questino about dvd burners

[AERO]

ok i read the stickey is it illegal to backup your own dvd's with copies for own personal use (considering my bro has destroyed 6 of my fav dvd's) and ive had to replace since


if it is allowed then ill continue to ask my question.


i want to get a dvd palyer for backup purposes also storing family video's with our digital camera we have (got off recently deceased family friend)

ok.

is it worth getting a dvd + and - dvd burner?

what exactly is the - and + mean? sorta like regions? and i have heard somewhere that the + doesnt work with many dvd palyers?

also for my dvd palyer if im to backup my dvd's. im also wondering. if i am to buy a r1 or r2-3 dvd which cant paly on my pc dvd player can i back it up and change its region with the dvd burner so its compatable with my r4 dvd player?.

also is a dvd burner multi region? as in x\can paly al;l regions of dvd's? as i also want one of them (if it is then i wont need to backup some of my dvd's)

if any of my questions are out of line pls let me know and ill edit them or i guess you will for me :). all of these q's are innocent and im wondering. thats all. thanks in advance :)

[snapper]

hi,

The DVD - and + formats are not like region codes. They are different ways to store the 1 and 0's on the disc.

It is best to get one that supports all formats DVD-R DVD-RW DVD+R DVD+RW DVD-RAM.

That last one is less common and the blanks are much more expensive but the new panasonic DVD recorder supports it and some others will follow.

From what I recall if you wish to store backup data for longer DVD-RAM is your best bet however they around around $40-$60 per disc so use these only for really important data such as family videos that you don't want to lose. However it is best to keep a copy on DVD-R format as well.

DVD-R is the most compatible of the lot, it has the greatest chances of being compatible with the DVD players you may have at home, including DVD-ROMs.

DVD-RW/R/+R/+RW drives are typically not region free, however they can perform a duplicate of any region without the need to change the region of the drive. However if you wish to play the DVD on that drive then you will lose a region change. It is best to get a DVD-ROM and a DVD burner. The roms are around $60 for a pioneer drive. This way you can perform DVD copies on the fly. You can get region free firmware or use region free software and if you stuff up your DVD-ROM you only lose $60 max as opposed to the ~$330 for the burner.

You can use programs like smartripper, clad dvd ect... to copy the data from the DVD to the HDD, switch the region code to 0 then burn to the DVD-R.

For more info visit this site (www.dvdrhelp.com).

thanks

[AERO]

thankyou very much for clearing that up for me, has made it alot more clear now. i was thinknig of getting the dvd burner that has both + and - on it as its better to ahve both. and i think ill test with both - and + disc's to see what works with my dvd player :), also about switching the regions of the dvd player. i was accually thinking the same with the dvd palyers this mornin @ work. i could keep the burner in region 4 and change my pioneer to r1 or whatever i need. and maybe also test the software you have pointed out.

oh and yes just b4 leavnig my pc yesterday i did also come over that dvdhelp web site also ;) great minds think alike.


i guess if i need any further help ill send a message again. thanks.