What’s The Difference Between DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, And DVD-RAM?

Dave, I have just installed a new DVD burner in my computer (a Pioneer DVD-RW
DVR-105 internal drive) and am trying to figure out what kind of blank disks
I should be using. There are apparently five different blank DVD formats. Do
I want DVD-R? DVD-RW? or ??

Also, if I just want to burn lots of data onto a DVD disk, can I use my Roxio Toast Titanium to do so, or do I need to use a
special DVD-friendly app like iDVD?

Well, there are really only two “families” of DVD at the moment (unless you
want to count the red laser vs. blue laser stuff that’s starting to come on
to the market at the high end), and one “outcast.” You’ve got the “-”
formats (DVD-R, DVD-RW) and the “+” formats (DVD+R, DVD+RW), then there’s the older DVD-RAM format that’s harder to find these days. All of these
are for data, of course - all but the newest DVD video players will choke on
those, in the same way early CD players choked on CD-R discs.

In your case, since your drive is…

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