which format your DVD Player able to support. This can be easily know by finding the logo sticker either at the front or the back of your DVD Player. (usually DVD-R,DVD-RW,DVD+R,DVD+RW,DVD-RAM).
Basically "-R" or "+R" is stand for "RECORDABLE"; while "-RW" or "+RW" is stand for "Re-Writeable".
Just remember that the "-" MINUS and "+" PLUS sign is only act as an identifier of the two different format of the DVD used as they are not compatible to each other. Meaning a DVD-R/DVD-RW Writer can only writes a DVD-R/DVD-RW disc while DVD+R/DVD+RW Writer can only writes a DVD+R/DVD+RW disc(unless you are using a Combo drive that writes both formats).
DVD "+" is supported by Philips, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha, and others.Eventhough it is not supported by DVD Forum, it still gain its popularity and co-exist with DVD "-" in the market.
"R" here means the disc is only allowed you to write once.Once the data is burned, it will stays there permanantely. In other words,it cannot be erase. However, if you only burned, say like 1GB of data to the DVD-R or DVD+R, you will still have 3GB space available to burn next time. The system will append your new burned data instead of replacing the old data.
"RW" here means the data burned before can be erased and replace by new data. Data appending is always allowed-able as long as there is enough space left on the DVD disc.

lewis said, on January 3, 2007 8:57 PM:

Cazzey,
DVD-RAM is another kind of format other than DVD-R/-RW and DVD+R/+RW. It is a Random Access Memory, works very similar like our HardDisk.
If there is no more space left on the disc, ofcourse you need to clear up some space before you can start recording again.

cindy said, on January 23, 2007 12:35 AM:

i am using nero 7 premium reloaded to copy dvds.the dvd that i am copying is from mini dvds discs from dvd camera.can i use dvd+r to do this. the computer keeps on spitting them out.
thanks

brs said, on January 23, 2007 1:03 PM:

I have a GO-Video Recorder and cannot find any compatible DVD's. Can anyone help with this? Which DVD's are compatible with Go-Video Recorders? Thank you.

Jim Morgan said, on February 9, 2007 9:01 AM:

Please advise if I can use DVD-R discs to copy photographs on my Packard Bell laptop.

Bright Dey said, on February 13, 2007 4:13 AM:

I want to know the differences between CD-R, CD+R, CD-RW, CD+RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD RAM, and DVD ReWriter.

Vicki said, on February 20, 2007 8:15 PM:

I get the whole DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW now thanks to all of you. :-)
But my problem now lies within the DVD-RW drive it self. It will not read my blank dvd's. I can put in a movie on that drive, and it reads that fine. It's just the blank DVD's I have go undetected.

Help Please!

Thank You

tim said, on February 23, 2007 7:48 PM:

so whats the best one

JJ said, on February 25, 2007 3:11 PM:

Hi
I have a Sony DCR-DVD405, for which I bought many blank DVD+RWs to record my family videos on. However, now I realize that although my DVD player hooked up to my TV plays DVD+RWs, my computer doesn't (I think that's because I have a TEAC DW-28E CD/DVD drive, which doesn't play DVD+RWs?).
Anyway, I would now like to put these videos that are recorded on the DVD+RWs onto my computer.
How can I do this? Can I send the discs to a place that will transfer them to a disc that's compatible with my computer?
Please help! These are my baby's videos!
Thank you very much in advance

Anurag said, on February 28, 2007 11:38 PM:

Sir

I have a LG DVD Writer Model No. GSA-H42N, I recently made a MP3 DVD on Sony Disk which was DVD+R, I was able to make the disk, but was not able to play the DVD on my DVD player which is Coby 207 model. I would like to know if I have a DVD Burner with - sign, is it really necessary to use disk with - sign or can I use DVD with + sign. Please let me know asap about the same.

