Microsoft announces support for all DVDR formats

You know, although I own a +RW-only drive, I will be glad to finally see just one consumer format emerge the winner, even if it means I will either have to buy a new burner, or continue to pay a hefty premium for blank disc prices. Thankfully the cost of blank dvd media, like it's CDR predecessor, is slowly falling, but it irks me that plus media consistently costs about four times that of minus media, yet I don't perceive that the media is four times as good or will hold four times as much data, so what's the point in hanging on to the Betamax of dvd formats? I just wish this stuff could have been worked out from the very beginning. I was not aware that Windows (current versions) directly supported the burning of +R/+RW media, but then, I only use Win-98SE. -- Mike --

I am glad to see the two Formats co-exist. I had supported the DVD-R/RW for about 2 Years now (spent $17 on a blank DVD-R in the beginning)and see that the DVD-R/RW is not going away for some years to come. The Industry just spent too much money developing the Format.

And every time you pay four times as much as you have to for a +R/+RW disc which, in practice, does no more and no less than it's -R/-RW brethren, you, as a consumer, continue to pay for that development. Hewlett-Packard is particularly notorious for charging a premium on their discs, (how does $15 Canadian retail strike you?), and frankly, there are times when I've had to turf an HP disc because of too many errors, and outright burn failure.

I am glad to see the Microsoft is supporting -R/RW, for me I started when Sony just release the dru5001, and I own many -Rs, but not many +Rs due to cost. I was worried for a while whne MS said they are only supporting one design. Cheap discs are here to stay. :)