Last updated on 2024-04-25, by Patrick

What’s the Difference? – DVD-R vs. DVD+R vs. DVD-RW vs. DVD+R

Today DVDs remain one of the most popular ways for digital entertainment. There are various types of DVDs, for instance, DVD-R, DVD+RW, and many more. However, many people are still confused with these DVD types, and this can be inconvenient when you need to burn videos to a DVD. But fret not, in this blog, we will introduce the differences between multiple DVD kinds and how to create DVDs with the best DVD burning software. Don’t miss out.

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Part 1: DVD R vs. DVD RW

DVD R and DVD RW are two popular DVD types on the block. So what are the differences between these two? The key difference is the acronyms of R and RW. These acronyms tell you what you can do with the discs. There are 4 main types here, including DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW. Before looking into the differences, let’s look at the definitions of acronyms to learn more.

R: Readable only discs. It means you can write the disc for one time only and read as many times as you want. This kind of DVD is more suitable for non-volatile data storage, for instance, audio or videos.
RW: Rewritable discs. It means you can write, erase, and write to the discs again. The limit of writing varies from one brand to another. But on average, DVD RW discs can be written about 1,000 times, according to Pioneer. DVD RW discs are also great for storing volatile data format, making them solid choices for creating backups or creations of files. RW discs are also compatible with many home DVD video recorders.

As you can see, the main difference between DVD R and DVD RW is the capability of writing. While DVD R discs can be written only once, DVD RW discs can be erased and rewritten many times. That is to say, after you write data to a DVD-R disc, the disc becomes readable only.

However, DVD R and DVD RW are two major types. There are more subcategories, such as DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW. So what are the differences between these types? Just keep reading to learn more.

Part 2: DVD-R vs. DVD+R

In this part, we will take a closer look at DVD-R and DVD+R. So what is the difference between DVD-R and DVD+R? A first glimpse, DVD-R and DVD+R look similar physically, with 120mm in diameter and 1.2mm in thickness as well as 0.6mm polycarbonate substrates. You can only tell the difference with the wording on the disc. But when it comes to DVD-R vs DVD+R, the differences are mainly reflected in standard, compatibility, recording capabilities, and more.

DVD-R vs. DVD+R standard differences
DVD-R and DVD+R are manufactured by different companies. While DVD-R was released by Pioneer in 1997 and supported by Pioneer, Toshiba, Hitachi, and Panasonic, DVD+R was released by Philips and Sony in 2002 and supplied by Sony, Philips, Hewlett-Packard, Ricoh, and Yamaha.

DVD-R vs. DVD+R utility differences
Generally speaking, DVD-R and DVD+R are similar to each other in terms of functionality. They can be written once and read-only with a capacity of 4.7 GB(single layer) and 8.5GB(double layer). However, the technology to determine the location of the data on the disc is not the same.
DVD-R: DVD-R format uses the “land pre pits” technique to determine the location of data on the disc.

DVD+R: DVD+R format adopts the “wobble frequency” technique to determine the location of data on the disc.

DVD-R vs. DVD+R recording differences
DVD-R and DVD+R are different when it comes to recording. DVD+R is more stable for recording and it has a higher success rate compared to DVD-R. You can refer to the comparison in the following to learn more.

	Drag and drop	Formatting	Error checking	Laser guide system	Susceptibility to interference
DVD-R	No	No	No	LPP (Land Pre Pit) system	Comparatively more susceptible to interference
DVD+R	Yes	Yes	Yes	ADIP (Address in Pregroove) system	Less susceptible to interference

In addition, DVD-R has DVD-R does not support formatting and recording data at the same time while DVD+R allows users to format and record data simultaneously.

DVD-R vs. DVD+R pricing differences
DVD-R and DVD+R differ in performance and pricing because of the laser location techniques. Generally speaking, DVD+R has better performance, quality, and writing rate. Hence it is relatively more expensive. On the other hand, DVD-R is normally cheaper but you might have to bear with the poorer performance.

