I am going to begin converting all my 8mm movies to DVD. I will be using Pinnacle Studio 10 software. It seems to edit fine. My questions are; 1. What type of DVD format do I use? -R or +R, 2. Of these two, do they both play equally well on DVD players? How long can I expect the disc to stay good. Months?, Years? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
That link creaky posted has most of the differences between plus and dash format.
What is the brand name and model# of your DVD-RW drive?
1) You may want to try both formats.Get a 3 or 5 pk of maxell and make sure they say Made in Japan on the wrapper. Burn a couple test discs of both format. Play them in all the stand alone players/game consoles/pc drives that you plan on playing your backups in. You'll notice if a drive doesn't like a certain format with an error like the following:
Dirty disc
No disc
Wrong region
Wrong format
When you see that error,then switch formats.Go with the format that suits the majority of those drives.That's why booktyping is the best option,depending on your burner's model #.
When it comes to stand alone players,they can do some very weird stuff when it comes to reading dvd backups.They decide which format/which brand of media/and even certain MID coded media.Unless you got a near perfect backup,then something is wrong.They can even tell a difference between different burners.
2) That's easy. Quality media! Taiyo yuden and Verbatim feature Advanced Metal AZO dye.Other brands I like are: Japanese Maxell/Sony/and fuji. Those japanese maxells are made by Hitachi.The japanese sony/fuji have a lot of taiyo yuden-especially in the 8x speed. Ritek and ricohjpn are also very good manufacturers.
Thanks for the information. My DVD Burners are the ASUS 16X. If the model is important I will get them to you. I would have to wake up my wife now and I'm not sure anything is that important.
Is there an extra good burner? I will upgrade to what ever is the best. I want the movies I create to have the best chance.
If I understand the thread right, the +R is the better format, but everyone mostly uses -R. Sort of like the old Beta vs VHS. Beta was much better but people bought VHS.
How long can I expect the DVDs to last? It seems that the DVD movies I buy last for years.
Most people would advise you to buy a Plextor burner if you want a top of the line. I have an old LG4160B and a Benq1655. Both have been very good to me.
+R's are better if you have a burner that can booktype/bitset. Essentially it changes the format of the burned disc to be read as DVD-Rom which will ensure maximum playabilty on dvd players. My LG can't do this but the Benq does.
If u buy top quality media [Tayo Yuden, Verbatim, Sony/Maxell {made in Japan)] and you take care of them they should last several years. Just be aware that unlike store bought dvds,which are pressed, they aren't made the same way. Extra care is needed. I'd make duplicates and keep one as a pure backup and one to watch.
Thanks for your advice and help. Is the PLEXTOR Slot Load 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model PX-716AL/SW the model your talking about. NewEgg has a SATA one but according to the reviews it has some quarks. This drive is on sale now for $50 off. Please let me know.
It's hard telling how long dvd backups will last.The cheaper manufacturers are breaking down quicker,some in as little as 6 months. Some have gotten 3 years out of their crappy manufacturers.That's why I keep my important stuff on quality ty and verbatim,and keep all my originals.Hard telling how long backups break up.It started at over 100 yrs,and keeps dropping.
I contribute burner quality as a factor. Quality DVD-RW drives do perform better-stand alone compatability/fewer errors/fewer coasters/and burn just about anything you slap in them. Some of the low quality drives,will have a higher chance for issues.
Asus 16x drives? I don't hear too much about them.Booktyping capability for them,again I am not sure.
Format-order of stand alone compatability:
1) Plus format booktyped to dvd-rom in a bitsetting capable burner
2) Dash format
3) Plus format-non-booktyped
For me and my benqs,The booktyped backups totally outperform the dash. Probably 95+% compatable for the booktyped and 75% for the dash.I do play mine in a slew of players and only found 1 old ps2 that won't play my booktyped backups.It wouldn't even play any backups for either format.
Give the Benq 1650 a gander. A very nice drive for the buck.Booktyping capability right out of the box.Under $40 at newegg.com
The Plextor 716 is probably the finest drive made. I think moderator nephillim has the px 716 sata? Maybe try pm'ing him.
Thanks so much. I'm just amaized at how these forums can make everything so easy. I will probably go for the Plextor 716 without the SATA format. I read a review that said the SATA can mess with the RAID setup on your computor. I've gone through RAID nightmares and don't want to mess with it.
