[ale] OT: Good Deal

[aaron]

On Thursday 15 May 2003 23:26, Christopher Fowler wrote:
> My confusion is about DVD media.  This device only supports DVD+RW.  Do all
> DVD players read DVD+RW or is there a "more standard" media format?

DVD +R and +RW formats have worse compatibility support and track records than 
DVD-R, which has been around longer and is therefore addressed by more of the 
makers of DVD players that have been sold.

The rated compatibility for DVD-R burned media is only between 93% and 97% 
across existing players, depending on which surveys you go by. I have seen 
DVD+R weighing in between 82% and 89%. Both +RW and -RW fair worse, but I 
don't recall their numbers. The real world track record we have had burning 
custom DVD-R's at the consumer video shop I work at is roughly 87%.. Most 
reports note that using high quality media is even more important than it is 
with burning CD-ROMs, and we had more failures when we briefly tried a switch 
to cheaper media.

Computer DVD drives generally have better format support than stand alone 
players. Newer players are more likely to read the expanding list of 
non-standardized and proprietary formats being generated by  turf wars among 
the DVD consortium members, e.g. +R/RW is a Sony proprietary hack.

<grin>
As a general rule of the digital media age, if the letters D and V appear next 
to each other in the name of a media production or delivery system, the 
consumer is guaranteed that  no real standardization is being adhered to by 
any of the manufacturers and compatibility will be a crap shoot at best. 
Between the race for ever greater miniaturization and data density in the 
storage mediums and the varying quality of proprietary codec wars,  if you 
can play back the media you buy or create in someone else's D. V. machine 
next week, or can actually view the work on the systems that come out a year 
or two down the road, it will be nothing short of a miracle.

VHS has it's limitations in color quality, but at least we are fairly well 
guaranteed that the standards adherent tape we made of junior's birthday will 
play back in grandma's VCR.  
</grin>

HTH!

peace

aaron


> On Thu, May 15, 2003 at 11:21:36PM -0400, Geoffrey wrote:
> > lance crocker wrote:
> > >personally i dont like philips cd/dvd drives. i had a really bad 
experience
> > >with one of their cheap burners.
> > 
> > I wouldn't have another Philips cd drive of any type.  I had a cdrw go 
> > bad just after the warranty expired.  Researching it, I've found that 
> > Philips had a class action law suit against them, for faulty cdrw 
> > drives, unfortunately, mine was not included.
> > 
> > 
> > -- 
> > Until later: Geoffrey		esoteric at 3times25.net
> > 
> > The latest, most widespread virus?  Microsoft end user agreement.
> > Think about it...
> > 
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