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[Myoclonic Jerk]

and is there a HUGE price difference between te internal and external ?

I'd preffer an external one, but if the price is too high, I'll go with the internal..


the reason I'm asking this, cuz I dunno what features do I need, I'm hearing dual layer, and +/-, but I know nothing of this..

so please hlep

Thanks

 

[Diablos]

If I was gonna get a DVD burner today, this would be the one:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-129-157&depa=0
The Pioneer DVR-108. You won't find an external drive this good under $200.

Write Speed: DVD+R DL 4X,16X DVD+R, 4X DVD+RW, 16X DVD-R,4X DVD-RW, 32X CD-R, 24X CD-RW

It's one of the first drives to burn dual layer discs at 4x. NEC makes one too, but I've read that people are having some problems with it. I see nothing but praise when it comes to this drive, though. Not to mention, Pioneer has a killer writing strategy (this means burned DVD+/-R's have better compatibility with different drives, discs less likely to fail over time, etc.)

If you really want an external drive, you could make one yourself by getting something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-145-314&depa=0.
It's only an extra $30.

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

so I can fix THAT DVD burner, to that $30 thingy, and it'll work as an external DVD burner ?


and I'm not in a rush, if there's something coming out soon, wich will be much better I can wait

 

[Diablos]

so I can fix THAT DVD burner, to that $30 thingy, and it'll work as an external DVD burner ?


and I'm not in a rush, if there's something coming out soon, wich will be much better I can wait

Right, you just connect the DVD burner to the IDE cable inside of the external enclosure, close it up, then connect the USB cable to your PC to use it as an external drive.

Honestly, you don't want to wait. You won't find a 16x DVD drive that is external and also burns 4x DL discs for under $200 until at least late next year. At least. And even if you did, it won't be a drive as good as the DVR-108. You don't want generic or rebadged lite-on drives, believe me. Buying your own enclosure is the smarter thing to do; you save money AND get a better drive. If you don't like that particular enclosure, you can get more here: http://www.newegg.com/app/manufactory.asp?catalog=92&DEPA=0. Make sure it is 5.25".

There's really nothing better coming out soon; 16x DVD+/-R writing speed is pretty fast, 4x dual layer speed is the fastest DL writing speed on the market right now. 50 packs of 2.4x media are still a lot of money, they won't come down in price for a long time. Well, until 4x media comes out. If you want to wait for something better when it comes to dual layer, you might as well wait until late 2005/early 2006. That's a long wait...

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

cool ..

I'm not sure if I can wait THAT long .. I migt buy this thing on JAN, depends on how many games I'm buying this year ..

OT - do u play drums ?

 

[Diablos]

Yeah, more dual layer drives will be out in January, and shortly after you will start to see 8x writing capability. Media will still be really expensive, though. But honestly, I'd still get the Pioneer... them, Plextor and NEC are the only DVD burners I would trust buying. Can't say I appreciate lite-on's anymore.

No, I don't play drums. I wish I did, though!

 

[SKluck]

16x is the max spin speed of DVD discs. So the only thing in the future that is going to increase is DL speed will go up to 16x.

Kinda like how CDRW drives are stuck at 52x.

 

[EdLuva]

I have the NEC 3500A (from Newegg). It's sweet. Get that one or the Pioneer DVR-108. If you go external, buy an internal drive and external enclosure.

 

[Diablos]

16x is the max spin speed of DVD discs. So the only thing in the future that is going to increase is DL speed will go up to 16x.

Kinda like how CDRW drives are stuck at 52x.

Wow really? I didn't know that.

I'm gonna wait until DL is at 8 or 16x before I buy another burner.

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

bump - is this still the best choice to go with ?

I'm buying it in a month or so ..

 

[Orin GA]

I also got an NEC 3500A No complaints, plus it can burn on DVD+R9 dual layer disc when they become cheaper in the future.

