What's the difference in DVD recordable discs?

Can any dvd player play dvd-r and dvd+r? whats the difference in discs? i want to put movies on them?

• i recorded Heroes on a dvd+rw for a friend and she couldn't use it in her regular dvd player. i wonder if i bought dvd-r or dvd+r if she could use them in her regular dvd player after i burn them on my dvr also what is the difference in dvd-r and dvd+r? both are on sale at target right now and o'm trying toi research them with no luck

• Answer:

  I can't say what the technical difference is, but in application it is kind of like the difference between a Ford and a Chevy. Both work about the same and it is a more a matter of personal preference, etc. than one being better than the other. That being said, as the DVD market developed, DVD+R was more of a data storage format and DVD-R a video format; Panasonic and brands like Toshiba that tend to emulate Panasonic adopted the DVD-R format and somewhat later Sony adopted the DVD+R and brands like Emerson that tend to emulate Sony adopted DVD+R for video applications. My personal experience has been that Panasonic and related brands tend to be better quality, more open architecture, and easier to use than Sony and their related brands. I also never bother with RW discs as you can waste a lot of R discs before you spend as much on them as you will RW-and RW are simply not as compatible with other DVD players. In my opinion it is false economy. Your friend may well be able to play back the same movie burned on a + or -R DVD, but it will be less likely to cause problems if the DVD is matched to her player's manufacturing format. In other words, if she is using a Sony, a +R is less likely to prove incompatible or cause problems. The other thing to keep in mind that older DVD players are not always able to play back all of the formats offered today-some WON'T play DVD +Rs or ANY RWs. It's like older CD players that won't play CDRs or RWs. And to complicate matters even more, some of the newer ultra cheap DVD players use slower microprocessors and so on that have problems decoding and doing stuff like synchronizing the audio and video tracks, then they lock up and/or give you error messages more on home burned discs. The best way around that is to use a slower burn rate if you're doing the DVD on your computer. Apparently the faster burn rates generate more errors that the lower quality products can't cope with. You're probably going to have your best luck and compatibility with a DVD-R. And don't buy an off brand of disc-go with Maxell, Verbatim, Fuji...one of the majors.