DVD+R or DVD-R What's the Difference?

[halo200]

I went to the store today to pick up some blank DVD's so I can burn my imovie videos to DVD so they will play on a DVD player, and I looked down and was like what the.... there was a DVD-R and a DVD+R and the store person didnt know anything, is there a difference between the two? All I want is for it to play on any DVD player i put it in. Which one do you recommend?

 

[hughvane]

G'day fellow Kiwi ...
DVD+R is a dvd disc that allows multiple layers for one disc whereas dvd-r only allows one layer. Multi layer DVD+R can allow more capacity per disc than DVD-R, hence its higher cost!
Credit: http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/2279

You may need to post again to get info about burning dvds for a video player as opposed to just your computer. Example:
http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=85297&highlight=burn+dvd

 

[halo200]

But they both say 4.7GB on them the difference is just the +R and the -R

 

[Kash]

It essentially boils down to what format your DVD player can handle. DVD-R tends to do better in older DVD players, though if your player was made in the last three-four years, it doesn't really matter. I use DVD-R because it tends to be cheaper and you never know when you might have to pop in a burned disc into an older DVD player.

 

[hughvane]

But they both say 4.7GB on them the difference is just the +R and the -R

Yeah, that's single layer. 4.7 Gb is the maximum amount of data that you can put on it, whether it's +R or -R. Dual layer disks will have the letters DL, with a capacity of something like 8 Gb.

Suggestion: put a commercial DVD in your Mac, and then Get Info about the disk. Example: I've got a movie disk in my Mac right now and it's 7.9 Gb because it's dual layer with a running time of 2.25 hours. Its movie format is uncompressed, made for watching on a dvd player. A 4.7 Gb disk would run a movie of perhaps 1 - 1.5 hours.

 

[halo200]

Ok Thanks Guys, I get my DVD's from the Warehouse (hughvane knows what im talking about where everyone gets a bargain ) and the +R and -R are $1.50NZ each so it was kinda annoying not knowing what the difference was.

 

[hughvane]

Ok Thanks Guys, I get my DVD's from the Warehouse (hughvane knows what im talking about

Sure do! I'm going to watch Far & Away on my eMac tonight. Got the movie from - guess - the WH - $10!