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Blank DVD's: + or - ?

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Ok, I've wondered this for a long time...in general, is it better to use + or - discs? I've used both, depending what's on sale at the time I need them, of various brands, but haven't found any patterns as to compatibility with stand-alone DVD players, reliability, number of coasters, or anything else, but then again, I don't know what else to watch out for.

So, what do you prefer? Is one overall better than the other? How can I tell if what I'm using is good or bad (aside from the obvious of the disc being unreadable/unwriteable)?

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I generally use +R, because the oldest player I own doesn't play -R discs.

However, as that player has been consigned to the loft, I now have no real reason to choose one format over another...

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DVD+R apparently has better error correction over -R, but it's probably all much of a muchness when doing DVD rips etc.
My 1 year old Pioneer set top player won't even recognise +R media, which kinda sucks. So just like Moth3r, for me it all comes down to what is most compatible with the gear I have. I stick with -R as it seems more compatible with more brands of gear.

This article talks about using archival quality DVD media and explains why +R is better:
http://adterrasperaspera.com/blog/2006/10/30/how-to-choose-cddvd-archival-media

The most important thing I've learned so far is to get decent media that will last. I've bought heaps of discs that are fine to begin with but after 6 months or so they crap out when the die fades and refuse to play properly or even copy on a PC anymore.

This article covers the major DVD manufacturers and ranks the quality of the blank media available. It also mentions which companies developed/support each format and has info on DVD-RAM at the bottom of the page:
http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm

The general opinion on the net seems to be that Taiyo Yuden media is the best, but anything from Japan is also very highly regarded (Note: for people in NZ, forget about any brand of Japanese media. Currently, all DVD media sold here is made in either China, Taiwan or worse).

If your player accepts +R and you want the absolute 'Rolls Royce' quality of DVD media, then go for Taiyo Yuden DVD+R if you can find it.

Hope this helps.

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What also can make a difference if your dvd player will play a burned disc is what software was used to burn it. When I started burning discs my pioneer player would play discs burned with nero (but this was an early version). But it would play discs of the same spindle burned with dvdit. Now I only burn with imgburn and I have never had compatibility problems.
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I've had very bad luck with crap discs recently (all my burns have been jerky and with all sorts of artifacting that wasn't in the original file), so I ordered a 50-pack of Verbatim DVD-R's. It only cost $25, but I don't want 50 coasters sitting around my house. Was this a good purchase?
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Johnboy3434 said:

I've had very bad luck with crap discs recently (all my burns have been jerky and with all sorts of artifacting that wasn't in the original file), so I ordered a 50-pack of Verbatim DVD-R's. It only cost $25, but I don't want 50 coasters sitting around my house. Was this a good purchase?

Well i use either Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden DVD-R's all the time and they are great. Play fine in all my machines without any problems, even my really old Bush DVD player that really hates all recordable DVD's usually

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Johnboy3434 said:

I've had very bad luck with crap discs recently (all my burns have been jerky and with all sorts of artifacting that wasn't in the original file), so I ordered a 50-pack of Verbatim DVD-R's. It only cost $25, but I don't want 50 coasters sitting around my house. Was this a good purchase?
FYI, this week Best Buy has a 100-pack of Verbatim DVD-Rs on sale for $22.99

Sony discs are also good, and I've had good luck with TDK as well.

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It might be interesting to have a look and see where the discs were made. I know for a fact that even the better TDK or Verbatim brands here in NZ all seem to be made in china. Whereas from what I can tell in the USA and UK got a lot of Japanese media under the same brands and packaging.

Trust NZ to get the crappy chinese junk :(

Just as a matter of interest Mielr, where are the TDK or verbatim media that you spotted made? I assume you're in the USA?

If television is chewing gum for the mind, then the prequels are the worlds first visual laxative.

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Indeed, the brand name means very little. What is important is the Media ID code, which reveals who really manufactures the discs. (For example, discs branded TDK may actually be manufacturered by Ritek, Hitachi/Maxell, etc.)

People say not to buy Memorex discs because they're crap quality. I had one box of discs with a CMC media ID code which were awful - but the next batch may be made by Ricoh and perform much better.

Check out these links:
Blank media quality guide: http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm
Videohelp media list: http://www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia
CD Freaks blank media forum: http://club.cdfreaks.com/f33/

For UK disc buyers: SVP is an online store that actually tells you the Media ID of the discs you are buying. I've found THESE DL discs to be very good value.

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Thanks for posting those links.

I had similar experiences to Moth3r with aweful Princo discs. The first few that I tried which were from a mates spindle and were good. The two spindles that I bought however were completely different and were all rubbish. In all that was 3 different discs under the same brand/logo! Verbatim does this as well so I guess Forrest Gump was right 'you never know what you're gonna get' even with the big brands.

umm, and I hate to say this Moth3r, but I think there are also 'fake' discs that report a different manufacturer for their disc ID. There are aparently fake Taiyo Yuden and other media, so I guess it pays to watch out for discs that fell off the back of a truck or deals that seem 'too good to be true' etc.

If television is chewing gum for the mind, then the prequels are the worlds first visual laxative.