Which DVD is safest?

[Gregg Kimball]

I do a lot of travel DVDs that I give to my Wife’s clients (she’s a travel agent) after the trips and I was wondering which format of DVD is safest to use to ensure maximum compatibility with a wide range of DVD players, +R or —R? I don’t really know what the difference between the two is but I’ve heard that some players won’t accept certain formats.
Thanks,
Gregg

[Steve Grisetti]

There is virtually no difference any more in compatibility between +Rs and -Rs, Gregg. However, you do seem to be able to up the odds of compatiblity with a good, reliable brand of disk, such as Verbatim.

Most DVD players are capable of playing home-burned DVDs. Strangely, though, the two brands which most often lack the ability to play home-burned DVDs are Sony and Pioneer, a couple of major players. But that seems to be improving also.

So there is no 100% guarantee -- but the best way to put the odds in your favor is to use Verbatim disk. I've had great success with Verbatim's DVD Movie disks. And I like the artwork on them because they look like movie reels.

(BTW, I think it goes without saying that you should NEVER put sticky labels on your DVDs or CDs.)

[Chuck Engels]

I only slightly disagree with Steve on this one, it is still fact that the -R discs are most compatible by a few percentage points.

Other than that, burn speed and brand are really the most important. Burning at 8x or slower and using discs from Taiyo Yuden or Verbatim are the best bet.

[Steve Grisetti]

And I'll buy dinner, Chuck, if you can find me that VCR that plays -Rs but not +Rs!

[hpharley90]

VCR that plays -Rs but not +Rs!

[Chuck Engels]

I don't have a single VCR that will play either, do I win?
When do we eat?

I have seen, and heard, of a number of DVD players that will not play +R DVDs, most of them are older models but it still happens.

Here is something from VideoGuys.com

What about all the various DVD recording formats?
If you find the alphabet soup of formats confusing, you are not alone. It is difficult to understand. This is why we have dedicated an entire page in our DVD Cookbook to explaining the various formats. Follow this link to the DVD format page in the DVD Cookbook. The good news is that almost every drive on the market is multi-format. Make sure the drive you get supports both —R and +R burning.

The most important thing for you to understand is that all of the various competing camps have the same goal: To become the new industry standard. The way they will accomplish this is by making sure the disks you make using their burners play in as many home DVD players as possible. We feel we can say with a high degree of certainty that the disks you make today will work in just about every DVD player currently on the market. So the only issues will be with older legacy DVD players.

We feel that the DVD-R format has emerged as the best format for you to distribute the DVDs you produce. From our experience and independent tests run by various publications DVD-R disks will be the most compatible and reliable. The latest DVD-R drives now support 16x burn speeds and the disks are the most compatible with the widest range of home DVD players. In general write once (—R/+R) disks will be more compatible then re-writable (-RW/+RW) DVDs that you burn. New Dual or Double Layer disks are hitting the market. These disks will hold up to 8.5GB of data. Dual Layer disks you create will play in almost any new DVD burner, but they are not always backward compatible with older players. DL technology is very new, as it matures we are confident DL disks will become as compatible as re-writable disks are today.

The race for the winning recordable format is over and it looks like it was a draw. The new race is on for larger capacity formats that will allow you to burn high definition DVDs. These will utilize new Blue laser technology. These HD disks will most likely not be backward compatible. You will need to have a new high definition DVD player and TV to watch them. This technology is still a couple of ears away.

Will my home made DVDs play on every home DVD player?
Using the DVD-R/+R format your DVDs should play on almost every current DVD player available. The same is true for the +R formats. Some players still have problems properly reading re-writable (-RW/+RW) disks. With older DVD players, you may run into some playback issues with some formats while other formats will work fine. This backwards compatibility with older DVD players is a problem that will resolve itself over time as these players get replaced by newer models. We are confident that if you were to take a DVD-R disk you created today to your local electronics superstore, it would play on over 90% of the DVD players there

[Steve Grisetti]

The bet still stands. If you can find me a VCR that plays -Rs but not +Rs, you win.

(Man, I need some rest.)

[Chuck Engels]

Just remember, there are some DVD players that will not play burned DVDs at all, doesn't matter what type of DVD it is.
I have one of those left in my house still.

[Ken Jarstad]

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_05757947000P?pid=05757947000P&sid=I0084400010000100362&aff=Y

[Chuck Engels]

There's one that won't play -R, now that is odd

[Gregg Kimball]

Thanks for all the good advice. I'll stick to -R and high quality DVDs, I currently use Memorex but the last batch I bought were +R so I'll get Verbatim -R next time around, do they come in a printable version? I don't like to use Lightscribe if I don't have too, I usually do full color labels with a scene shot on it for the disk and cover. I have been using stick on labels but taking your advice I'll find an inexpensive printer that will print directly on the DVD. I have a Sony DVD player and it plays all the DVDs I create just fine but it is only about three years old.
Thanks again,
Gregg
Oh yea I almost forgot, Steve I can't find any VCRs that will play either.

[Chuck Engels]

I buy Verbatim -R inkjet printables in units of 50 from the local Micro Center.
They only have 16x (would rather have 8x) now but I can control the burn speed with Encore DVD.

[Gregg Kimball]

Thanks Chuck, I don't have a Micro center out here but I will order them online.

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Just to add my twopennyworth - I have always used Verbatim -R either silver face or printable face and never had a problem.

[Gregg Kimball]

Thanks everyone it sounds like I’m good to go with the —R Verbatim DVDs and I’ll remember to cut the burn speed down to 8x, I didn’t realize the burn speed made a difference in compatibility (that’s why I love this site, you get more than just an answer) I also didn’t know that you shouldn’t use stick on labels. Does anyone have any suggestions on a decent printer that will print CDs and DVDs? I’m getting ready to buy a wide format photo printer but they don’t have the CD tray and the quality on the CD print doesn’t need to be that high of a resolution.