Tell me about DVD R Drives, Media etc

Snake2715

Snake2715

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Ok,

Obviously Newegg is where I want to order from.

What is the R+ stand for?

Also would Nero be the best burner avaialbe? Or is there some other software that is better? I prefer less expensive but give me the options.

And lastely will my DVD player play them (provided its supported and it is) just like a normal DVD or CD/CDR?


Thanks everyone.
 
+R or -R are basically the same but are a different format. Most new dvd burners or players are compatiable with either one. Make sure your dvd player is compatiable with it before buying the media. I have a dvd player that I thought would work with dvd-r media ,but it only supported dvd+r and my player is about 2 years old. I got shafted with 100 dvd-r's that I can't use in my player, but my computer can play them just find. If anyones one's interested in them pm me.
 
I just got a dual layer 16X DVD R+.R- this weekend for $53 at OFficeMax. You could get about 20 DVDs R+ or R- for about $19.99.

A friend told me that both the + and - are the same but more and more, I am finding, that people for some reason prefer the + over the -.

I am trying to find the new dual layer DVDS but so far I have had no luck locally. I am sure they will cost a pretty penny.

Good luck on your purchase.

EDIT: Ooops! I meant to say I got 50 DVD+Rs for $20. Not 20 for $20.
 
+R media is the way to go. Most burners I've looked at have a faster burn speed on +R media as opposed to -R.

www.digitalfaq.com has a good section on buying media.

As far as software, it all depends on what you want to do. If you want to just burn data, then Nero is good. If you want to mess with existing video (aka pirate movies you dirty bastard), you can go with a simple setup of DVD Decrypter and DVD Shrink (both freeware, do a search). You can also try Nero Recode, but you will also have to get several plugins, and the total cost would run up to about the $150 range. www.doom9.net has many guides to using different software for different DVD purposes.

Finally, if your DVD player supports +R/-R, then a copied DVD will play the same. Actually better, because you can burn it so you can skip the previews/FBI warnings etc. My PS2 plays them fine.
 
[quote name='dedgeu2']I just got a dual layer 16X DVD R+.R- this weekend for $53 at OFficeMax. You could get about 20 DVDs R+ or R- for about $19.99.[/quote]

You are getting totally reamed paying $20 for 20 discs. At NewEgg and Shop4Tech, you can get good media for around a quarter each. I recently posted a deal where NewEgg had 8X +R media, $28 for 100 after rebate. Even before rebate it was $37 or so.

[quote name='dedgeu2']A friend told me that both the + and - are the same but more and more, I am finding, that people for some reason prefer the + over the -.[/quote]

As stated, +R usually burns faster on most drives. Check your drive specs to be sure though. I'm not sure why this is.

[quote name='dedgeu2']I am trying to find the new dual layer DVDS but so far I have had no luck locally. I am sure they will cost a pretty penny.[/quote]

I saw them online recently, $30 for a 5 pack. Not worth it just yet, unless you have a dire need to store data on 8GB optical discs.
 
[quote name='Rig']So, why do they have both R+ and R-? I see PsyClerk said R+ burns faster, but is that all?[/quote]

Generally -R is more compatible in set top dvd players. But if you're like scdo and you player only plays +R's anyway, big whoop.

I would use +R's for data back-up and computer stuff while -r's for copying dvd's.
 
If ur interested there are also dvd burners with lightscribe which uses the laser to etch the top of the disk to make labels but i think you have to get special dvds and the burner itself costs a little more. HP DVD Writer 640i
 
You guys this is great.

Yeah I have been wanting to backup a few of my personal movies. I have a lot of friends with kids and we are planning on have a few. My wife and to some extent I like to purchase the childrens movies while they are available.

The problem then becomes that they get scratched all up over a short period and its a wasted purchase. So backing up my movie DVD's is my main interest.

Secondly I havent been playing many newer PC games even though my PC is well enough equipped to do so. I have also purchased quite a few that will be using my new speaker setup. Last week I got around to installing my 5.1 Logitech Speaker setup I purchased (with the help of CAG) over a year ago.

I figure its a second DVD player if I feel like watching a movie my wife doesnt. I prefer at least 5.1 for Dvd's and now that my PC is using the Audigy 2 and this setup I am ready to get a DVD player. Why stop with just a player when a burner is just a few dollars more?

Thanks everyone!!
 
[quote name='PsyClerk']Finally, if your DVD player supports +R/-R, then a copied DVD will play the same. Actually better, because you can burn it so you can skip the previews/FBI warnings etc. My PS2 plays them fine.[/quote]

What about picture/sound quality? Aren't copied DVDs severely compressed?
 
[quote name='javeryh'][quote name='PsyClerk']Finally, if your DVD player supports +R/-R, then a copied DVD will play the same. Actually better, because you can burn it so you can skip the previews/FBI warnings etc. My PS2 plays them fine.[/quote]

What about picture/sound quality? Aren't copied DVDs severely compressed?[/quote]

I thought this was just the case on VCD's?

anybody?
 
