DVD Burner Comparison 75
mikemuch writes "While you're waiting for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, you may want to check out ExtremeTech's roundup of dual-layer DVD burners. Starting at about $43US, some of them are quite powerful, come with nice bundled software, and are pretty good deals, to boot."
skip the crap (Score:5, Informative)
Final Thoughts: What to buy [extremetech.com]
Re:Hoping it was VHS-DVD burners... (Score:1)
As for the compression question, I don't think you can do that with any decent quality. Assuming you're using single-layer (4.4GB) discs (double-layer ones are still pretty expensive, especially if you going to be
Re:Hoping it was VHS-DVD burners... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Hoping it was VHS-DVD burners... (Score:3, Informative)
I have a Toshiba DVD Recorder/VCR (Techincal term for standalones is "Recorder" not "Burner" which refers to the Drive) and it works well enough, but doesn't work to archive my commercial tapes (my intention is to convert them to DVD for archival purposes and into a format that lets my 6 year old play them on his PC without messing with the tapes) - this is due to Macrovision.
HOWEVER - some products, like KWorld's capture cards, ignore Macrovision, so you can perform the conversion
Re:Hoping it was VHS-DVD burners... (Score:1)
i just got a panasonic dmr-es40v off ebay for around $185 (including shipping) brand new. it was rated 7 out of 10 on zdnet and also pretty well on a slew of other customer rating guides i've read. the only drawback is the inability to create chapter stops. doesn't matter to me as i'll be using it primarily for converting vhs->dvd. if i want chapter stops, i'll use my computer. i've been researching them for a few months now and for the money, this one looks like a good buy.
http://reviews-zdnet.c [com.com]
Quality of the burns? (Score:5, Insightful)
And Quality of media (Score:3, Insightful)
Over the long run the cost of the burner may be small compared to the cost of the media, so there's no big reason to scrimp on the burner price. But there's a big reason to scrimp on the media. Plus of course unre
Re:And Quality of media (Score:2)
Re:And Quality of media (Score:2)
For example, Memorex media is almost always made by CMC Magnetics. In my experience, while they're far better than the likes of Princo, they are not a manufacturer I will trust. Even many of the generic noname brands are better than CMC-sourced discs, as in my experience anything made by Ritek is far better than CMC media, and Riteks are almost never sold as name-brand.
Verbatim media used to be high-quality almost al
Re:And Quality of media (Score:2)
Incorrect, at least as far as Sony is concerned. I bought a spindle of Sony DVD-R discs recently, and the media code on them reveals they are rebranded Taiyo Yuden discs. Maxell is another that has made their own discs but also rebrands other makers' discs (e.g. Ritek).
Re:And Quality of media (Score:2)
Read the media forums at http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33 [cdfreaks.com]. You'll find way more information than you ever wanted about media quality.
Not really (Score:2)
Most manufactureres make both blue and green and sometimes gold CDs. So simply saying buy "Maxell" doesn't really clear up the matter. Furthermore when you scan the forums you mostly see u
Re:Not really (Score:2)
You must not have visited the media forum in a long time. Ritek, especially the G05, is considered junk by most. They used to be considered good, but that has changed. There are reports of Ritek G05s becoming unreadable a few weeks after being burner.
But which Ritek? Ritek makes lots of different versions with highly different prices.
If you look at the PI/PO scans in the media forum, the MID (Media ID code) is clearly shown. Learn to read these sca
Re:Not really (Score:2)
Okay but how does this help me when I go to buy a CD or DVD-r. The stores don't list those.
You must not have visited the media forum in a long time. Ritek, especially the G05, is considered junk by most.
Here is a poll [cdfreaks.com] currently on Cdfreaks, regading manufacturers (DVD) quality. You will see that Ritek is highly favored (third place) . And here is another [cdr-zone.com] comprehens
Re:And Quality of media (Score:4, Informative)
What you can also count on with TY is that you will pay a premium. But compared to some of the 'name' brands like Sony, or Memorex, etc (some of whom often - but not always - produce batches that are just rebranded TY's) it may still be cheaper to buy the spindles of TY's.
