Well it depends on the writer, some DVD writers can only write to certain formats such as +rw or -rw. The only real difference i have heard is that DVD+RW is somewhat newer technology and allows you to write to a disk progressively so you can continue to add information to the disk as you go. The only problem with this is that not all drives will be able to read the information if you do this. The DVD-RW are better for usage with things like your home DVD player. They are more widely compatable but will require you to finalize your session when you write to the disk so you will not be able to add more things later on without clearing the disk if its RW or just living with what you have if its R. The other, I think, is DVD-RAM. I'm not to familiar with that. The DVD+RW, DVD+R, DVD-RW, and DVD-R are the main ones and should get done whatever you would need to do. If anyone knows whats up with the DVD-RAM, let me know.