The thing i know about the + and - is that way back when DVD's where just being introduced there was just the + which was introduced by company A cause i forgot the exact company but Sony did not want to follow the trend or shall i say they wanted a format of their own so came -, thats how i remember the story but the story can be the other way around, So +- formats doest have any difference at all just the compatibility with your dvd player or recorder..... I suggest you better inquire on where your hubby would use them so that the compatibility issue wont be a concern later on