Duplication 101: Shopping Around for CD's and DVD's Can Be a Bit Confusing

While shopping around for CD's and DVD's lately, you may have discovered yourself a bit confused by the different CD-R, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW discs. Figuring out the abbreviations between them can be a bit nerve racking.

To make things worse for those who aren't up on the latest marvels of technology is the rate at which the industry of technology is growing. About the time you think you've caught on to the concepts of MP3s and burning CD and DVD media, new technology on blank media hits the market and you end up more confused than you were before.

The "R" found in CD-R and DVD+/-R media stands for record able. It will tell you that these disks are blank record able media. You can record data, data, photos, and movies on the disc, but these discs are not erasable.

The "RW" on CD-RW and DVD+/-RW media means they are re-writable. This indicates that media with RW on them can be recorded and erased several times. Even though CD and DVD media are inexpensive, you will end up paying a bit more for RW type media.

The biggest cause of confusion is how the DVD-R and DVD-RW differ from DVD+R and DVD+RW media. To avoid confusing you even more, you simply need to know that each DVD types can record movies just like the next type.

DVD+R and DVD+RW are a newer more expensive technology that offers a few technical advantages over DVD-R and DVD-RW. However, DVD-R has greater compatibility with more DVD players than any other format of blank DVDs.

If you own a newer DVD player or if you use your computer to play back media, you should have no problems with DVD+R/DVD+RW media. Some claim that they provide a better range of quality, although the quality is quite similar.

Remember that all record able CD and DVD media do the same thing regardless of who the manufacture is or the extension. Due to the fact that there is not an industry standard that involves DVD technology, not all DVD players is compatible with each and every format you see on retail store shelves.

Because of this, you should always check with DVD player manual before purchasing record able media, to make sure it will play back. By doing this you will always be sure you purchase the right record able discs for your players.