Dvd-r Discs?, What discs can I use? Options

[Hamish]

Can anyone help me? I was just wondering whether there is only a certain brand of disc that is compatible with my mac dvd-r drive, or will all blank discs work?

[Levon River]

I think the important thing is buy DVD-R discs and not DVD+R.

formatj's correct; Apple sells its own brand, and they are DVD-R, not DVD+R. (CompUSA carries them, so if there is one near you, you can inspect an Apple DVD-R box and compare the specs. There are DVD-R brands that are cheaper.) Also, just to be thorough, you want to specify general-media 4.7 gig disks--not "authoring" DVD-R disks. Here's a link to a .pdf file that explains the difference:

http://www.pioneeraus.com.au/multimedia/dv...oring_media.pdf

In the blurb that formatj quoted from the Apple site about updating the firmware of the SuperDrives before using the "new high-speed media," what *isn't* said is fascinating: fact is, putting the "new higher-speed media" (>2x) in a non-updated drive can cause the laser to turn on and stay on until pungent ugly smoke starts pouring out of all cracks and crevices as a result of SuperDrive meltdown.

Not a joke, really: this is literally what happens, so it isn't a warning from Apple to take lightly.