Regards

Anurag

VIPUL PATEL said, on March 10, 2007 3:25 AM:

MAKE ME CLEAR ON BELOW POINTS

DVD-R -- USES,CAPACITY,PERFORMANCE,RESULT,PRICE

DVD+R -- USES,CAPACITY,PERFORMANCE,RESULT,PRICE

WHICH IS GOOD,BETTER,THE BEST AMONG THESE TWO?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN BY DUAL LAYER IN DVDs?IS IT BOTH SIDES OR SAME SIDE 2 LAYERS?

HOW CAN WE COPY/RECORD/BURN THE DVDs OF SIZE MORE THAN 4.7GBs? SOME MOVIES ARE MORE THAN 7 GBs.

david ord said, on March 11, 2007 2:36 PM:

hi,
i have just bought a sony dvd recorder, but was unaware of all the "+" and "-" aspect. The dvd player has dv input so i can make dvd's from my camcorder. i wnat to send one of these to my friend in italy. what do you reccomend.

many thanks

dave from london

AMIT said, on March 26, 2007 4:40 AM:

sir, i have just bought computer with dvd writer.I copeid a movie on it,while playing it on dvd player it does not play.It is dvd-r type.Other dvds with dvd-r plays in the dvd player.What would be the reason? speed of dvd disc is 1x16.

sree said, on March 29, 2007 6:43 AM:

Hi,
I have a toshiba laptop, the DVD player has DVD+rewriteable written on the outside of the DVD drive.

However when I click on the hardware profile, I see MATSHITA DVD-RAM UJ 842S.

So what kind of drive do I have, a DVD+RW or a DVD-RAM.

Please help.

Thanks,

sree

FireXtol said, on March 29, 2007 2:08 PM:

DVD-RAM, DVD-R, and DVD-RW are all older formats, not that there's anything wrong with that. They are generally more compatible with "random" players.

DVD+ formats came out after the - formats. There is basically no significant differences between a DVD-R and DVD+R, besides price (+ is more!). I just bought myself a Samsung DVD burner for $32 and it supports all formats, even got free shipping! ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827151136 ).

What discs will I be using? DVD-R.

I generally stay away from RW media, probably because I would never rely solely on the DVD media for my main copy of important data. Most the stuff I burn is multimedia.

DVD media is pretty fragile... heat, UV light, and high humidity can turn your disc into a coaster after only a few hundred hours, if that. Be sure to store your media in a dark, cool, dry place for maximum life. Never attach sticker/labels to a disc! This can make them wobble when they spin and they will not read correctly, so do what I did and get a burner with LightScribe for under $32.

dharmendra said, on May 2, 2007 5:51 AM:

dear friend
how to write a program for cd or dvd will u help in this regard.

thanqu

Davy said, on May 11, 2007 9:32 AM:

Hi, I am having trouble rewriting to a dvd. It was used and then erased and now when looking at properties it says that okb used but the picture is completely blue meaning that there is no free space. It wont let me format, only erase. My drive is a Matshita Dvd-Ram UJ-842S, and if Im reading the manual correctly seems to allow all formats to be used. Please help I have a pile of DVD-RW that I cant do anything with. Thanks

David said, on May 13, 2007 5:54 PM:

I have a burn DVD+ R why can't i erase it?
i tried using Nero And i have a DVD ROM R/RW.

Greg said, on May 23, 2007 4:49 AM:

I have a Toshiba DVD Recorder DR-2. I recorded a DVD-R/DVD-RW but it won't play in my other DVD player. Why? I finalized the DVD-RW. When placed in my other DVD player it reads "Bad Disc"!

JohnR said, on May 30, 2007 8:30 PM:

I have been recording DVD-R disks on my Canon recorder and then I finalize the disk and move it to my computer. I then copy the contents to a directory and later point Nero to that. Once the files get to my hard drive, are they still in DVD-R format. I ask because I also have some DVD-RW disk that I recorded and people have trouble viewing the movies that I eventually send to them on their DVD players for their TVs. I am playing with the recoder now.

vickie said, on May 30, 2007 11:15 PM:

hi i know that dvd rw these are re-reordable
and same as well abbout cd rw re-recordable
i just wanna know that is the difference between
DVD-R AND DVD+R
WAHT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN -,+

Mark Feinberg said, on July 3, 2007 12:07 PM:

Dave-
Just a "thank you" for a quick and concise answer that explained exactly what type of CD's to use in my MacBook. You said it simply enough to be understood, and there was no geek-speak anywhere. Great!

