DVD Burners

[Anime Kidd]

I am gonna be getting a DVD writer/burner/recorder/whatever soon but before I do I want a bit of advice from those who have them. I tried looking into it myself and I see that there are many different formats out there and am a bit puzzled over it. I plan on using the thing for storage mostly (that better then CDs?).

So what should I be looking for in a DVD burner? I want something that has a wide range of capabilities and be pretty quick at writing and must be around 50-60 US bucks. I've heard that Lite-On might be good. What about Samsung, Sony, and the others? Oh, one more thing. What would be the best places online to read up on this stuff?

 

[trancejeremy]

Most burners can write all the formats these days. But some formats can be written somewhat faster than others.

There's DVD+R and DVD-R. Same size, but just different ways of writing it, apparently.
Then there is the re-writeable ones, DVD+RW and DVD-RW
Then there are dual layer versions of the above, which hold 9 gigabytes instead of 4.7
Not all drives can write dual layer DVDs.

I have a really cheap one, a TS-H552B. (Samsung-Toshiba, I think). Works fine so far.

You might try this for more info

http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html

Kinda out of date in places, though.

 

[John Crichton]

Try to get a Plextor if you can. Best burners around. Try newegg.com and pricewatch.com

 

[orbitalfreak]

Definitely go by newegg.com, they tend to have the best prices. Also, their service and shipping are phenomenal.

I bought a $60 (with shipping) drive from them recently, an NEC. I'd heard it recommended, bought it, and am quite pleased with it. It has one of the best ratings of the dvd burners out there. And it covers all formats, DVD +/- R/RW and CD-R/Rw, and Dual Layer DVD.

 

[SubMensa]

Newegg.com is the place to be

Definitely go by newegg.com

I third the recommendation to go with Newegg.com. While they may not be the cheapest they are always so close it doesn't matter.

Also the speed of shipping in phenomenal, I placed a order late Friday night and it was at my door Thursday. And that was Fedex ground from across the country.

Overall I've ordered several thousand dollars worth of computer 'bits' through them and have never had a problem. Because of this I can't advise you on the return policies.

Good hunting wherever you go!

 

[Ranger REG]

Try to get a Plextor if you can. Best burners around. Try newegg.com and pricewatch.com

Had a Plextor CD burner in the past. Never liked it especially their software updates.

Hope they got more user-friendly these days.

 

[Anime Kidd]

Alright, I think I'm gonna go with a Lite On. Thanks for the help everyone. This is why I love EN World. Everyone is so helpful.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

I would suggest investing in a real copy of the Nero suite of CD/DVD software if you plan to do anything complicated with it. I've found it works much better than the Roxio stuff, and while there are a number of freeware/shareware utilities out there that can do much of what it does, having it in one package that is updated frequently and works well together is worth it.

 

[MythosaAkira]

Alright, I think I'm gonna go with a Lite On. Thanks for the help everyone. This is why I love EN World. Everyone is so helpful.

My DVD burner is a Lite On and it works great.

It was inexpensive and shipped quickly from - of course - newegg.com

 

[Anime Kidd]

I would suggest investing in a real copy of the Nero suite of CD/DVD software if you plan to do anything complicated with it. I've found it works much better than the Roxio stuff, and while there are a number of freeware/shareware utilities out there that can do much of what it does, having it in one package that is updated frequently and works well together is worth it.

Yeah I was also looking for a burner that had Nero too. The Lite On I choose has it, but it is Express so I think it's just a smaller version of it. If I ever get the chance I'lm gonna snatch Nero.