Questions about DVD formats.

My wife and I are in the market for a new DVD player and so I thought we might as well get a recorder. I did a bit of research by going to several electronic stores, but I came away with an important question.

Which is best out of DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW? I specifically want to know which is more widespread and which will work on a wider variety of players. Also, which is likely to work on more players in the future. I know there probably is no definitive answer for this last question, but what do you guys think?

DVD FAQ

You’ll learn more about DVDs than you ever wanted.

If your DVD player was made in the last couple of years, then + or - really doesn’t matter; they’ll work in just about any DVD player. For instance, both types of disc work in my two newest players (both made in the past two years); neither type will work in my oldest player (from 1998? 1999?).

AFAIK, using RW discs (in either + or - format) is somewhat problematic. Far more DVD players support “regular” +- discs than RW +- discs.

On one of the geek boards I spend far too much time at, the general consensus is that + is better due to a “better error connecting mechanism”, although the people that advocate that position have never been able to provide a cite for their assertion.