MF
Oakland, CA

john said, on July 4, 2007 2:51 AM:

i bought a bunch of DVD+R blanks and when i burn a movie onto the dvd it does not play on any of my dvd players could someone please tell me why this is?

BT said, on July 13, 2007 4:39 PM:

I need to copy the info. from the DVD-R to a DVD+R for viewing on my DVD player.
IS this a software issue or do I have to replace my DVD player to be compatible w/ -R?

Tim said, on July 17, 2007 1:51 AM:

ok one question i havent seen.. I have a file thats bigger than what can fit on my cd-r disc.. I have hundreds of cd-r's. short of buying dvd-r which my burner will only burn on...i found this out buy buying dvd+r and it not working.. i know little about comp. obvious.. but now know its a -r burner and not +.. can i somehow burn part of my movie and then put the rest on another disc? if so can you explain how? please.. lol thanks alot.. your site is awsome...

victor nanshir said, on July 21, 2007 1:39 AM:

I have a lot of stuff on the ancient VHS/VCR tapes, and I recently bought a Panasonic DVD recorder and it is recording fine.

My question is, I want to use the DVD burner on my pc to burn all my VHS stuff. This means I have to transfer all the VHS thing into my pc, AND then use the pc to burn it. Now, how do I transfer the output from my VHS player to the pc? My VHS player has RCA jacks only.

Thank you
V Nanshir

Marnie said, on August 6, 2007 7:16 AM:

Hello.

I am not at all hi-tech, and have recently taken my computer into a store to have an "LG" Internal Super Multi DVD Rewriter installed into my drive. This states on the box that supported disc formats include:- CD-R, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL and DVD-RAM.

The store in question also connected a firewire port so that I could transfer video from my camcorder to my computer (as apparently a normal USB wouldn't work!).

My sister downloaded some photos combined with music on my computer, which I want to put on a disc so that I can view it on any DVD player. Unfortunately I can't get it to burn properly. I have managed to burn it on a couple of CD-R's, but these won't play on any DVD player I've tried. They only play on my computer. How can I get the photos and music transferred onto either a CD or a DVD so that I am able to watch it on a normal DVD player?!

Also, I would like to transfer video footage (I have already managed to download it from my Sony camcorder to my computer) to a DVD. However, I have tried to burn it from my computer to a couple of DVD+R's, but to no avail. It comes up with the message "Sorry, your compilation cannot be written on this kind of disc". It then tells me to use a CD-R/RW. But how can I use CD-R/RW for what is ultimately a moving video?! Surely it needs to be transferred onto a DVD+recordable? If not, are you able to advise what discs I should be using, or alternatively, what I am doing wrong!

Appreciate any help!

Many thanks.

Marnie.

Barbara said, on August 29, 2007 4:22 PM:

Hi Dave,

Maybe you have the answer. I connected to a G4 Mac via a usb connection a Samsung DVD writer/player...it will burn a DVD with Roxio but I cannot get DVD player to recognize the player and play a movie on the thing. I have Patchburn installed.

Thank you.

Kathy said, on September 15, 2007 8:52 AM:

Dave, maybe you can help, I've been at it for 4 days. I bought a DVD+R/+RW, from craigslist. It came with no software. It is manufactured by Philips and was manufactured in 2003. I cannot, for the life of me, find a driver so my computer will recognize the drive. I am unable to use it until I can get this accomplished. Can you be of any assistance? Thank you in advance.

Kathy

Magdeline said, on September 28, 2007 6:56 AM:

If dvd + r is suppose to be a write once only format. Why was I able to erase a video that was recorded on it using my panasonic dvd recorded to delete it? Is it because it wasnt finalize, which means I can delete it before it finalize?

crystal said, on October 11, 2007 11:35 PM:

A friend of mind brought some movies back from overseas. There are 88 movies on 10 discs. What type of recordable dvds should I buy to record the movies?

