There are two specifications for recordable DVDs: DVD-R and DVD+R (Digital Versatile Disc Recordable). A DVD+R disc cannot be deleted or changed once data has been transferred to it. Although most DVD players and computers can handle DVD+R DVDs, their compatibility with DVD players is marginally lower than that of the DVD-R format, which they compete with. A single-layer DVD+R disc can hold 4.7 GB of data or film, while a double-layer disc can hold 8.5 GB. A DVD+R disc can only be written to using an appropriate DVD+R or Hybrid (DVD-R) device. DVD+RW is the name of the rewritable variation of DVD+R.

Both DVD+R and DVD-R DVDs use a laser to imprint a sequence of places onto a layer of heat-sensitive dye on a raw disc. This process is the same for both readable optical media types. These areas encode digital data that the drive's laser scans and decodes, serving the same purpose as the holes on a professionally-pressed Disc. Both kinds have minute lines running from start to finish to direct the laser and keep it on course. The disc will revolve at the right pace thanks to this groove's small but reliable oscillation. On a DVD+R disc, it wobbles at a much higher frequency, 817.4 kHz, as opposed to 140.6 kHz on a DVD-R disc.

The DVD+R discs use a more exact way to monitor where that data is recorded on the disc to make it simpler to add information over multiple periods, which is another important distinction between the two standards. A smaller quantity of disc capacity is lost when starting a second writing session on a DVD-R because a bigger delay is needed between the two sessions. Additionally, DVD+R DVDs cost a little less to produce.

Different Formats

Two rival industry organizations created the DVD-R and DVD+R specifications for recording to a Disc around the same time. With assistance from the DVD Forum licensing organization, Pioneer created the DVD-R format for the first time in 1997. In 2002, Sony and Philips established the DVD+RW Partnership and created the DVD+R standard as a rival, utilizing some of the same technology they had previously used to create the CD-R standard. Before granting DVD+R the rank of a legitimate DVD product, the DVD Forum managed all official Disc rights and trademarks.

Both formats made use of technology that was sufficiently close that disc devices that could write to one format could theoretically write to the other. However, the organization whose standard the drive maker backed required them to pay a licence charge. As time went on, makers started purchasing both technologies and creating "Hybrid" or "DVD-R" drives that supported both forms. Initially, drives were only compatible with one standard or the other.