# DVD plus vs minus



## The Great Waka (Nov 26, 2002)

I have a question about the difference between DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW...what is it? I know that the Apple Superdrives are Pioneers, so they burn minus. Is there any real advantage to getting a plus burner? or even a burner like the new Sony that can do both? I mean, appartently plus is not even recogised by the DVD forum, and I really like to stay away from standards that are not standard.

I want to buy a DVD burner, and I didn't know about this whole deal. Now I don't know which way to go...help? Thanks.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

Main point to consider, Mac OS does not recognise DVD+R/RW discs. Apparantly the newest iMacs and PowerMacs are using the new sony 4x DVD+/- drive, but you can;t use the + discs.

From Ars Technica:


> http://arstechnica.com/archive/news/1046168812.html
> 
> The first of the consumer writeable formats was DVD-R invented in 1997 and later refined in 1999 by the DVD Forum (Apple, Hitachi, NEC, Pioneer, and many others). Unsatisfied with the results of DVD-R and DVD-RW, the DVD+RW Alliance (HP, Mitsubishi, Philips, Sony, and others) created the DVD+R/RW format with advanced features such as built-in defect management which DVD-RW lacked.
> 
> Before the DVD+RW standard was finalized, Apple, impatient to move forward with its "Digital Hub" strategy, started pushing integration of DVD-R/RW into its products. It is probably safe to say that Apple now ships a greater percentage of their products with DVD writing drives than any other major manufacturer, including their high-end laptops.


The whole thing is still pretty up in the air (Sony, A member of the DVD+ Alliance puts DVD-R/RW Drives in all the machines they sell with DVD Writers).

I'd say your best bet would be the Sony DVD+/- Drive, but the + side of it wont work, and to use it with iDVD you will have to get the Internal model.

If you wanted an external one, Formac makes one that plugs into the firewire port of your Mac and even comes with it's own software for DVD Authoring, which has gotten some alright reviews (even in comparison to iDVD).

Formac Devideon 

Hope this helps some.

--PB


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

PosterBoy, what are the chances of Sony being on the "wrong" side of this difference, as they were with the Beta vs VHS situation with VCRs?


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## (( p g )) (Aug 17, 2002)

Some but not all of the newest iMacs have the Sony drive. I have a six-week old iMac and it sports the Pioneer drive, but I have seen mention of the Sony drives elsewhere...

Sounds like I lucked in with the better drive.


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## The Great Waka (Nov 26, 2002)

I heard that DVD Studio Pro can burn DVD+, so if I get the Sony drive (retail, not the modded version in the new iMacs) I should be able to burn both, n'est pas?


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

According to Apple's Knowledge base, A SuperDrive (read: built in Apple Supplied DVD-R/RW Drive) can only write DVD-R/RW, not DVD+RW ( See Here )

I did a quick search of the KBase and couldn't find much more than this article, and as I said before Apple only officially supports DVD- as far as I know.

Dr. G, Whether Sony (or Apple) is on the wrong side of the fence is still too early to tell. In my experience, DVD- discs are best for video while DVD+ discs are better for Data. While there are a number of companies on both sides, there are currently more manufacturers shipping DVD- drives than DVD+ drives. Microsoft threw it's wieght behind the DVD+ standard last year (which is what the article I originally linked above) talks about primarily, but until the discs get a whole bunch cheaper not a lot is going to be decided.

--PB


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

PosterBoy, in that I would want a DVD for video, I guess the new iMacs would be on the side of the angels. Would you consider photographs data?

I am also curious as to why the different drives in seemingly identical iMacs? One can only wonder what the next round of modifications will hold for this unique computer.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

There are different drives in different machines from the same model run because no company relies on one supplier if they can help it. This is why Apple is finally making th trasition from Motorola to IBM for processors as well because we all know how much fun it has been buying our processors from just one source.

Even the big PC manufacturers have Intel and AMD (and Transmeta to a degree) to choose from.

--PB


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