DVD-R or DVD+R......any noticeable difference??

Hi all, I'm about to purchase a 50 pack of blank DVD's but I don't know which one to get. They are both the same price but is one format better than the other?

BTW, if you go to slickdeals, you'll see the offer. Office Depot has the 50 pack for $5 if you select in store pickup.

 

I believe DVD-R is more compatible with more dvd drivers than +R, but it could be the other way around. The difference is pretty neglegable, I'd go for it if you need DVD's.

 

Since they are so cheap, would it make sense to get one of each?

 

Not really. Doing a quick wikipedia search ( Here, last paragraph of the 'competing formats' section), DVD-R's are more compatible than +R's in general (-R's came out 5 years before +R's).

Just get the -R dvd's, get two of em if you need more.

 

DVD+R is newer and designed to be more reliable. You may have a problem getting those discs to work in 2002 and older hardware.

 

I'm getting one of each because my sister's laptop is older so she can use the -R and I can use the +R on my new laptop. Thanks for the great info guys. I have to say though $5 for a 50 pack is a great deal even if I end up with a few coasters.

 

basic rundown is that any computer shoudl be able to read either disc.

Back when the DVD standard was being made there was lots of compatibility issues becasue of companies trying to get their format to be supperior (bit liek teh HD-DVD vs. Blu Ray stuff) so companies were making burners that would do one but not the other. The real problem came with stand alone DVD players becasue originally they were set only to recognise DVD-ROM discs then as + & - came out companies supported one of them but very rarely both so lots of old stand alone players will only play one type. Sony then did a smart thing & released a burner & series of readers that did both and everyone sort of follwed trend so current stuff can read anything. For computers older drives that were made only supporting one format can have their firmware flashed to enable support for both.

Now for the interesting bit. The part of the disc that tells teh drive what it is +, - , ROM etc is re-writtable on +R discs. Not all drives will let you cange it but it is possible to make a + disc a minus or a ROM to increase compatibility. This is why all plus discs have the +RW mark on them which is for re-writable but yet people always find problems when they try and erase a +R disc and burn again. Its becasue the disc is only a +R but teh disc type or booktype is +RW.

Hope thats helpful