Hi Trent,

When I started burning home dvd's, I used DVD+R. I think that was because it was the one sitting closest on the shelf; I didn't do any research.

I started handing out DVD's to family members and found that DVD+R does not play on all DVD players. I switched to DVD-R. They're cheap and I don't mind experimenting a few times before burning the final copy with a Lightscribe label.

As to the quality of PowerDirector: I was totally unfamiliar with video editing. My wife gave me a digital camcorder for Christmas. I purchased PD5 in January and spent maybe an hour a night getting familiar with it. I sent a dvd to my brother in February. Here are his comments: " We were both really impressed with the quality. I think you have done this kind of thing before. I don't know where you learned to do all that but it sure makes an impressive display." PD6 is even better.

Hope this is helpful.

Thanks for the reply. I've looked on the back of blank DVDs before and it says for video editing DVD+RW is best. But, I've also heard (from you and others) that DVD-R is fine. I guess either one will work. Also, thanks for your input on PD6. It seems like I've read about a lot of problems with it on this discussion board, so I've been hesitant. But, it seems to me it's mostly the person's computer that has been the problem in most cases. I guess I'll just order it and see for myself. Thanks for the info!

Trent

Hi Trent,

There's just a couple of things you need to know about the different formats. Firstly there are 2 formats + & -. Then you have W on the end which just means it is re-writeable. With the RW disks (+ or it means you can re-write them over & over again, whereas the R disks are write once.

It depends on which player the finished DVD will be played on as to which format (+ or you use. Some players will only play the - format, some only + & some will play both, so you need to know in advance.

The reason RW disks are good for editing is that you can experiment with them & use them over & over so you're not wasting disks. (Which is why they are more expensive) When you get it right you would normally burn to a R disk (+ or . As you get more familiar with the way the process works you will probably end up skipping the RW disks & going straight to the R disks.

The end result will be the same whichever disk you use. i.e one format won't necessarily give a better result as the same files will be burned onto them in each case. In my experience the minus format seems to be the more common format.

Regards,

Peter B.

Thanks, Peter. I really appreciate the info. I knew RW discs are rewritable, but I didn't know if there are any quality differences. Since there aren't (and I have experience editing), I'll probably just go for the DVD-R formats. They're not that expensive, and I can buy more at one time. Thanks a lot for the input. I'm getting ready to purchase PD6 very soon.

Trent

Check out site http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers. It list lots of players by model and what formats are compatible. It also lists lot of info on the DVD disks as all are not equal.

Thanks, I'll check out that website. By the way, this question is to anyone who has PD6. Can you burn feature-length DVD movies, add music and create your own trailers, for instance? Most of my work will be with my own DV cam, but I thought it would be neat to be able to do something like that as well. Thanks.

Trent