DVD + or - ?

Every clerk has a different opinion. Plus or minus, which one for submitting

photos. Does it really matter if RW is used instead of R?

Shouldn't matter as long as they can read the disk. I'd think most modern system should be able to handle +R, -R and RW.

 

For archival purposes it's generally considered that DVD+R is somewhat better than DVD-R, and read only is generally considered to be more stable than read/write.

DVD+R has some minor technical enhancements that probably won't make the slightest

difference to you. It's also not certified as an official DVD format by the DVD Forum (DVD-R

is).

 

For your uses, it makes no difference.

From Wikipedia:

 

"There are a number of significant technical differences between the "minus" (actually strictly incorrect - it was a hyphen prior to the introduction of the DVD+RW format) and the "plus" format, though most consumers would not notice the difference. One example is the ADIP (ADdress In Pregroove) system of tracking and speed control being less susceptible to interference and error than the LPP (Land Pre Pit) system used by DVD-R, which makes the ADIP system more accurate at higher speeds. In addition, DVD+R(W) has a more robust error management system than DVD-R(W), allowing for more accurate burning to media independent of the quality of the media. Additional session linking methods are more accurate with DVD+R(W) versus DVD-R(W), resulting in fewer damaged or unusable discs due to buffer under-run and multi-session disks with fewer PI/PO errors. "

I'll also be using Lightscribe. I hope this doesn't add any new variables. About Lightscribe - I'm using it because it came with the Lacie DVD burner I bought. I'm a little disapointed in it's capabilities and speed. Just to print a simple name and address takes a very long time and doesn't look that impressive. It might just be my old computer.

Wikipedia said it, but more or less in code. The big difference to me is that DVD+ can be

recorded in multi sessions. DVD- cannot. That's a big thing if you don't feel like filling up

your drives waiting to get enough for 1 big burn. I now use DVD+

Lightscribe labeling is expensive and time-consuming. You can do better, more cheaply with an $80 inkjet and "Watershield" discs by Taiyo Yuden.

 

DVD+R discs have about 1/4 the error rate of DVD-R discs on the same burners, and work best at 8x speed vs 6x speed for DVD-R. DVD-R discs are marginally more compatible with older set-top players, but I have had no issues publishing thousands of DVD+R discs. For data only, DVD+R is the clear winner in accuracy.

 

Multi-session recording is an invitation to disaster. You can only read the latest track on a DVD - older directories are copied to the new session. If the burn crashes or is corrupted, you lose all the data. It's well worth it to spend $0.30 for a new disc each time.