For me, the premium of 10-20 cents per disc is well worth it - I never worry about the stability or longevity of the burns I make with TY media.
Speed, speed, speed... (Score:5, Insightful)
I'd rather see a comparison of noise or rate-of-coaster-production. I recently got a new DVD burner which works rather well as far as speed and reliability, but is way too noisy, even when I'm just playing a DVD with it. I have to use my old DVD-ROM drive for playback.
I guess its harder to test those things, though. You can't just load up some benchmark it let it run.
Re:Speed, speed, speed... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Speed, speed, speed... (Score:3, Informative)
Reliability is harder to measure though, if it doesn't make a coaster during the normal round of tests, then it is probably assumed to be good enough.
There are enthusiast sites like CDFreaks that check P1 and P2 error rates on the
Get CDBremse and set your DVD speed (Score:1)
Adjusting the speed of your DVD or CD drive is the best way to reduce noise. If you're copying a bunch of data, you probably do want it spinning at max speed, but if you are watching a DVD or something similar (where noise is also usually much more annoying), reducing it works VERY well.
I've been using CD Bremse [cd-bremse.de] for years, both for CD and DVD drives, with no problems. YMMV. Word of warning: The site is in German (but the program itself is in English). It's not too hard to figure out the site, though. Clic
Re:Speed, speed, speed... (Score:2)
http://www.cdrinfo.com/ [cdrinfo.com]
http://www.cdrlabs.com/ [cdrlabs.com]
Reviews from people that actually understand the tech and know how to test it. Beware though, you wont get simple answers like "This one is best, buy it".
Re:Speed, speed, speed... (Score:1)
Hey, what do you know, it's supposed to be "bated" breath. That makes sense...
Re:Speed, speed, speed... (Score:1)
Linux (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Linux (Score:2)
Re:Linux (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Linux (Score:2)
Has anyone here had a problem?
Re:Linux (Score:2)
THe only thing to consider is the bundled software. DVD burners seem to perform the same, the value adding being in the bundled software. If you only use Linux, you're not interested in the bundled software and therefore you can get the cheap OEM one that doesn't have any.
Re:Linux (Score:1)
Re:Linux (Score:2)
only 4 drives (Score:1, Troll)
I tried posting a link to the printer-friendly version, but ExtremeTech doesn't seem to like people doing that. Gotta spread that 1 page article out over 9 pages, y'know...
Buy the Lite-On - use K-Probe (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.cdrlabs.com/kprobe/ [cdrlabs.com]
or
http://www.k-probe.com/ [k-probe.com]
And if you actually care about burners, read the reviews from a quality site that actually reviews virtually all the models, does far more exhaustive tests, and has a very active technical forum. CDR Info.
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Home.aspx
Re:Buy the Lite-On - use K-Probe (Score:2)
CDRInfo has a much better roundup....and true to the word "roundup"
Though it still doesn't cover the NEC 35x0 line of burners I have (I have the 3520, 3540, and the 3550), it's still much better than just 4 burners from 3 companies.
CDRInfo also has an article that covers burner and media reliability.
In their tests, the Pioneer was the most compatible with various media (which I agree with though Pioneer's tend to be pricey). The next one in line was the NEC and we a
Do NOT just buy the Lite-On (Score:2)
To give you one data point -- my own experience -- I go with NEC burners and Taiyo Yuden DVD+R media (which I get without problem from Rima [rima.com]). I get good results, whether scanned by the burning drive or a Lite-On I got before I knew better (which only gives mediocre burning results)
To boot? (Score:3, Funny)
"Starting at about $43US, some of them are [...] pretty good deals, to boot."
I can't speak for other users, but I don't boot from CD enough for booting performance to factor in at all when selecting optical drives. This guy has gotta be some die-hard Windows Me enthusiast.
