Computers & Tablets

[RealGeorgeW Valued Expert]

I've found the DVD-R's to be 'slightly' more compatible than the +r's. That's just me, no hard evidence that I know of.

1 CD = ~700MB
1 DVD = ~4800MB
So.... just shy of 7.

[SlimJim77]

It must be said, MarySue...you're thinking way TOO hard about this.

Use DVDs and be merry.

[hockeycanuckjc Trusted Contributor]

MarySue, as a community forums super user on here , I cannot help but agree you are thinking of this too hard. Like the others have pointed out you do not need to worry about the quality of the two formats now as single format players are obsolete now. The discs that movies are pressed on in the factory and sold in the stores are of a different formatting system and does not related to plus or minus. 

Heck even the cheap Magnavox DVD Player sold at the smiley face store for next to nothing plays plus and minus. 

[MarySue1964]

Thanks, but I was talking about what format DVDs to use for computer backup, not movie playing.  My stepfather doesn't want me to touch his DVDs because he wants to save his DVDs for television recording.  So I thought that I should buy a pack of DVDs for computer back up purposes so I wouldn't have to use his DVDs.  And when it comes to TV recording, he's strictly about cost per disc but when it comes to computer backup, I'm thinking of storage capacity per disc since I've already used up too many CDs for that purpose already.

[SlimJim77]

Wha?????

You talk as if DVDs are lined with gold. DVDs are cheap as heck. Am I the only one that's confused here?

[nytngale]

Hello MarySue, welcome to the forums.

The difference in + and - when buying DVD's is in HOW that data is written to the disc.
With a DVD - R the data is "burned" on to the disc by "Taking Away" (i.e. like the grooves scratched into a record) from the magnetic media. Some older technology may support one or the other, but most support either now.

What is best is to find out what particular type of DVD your technology manufacturer reccommends. What is the make and model of your computer? Who is the manufacturer?

Also, I have found that a bit of "trial and error" may be needed. In some computers, particular brands of DVD, whether + R or - R do not work. We have had very good experience with other brands and regularly use them for backup and restore discs in the precinct where I work because they are reliable in many different types of machine.

~nytngale
^sent from my IPAD^

[Entropy]

You can get double layer -R and +R discs ("DL" discs) that have double the capacity, BUT they are typically more than twice as expensive.

Both -R and +R have the same capacity, so just try to find good quality media that is known to have a low failure rate and high data retention longevity.  (TDKs are well regarded and easy to find, Taiyo Yuden is often considered the king of quality media but TYs can be hard to find without going online.)

[nytngale]

You canstore about 750 mb on a cd and about 7.5 gb on a DVD.

Threre are about 1000 mb in a gb.

Soooo you can store -about- 7 CDs on a DVD.

[RealGeorgeW Valued Expert]

I'll take some of what Nytngale said, and from Entropy.

You're entirely overthinking this. 99% of electronics these day don't care if it's a + or a -. Just grab a 10 count spindle and give them a shot. If you have a high failure rate, well, try a different brand.

Taiyo's are the best. Period, but they can be a pain to find sometimes.

Anyway, like the other's have said, there's no "better" format for backup. The data's going on the disc regardless.