Crutchfield DVD players' +RW vs-RW compatiblity surprised me

[VEFF]

I just got the latest Crutchfield catalog (for those outside the US, or who haven't heard of them, they offer a catalog of home/car audio/video gear).

I was VERY surprised to see how few players in their catalog's features
chart purported to be +RW compatible.
Only 7 players out of about 30 or so (don't quote me on the exact numbers, since I don't have it in front of me now) were said according to Crutchfield to be +RW compatible.
By contrast, every single DVD player (other than a few DVD/VCR combo units) was said to be DVD-R compatible.

I knew -R was a bit more compatible than +R (say 88% vs 78%, although those numbers should be higher now with newer models supporting recordable media to a greater degree than their predecessors), but
7 out of 30 for +R vs 30 out of 30 for -R???

It may just be their selection; but still, they sell popular brands...

To me personally it doesn't matter, since 3 of my 4 DVD players play +R
Apex AD-703 (non progressive)
Sony NS-715P (progressive scan) - personal favorite
Cyberhome 300 (progressive scan)

My Toshiba SD-4109X (non progressive), which is slightly older than the Apex, is the only one that doesn't play +R.
In fact it doesn't even play CD-R/CD-RWs, so I was VERY surprised
when it DID play DVD-Rs...

[aviationwiz]

Now I wonder how many of them actually play DVD+R/RW?

Most players will play them, they just say they won't according to the manufacturer.

[VEFF]

Exactly!

I just thought of something. I will check the catalog when I get home tonight. Then I can go to the DVD players section at dvdrhelp
and see what users say about DVD recordable compatiblity with those models and compare it to Crutchfield's chart.

I guess Crutchfield probably doesn't bother to test the players with DVD-R or DVD+R, and, as you stated, goes by manufacturer specifications.

[dodecahedron]

VEFF, could it be that the catalog was listing the compatibility with +RW not +R ?
your quote says +RW, but later in your post you do not make this distinction.
or is there (as far as DVD player compatibility) no difference between write-once and rewritable discs?

[VEFF]

Dodecahedron,

They weren't, as far as I could tell, only talking about RW (as opposed to R).
The reason I say this, is that for some of the players instead of a checkmark in the +RW or -RW compatiblity column in the chart, they placed a '+R' (or it might have been '-R' - I don't have it in front of me), meaning that it could only read that format's (+'s or -'s) recordable discs and not its rewriteable discs.

Most of my colleagues who have DVD players, that I have talked to,
say their players can read both.
I think the newer models are, for the most part, very compatible with both +R and -R, with some notable exceptions (of course).