DVD+R or DVD-R Media?

[Idiot356]

Which of these formats is most compatible, say with the average home DVD player, for backing up home movies, and DVD Movies?

[Nemesys]

Right now DVD-R has the compatibility edge.
However DVD+R is superior in quality in every way and has much more potential for future development.

[Idiot356]

Originally posted by Nemesys
Right now DVD-R has the compatibility edge.
However DVD+R is superior in quality in every way and has much more potential for future development.

Thanks. From reading some of your other post you seem to know your stuff when it comes to home CD/DVD burning.

So, I have another question. Which brand of media, manufacture moreover do you recomend, and this goes for both DVD and CD media. It is very important that I purchase quality blank media.


Also do you know of a good online retailer of quality blank media.

It' funny because I can get all kinds of great websites for motherboards, video cards, and cpus. But when it comes to burning and blank media, I have found very few, and of those lackluster websites.

[Nemesys]

It's actually a combination of burner and media that ultimately determines the write quality of a particular burn. Some have had bad burns with good media and some have had good burns with bad media, so it's up to each individual to determine through testing which media works best with each burner.
Some people think that because the burnware did not flag them with an error then the burn is good but that is far from the truth as the burn could be riddled with C1 and sometimes C2 errors. These are the same people who recommend some of the crappiest media through ignorance, not fault of theirs though.
With that said, testing have revealed that some media manufacturers will consistently produce good media and conversely there are those who always make crap. Japanese made media are among some of the best in the world so do not ignore the "Made in Japan" moniker. Companies such as Taiyo Yuden who manufactures under various names, most recognizable is Fuji, along with Mitsubishi, KODAK and others are among the leaders in manufacturing quality media. Ritek have come a long way and is currently considered a mid quality manufacturer along with Moser Baer from India. Undoubtedly, the worst media manufacturer happens to be Prodisc and CMC magnetics. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to most they manufacturer most of the media found on the store shelves. Names such as Imation, Memorex, TDK (most of them) all bear the CMC flag and is really nothing short of junk. Again tests have confirmed these findings.
DVD media compatibility is currently a mess. It's been so scary that I have personally delayed purchasing a DVD burner until they correct some of these compatibility issues. Usually most people will stick with whichever media works for them but a brand name DVD burner and brand name media does not even guarantee a successful burn. The write strategies implemented in most original firmware is currently not doing the job with relations to media compatibility. There are a growing number of sites providing an increasing number of hacked firmware for most burners with modified writing strategies which increases media compatibility. For now though, the most effective method for determining media compatibility is to extract the Media ID Codes for your DVD burner with programs such as DVDInfoPro.

http://www.dvdinfopro.com

You can then use the program to test media for matching codes to use with your burner. Currently most have a preference for media manufactured under various names by RICOH.

Here is an example of Media Codes extracted from my neighbors Lite-On LDW-401S with the ES0G firmware. This means that the firmware has developed writing strategies for media with the following codes:

RICOHJPNR00
MCC 001
MCC 002
CMC MAG R01
YUDEN000T01
RITEK R01
PRODISC R01
RICOHJPNR01
MAXELL 001
PRODISC R02
TDK 001
BeAll000P40
SONY D01
NANYA DR
RITEK R02
DAXON AZ1
CMC MAG F01
OPTODISCOP1
MPOMEDIA001
LD 001
SKYMEDIAR01
RICOHJPNW01
MCC A01
RITEK 001
MKM A02
CMC MAG W01
NANYASC DRW
RICOHJPNW11
OPTODISCOP1
PRODISC W01
INFODISCA01
RITEK 004
RITEK W04
CMC MAG W02
PHILIPS 041


[EDIT]
In my experiences, it's always best to buy your media locally. Unless you are buying bulk you can usually find deals as good as you can online.
[/EDIT]

[Idiot356]

Thanks a lot.

Actually I too have delayed buying a DVD burner, because of what you said also. I do though work at a recording studio, that just purchased a Lacie Firewire burner, I bealive it's guts are a pioneer. I have burned 1 DVD Video with it, with DVD X Copy express I made a copy of Lord of The Rings Two Towers, using the Verbatim blank DVD-R that came with the drive. It plays on my computer, my brothers 50 dollar apex DVD player, but it does not play on my 5 disc Onkyo DVD player... well it plays, but it skips and it unwatchable.

The only reason that I can see to why it would skip on the onkyo is crappy media. It sort of pisses me off, because why does it play perfectly on the cheapo apex dvd player, and not the 250 dollar onkyo. I don't have the answer, but I am pretty sure it has to do with the media.



Thanks again.

[Nemesys]

It has to do with media but not necessarily crappy media. My guess is that the laser calibration on the Onkyo is incompatible with the media being used. It probably has to do with the reflectivity of the media. The funny thing is that one of the crappiest media around has better playback compatibility with standalone players than any other media. Princo media works great for DVD and game comsole backups if the burner can calibrate the OPC (Optimum Power Calibration) to properly burn it.

So herein lies another DVD media compatible issue but this time from a different perspective, the standalone playback.