What to buy?

My girlfriend just got a (late) Christmas bonus. Good news to me, as I didn't get an X-Mas present yet. So now I want a DVD burner. So I came to AD for help.

I need a cheap and reliable/dependable DVD burning drive. What format? What brand? I have experience ripping to avi and burning to CD-R; what DVD drive do I need?

 

If i was you i will buy a dvd+rw dvd writer because the + format is better than the -, i use a NEC 1100 DVD+RW Drive it is excellent burns every thing, dvds, ps2 backups (Leagaly Backuped) and so on, get that they r great! and oh yeh if you want a +and- writer i will go for the pioneer models!!

-----RetroTECH------

 

I've got a Pioneer DVR A-06 that works great. If you are going to buy a new burner, get a dual format that supports 4X burning. A 4X burn takes about 14 minutes for a 4.36 gigabyte VIDEO_TS folder. If you are used to burning CDs, DVD burning will seem really slow.
I also have an OptoRite DD0203 4X dual format that works as well as the Pioneer. The Pioneer comes with software that you can use to burn with (Nero Express and some Ulead stuff).
Make sure your computer will support DVD burning: 40 gig Hard drive, 512 MB RAM, You can get by with less but your rip and burns will take longer.
When you get it, come back for some installation tips!
Frank

 

Don't buy the LG 4040b. Trust me.

 

i just got the I/O magic 8x dual format from Staples for 129.99 on sale...i was a skeptic, well, im still a skeptic until the day i die, but anyways its done a really good job so far. personally i would go for this, since its the fastest format out right now, plus its dual format, which is nice.

 

hey, did u get that burner at staples.com or where at??? i am going to buy one in the next few days, any tips would be greatly appreciated

 

check http://www.pricewatch.com for the cheapest prices, i couldn't find the i/o magic though.

 

hey im looking at burners at str8buy.com and there is a burner with a retail box, and another that is just the drive, do u think it would be okay to just get the drive???

thanks

 

Depends on what kind it is. You might actually save a few buxs if you don't get the useless software with it but then again, why is there no box?? It could be OEM maybe? Can't you just go to a store. Do you live on a farm or something?

 

Plextor PX-708A (internal) ($175 OEM) is what I got after about a year of research. It is pretty much the best one out there and it's a later generation model that can burn at 8x. (DVD-R still at 4x however)

Of course, this is my first DVD burner so I have nothing to compare to, but I'm very impressed with it. I'm glad I waited for a drive that burns at 4x and 8x speed. You don't want a crappy drive that will only do 1x and 2x. Believe me, after several burns at that slow speed you'd wish you'd paid the extra $50 for a nicer one.

The newest Sony is supposed to be good also, at about the same price. I haven't looked at the Pioneers, but from what I see on the net, you can't go wrong with a Pioneer either. But go for the newer models -- every next generation has a world of bug fixes and new features. Go to http://www.shopper.com

Also, once you get your drive, make sure it's the only drive on that IDE cable. Don't master/slave it. You may not notice it at first, but you'll get crappy performance and errors. This is why it's hard to trust people's reviews online -- saying all it burns are coasters and taking it back to the store thinking the drive was bad.

 

so u should set both devices as cable select instead of master/slave ????????????

 

hey max777,

in your post (this thread) dated 8th Jan 2004 @ 13:01, you said

but you have started a thread in Newbies, dated 8th Jan 2004 @ 20:01, entitled medium errors, can no longer burn DVD's
see:
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/65153

Does this mean that you would STILL recommend the Plextor?

Just curious....

 

I have the px-708u. The same as the a but external.i ahve had it for a week copied 13 movies - + +rw and all is good. I have had no errors. A perfect drive. I had the sony 510u I had it long enough till i got to best buy saw the plextor(the one I wanted) took the sony back and now I am glad I did. I use the dvd x copy 3.2.1 version and coping like a mad dog.
If you would like more info please fell free to emial me at braves95@epix.net. And yes this is the best drive I have worked with. My laptop the toshiba 607 ($2700.) And it came with a dvdburner and I us it to read and the plex to write.The dvdburner my laptop came with burned when it wants to.Go figure 2700 dollars and a crappy dvdburner.

 

It was working so well before, so yes I'd still recommend it. The PX-708A was working fast and quietly -- the tray opens and closes smoothly, the media spins right up when inserted. I've never had a drive like this that worked so well.

Mine just turned bad for some reason. Plextor support has been emailing me back n forth, asking me to continue testing the drive. I'm doing the self-test diag now. It has to be the drive though... it can't have turned into such a finicky drive when it was working perfectly before.

P.S. I was saying only use one CD/DVD drive and put it on a separate channel from your hard drives. It's just that you're risking slower performance doing it any other way. However, the Plextor drive was running fine with my other CD/DVD drive.

 

the 16x drives will be comming out soon and media to follow shortly afterwards

just thought you should know