Write Speed: 16X DVD+R, 4X DVD+RW, 4X DVD+R9, 16X DVD-R, 4X DVD-RW, 48X CD-R, 24X CD-RW
Read Speed: 48X CD-ROM, 16X DVD-ROM
Interface: ATAPI / E-IDE
Buffer: 2MB
OS Support: Windows XP/ 2000/ ME/ 98SE
Features: High speed writing performance.
Packaging: OEM (see pictures for details)

Reviews:
http://secure.newegg.com/app/CustratingReview.asp?DEPA=1&item=27-152-032

 

[DJ Sl4m]

Pioneer DVR-A08XL

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-129-154&depa=1

DVD+R DL:4X max
DVD+R: 16X max
DVD+RW: 4X max
DVD-R: 16X max
DVD-RW: 4X max
CD-R: 32X max
CD-RW: 24X max

And it's known for more stable burns than the other burners on the market, esp the Lite-On/Sony burner.

Plus I think you'd be extremely pleased with the hacked firmware available for the Pioneers, which force slower media to burn at much faster speeds, and continue being stable.

 

[Apharmd Battler]

Good info gus. I'm personally waiting for Plextor to release a Dual Layer DVD burner. but that's just brand loyalty. I've already got two decent burners, just waiting for the right deal. NewEgg.com is the place to shop!

 

[DJ Sl4m]

Good info gus. I'm personally waiting for Plextor to release a Dual Layer DVD burner. but that's just brand loyalty. I've already got two decent burners, just waiting for the right deal. NewEgg.com is the place to shop!

Gus ? lol

You may want to read about the Plextor DVD drives a bit more, as they are no where near as reliable as thier CDr burners, in fact I own a Plextor CDr, but wouldn't touch thier DVD drives.

 

[Minotauro]

Gus ? lol

You may want to read about the Plextor DVD drives a bit more, as they are no where near as reliable as thier CDr burners, in fact I own a Plextor CDr, but wouldn't touch thier DVD drives.

I bought the recently-released Plextor 716A Dual Layer burner that people have been complaining about and have zero problems with it. Then again, I don't use it like a lot of the people on messageboards do. Apparently, they're upset about the speeds at which it burns. As far as I can tell, they use 8x discs and want it to burn at 16x and are then upset when they can't burn an entire disc in 6 minutes. When I use it, I burn at 8x and don't have any problem with the amount of time it takes to complete. So far, it averages around ten minutes to fill a whole disc.

Plus, supposedly Plextor is going to address the problems some have been having with a firmware update.

If you're still interested, Best Buy is selling it for $139 right now with a $30 rebate.

 

[MoxManiac]

I like Lite-on (great quality for the price) and Plextor (fantastic manufactur)

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

so the new 2 suggestions are better ?

and whats more in the second Pioneer that makes it much higher in price ?


and while were at it.. whats the difference between DVD-R and + ? I will buy a 50 DVDs bundle with it

 

[Sagitario]

Pioneer DVR-A08XL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-129-154&depa=1

Pioneer DVR-108
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-129-157&depa=0

What are the differences between them? [Besides the price and the look] I mean, they both have the same write/read speeds, butffer, etc.

 

[dem]

One is retail.. one is OEM

Retail one has a nicer looking front bezel

Insides are all the same

 

[Saturnman]

I have an 8x DVD writer but I have yet to find blank DVD's that support that writing speed.

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

what about the DVD +/- ? difference ? which ones should I buy ?

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

I have an 8x DVD writer but I have yet to find blank DVD's that support that writing speed.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=17-132-808&DEPA=0

 

[LizardKing]

I saw some poo pooing of the lite-ons in this thread but i have this one and i absolutely love it so far. Haven't burned that many dvd's yet though. But the cd burner is great and i've burned lots of cds. It screams them out in like 3 minutes a peice.

 

[The Faceless Master]

Pioneer = Top of the line

Liteon = Best for the money

Plextor = Selling on name only, and memories of their great CD burners

NEC = are you fucking kidding? how can people even like these drives?

 

[Alf]

The Pioneer DVR 108 uses NEC's firmware or something. And I've got the NEC 3500A. No problems so far

 

[jenov4]

I have a Pioneer 108 myself and it's great. There's also a really active firmware hacking community which basically allows you to burn any media at it's highest potential. I've burned 4x rated discs at 8x without any problem.

