The burning question about DVD's

[Click]

I think that many of the people who are using a burner to make CD's etc.
have in the back of there mind the idea of upgrading to a DVD burner. The
main thing holding many of these people back from doing so is the various
standards that are out there.

The main choices out there seem to be DVD-R & R/W or DVD+R & R/W. Which to
choose? I think it was Sony (Pioneer & possible others have followed) who
were the first to give you a recorder that can could record either of these
formats with the implication that if you had a burner that could create
either format then you wouldn't have a problem in the future.

How does having this sort of dual format burner help you? Will you be able
to play back the DVD that you create today using whatever format you choose
on a machine that will be around in say 10 years time? If you don't know
machine will be able to play your DVD's why create them. Isn't it about
time that the format wars finish? Or is my argument nonsense?

--
Thanks in advance

Remove the XXX to reply

[Andrew McDonald]

Click wrote:

> I think that many of the people who are using a burner to make CD's etc.
> have in the back of there mind the idea of upgrading to a DVD burner. The
> main thing holding many of these people back from doing so is the various
> standards that are out there.
>
> The main choices out there seem to be DVD-R & R/W or DVD+R & R/W. Which to
> choose? I think it was Sony (Pioneer & possible others have followed) who
> were the first to give you a recorder that can could record either of these
> formats with the implication that if you had a burner that could create
> either format then you wouldn't have a problem in the future.
>
> How does having this sort of dual format burner help you? Will you be able
> to play back the DVD that you create today using whatever format you choose
> on a machine that will be around in say 10 years time? If you don't know
> machine will be able to play your DVD's why create them. Isn't it about
> time that the format wars finish? Or is my argument nonsense?

Don't worry so much about it. Whichever format you select it will be
around long enough for you to use it and when something newer/better
comes along you can move all your data to that format.

I went with DVD+R/RW. It works fine for backing up my picture archive
and that's all it needs to do.

[Bob O`Bob]

Click wrote:

> How does having this sort of dual format burner help you? Will you be able
> to play back the DVD that you create today using whatever format you choose
> on a machine that will be around in say 10 years time? If you don't know
> machine will be able to play your DVD's why create them. Isn't it about
> time that the format wars finish? Or is my argument nonsense?

Having a dual-format DVD burner means you can record both formats (duh!)
... so get two blank discs and record in both formats! (duh squared)

As long as at least one is still readable, you don't have to care which one.

CD-R is just fine. FOR NOW. Long before it's actually obsolete there will
be something newer readily available. That's required by the definition of
the word "obsolete." So, whatever that is, get one, and copy all your CD-Rs.

Until then, worrying about it is mostly just bad for your health.

In order for the "format wars" to "finish" there would have to be some
*ultimate* technology. Then what happens when, a week later, someone
figures out how to do even better?
Therefore, to answer your question about nonsense - I'm afraid so.



Bob