DVD media

I have a new compaq R4000 notebook with an Athlon 64 chip and their DVD-/+ RW drive. I have purchased and used DVD-R 8x disks and they seem to work fine.

I am now purchasing a Liteon LVW 5005 DVD recorder/player which is supposed to use either - or + disks. I assume that the DVD-R 8x disks will work in it. I would like to buy some RW disks to use in both my computer and the recorder/player. I have read that the - format is more compatible than the + so I planned to buy the DVD-RW disks. The DVD-RW disks I see run from 1X to 4X.

Is the DVD-RW the way to go? Should I go for the 1X, 2.4X or 4X or ??? Does the brand matter? I am told that 3 or 4 manufacturers make the disks for all of the different brands.

I will appreciate any advice as I don't need any coasters.