Tim said, on October 13, 2007 1:05 PM:

Hi @ all,

I have the ambition of becoming a dvd authorer so like to pretend I know this kind of stuff and i have some answers to the questions asked. Mind you, I am not sure if all the information I have is correct.

There is two main differences to make:
1) dvd players/recorders for computers and dvd players you hook up to your tv.
2) data disc and a movie disc

I have never heard of compatibilty problems for dvd's for computers, so the dvd that is going to be used on a computer, you can decide what you like to use, keeping in mind if you want use(burn) the disc once, use +R or -R, if you want to use the disc more often(erase and re-use) as a temporary data storage, get +RW or -RW.

A dvd player hooked to your tv will only play movie discs (some can read and display data-discs and even show pictures but they are not common and are way more expensive). A movie disc usually has a menu and videofiles in the mpg2 codec and is double layer. But there is a difference, the movie dvd's have 2 layers of each 4,3 gb: they have a smaller capacity.

Now if you have a video that you want to play on dvd players, you need a programm that will let you create this menu and render your video in the mpg2 codec, these programs also have a burn option so you really cant do anything wrong.
Also some programs have the possibilty to make image galleries on your moviedisc.

What I know of compatibillity if dvd players is that some years ago someone did a test on which dvd player would play which kind of disc, whith the outcome that the dvd-r disc was the most compatible and the dvd+rw disc the least.
Even though most problems are solved with the newer dvd players, the best bet for creating a movie disc i think is the dvd-r(double layer or not). The most important thing is still that you have a programm which can burn movie discs like PowerDVD or Adobe Encore creating a audio_ts and video_ts folder holdeing the video, sound and menu files.

And if you have films you want to copy from oversees, it is important to know that differant parts of the world use diffrent formats.
I don't know if computer dvd-players have a problem with the differant formats, I do know that dvd-players have this problem. So if you live in the usa and have a movie you bought in europe, you need to convert it from pal to ntsc,
or have a dvd player wich can read both formats.

I think this answers a lot of questions and hope at least one person finds this info usefull

Tim said, on October 13, 2007 1:17 PM:

I think I forgot to add that if a dvd player does not have a competabillity problem it will also read movie dvd's burnt on the 4,7 gb discs and will play just fine.
THe reason why i added this is because you never know who still has an 8 year old dvd player which has these problems...
The test on dvd-players was for homeburned discs,
not for pressed ones you buy in the shop, these should never have a problem on your player

michael watson said, on October 17, 2007 11:49 PM:

hi im mike i have a windows 98, i can copy a music cd on a ga1215l3al121a80 what ever kind of cd is this.I am having trouble coping music or movies on this and on a dvd+r what is this dvd used for .I do have a sony dvd Drive ? Both are sonies What do i need to use? mike writing thanks ps my email might be net

Cristian said, on October 21, 2007 8:55 PM:

OK,I wanna dvd -,+,rw,r .ect that i can put a dvd video in it and i want it to play on a dvd player wich type of dvd cd should i use?

Pratim said, on October 24, 2007 5:38 AM:

hi dave,
1 day i made a dvd data disc on my asus drw-1814bl.
after completion when i re-inserted the disc to check the data,
my writer cudnt read the disc(sony dvd+rw)
as if no disc r inserted. nor i can erase it by nero,the erase option wudnt come. both the writer & the disc is very new.
whenever i insert that disc, programs stop responding.
pls. help.

John said, on October 27, 2007 3:41 AM:

okay so this may be a dumb question, but i have a dvd +/- combo RW drive and i have burned files onto a dvd+r disc and now my computer does not recognize the disc at all! what do i do to be able to access these files?

luckylill said, on November 5, 2007 12:05 AM:

thanks i just needed to know the difference with minus and pluses now i know this is a top site keep up the good work mate from downunder

Allaina said, on November 7, 2007 10:17 AM:

Hello,
I work for a production company and just had a question for you. I made a dvd on a panasonic DMR-E20 and then copied it on my pc burner. I gave the copy to the client and when they got it, it did not play correctly. They have a brand new dvd player so it couldnt have been their player. When we got the dvd back we checked it and had no problem on any of our machines. I am considering getting a new dvd recorder to eliminate the problem. What would be the best one to get that would work on all the new players?
Thanks
Allaina

Kevin Baker said, on November 20, 2007 1:32 PM:

Hello,

I am trying to create a DVD (using Pinnacle Studio) and the process fails at the burning stage on some DVDs. Specifically, if I use DVD-R 1-16x speed DVDs the process fails. My DVD re-writer is DVD-R/RW but is 8x max. Is this what is causing the problem? Can you advise on how to fix it? Thanks, Kevin

Danny said, on November 23, 2007 2:43 AM:

Fascinating Info!

Greetings to the Audience, reading & watching, right now!

This, is a Recording...

Mai said, on November 24, 2007 5:31 AM:

I'm also new to this whole thing about writing with different kinds of DVD. But this has helped a lot. The only problem I really have is about the DVD+R discs. A while back I got a whole pack of them not realizing they were DVD+R discs and since then I haven't been able to use them for anything since I didn't have a DVD-Writer (Just got one yesterday). So now they finally work when I put them in, but I realize that everyone's mostly saying DVD-R's are the best, especially if you want them to work in your DVD Player. So now I'm wondering if the DVD+R's will work at all in my DVD Player, which is what I wanted them for. I know I could just try and if I failed, I could just buy DVD-R's but I've tried using Nero before to burn some videos onto a DVD-R with a menu and everything and it didn't work at all in my DVD player. So I guess I really want to know what's best for DVD Players, DVD+R's or DVD-R's? And is there a way for me to find out what format works for my DVD player? It's not old :P.

TAMARA said, on December 22, 2007 8:32 AM:

WHEN USING A DOUBLE SIDED DVD, DO YOU FINALIZE ONE SIDE BEFORE TURINING IT OVER TO UE THE OTHER SIDES?

Loretta said, on January 1, 2008 1:15 PM:

I purchased a RCA DVD/VCR player/recorder. My plan is to convert my home videos (recorded on VHS-C30 tapes) to DVD.

The user's manual lists the following to use for recording: DVD+/-R 2.4, 4, 8, 16, 32 and DVD+/-RW 2.4, 4, 8.

How do I know which one to use? I have no clue.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide!

eric said, on January 1, 2008 5:07 PM:

what's the big diffrence between the dvd-r media and the dvd+r media...??? which one is the best for movies copy....??

e.c said, on January 24, 2008 6:38 PM:

I can't burn DVD+r or DVD-r on my computer. I have a dimension 9100 dual burner. Is there any thing i can do to burn movies to DVD-r or DVD+r? Should i just put in another burner, that will burn all? Help before i buy new burner.

Thomas Collins said, on February 1, 2008 6:44 PM:

I have just copied a DVD onto a DVD-RW disc using a Pioneer 105D DVD writer and Clone DVD 3.
I can erase this DVD by using Nero 7, however, when I try to burn another DVD on to this disc it gives me an error.
Please help.

Erik said, on February 3, 2008 4:51 PM:

I burned a movie to a DVD+R, and then tryed to play it in my dvd player and T.V. but it could not play this DVD. Can you help me out?

rudy said, on February 10, 2008 1:13 PM:

2 questions:
1. I have tried several different pieces of software in my PC and I can write a max of about an hour on a DVD disk, yet my standalone DVD burner will record up to 6 hours on the same disk. whys that?

2. Since CDs have a much smaller capacity than DVDs, is it possible to record only audio on a DVD thus allowing for many hours of play since a DVD has much more time. if not, why, and why has no one developed a 4.7 GB dvd that will record music only?

thks.

BARRY said, on February 11, 2008 7:48 AM:

Hi Dave Can you please tell me how i have a dvdrw installed in comp, i can burn dvds that will play on comp but not on my player that is connected to tv which is a samsung player, i am using dvd-rw but wont play on tv

Glen said, on March 1, 2008 5:59 AM:

Dave,
I have just bought a LG HDD/DVD recorder model RH 200MH.
I copied a programme on to the HDD and then down loaded to a disc DVD-RW.I finalized the disc, but can't get it to play on my friends dvd.I have tried two other dvd Sony/panasonic nad the disc will not play.
Please help?