Re:To boot? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:To boot? (Score:2)
Are you saying he's part of the Me generation?
Knoppix DVDs? (Score:2)
Re:Litescribe? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Litescribe? (Score:1)
Media still not worth it (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Media still not worth it (Score:2)
....Or, you could burn it on 2 SL discs and put them in a double-disc jewel case...
DVD burning (Score:2)
Re:DVD burning (Score:1)
Or worse. I bought a plextor SATA burner, the PX-755SA, and I didn't bother to look at the chart for what motherboards it was tested against, after all, why would I? I've never had a bad Plextor product . . . but now I question that. Is this a bad drive? I can't say. My motherboard is not on the 'works with' list and, it turns out, this drive does not work with any of the various computers I have around the house.
Should I have read the lis
Missing comparisons... (Score:1)
I have owned both and NEC makes a very nice dual layer burner for the price and is very popular. Why not include it in the comparison? (While we are at it, how about Ben-Q? Their prices are rock bottom but I always wondered if the quality was as well...)
Their previous article linked on the first page had a Sony drive but no NEC.
http://www.extremetech.com/print_article2/0,1217,a =143191,00.asp [extremetech.com]
NEC ND-3550A (Score:2)
Even better - you can get one for about $40.
Re:Missing comparisons... (Score:2)
Pioneer DVR-111D (Score:3, Informative)
Great IDE Dual-Layer burner, Mac compatible [macsales.com] (works with Toast out-of-the-box, I used Patchburn [macupdate.com] to make it "Apple Supported/Shipped"), apparently Linux compatible [linuxquestions.org], and dirt cheap ($35.99) [newegg.com].
Kicks ass, no coasters, does just about every format. 'nuff said.
Re:Pioneer DVR-111D (Score:1, Interesting)
Why aren't reviewers taking DVD makers to task for being so behind the curve on everything else? S-ATA isn't exactly new. Apple has been releasing almost nothing but slot-loading drives for a while now (except for the PowerMac line).
And yet it's hard to find either a slot-loading DVD burner, or a S-ATA DVD burner -- and AFAICT impossible to find one that's both.
S-ATA is an improvement over (P-)ATA because it use
Re:Pioneer DVR-111D (Score:2)
The only problem I've noted is that it's slightly more fragile about reading highly scratched DVDs than my old 104.
Re:Pioneer DVR-111D (Score:2)
Re:Pioneer DVR-111D (Score:2)
Anyone know of a way to fix this?
Re:Pioneer DVR-111D (Score:2)
You call that a roundup? (Score:3, Interesting)
Well, that's nice. Too bad only one of those in signficant in the Optical drive mass market - Lite-On. HP drives are going to pretty much be in HP systems. Plextor offers the most expensive drives around and they're just not that interesting to people.
Maybe they should have included Sony, ToshibaSamsung, NEC, or some other companies that actually sell a shitload of drives on the retail market. Lite-On was a good call, though.
Re:You call that a roundup? (Score:1)
Re:You call that a roundup? (Score:2)
Last Sentence Incomplete? (Score:1)
That last sentence seems so incomplete. To boot from. To boot off of. To make boot discs on. The possibilities are endless.
Re:Last Sentence Incomplete? (Score:2)
This article is a joke (Score:2)
I mean, how the hell can you take this thing seriously when on the second page it greets you with:
Wow, seriously, wow, thanks ExtremeTech for remembering us that these 5.25" devices use the same standard 5.25" form factor that's been used since, like, the release of the first CD player for PC, we couldn't have thought about that ourselves !
(and compact? don't make me laugh, anyone w
Re:This article is a joke (Score:1)
But anyway...
Re:This article is a joke (Score:2)
(and compact? don't make me laugh, anyone who's ever built a PC knows that a standard 5.25" CD/DVD drive is nowhere near compact)
I do hope you were trying to be facetious. Don't you think they might have been talking about length rather than height? Some older 5.25" d
Tired of trays (Score:2)