If your talking about the Sony DVD Recorder your getting mixed up. With DVD-RW you have the option of 'Video Mode' which is highly compatible or 'VR Mode' with powerful editting. Whereas with regards to DVD+RW the machine is severly limited as it does not fully support all +RW functions (although admittedly those functions are pretty limited anyway). Why restrict yourself - get DVD-RW.Should I be going for the more advanced editing of +RW or the compatability of -RW?
This is very true - check out the CDR-Info compatibility tests:-r works in nearly every dvd palyer made + is a bit pickie!
Originally posted by Rasczak
If your talking about the Sony DVD Recorder your getting mixed up. With DVD-RW you have the option of 'Video Mode' which is highly compatible or 'VR Mode' with powerful editting. Whereas with regards to DVD+RW the machine is severly limited as it does not fully support all +RW functions (although admittedly those functions are pretty limited anyway). Why restrict yourself - get DVD-RW.
That's incorrect. I refer you to CDR Info's (the definitive source of DVDR/CDR info) group testing:Actually +R / -R compatability is about the same.
Can you quote an issue for that (I have an extnesive back issue collection - I'll be happy to scan the article and post it)? It's just I subscribe to What Video & Widescreen Entertainment and Home Cinema Choice and have never, ever seen these statistics. I would also suggest that a database built up of virtually every player available (www.dvdrhelp.com) and the comprehensive guides on the CDR Info (the core industry based site) are extremely reliable. And of course it ties in with the articles published by WVWE such as the integral problems DVD+R had when first issue (i.e. the bad reflective layer).The people behind this forum who review everything on the market have,over time given figures for compatibility as follows;+R,95%;+RW;75%;-R,75%;-RW,60%
I thought you meant as much - which is absolute rot. As part of there product tests they test the media but they have never, ever said that DVD+R is more compatible than DVD-R because it isn't. They have never published widescale compatibility tests because, unlike industry supported sites like CDR-Info, they only review half a dozen products per issue.As I said above-its over time,not a specific issue
Actually I think you'll find many of these articles derived from Philip's press release upon the arrival of DVD+R. Since then of course we have had the reflective layer problem as well as the fact that it's simple not as compatible. Be under no mistake DVD+RW was a decision by a few companies to grab a market share with 'their' product. When +RW was announced there was never going to be a DVD+R - this only came about when DVD+RW didn't even come close to achieving the compatibility levels promised.Reviews in all magazines,not just WV publications usually mention the superior compatibility
DVD+R is supported because it costs the companies little to nothing to add support for it and adds sales to people who want a multi-format machine. This is much more a concern in Europe (where +RW has grabbed a foothold) as opposed to Japan or, to a lesser extent, the US. Sony (for instance) only supports +RW/+R in it's settop units in Europe.So if -R is as compatible as they say,why do Pioneer(the main -R company)support +R on their rewriters,and why do Microsoft support it,and why does the Sony have both.As its unofficial,why would these companies bother to supply the hardware.If -R was as compatible as you say,there would be no need
But it's not as compatible as I say. It's as compatible as testing has proven! Ultimately DVD-R is an official format and so companies strive to make sure it works - which explains the rough 95% compatibility figure. DVD+R is unofficial and so some companies won't support it - if it works by accident so much the better but it's not a design consideration. You simply won't find any reliable statistics to prove DVD+R is better than DVD-R because there aren't any.If -R was as compatible as you say,there would be no need
CDR-Info, has determined that DVD-R is clearly the most compatible DVD recording format on the market. To assess the compatibility level of DVD Formats we created video content on a DVD writer using DVD-R/RW and +R/RW media. These discs were then played back in other DVD players and DVD-ROM drives over a 1,000 combinations of drive, media and player were tested.
The content created on a DVD-R/RW writer using a write once DVD-R disc played back in virtually all (96.1 percent) of the DVD players and DVD-ROM drives used in the research. DVD+R discs played back in 87.6 percent of the devices tested.
Since the market for recording to DVD has developed, and different formats have emerged, consumers have been concerned about the compatibility of their DVD recording devices with DVD players and DVD-ROM drives. The findings suggest that for customers who wish to create content on a DVD writer and interchange this with other PC drives and consumer DVD players, DVD-R is the clear format of choice.
That's probably more to do with the quality of media your using rather than any general compatibility problem related to DVD-R. If you post your equipment types and disk make and generation then we can probably work through a solution.I have some -R discs and playback is patchy
Rubbish! DVD-R was intended as the write-once media for DVD just like CD-R. It's not just Pioneer supporting DVD-R - it's supported by EVERYONE except the core member of the DVD Forum - Philips. In addition to Pioneer, JVC, Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Hitachi, Samsung all view DVD-R as the primary write-once medium. But if you really want a Pioneer they have 3 new UK models coming out in the UK in the next 6 months - all will support DVD-RW and DVD-R..-R was only intended to be used by movie companies to send out test discs.Pioneer hijacked it and put out their recorder.If it was so good we would have had another Pioneer recorder,but we haven't.