[quote name='Snake2715'][quote name='javeryh'][quote name='PsyClerk']Finally, if your DVD player supports +R/-R, then a copied DVD will play the same. Actually better, because you can burn it so you can skip the previews/FBI warnings etc. My PS2 plays them fine.[/quote]

What about picture/sound quality? Aren't copied DVDs severely compressed?[/quote]

I thought this was just the case on VCD's?

anybody?[/quote]

Only if you're going from a dual layer burn to a single layer. Some discs (Napoleon Dynamite for example) are still single layer so in that case no compression is needed at all.

As for the poster that inquired about dual layer discs I've seen them at Wal-Mart for 29.99 for a 3 pack. Not worth it if you ask me. I usually end up buying the 25 packs of single layers when they're on sale at CC, or Office Depot or Office Max. They're usually in the weekend flyers for under 10 bucks once a month.

As for compatibility with consoles, I've found that the PSTwo recognizes both -R and +R but the Xbox only reads the -R.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that if you keep the compression to at least 60% (usually do-able by just eliminating the foreign language tracks and giving the bonus content an even bigger compression rate) you don't really notice any problems with the video on a normal TV. As for a HD set I can't speak from experience. If you're just backing up movies for the kids though I'm sure you could just burn a copy completely without the bonus features and not have to worry about compression artifacts nearly as much at all.
 
If you use the right software, you can eliminate special features, extra languages, etc from a regular DVD to make it fit on a single-layer disc with little or no compression. I've seen a few copied DVDs and it's usually not too big of a problem unless you are a high-end quality whore.

A friend of mine recently gave me a copy of Saw out of the blue, which he had burned. The only time I really noticed artifacts was during scenes that were almost completely dark, and even then it was not bad.

Animation tends to compress better from what I've been told, though I have not watched many copied animated movies.

I can definitely say that I've never seen a copied DVD that looked anywhere near as bad as the best VCD movie I've seen. (note that I don't have a lot of experience with VCD)

And I now realize my first paragraph restates Spruce's edit, but I am lazy and will leave it in.
 
hmm so the plt thickens I was not under the impression that I would lose something by doing this..


But then again I dont need the previews etc. half the time I dont need the extra features...

Thanks guys/gals.
 
You don't need to lost special features/bonus tracks/languages in order to compress a DVD, if that's what you were thinking. When compressing a DVD, it loses some quality of picture and sound. Although it's not outstanding, it is noticeable during certain scenes in movies. But by removing the extras, you can up the sound/picture quality since the DVD doesn't have to compress the main track as much as it would if you left the extras intact.
 
Does a dual layer burner use the same type of media as a single layer? That is, can I use any old DVD+R or DVD-R on a dual layer burner, or are there four types of media?
 
[quote name='Socheata']You don't need to lost special features/bonus tracks/languages in order to compress a DVD, if that's what you were thinking. When compressing a DVD, it loses some quality of picture and sound. Although it's not outstanding, it is noticeable during certain scenes in movies. But by removing the extras, you can up the sound/picture quality since the DVD doesn't have to compress the main track as much as it would if you left the extras intact.[/quote]

Right I understand that.

Is there a way for me to know how much of the extras, previews etc that I would need to remove to run it as uncompressed as I want?

So in other words is a program available that would say at 60% compression you can leave it all intact. But to get it to 70% compression you would need to remove "X" data?

X being in either MB, GB etc. And this same program would show how much space each track used? As I assume the previews, and extras all have their own tracks.

Hopefully that makes sense.
 
DVDshrink does show you by how much it compresses each .vob - so by removing enough additional content you can see that the main (largest) video file isn't compressed any further.

What I couldn't figure out from a few minutes of tinkering with it was how to tell which extra is which (it only displayed the lengths).
 
-Dual layer burners/media question: not sure what's being asked here. If you are asking if dual layer burners will burn two layers on standard DVD media, then the answer is no. There is single layer +R/RW and -R/RW, then dual layer +R/RW and -R/RW. Actually, I'm only guessing at the last part, because I think all the dual layer media I've seen has been +R only.

-Removing stuff: even the most basic of programs should give you an idea of how compressed the data will be, as well allow you to compress everything as much as possible EXCEPT the main movie/feature, so you get the best quality on the primary part of the disc. Many programs will automatically adjust compression as soon as you load the DVD files to give you the best quality on the main feature.

-DVDShrink: I have v3.2 and it allows me to highlight each feature in the GUI and preview whatever is in that section via a small screen in the lower left. That way you can see what's what.
 
[quote name='Snake2715']Is there a way for me to know how much of the extras, previews etc that I would need to remove to run it as uncompressed as I want?[/quote]


Here's a pic to help you out. You can see that it tells you in real time how much space is used. Uncheck the boxes you don't need/want and use the pull down menu under video that says Automatic. Use the custom option to slide the percentage back and forth.

eldad, as for seeing which extra is which you can click the Extras option in the left frame and the plus mark will expand. Then highlight the one you want to see and play it in the video window below.

 
Hi! Guys this may be a stupi question but I heard you can burn movies on CDRs using nero and watch them on your dvd player.
 
look up VCD or video CD. Its much lower quality from what I understand.

Secondly I am guessing not all players will work with them.
 
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