Using DVD-R

[Dianne Aldridge]

I'm trying to burn a copy of my PP lessons to a DVD-R (CompUSA brand)
using Sonic's RecordNow! software but my DVD+RW will not accept the
disc; when I press 'Burn' the computer ejects the disc and asks for a
blank one. I'm guessing that the DVD-R needs to be formatted, but the
RecordNow! software does not provide a way to format the disc. Are
there any other programs that will format the disc and still allowed it
to be used in RecordNow!?

Thanks --

 

[David M. Marcovitz]

There are two formats for DVDs: + and -. From your message, it appears that
you have a + burner and a - DVD. You should check out the documentation for
your DVD burner to find out what kind of disks it takes. If it only takes +
disks, you'll have to get some DVD+R disks.

By the way, I'm not sure what "genius" came up with the idea that two
different formats should be designated by + or -. That seems like a
distinction that is a bit too subtle for most people to notice. What will
they think of next: a \ format and a / format?

--David

David Marcovitz
Micorosoft PowerPoint MVP
Author of _Powerful PowerPoint for Educators_
http://www.loyola.edu/education/PowerfulPowerPoint/

 

[Sonia]

Some info can be found at
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Hardware_Software/2003/DVDFormatsExplained.asp

When shopping for DVD drives, players and recorders, it's important to know
which formats they support. Some support both formats and some only support
one.

 

[Mike M.]

Hey! That was me. I spilled Mountan Dew on my keyboard and the only two
keys left that worked were '+' and '-'. Obviously I have a new keyboard
now.

 

[Pdek]

What are the pluses and minuses of using + and - ?
More seriously, I'm assuming that the DVD is being used to record
video, or can it be used just to store a lot of regular computer data,
i.e. if I really need 4+ gigabytes to store my PPT files, would I use one of
these?
(This question may be important in about 5 years!)