Part 3: DVD-RW vs. DVD+RW

Now you know the similarities and differences between DVD-R vs DVD+R. So what about DVD-RW and DVD+RW? Don’t worry, in this part, we will specifically introduce DVD-RW vs DVD+RW. These two types of DVDs are similar to the DVD-R and DVD+R in the previous parts, except they can be erased and rewritten. Both are compatible with most DVD drives and DVD players.

However, the two DVD types vary in supporting parties. DVD-RW is supported by the DVD Forum but DVD+RW is supported by the DVD+RW Alliance. Meanwhile, DVD-RW is more efficient as it requires a shorter time to burn videos to the discs compared to DVD+RW. But DVD+RW offers more advanced features, for instance, lossless linking, CAV/CLV writing, etc.

DVD-RW vs DVD+RW, which one should you use? It is a simple issue of which hardware you use. There are different DVD players for either one of the other but recent DVD players can support both.

Part 4: Best DVD Creator

The previous parts have introduced the specifics of DVD-R vs DVD+R and DVD-RW vs DVD+RW. Just pick any type of DVD that suits you the best. Meanwhile, here comes a bonus tip, that is, Leawo DVD Creator. With this best DVD burning software, you can burn videos to DVD-R/DVD+R/DVD-RW/DVD+RW discs with the best video quality possible.

As the most professional DVD software, Leawo DVD Creator allows you to convert and burn videos and images to DVDs of all types. Supporting 180+ formats, including AVI, MKV, MP4, WMV, Xvid, MOV, PNG, JPG, and many more, Leawo DVD Creator lets you create DVDs from any format effortlessly. Whether you want to burn MP4 to DVD to record your home party or convert AVI to DVD to save your favorite movie clips, the software is your best choice.

In addition, Leawo DVD Creator can edit video to make it your own style. You can crop videos, adjust effects like brightness, saturation, contrast, and volume of the video, remove noise with one click, and so much more. It also comes with a built-in slideshow video maker for converting your photos to slideshow videos and burning them to DVD-R/DVD+R/DVD-RW/DVD+RW discs.

Now let’s see how to burn videos to DVDs with Leawo DVD Creator. Leawo DVD Creator is a module of Leawo Prof. Media. Free download and install Leawo Prof. Media from the link below.

• Leawo DVD Ripper ☉ Decrypt and rip DVD discs with disc protection and region code
  ☉ Convert DVD to MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, FLV, and other 180+ HD/SD formats
  ☉ Convert DVD main movie to videos for space saving
  ☉ Convert 2D DVD movies to 3D movies with 6 different 3D effects
  ☉ Fast conversion with NVIDIA CUDA, AMD APP and Intel Quick Sync acceleration technologies DownloadDownload

Step 1. Add source movies

Open Leawo Prof. Media and choose the Burn menu on top. Insert a writable DVD-R/DVD+R/DVD-RW/DVD+RW disc. Click on the Add Video button to add source videos. You can also drag and drop the video to the interface.

Note: Choose subtitles, audio tracks, output disc type, quality, bit rate, etc. after loading.

Step 2. Set the disc menu

Click on the Pencil icon to choose the disc menu template if needed(optional). Here you can add background music/photo/video, and adjust the title position, color, content, size, font, etc.

Step 3. Edit videos before burning

You can edit video files before burning the discs(optional). Click on the Edit option on the loaded video title. Here you can trim/crop videos, add a watermark, and effects, remove noises, etc.

Step 4: DVD video system selection

Click on the Wheel icon in the top right to open the Copy & Burn tab. Select the output DVD video mode – NTSC or PAL.

Step 5: DVD burning settings

Now click on the green Burn icon to start the burning process. Specify the “Burn to,” “Disc Label,” and “Save to” options first. Click on the Burn button at the bottom to burn video files DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, or DVD +RW disc instantly.

By reading this article, you should now have a clear understanding of the distinctions between DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW. Additionally, as previously stated, Leawo DVD Creator has the capability to convert and burn photos into DVD photo slideshows using the DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, or DVD+RW disk formats.