DVD-R speed - an issue? (simple question)

Question

(I am about to upgrade to OS 10.5, so want to back up all my docs first).
I was going to buy some DVD-Rs to do this. However, I see that many of the DVDs in the stores are rated faster than the drive in my iMac. These DVDs bear a warning that they may be incompatible with slower drives. Please excuse my ignorance, but is this an issue?
I've got the white Intel 2 GHZ slot loading iMac. Can't even remember what speed the DVD drive is (8x rings a bell)

Answer 1

Hi GGG and welcome to the forums!
These DVDs bear a warning that they may be incompatible with slower drives. Please excuse my ignorance, but is this an issue?
No, not in my opinion.
Using 16x DVD media is fine - in fact it is difficult to buy any other - but there is a consensus in the Apple Support Forums that a slower burn is a better burn and that the most reliable brands are Verbatim, Maxell and Fuji, all DVD-R, burned at 2x or 4x (slow burns are better burns!). I always use Toast for burning.
I generally use Verbatim and when I can't get those, Fuji, and have never had a coaster from either.
Plenty of coasters in the early days from Sony, TDK and a few others.
The term "Best" means the fastest speed that the drive told Toast it can write to a specific disc. The drive's firmware and info on the disc decide what speed burns are available. When you press the speed setting button in Toast (after inserting a disc) you'll likely see some speeds in italics and some in bold face. The ones in bold face are supported by that media on that drive. The fastest one is what Toast calls Best.
Audio CDs in particular should be burned at the lowest supported speed.
Verification is a good indicator the disc is burned okay. However, other DVD players can still have problems with the disc. Media problems with various drives is not uncommon. Slower burning may reduce the chance of those problems, and is one of the reasons why RW (read/write) media is always rated slower than DVD-R.
There are some interesting facts here:
http://www.osta.org/technology/dvdqa/dvdqa4.htm and here:
http://www.osta.org/technology/dvdqa/dvdqa4.htm
But many will tell you that the 'slower burn is best' theory is outdated. Who really knows? At the end of the day, if your home-made DVD was verified by Toast and will play anywhere on anybody's DVD player, then that is the result we are all after!