DVD Writers

Eagle · Sep 26, 2004

OK, I'm thinking about getting a DVD writer since they are so cheap. The one I'm looking at says it supports DVD +R/RW and -R/RW. Ive seen this before, but what exactly is the difference between the + and the -? I do know they are different types of DVD's but what specifically makes them different?

Allnatural · Sep 26, 2004

MaximumPC did a big write-up on the differences some time ago, but I don't have that issue. I do recall that at one time the -R disks were generally more compatible with older set-top DVD players, but the +R media has since caught up last I heard. Other than that, the differences to the end-user are negligible.

If you want to get into the technical minutia, I dug up this site.

-Shadow- · Sep 27, 2004

I Experienced the following things with the different DVD types :

DVD-R : Normal compatibility , can be read with XBOX , DVD-Players and my normal DVD Drive , reliable read speed , no critical writing errors .

DVD+R : It's utter crap ! It couldn't be read by all other Drives ( including XBOX , DVD-Player ) except my own DVD writer , even my friend ( he has the same writer like me ) couldn't read it !

Plextor writers are a waste of money IMO ! They're just too expensive for their standard features and performance .-Here- is the LG GSA-4120B , it's a very reliable writer and it can even burn Dual Layer DVD's and DVD-RAM and it costs about 40 bucks less in Europe !

Allnatural · Sep 27, 2004

H3ad5h0tter said:
DVD+R : It's utter crap ! It couldn't be read by all other Drives ( including XBOX , DVD-Player ) except my own DVD writer , even my friend ( he has the same writer like me ) couldn't read it !

I haven't tested a disk in my set-top player yet, but I've burned more than a few data disks using DVD+R media. All are read just fine by my four year old NEC DVD-ROM.

-Shadow- · Sep 27, 2004

Allnatural said:
I haven't tested a disk in my set-top player yet, but I've burned more than a few data disks using DVD+R media. All are read just fine by my four year old NEC DVD-ROM.

Ah , then it could be an outdated firmware or just a DVD+R incompatibility for me .

Eagle · Sep 27, 2004

H3ad5h0tter said:
Plextor writers are a waste of money IMO ! They're just too expensive for their standard features and performance .-Here- is the LG GSA-4120B , it's a very reliable writer and it can even burn Dual Layer DVD's and DVD-RAM and it costs about 40 bucks less in Europe !

You are WAAAAY telling this to the wrong person. I hate LG drives. They are complete crap. I had one once and it stopped recognizing CD's it burned itself and then stopped reading CD recordables and rewriteables all together. I sent it back and they sent me another one which after a short time did the same fricken thing! I would not take a free drive from them. Plextor on the other had has the best quality of all optical drives out there. I wont buy a drive that isnt plextor anymore. The way I see it, you pay for the quality you get.

smcd · Sep 27, 2004

I bought a Plextor PX-708A, it's damn nice and I have NEVER had any issues, even burning 4x media at 8x speeds!

Hexidecimal · Sep 27, 2004

I have an NEC 2500A 8X drive, it writes any media format at 8X. I've never had a problem with it, but I usually only buy DVD-R for sure compatibilty. DVD+R is supposedly getting better built into newer players, but 99% of movies are written on -R so I stick with that.

overkill · Sep 27, 2004

I got an 8x dual layer, should've gotten the 16x for the same price, but if dual layer blank media becomes cheaper I'll be happy.

Stezo2k · Sep 27, 2004

I've got a Pioneer 106D, i've had it for about a year now, it only burns a dvd at 4x, but still is a decent speed (longest it takes is 15min to burn a dvd) never had any compatability problems with DVD-Rs, i've never bought DVD+R discs though. As long as you buy a decent brand of DVD-Rs, you shouldn't have many problems.

Brands I Recommend From Experience:
Bulkpaq
Datasafe/Datawrite
Verbatim

Nighty0 · Sep 27, 2004

Eagle said:
You are WAAAAY telling this to the wrong person. I hate LG drives. They are complete crap. I had one once and it stopped recognizing CD's it burned itself and then stopped reading CD recordables and rewriteables all together. I sent it back and they sent me another one which after a short time did the same fricken thing! I would not take a free drive from them. Plextor on the other had has the best quality of all optical drives out there. I wont buy a drive that isnt plextor anymore. The way I see it, you pay for the quality you get.

Yep, Plextor drives ake a kinda good, as Pioneer, as NEC. But i had (and have) a LG drive all my life (since first CD-R burner) and i had no problems at all. I simply do not put a lot of money only to burn 60 CD-Rs/20 DVDs per month.... XD
I have CD-R media from years ago reading very good, burned by LG.... lol
But i agree with you in quality vs price..... i bought a expensive Intel P4 system, and the motherboard (D850MVL) ceased all their functions after 1 year. Since the Mobos need to go to USA I waited 1 month (without another computer) to receive a new one from Intel (Intel uses UPS to make their RMA).