Emily said, on March 11, 2008 8:47 AM:

Hiya Dave,
I recorded some information onto a DVD-R, now I don't know how to convert it over to a DVD that will play in a player-will I need to rerecord my information all over again or is there someway of converting it?
Thanks
emily

imran rahi said, on March 12, 2008 11:19 AM:

Hi,

It was nice tutorial to read and educate ourselves. I have one problem with my current DVD ReWriter. Its sony brand 109A.
I am able to write on CD-R and DVD-R. But I am not able to write on DVD-RW or CD-RW. Even I searched on net, but couldn't find any solution to it. Even it takes long time to write on CD-RW or DVD-RW. But the ultimate result is blank.
Can anyone help me in this?

Thanks in advance.

Jen said, on March 19, 2008 2:44 PM:

MY DVD burner in my computer takes both DVD+ and DVD-. problem is there is no consistency in playback. i have used both formats to burn on the computer and to dub VHS to DVD. the results vary wildly, bottom line being that some will play ONLY from the DVD player attached to my TV and some will ONLY play on the computer. trial and error, hit and miss. i throw away a lot of ruined disks - what am i missing?????

Sheila Plant said, on March 27, 2008 11:18 AM:

I transferred some old home videos (VHS) to a DVD-R disc and can only play the disc on the player/recorder I used to transfer the videos. It is a Panosonic and less than two years old. The other player/recorder is an LC and is less than 4 years old. Help!

Also, I cannot view these on my computer so I assume I need to transfer the videos in some other way. Please advise.

SATISH said, on April 24, 2008 9:54 AM:

Hi,
I am writing CD/DVD burning S/W. I can set the Write Parameters Mode Page
(Page Code 05h) for CDs and I can able to burn my CDs.
Where can I get the information for setting Write Parameters Mode Page
(Page Code 05h) for DVD's.

Angie said, on May 5, 2008 11:29 PM:

why does my dvd player say bad disc everytime i try to play my recorded dvd?

Sheila Jones said, on May 14, 2008 10:33 AM:

Hi Dave!!
I am using Roxio Suite 10 and having a terrible time!!
I make a movie in Window Moviemaker, saved it to my videos, then tried to burn it. I printed out a step-by-step instruction to follow. I imported the movie into "MyDVD" "my Menu". It did burn it, but when I played it back. It had music that I never heard of and a background sound that sounded like the clicking of an old 8mm reel to reel machine. It also only burned the first few frames and kept repeating them throughout the disc.
I then tried AGAIN. This time I used "MyDVD Express". It would not let me access my desktop to copy the movie from "my videos" BUT it did read my flashdrive (where I had also stored the video for class purposes). I imported it into the Express, it burned it correctly, with the right music. HOWEVER....I am not happy with the quality at all. The pictures are not sharp and the frames are jumpy. Can you advise me what I'm doing wrong or how to fix this problem?? I'm ready to pull my hair out!! Thanks so much!
Sheila Jones

awas said, on May 28, 2008 12:29 PM:

my burner is a DVD+R but it records on DVD-R disc and spits out DVD+R disc.
I use nero7, can someone help?

Mobashir Khan said, on June 17, 2008 8:58 AM:

Hi Dave,
this is my first visit on this website and seems like very helpful. So i think you will find out my problem's solution. Actually i bought Yahoo Dvd Player..everything was working fine, oneday i went to its setting and changed the setting NTSC to PAL now whenever i play any DVD or CD my TV is not showing me anything, except for a blank screen..so is there any way to Reset or that can turn back to NTSC setting plz help me thank you

Nina said, on June 19, 2008 3:21 PM:

can I use DVD+R in my Max O SX ?...

Chris Dawes said, on June 26, 2008 2:57 AM:

For most users, there is no difference between + and - as in 2008 pretty much all players and recorders have both formats.

