DVD + R or DVD - R

[discodave]

Is there a reason i should choose either other than price ?

I use them to store data backup photos use in DVD recorder to copy some tv etc thats all ?

PC seems to be happy with both as does DVD recorder

[Coops]

Along time ago there was major differences. This was because of the fact they were competing standards. Supported by 2 different groups and then backed by major manufacturers apart from Sony who backed both. Today however the differences are not really something to worry about as modern optical writers and readers will work with both. To be quite honest i never even think about it these days. The biggest issue these days with media is support on your writer. All blank discs are made up with what they call a dye. The optical industry has 100's of these. This is the stuff that makes up the writable layer. The optical drive firmware is what gives your optical drive the knowledge of how to write to the dyes used in optical media. Because of this it does mean that you might find some discs work better with your optical drive than others. Some might not write at all and some might write but only at speed slower than the dye design and others will work perfectly at full speed everytime. Sadly there is no way to figure this out without a bit of trial and error.

So short version is really make sure your optical drive firmware is up to date and then find the media that works best for you and your situation. As long as all your devices understands the media you are using then your all set.

[Musthaveittoday]

Buy HDD's instead, DVD degrades rapidly and when you factor the disc and case/wallet cost there isn't much in it, or at least their wasn't until a few mths ago anyway, a zillion disc's also take up lots of room in your house where a few HDD's do not. hth.

[discodave]

Thank You

That explains it perfectly thanks

[discodave]

I was looking at a USB 3.0 hard drive to do quick backups, I have a 4TB NAS drive but i thought I could use remote drive and store in safe. With the DVD's I just use to copy pictures etc to give to friends and relatives etc. However I do back up photos on DVD and give copy to parents to keep in case of flood or fire etc etc

[Musthaveittoday]

Don't use USB ones Dave they are quite frankly s**t, they basically cook the HDD, better option is a normal HDD in a hotswap bay in a well cooled case, docks would seem a good idea but the drive still gets hot and has no fan unless you position one at it, and avoid the mini 2.5 inch ones like the plague, they really kill the drive fast baking it inside plastic, if you must go USB though pick an alloy enclosure (better heat removal) and with an eSata port, you can get an eSata bracket cheap enough and it makes a real difference in transfer speeds, the NT USB3 one @ £12 is a good option, I recently picked up the older USB2 one as it was cheap and portability comes in handy and they are alloy and the drive remains reasonably cool inside them, but ideally a normal HDD inside a case with front fans running blank with another O/S installed drive is the best option, hth.

[discodave]

I have a lian li case and I think i can fit a hot swappable drive on the front will have a look at that