DVD +/-

[jencom]

What does the +/- mean, when referenced with a dvd player?

[Mattk]

i believe its to do with the discs ie dvd+r or dvd-r 

[stevie21]

I find that  <a href="http://www.videohelp.com/dvd">http://www.videohelp.com/dvd</a>     is a really helpful website for anything relating to audio or video files.

[AllYourBase]

When describing a recorder, it tells you what type of discs to use to record upon. I only know this because I struggled for some time with the wrong discs, before the spotty fourteen year old in PC world explained to me that I would get nowhere. Grrr!

[Dave Bradley]

Answer taken from Plextor Website:

What is the difference between DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW?

The truth is that the two competing technologies use different formats. No single company "owns" DVD and both technologies have their "champions".

DVD-R/RW was developed by Pioneer. Based on CD-RW technology, it uses a similar pitch of the helix, mark length of the 'burn' for data, and rotation control. DVD-R/RW is supported by the DVD Forum, an industry-wide group of hardware and software developers, and computer peripheral manufacturers. The DVD-R format has been standardized in ECMA-279 by the Forum, but this is a private standard, not an 'industry' ISO standard like the CD-R/RW Red Book or Orange Book standard.

DVD+R/RW is also based on CD-RW technology. DVD+R/RW is supported by Sony, Philips, HP, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha, and others, and has recently been endorsed by Microsoft. DVD+R/RW is not supported by the DVD Forum, but the Forum has no power to set industry standards, so it becomes a market-driven issue.