Lee Heft said, on July 14, 2008 2:40 PM:

I am so frustrated.
I have the SONY DRX-710UL. It's an external DVD/CD Rewriteable Drive. It does not specify (+) or (-). I have video on mt PC, and am trying to copy it to a DVD. I have both a DVD+R, and a DVD-R. Neither is being recognised by my system.
The External try is hooked in via a and AV input. (Not RCA jacks)
Thanks for any help you may offer.
Lee

Melvin said, on August 21, 2008 12:54 AM:

Which is better to burn PC games DVD-RW or DVD-R?

Richard Morano, Sr. said, on August 21, 2008 2:57 PM:

I have a dvd+rw that says that it is read only and won't let me delete files that I saved to it. I went to properties and unchecked read-only. When I say apply it gives me the following error: cannot delete file on this dvd drive are read only. You cannot copy or move files over to this dvd drive.

how can I remove my files? Thanks!

Ella Madden said, on August 24, 2008 2:34 AM:

"since your drive is a DVD-RW, you're effectively limited to DVD-R and DVD-RW format discs." I have a DVD-RW drive, but it's not acknowledging the fact that they're in there so i can't burn my cd's. The CD's i bought are TDK DVD-R, and they hold 4.7 GB. Could it be to do with a setting on my computer, or d i just need to buy the DVD-RW discs?

Alan said, on September 1, 2008 4:23 PM:

I just got a DVD+R 16x 4.7gb disk with a Memorex brand.
When i got home i noticed that my PC's driver is a DVD+/-RW... When i put it into the drive it asks as if there is no disk in the drive. I think that it's not compatible but is there a method i can use to get the DVD+R to "Get along" with the DVD +/- RW drive?

Alan said, on September 1, 2008 4:26 PM:

it *acts*

James Crawley said, on September 7, 2008 11:08 AM:

One of my college questions is: What are the technical differences between Domestic and professional DVD formats? Explain the use of copy protection systems for these formats.

I have no idea what to write for my answer as I have just started the course but i can't find any relevant information online. Could you help me anser this question please? If you could email me that would be great. Thanks.

jammy_arsenal@hotmail.com

James Crawley

cindy said, on November 1, 2008 6:30 PM:

I have a question...I just bought my hubby some music recording software and I need to know what kind of cd/dvd/rw device to use- he will be recording and storing his music onto cd's and we have an older PC that doesn't include the ability to copy or write cd's.

We have a dell demension 3000 and I'm buying him 2 GB of memory for his computer so it doesn't run out of memory-

I'm totally confused by this whole dvd-rw stuff but I just need to know the cheapest place to get what he needs. (even online) It's software from Cakewalk and it's used to create edit and produce your own music.

thanks!

Cindy said, on November 1, 2008 6:35 PM:

-This is what the package says "

"DVD-ROM, DVD+/-RW for installation / CD-R or CD-RW capability required for CD audio disc burning"

sorry- I just found the info on the box !

:) continued from above question....

Joe said, on November 10, 2008 3:35 AM:

I just discovered this site. Great work Dave. Thank you for the effort.

Joe.

Amy said, on December 16, 2008 1:08 PM:

hi dave
pls what does it mean to rewrite a disc in video mode and how can i go about it. My dvd player support dvd-r if only it has been rewritten in video mode and finalized.

Nigel said, on January 27, 2009 8:48 PM:

what type of disc do i use to burn a movie and watch on my xbox360

Ralph said, on January 29, 2009 12:54 PM:

I purchased some Sony DVD's at wal*mart, and the large letters on the right say "DVD+R". Beneath thatm, it says "120 min/4.7GB". Beneath that, it says "AccuCORE". Finally, beneath that, it says "RW". Finally, beneath that, in very small font, it says "DVD+R". Are you at all familiar with these, and if so, are they rewritable or not?

Sandy said, on March 4, 2009 2:36 PM:

what is the difference between copying a file to a cd or burning a file to a cd? In which instances would you do each one. Which way will more likely enable you to open the cd on other cd drives.

I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

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