Ahh these much vaunted 'budget' models from media giants like Daewoo (!) and Mico priced at "under £300". Well given the E50 is ALREADY under £300 from most online retailers I'm sure this won't even be that competitive in the UK.ALL the budget recorders being offered by supermarkets in the coming months are exclusively +R,and once that kicks in,-R will be a fading memory
But from a electronics point of view it is a worldwide market now. What happens worldwide will determine which media will play in future DVD players, which media will be the cheapest, which media will have applications designed for it use etc. These are fast becoming DVD Multi. Perhaps most significantly the specification for BluRay requires it to record to DVD-Multi (-RAM, -RW, -R) - no mention of +RWI am only bothered about what happens in the UK
You must be aware that there are now more DVD-RAM set-top players in the UK than the DVD+RW? DVD-RAM is now cheaper, it's write-once format is the defacto standard, the products have not been beset with major faults, the machines are made by the larger electrical product producers (i.e. Panasonic, JVC, Toshiba) as opposed to small European ones (Philips) and even smaller Korean ones (Daewoo). Also, you make like to consider that by Christmas there will be 2 DVD-RAM players out from a variety of companies for every DVD+RW machine available.Only RAM will disappear from the UK.
I quite agree - people want the cheapest most compatible format which is DVD-R. As I said the E50 is cheaper than the Philips products and more compatible.Unfortunately,most people are not home cinema buffs and supermarket sales of PLAYERS is what is boosting the format
I quite agree - people want the cheapest most compatible format which is DVD-R. As I said the E50 is cheaper than the Philips products and more compatible.
I'm not sure such a distinction will be made between ReWritable and Write Once media. A large number of people only use CD-Rs as opposed to CD-RW even for basic stuff - they are cheap, compatible and throw away. This is becoming increasingly true with DVD-R. The prices of the media are falling - disks will be 50p each soon. Additionally as people realise that a -RW or +RW (or even a RAM disk without a caddy) become increasingly unreliable resulting in dataloss upon subsequent recordings then people may well stick to write-once disks. Supporting this theory is the arrival (in October/November) of two HDD/DVD-R only machines.Without doubt, the demand will be for the cheapest, most compatible REWRITABLE media but more importantly the cheapest, half decent machines
I quite agree - if you look at Panasonics ads for example you will see precious little mention of FR/VBR only 'Timeslip'. However on these forums I would suggest that is precisely what people want to know as, ultimately, they are probably after the best quality product offset only by price.Most don't even know how to set a timer so don't try to sell them on things like VBR and editing features, that just confuses them
DVD+RW is being actively blocked by some producers
How many people actually swap home recorded DVDs?
Then would you like to square this with the quote you made earlier:I may be new to this forum but have been around for a while.I have also been into home cinema since the late 80's
For many of us who were Home Cinema fans in the UK back in the 80s Laserdisc did quite alot for us actually.Laserdisc was popular in the US for 20 years.It did nothing here.
I don't like to disappoint but I had a collection of around 50 DVDs back in January 1998. I also can claim the honour of being the first DVD buying customer in HMV Southampton - picking up a copy of Mars Attacks as the assistant was just filling up the tiny shelf space cleared for them. He almost died of shock when someone actually brought one of the disks...my first dvd player was inFeb98,maybe before you even knew it existed
Yes I mean sales. This is primarily because the E50 is now the cheapest DVD Recorder but has been helped no end by the amount of people who have returned faulty Philips machines. Andby the end of the year there will be more DVD-RAM recorders available than +RW ones.Rasczak is way off with his assumption that there are more RAM set top boxes than +R.I assume you are meaning sales as opposed to models available.
RAM is simple to use - I don't think anyone will seriously struggle to get it to work at a basic level. Of course the +RW machines don't have anything above a basic level. Your point about there being "no DVD-R only ones" doesn't make any sense - the E50 is readily available and cheaper than anything in the +RW camp.RAM is too complicated and clever for Joe Public,so the fact that there now seems to be no -R only machines will push people toward +R.
That's exactly correct. As has been discussed here and mooted elsewhere there will be no 'winner' of the format war for:I am assuming that none of the existing formats will win the so called format war
I'm not sure such a distinction will be made between ReWritable and Write Once media. A large number of people only use CD-Rs as opposed to CD-RW even for basic stuff - they are cheap, compatible and throw away.
Well thats true - you would have to wait for the new JVC. But if you recorded on DVD-Rs you could use virtually any PAL Progressive machine to play it and you'd benefit from the features that would actually make the disk a better quality product - i.e. higher bitrate, variable bitrate, flexible record and guaranteed compatibility.I'm looking at the Yamaha S540 for £120 and it is designed for +RW, what -RAM player will do Pal prog for that price?
I can assure you they are. Just keep an eye on CR Info news - write-once DVDs are where the companies are making there money. Rewriteable DVDs are selling only 1 for every 10 Recordable ones.I see your point but I'm not sure they are a large percentage of the population
They will - your have a variety of HDD units coming from Thompson. As well as HDD/DVDR combos from Pioneer and Panasonic (which are rumoured to be getting EPGs) and some HDD/DVD-R only ones. There is also Sky+. These will become Joe Publics VCR.I agree that if HD PVR's like TIVO are introduced again this time with a free EPG, they may take off and rule the home recording roost