Haven't kept up to date with writeable DVD's, so help me out

[Sunner]

Now that DVD burners are comming down in price, I've started looking at them again.

But last time I looked that way, there were like 3 different standards, from different companies.

Did anyone actually "win" or are there still several standards?
That is, can I go out and buy a DVD-burner these days, and actually trust it to work in most places?

 

[Adul]

You want a DVD-R that is standard that will work in DVD players and dvd-roms. granted it may not be all of them, but a good portain.

DVD-R though only records one side, one layer at this time.

 

[HendrixFan]

From what Ive read, there hasnt been a "settled" standard yet.

DVD-RAM comes in cartridges, and will not play in standalone units. These are the cheapest, and will likely be phased out.

DVD-R/W is the standard in place by the DVD Forum, or some group. The discs are compatible with most any standalone unit, or DVD-ROM drive. Pioneer A03, Panasonic LDF311 are two models based on this standard.

DVD+R/W doesnt have the "official" seal that DVD-R has, but it has alot of big names backing it. Sony, Ricoh, Philips, Hewlett Packard, Dell, Compaq and more. The discs are also compatible with most any standalone unit or DVD-ROM drive. The blanks arent as easy to find right now as the DVD-R. Also, DVD+R blanks arent on the market yet, only DVD+RW. But because of the manufacturers supporting this format, I think it will win out over DVD-R in the end.

Of course, we dont know which one consumers will embrace for sure. I had told myself once the DVD burners got to around $300, I would get one (the came out around $1000 last year). But after reading about the competing formats, Im personally deciding to wait until a standard emerges as the clear leader, so I dont end up picking the wrong one and have to buy a new unit down the road.