View Full Version : New DVD burner...
zektor
08-25-2003, 12:26 AM
Since I got an incredible deal on a new DVD burner I figured I'd let you guys in on it:
At Staples.... Verbatim DVD+RW...listed on the shelf at $167.50, but rings up at $117.50! Not bad. It's a 2.4x, and it is not a Verbatim. Mine is actually a Ricoh. My brother went out and picked up the same thing and his is an NEC. I guess Verbatim just packages and sells misc brand burners. The item is clearanced, so if you are looking for a nice DVD burner at a nice price, go check it out. I am so glad to get away from CD emulation backups. Mame alone would take almost 15 cd-rs, while I just burned a full set (including CHD images, samples, snapshots, and so on) on 3 DVD-R discs. Great stuff! I backed up everything I own on about 10 DVD-R discs!
djb1986
08-25-2003, 04:03 AM
internal or external?
zektor
08-25-2003, 01:28 PM
It's an internal.
WiseSalesman
08-31-2003, 12:35 AM
I'm not ready to buy a DVD burner until I find out which format is superior (-/+).
ventrra
08-31-2003, 12:39 AM
I'm not ready to buy a DVD burner until I find out which format is superior (-/+).
That depends on what you intend to do with the disks. the -R format is the one that is most compatible with standard DVD players. The +R format is used more as a mass storage solution.
jonjandran
08-31-2003, 12:02 PM
I'm not ready to buy a DVD burner until I find out which format is superior (-/+).
That depends on what you intend to do with the disks. the -R format is the one that is most compatible with standard DVD players. The +R format is used more as a mass storage solution.
UMMM I think you have that backwards.
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.asp?RelatedID=2780
ventrra
08-31-2003, 01:16 PM
Funny....I saw it the way I ststed on TechTV when they did their testing of the formats....Maybe what all of these studies show is that either is equally likely?
jonjandran
08-31-2003, 01:18 PM
Funny....I saw it the way I ststed on TechTV when they did their testing of the formats....Maybe what all of these studies show is that either is equally likely?
Yea , I guess it depends on who is paying for the study . LOL
Both work on all of my dvd players.
Well except for the clarion in my car. Only Sony DVD+R will work in that one, and it's not supposed to read ANY dvd media except the original. :D
NE146
08-31-2003, 01:55 PM
All I can say is I use DVD-R and have had 100% compatibility with the Playstation 2, the Xbox, and about 3 brands of DVD players throughout my family that have used them.
But my main draw to -R? PRICE. Media for -R goes to about a buck per disc when bought in bulk. +R is still a little too pricey at the moment.
jonjandran
08-31-2003, 02:04 PM
All I can say is I use DVD-R and have had 100% compatibility with the Playstation 2, the Xbox, and about 3 brands of DVD players throughout my family that have used them.
But my main draw to -R? PRICE. Media for -R goes to about a buck per disc when bought in bulk. +R is still a little too pricey at the moment.
You can get +R for $1.50 bulk and -R for as little as $.85
zektor
08-31-2003, 07:59 PM
As for retail prices on -R and +R the price is exactly the same...at least all of the places I have gone. I backed up a few movies with the burner using DVDXcopy, and they (+R) work fine in my Sony DVD player. The only thing I have that cannot read the discs is my old ass Creative DXR2 2x DVD-Rom drive, but I can bet it wouldn't read -R discs either :) Overall I have had great success with the drive, and even firmware upgraded it to RPC-1.
jonjandran
08-31-2003, 09:14 PM
As for retail prices on -R and +R the price is exactly the same...at least all of the places I have gone. I backed up a few movies with the burner using DVDXcopy, and they (+R) work fine in my Sony DVD player. The only thing I have that cannot read the discs is my old ass Creative DXR2 2x DVD-Rom drive, but I can bet it wouldn't read -R discs either :) Overall I have had great success with the drive, and even firmware upgraded it to RPC-1.
Yea retail is the same, but I was talking wholesale and E-Bay prices.
NE146
08-31-2003, 11:03 PM
I think retail the lowest I've seen it is about $2-$3 per disc! Oy vay! Forget about it! x_x
leonk
08-31-2003, 11:37 PM
Folks,
what ever you do .. stay with grade A discs.. go to www.dvdrhelp.com and read all about it.. if you buy crap like Princo, don't expect your home videos to last more than a couple of years before major data loss.. They cheap out on the ink... the forumla is not stable long enough..
As far as DVD-R vs DVD+R.. I find -R to be much much cheaper, when purchased in bluk.. it's almost a heck more compatible.
Take a DVD+R, burn some pictures, and home miniDV on it and try to play it on the XBOX (or PS2..).. good luck! won't work.. -R at least will work.
Also.. +R is not blue laser friendly. -R follows the DVD-ROM table of contents standard! +R does not. So once we all convert to blue laser DVD (in order to have HDTV movies, rather than only 480 lines the way they are now) +R discs will not work in any of those players..
Don't believe me? read up on the technology.. Sony coming out with it end of this year.
I just ordered one of these off ebay... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11149&item=2749756523 . It seems like a really good deal, 4x, does both + and -, 8MB buffer, and this cool thing called HD Burn, which burns twice the data onto a blank CD-R... but can only be read in an HD Burn compatible DVD (not CD) drive. And the CD burner part is the same speed as my current CD burner, which seems to be unusual for DVD burners. I haven't gotten it yet, so I can't tell you how good it is, but it does seem pretty nice by looking at the specs, and the price is AMAZING. I'll let you all know what I think of it when I get it...
DogP
jonjandran
09-01-2003, 07:25 AM
Take a DVD+R, burn some pictures, and home miniDV on it and try to play it on the XBOX (or PS2..).. good luck! won't work.. -R at least will work.
Wrong It works fine in my PS2 AnD XBOX. I guess it depends on which type of media you use. I use Sony DVD+R and they work fine.
zektor
09-01-2003, 02:57 PM
I do admit that when I first got the drive I was having just a little problem with reading the directory of the disc in Windows...especially when I had a large amount of files on it (like thousands of Amiga and C64 games). Sometimes explorer would lock up on me. I updated the drive's firmware and this problem went away...although I'm not sure if that was the only problem. Perhaps my windows install is screwy as well. Oh well, anyway, if anyone is interested in an excellent firmware site:
http://forum.rpc1.org/portal.php
I have been using this site for years, updating firmwares on tons of drives. Be careful however! A bad firmware flash can ruin your drive for good! Best time to do it is right after you buy the drive and you still are within the return policy.