Scribd
Upload
336 views2 pages

The Difference Between DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD-RW

There are several DVD formats: DVD-R and DVD+R can only be written to once while DVD-RW and DVD+RW can be written to and erased multiple times. DVD-R/RW was developed by Pioneer and supports single layer writing while DVD+R/RW supports multi-layer writing and was developed by a consortium including Philips, Dell, Sony and HP. DVD-ROM drives can only read discs while DVD burners can both read and write. Buying a burner that supports all formats allows using any disc and protects against industry shifts between standards.

Uploaded by

Jagmohan Jaggu
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
336 views2 pages

The Difference Between DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD-RW

There are several DVD formats: DVD-R and DVD+R can only be written to once while DVD-RW and DVD+RW can be written to and erased multiple times. DVD-R/RW was developed by Pioneer and supports single layer writing while DVD+R/RW supports multi-layer writing and was developed by a consortium including Philips, Dell, Sony and HP. DVD-ROM drives can only read discs while DVD burners can both read and write. Buying a burner that supports all formats allows using any disc and protects against industry shifts between standards.

Uploaded by

Jagmohan Jaggu
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

The difference between DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD-RW explained There's DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, and

even DVD-ROM! So what's the difference between all of these different names, aren't all DVDs the same? Well, it's not quite that simple. Let's first start with the most obvious difference: some have R and some have RW . The "R" stands for readable, while the "W" stands for writeable. The main difference between DVD-R and DVD-RW, or DVD+R and DVD+RW is that the R disc formats can only be written to once, and then it is only readable and can t b e erased for the rest of its digital life. While RW discs are can be written to and erased many times, they are both readable and writeable. "R" discs are perfect if they are only needed to be written to once, such as giv ing some files to a friend or transferring them between PCs. "RW" discs have the ir strength in the ability to be used many times over, which is great for routin e system backups, etc. And naturally, the RW discs are slightly more expensive t han the R discs, but you'll have to decide if the trade offs are worth the money . Now, onto the difference between DVD-R and DVD+R. As I just described above, DVD -R & DVD-RW are sister discs, the difference being one is writeable once, while the other is writeable multiple times. The same thing is true for DVD+R & DVD+RW . So the question is, what's the difference between the plus and minus? In order to explain this we must take a trip back in time. When DVDs were first being developed, there was no industry standard. Multiple companies were competi ng to develop what they hoped would be the dominant form of the future. The DVD-R DVD+R difference can easily be summarized by the following: * The DVD-R/RW standard was developed by Pioneer, and is used primarily by A pple and Pioneer. These "minus" discs can only be written to in one layer on the discs surface. In addition, this format is supported by the DVD forum, but is i n no way an industry standard. DVD-R/RW discs are cheaper than the "plus" format . * The DVD+R/RW format is supported by Philips, Dell, Sony, HP, and Mcft. The se discs can be written to in multiple layers, giving them slightly better and m ore disc storage than the "minus" format. Because of this additional capacity, t hey are slightly more expensive than "minus" discs. A couple final things to clear up is the difference between DVD-ROM and DVD+RW, or the other DVD formats I mentioned above. The DVD-ROM drive can only read DVDs , while the other DVD drives can read and write data to DVDs. And naturally the DVD+RW CD+RW difference can be explained by the "DVD" or "CD" prefix. DVDs, on average, can store up to 4.7 GB of data, while a CD can only st ore about 700 MB of data, or about 15% of a DVD's capacity. While CDs are slight ly cheaper, in my opinion, the benefits of DVDs are much greater. So now that you've learned about the difference between DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DV D+RW, and even DVD-ROM, which one is right for you? The easiest way to determine which is more beneficial is to watch the industry trends. A few years ago all p re-built computers were shipping with DVD-ROM drives. Today, most PCs have a bur nable DVD drive. I feel that the benefits of having a burnable DVD drive far outweigh any additio nal costs. They store much more data, and they are ideal for storing your home m ovies to watch on your DVD player.

My advice is to look at DVD burners that support all of the major formats I've m entioned above, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW. While a DVD drive that support s all of these formats may be slightly more expensive, it will allow you to use any type of DVD disc to burn to, and you'll be protected from any industry shift s to one format or the other.

You might also like