Community Newsletter: Q&A: 1/20/06 Demystifying those confusing DVD formats
- 1/19/06 4:38 PM
i have found Plextor to be quite buggy.
by Scrowshaw - 1/22/06 8:49 PM In reply to: Plextor currently has the best burner, but ... by googey10I have found Plextor drives to be quite buggy. I have purchased a few different generations of USB burners, and all had the same problem, sometimes they would work, others they wouldnt.
I now stick to IDE burners, and am currently using the Lacie Internal Lightscribe and love it. Havent lost a DVD or CD yet, its quick, reliable, and comes with excellent software.
DVD Burners
by halidom - 1/20/06 4:05 PM In reply to: Other advice from our members by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've got a LaCie DVD burner that does + or - and dual layer, it also has Lightscribe direct Disc labeling. I use Roxio Toast 7 and it will copy any DVD movie and compress it to fit on the standard 4.7 gig disc. The movie quality actually seems clearer than the original. No one I've done movies for has had any problems playing them. I haven't tried dual layer discs because they cost so much. The LaCie also came with programs to design your own labels if you don't want to copy the originals. The printable discs are about 50 cents each but they look fancy.
"The movie quality actually seems clearer" (compressed copy)
by vvhirI - 1/21/06 5:46 AM In reply to: DVD Burners by halidomCome on. I almost want to submit that as offensive. I hope nobody actually believes that.
DVD ''-'' format more compatible then ''+'' format
by victorcy - 1/20/06 1:52 AM In reply to: 1/20/06 Demystifying those confusing DVD formats by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I think from my experiences, if you are using a ''-'' format for data backup or movie without compression, then the ''-'' format would be great.
But should this be used to backup compress Movie for backup where the Movie is more then 4.7gig shinking to a 4.7gig DVD-/+R, then ''+'' format surpass ''-'' in compatibility. A lot of Movie backup using ''-'' media will not work on the DVD player when playback but with ''+'' media they work most of the time.
That is why the cost of "+" format media is higher then the "-" format media.
DVD Compatability
by bren2310 - 1/20/06 2:07 AM In reply to: DVD ''-'' format more compatible then ''+'' format by victorcyFurther to the question from Andy - when choosing the format to burn to it is worth bearing in mind that a - R (minus R) formatted DVD will play on 85-90% of DVD players currently available. The other formats - or + have a significantly lower compatability rating.
For a comprehensive list of DVD players and their compatability with various types of DVD visit
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers.php?DVDnameid=4263&Search=Search&#comments
I've found this site extremely useful in the past when I've sent someone a home movie which wont play on their machine. This site gives me the formats which will.
Regards
Brendan
DVD+R Compatability
by spiceboy85 - 1/20/06 3:54 PM In reply to: DVD Compatability by bren2310Hi there!
Thought I'd let fellow burners know of a useful tool I've been using for some time.
I burn my DVDs with a BenQ DW1640 (apparently one of the best burners on the market, according to many online articles and forums). It comes with a useful tool called "Booktype Management".
A DVDs booktype defines what kind of disc it is, whether it be DVD-ROM (the DVD movies bought in stores), DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+RDL, etc.
Now some older DVD players do not recognise these newer formats, only the original DVD-ROM. I came across problems when I burnt a DVD+R DL. I have a Phillips DVD player which is just over one year old and it failed to recognise the new format, even though Phillips is a supporter of the +R formats.
However, the Booktype Management feature that came with my burner allows me to change the booktype of DVD+R's and DVD+R DL to DVD-ROM, making it compatable with virtually every DVD player. The booktype of DVD-R media, however, cannot be changed.
I burnt the DVD+R DL disc that was not working in my Phillips platyer again, changing the booktype to DVD-ROM and it plays perfectly.
This tool overcomes the compaitability issues with the DVD+R format and, in my opinion, makes this a much more favourable format.
Jordan
Better experience with "-"
by 12358 - 1/20/06 9:55 AM In reply to: DVD ''-'' format more compatible then ''+'' format by victorcyFrom my experience i have found players, even new ones, that won't play the + formats so I only use the - now. I shrink and copy Movies all the time and found little difference between the + and -, what really makes the difference is the brand of media. I never had good luck with TDK or Memorex + or - but have had ZERO problems with Verbatim -R either burning or playing on any player.
