DVD Creation


Well now I've purchased a DVD burner but what type of media do I purchase. +R, -R,+RW, -RW,... I'm not sure what it all means. This page is going to showcase what I have found out about creating DVDs. I'm not going to include which brands are better than others but I am going to let you know how to produce DVDs without producing coasters. I'm also planning finding out which type of media is going to work the best in your DVD player attached to your TV. I've been frustrated in the past after creating a DVD that works and plays fine in my computer but the DVD attached to the TV has major problems. I remember when recordable CDs first came out there was a lot of mention about certain dye colors working better in your DVD player hooked to the TV.

I welcome any questions or comments. I hope to make this a learning experience for all.


Importance of have a good drive


Since I started building this website, I've purchased a MacBook Pro. It came with a Matshita drive. I found that that drive was very finicky about the type of media it would burn reliably. The only brand that I got to work were Sony DVD -R disks. I even tried Sony CD-Rs and I couldn't burn a disk. I noticed that that my left fan was no longer running so I took the computer in to Apple to be repaired. Apple ended up replacing my optical drive along with the logic board and both the fans. I now have a LG brand drive that seems much more forgiving when burning disks. So far I haven't had a problem.

+R, -R, +RW, -RW - What's up with all these letters.


First of all the (R) designates "Recordable" - this means that your can write the the DVD media only once. (RW) designates "Rewriteable" you can record and erase the DVD media many times. Be aware that after enough erasing the RW will become unusable. There is a finite amount of recording sessions available. The R and RW mean the same thing as they did on CDs.

The "+" is a media format and the "-" is a different media format each one is has its own benefits.

Links

Videohelp.com - See ratings of DVD media and how well they work in different types of players. Here is a another link from Videohelp.com describing the different formats.
Anandtech.com has a FAQ regarding DVD types even though it was written in 2003 it is still very useful.
More information can be found at DVDdemystified.com