As for the differences between +/- there aren't too many, but I do notice that DVD-R's has a higher maximum capacity for data storage. And it's not really a problem nowadays, but older DVD players would only support either + or - but not both.

 

[tedtropy]

The Pioneer DVR 108 uses NEC's firmware or something. And I've got the NEC 3500A. No problems so far

Pioneer actually uses an NEC chipset, the same one as in the NEC 3500A. The newest TDK DVD burner is using this chipset as well. Say what you will about NEC's sometimes questionable drives in the past, but they've made a VERY stable new chipset and drive.

 

[Orin GA]

Yea. NEC past drives really sucked. But they made a complete 180 with the 3500A

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

so .. I'm going with the Pioneer .. the cheapass one lol ..

can you guys recommend me a brand of DVDr's to buy ? which ones are the best, and should I buy + or - ? is there a huge price difference between them ?

I'm buying them along with the DVD burner, so if you can link me to them plz

thanks alot for the help guys

 

[Orin GA]

Ritek aka Ridata aka Cornexx has never let me down. Or if you want to make up your own mind.

http://www.cdr-zone.com/dvd-media-reviews.html



Pioneer produced the first DVD writer in 1997. It used the DVD-R format. The DVD-RW came later. In 1999 the DVD Forum was formed. It embraced the DVD-R format.
In the summer of 1997 Philips lead a group (included Sony and Hewlett-Packard) that split away from other disk manufacturers because of disputed over DVD writing standards. They formed the DVD+RW alliance. Since then Dell, MCC/Verbatim, Mitsubishi, Ricoh, Thomson, and Yamaha have joined the group. They developed the DVD+RW DVD writing format and later the DVD+R format which was derived from the DVD+RW format.

CDRInfo ran some compatibility tests on both PC and home DVD drives. They found the following:
DVD-R=96.74%
DVD+R=87.32%

Today some manufactures just make either + drivers or - drivers. Others produce both types. Last September Sony produced the first drive that wrote both + and - formats the DRX-500UL. Now there are several drives that can write both formats. If this trend continues then the answer may be that both formats will continue. Also if DVD read-only drives are all made to read either then it won't make any difference which format you use.

It comes down to this:
1) DVD-R disks seem to be cheaper now
2) DVD-R disks seem to be more compatible with read-only drives
3) Current writers can write DVD-R/-RW at 2.4X while DVD+R/+RW at 4X
4) If you make disks for yourself then it does not make any difference which format you use
5) If you make disks for someone else then you make disks that they can read


http://shop.store.yahoo.com/cdrdvdrmedia/faq-dvd-blank-media-burner-burning-software.html#1

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

wooow.. thats great info thanks ALOT

I'm buying this http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=17-132-518&DEPA=0

I love imation .. and how reliable is Ritek ? cuz its REALLY cheap

 

[jenov4]

wooow.. thats great info thanks ALOT

I'm buying this http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=17-132-518&DEPA=0

I love imation .. and how reliable is Ritek ? cuz its REALLY cheap

I use Ritek and Ridata (Same company) and have had 0 problems. They're rated A grade quality (good stuff) and at an affordable price.

 

[Sagitario]

so .. I'm going with the Pioneer .. the cheapass one lol ..

Me too .

 

[SKluck]

All the imations I've ever used have been Ricoh. So I tend to stay with them over Memorex or other "retail" brands.

For all intents and purposes there is no difference between - and +. I use + because I bitset it to DVD-ROM, and it thus becomes the most compatible burning method. I stopped explaining to customers the complete difference, I just say - was first, but + has more features. Which is true, short and sweet.

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

I still didn't buy it ehe ..

have u guys heard of the Pioneer Blue-Ray burner or something ?

it was announced a week a go

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

bump

 

[jobber]

www.mrtechus.com has pretty good prices and good products. I got my DVD Burner from there last week and it's working like a charm.

 

[Lil' Dice]

I still didn't buy it ehe ..

have u guys heard of the Pioneer Blue-Ray burner or something ?

it was announced a week a go

A blu-ray drive will cost a shitload of money, with no available media for a while.

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

Pioneer said its gonna cost at te same range as their current DVD writers