Me, too
by deirdrew - 1/20/06 2:44 PM In reply to: Better experience with "-" by 12358Big Verbatim user (I burn several DVDs SL, DVD DL, and DVD RAMs a day, BTW, depending on the data and/or its lifespan, so burning experience adds up), and also finally just kept buying single layer -R DVDs for when I just need the rarely updating program installs or movies for the next decade and not for my grandkids
The bonus to DVD -R is stand alone DVR units that also record to DVD RAM, also record to DVD -R. That nailed the type to get for non long-term storage recording.
DVD's
by FamilleBlondeel - 1/20/06 2:34 AM In reply to: 1/20/06 Demystifying those confusing DVD formats by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hey a huge thanks Barry for this very clear explanation. I live in Belgium and next time I purchase a dvd burner I know exactly what to ask for ! Thanks also for the discription of label burning. Thought I'd get this capacity but on second thoughts I won't.
Nicole from Belgium.
DVDs and labelling
by irdac - 1/20/06 8:28 AM In reply to: DVD's by FamilleBlondeelLightscribe or stick on labels are not the only way to put information on the surface of a DVD. I use DVD-R for a lot of purposes and buy ones with a top surface with a white coating suitable for inkjet printing. My Canon i9950 printer came with the necessary holder, guide and the software to make this easy and gives excellent results.
DVDs and labelling
by airboy1 - 1/20/06 8:44 AM In reply to: DVDs and labelling by irdacSomething to concider when labelling CDs or DVDs. I use a permanent marker and either put the titles or a cataloge reference number. I keep a complete cataloge of all disks on the computer and on CD. I avoid sticky labels as they can and will unballance the disk.
This can make your drive noisy and increase stress and wear on the drive.
Permanent Marker
by bpglenn - 1/20/06 1:29 PM In reply to: DVDs and labelling by airboy1I've read that some permanent markers use ink that can penetrate to the dye level and can destroy data. I've not experienced this nor do I want to. Again I've read that Sharpie Pens are okay to use. I also understand that one can buy special pens for marking media but I have never seen or used these. Anyone have any better info on this?
the best pen for cds n dvds
by dylan lestone - 1/25/06 4:58 AM In reply to: Permanent Marker by bpglennman the i got this Staedtler cd/dvd pen from the newagents ive got both the medium tip and small but the medium is the best choice by far though since then i have converted to a cd stomper for labeling my dvds. i also found that this type of pen dries faster than others and doesnt mark the dvd wallet nor smudge on the disc
Read this - seems to be the most comprehensive study so far!
by googey10 - 1/20/06 2:34 AM In reply to: 1/20/06 Demystifying those confusing DVD formats by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
http://www.vso-software.fr/articles/burning-stats/mediastat-best-burner-and-media-brand.php
Found this a few days ago - comparison of success burning rates for different media and different burners. Also out of personal experience - it's extremely important to use quality media. Unfortunately, as nearly all major brands actually just relabel blanks from different sources, and change sources without notice, things like this (happened to me) can happen to anyone. Was quite happy with TDK blanks (-R), then suddenly after buying a new box my SONY DRU 720A (a rebranded LiteOn) could no longer burn them at all - it turned out that TDK started selling a much lower quality Ritek blank (box had the same design, so no way to tell) - a firmware upgrade (from LiteOn) solved this eventually, but I still had to trash 10 or so half-written blanks. RE DL media: if you decide to use them (way too expensive IMHO, better to split a movie on two single - layer ones if you want to keep all features and quality) - read a few reviews of the burner you decide to buy - all new burners will write them, but the success rate varies wildly. And older DVD devices will have much more problems with DL's
Just a PS
by googey10 - 1/20/06 2:47 AM In reply to: Read this - seems to be the most comprehensive study so far! by googey10I'm not posting the link to VSO's site in order to 'push' their products. I do not even use any of them (faithfull to Nero).
Regs
Googey
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