Eagle · Sep 27, 2004

Yeah but Intel is the rare case where you pay more than what the quality is worth.

Stezo2k · Sep 27, 2004

Eagle said:
Yeah but Intel is the rare case where you pay more than what the quality is worth.

I agree, the main reason why i switched to AMD a few years back, i've never looked back

sheik124 · Sep 28, 2004

i am the DVD guru (or at least i like to think i am)
1. headshotter, your analysis of DVD+R is complete and utter crap, to say the least, it all depends on media, burn quality, recorder, and reading drive. for example, my XBOX reads DVD+Rs just fine, why? because i have the Phillips model DVD Drive in my xbox, however, my friend has the samsung model, and can only read DVD-Rs, my PS2 can read my DVD+Rs, my PC and all PCs i have ever tried do, and a cheap RCA DVD Player from radio shack can as well.

2. eagle, to answer your question, right now, the best bang for the buck "AMD" of the dvd burners (not like plextors, the Intels of the market, always paying more than what you get) is the Pioneer DVR-108 (OEM) or DVR-A08XL (retail and 2x expensive for no reason). newegg has both in stock, i am actually selling my 107 for a 108, the 108 has 16x DVD+R and 12x -R i believe (again headshotter, dvd+r is alot better than you make it look) and it also does dual layer DVD+R (headshotter, show me some dual layer -R why don't you)
have fun with your new drive, whatever it is you decide to get

sheik124 · Sep 28, 2004

sorry for double posting

Stezo2k said:
I've got a Pioneer 106D, i've had it for about a year now, it only burns a dvd at 4x, but still is a decent speed (longest it takes is 15min to burn a dvd) never had any compatability problems with DVD-Rs, i've never bought DVD+R discs though. As long as you buy a decent brand of DVD-Rs, you shouldn't have many problems.

Brands I Recommend From Experience:
Bulkpaq
Datasafe/Datawrite
Verbatim

why not get a 107D or a 108? they stopped making the 106 along time ago, the 107 is the same with 8x, 108 is the same with DL DVD+R and 16x DVD+R and 12x DVD-R
as of now best recommendation i have read in this thread is Stezo, go pioneer!

arty:

-Shadow- · Sep 28, 2004

sheik124 said:
i am the DVD guru (or at least i like to think i am)
1. headshotter, your analysis of DVD+R is complete and utter crap, to say the least, it all depends on media, burn quality, recorder, and reading drive. for example, my XBOX reads DVD+Rs just fine, why? because i have the Phillips model DVD Drive in my xbox, however, my friend has the samsung model, and can only read DVD-Rs, my PS2 can read my DVD+Rs, my PC and all PCs i have ever tried do, and a cheap RCA DVD Player from radio shack can as well.

2. eagle, to answer your question, right now, the best bang for the buck "AMD" of the dvd burners (not like plextors, the Intels of the market, always paying more than what you get) is the Pioneer DVR-108 (OEM) or DVR-A08XL (retail and 2x expensive for no reason). newegg has both in stock, i am actually selling my 107 for a 108, the 108 has 16x DVD+R and 12x -R i believe (again headshotter, dvd+r is alot better than you make it look) and it also does dual layer DVD+R (headshotter, show me some dual layer -R why don't you)
have fun with your new drive, whatever it is you decide to get

Pffff... stop bashing , i give up...

Eagle · Sep 28, 2004

H3ad5h0tter said:
Pffff... stop bashing , i give up...

Yeah I feel the same way, I asked a question about DVD media and get a bunch of people telling me I shouldn't buy the drive I've already decided on. Guys, Plextor is my favorite. IMO they are the best, nothing like Intel. I'm going to get a Plextor drive regardless of what you post here. I just wanted the info on the media types.

smegforbrain · Sep 29, 2004

I asked for DVD burner suggestions awhile ago, and everybody seemed to like the NEC 2500. So I got one, and with using Nero, I haven't had a coaster yet.

I also went with TDK DVD+R discs. Nobody has really been able me that, aside from actual dvd players perhaps having a fit for certain types, it's not going to be an issue (dvd-rom reads +/-R's, writes +/-R's).

Allnatural · Sep 29, 2004

I haven't done extensive testing with my new Lite-On yet (since I bought it recently) but no problems so far with the Sony CD-Rs and Verbatim DVD+Rs I've been using.

smcd · Sep 29, 2004

From my experience, Verbatim discs are the best way to go. They're far more versatile (can burn faster than stated speed with minimal coasters, using my drive at least, and seem to be very stable in regards to scratch resistance). I love them.

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