Alright, I'm in the market for a DVD burner and I have a few questions.
I will be using the burner for burning movies (I'm not a videophile) and for PS2/XBOX backups. Also, I want to keep the price as low as possible.
1) What is the difference between +r and -r?
2) I've yet to see a PS2/XBOX game that was bigger than 4.7GB and I've probably only seen 2-3 movies over 4.7GB. Do i really need a burner that is Dual Layer?
3) What is the difference between Dual Layer and Double Layer?
If anyone has suggestions about what I should look for while I'm shopping, I would appreciate it.
1) It's all about compatibility.. You have dash,you have plus.All your ps2's,x-box's,stand alone players,and pc drives may be picky as to which format they will recognize.These drives will tell you which format they prefer,or you'll get one of the following error messages:
No disc
Wrong format
Wrong region
Dirty disc-which I have seen on a few ps2's when they didn't like my backups.
2)The majority of the newer 16x DVD-RW drives are dual layer.They're also dual format,so you have a choice of either format.It comes in handy to find the right format for all those drives that will play your backups.
3)Dual-layer/double layer= The same thing.These are DVD-9 discs for both originals and blanks.The labeling of the dual layer blanks says 8.4 gbs,but you can only get approx 7.9 gbs of data on them.
Suggestions: I don't burn games,but for movies: A quality booktyping burner can save a lot of issues when it comes to stand alone player compatability. This booktyping alters the plus format,and sets it as dvd-rom-the most universal of all dvd formats. Only the plus format,and select drives. It actually gives you 3 formats: Plus/dash/and dvd-rom. You'll have fewer drives that won't recognize your backups after booktyping.
Quality media: This is the most critical part of dvd burning. Placing 7+ gbs of data onto a single layer blank can be excruciating.A lot less issues as well. Stand alone players and game consoles can have more issues with low quality media. Stick with Taiyo yuden and verbatim. We can find you quality media deals,and usually cheaper than the crap media.
1) Booktyping capable
2) Dual layer capable/dual format
3) Lots of firmware updates
4) Very dependable
5) Excellent price,and don't be fooled by it. I'll put some of these benq drives up against some of the best high dollar drives like plextor.
6) Very low Coaster rate
7) Burn anything you slap in them.
8) Qsuite-free utility that has some excellent programs.
9) Nero speed test capability.
Other quality drives to look at:
Lite-on
Plextor
LG
Sony
NEC
Pioneer
There are certain model #s to be cautious of. Anything else not listed,I'd avoid. There are huge differences between burners-and the stand alone players will have a harder time with the low quality drives.
Newegg.com should have most of those drives,and very good prices. Their shipping fees just increased, uggh!
tHE Link you supplied ! only takes me to Officemax's homepage so I was not able to tell which Drive you actaully Mean ! I don't have anything bad to say about officemax other than the nearsest one to me is 100+ miles distant ! Personally I have used Nec Burners ( Nec-3500A & Nec 2500A and found them Quite excellent ! I have however recentlty Become a Convert to the Benq Dw 1655 drive ! and am using it as my main drive for recording ! It has a multitudfe of helpful features and includes the booktyping feature as well! Additional Newegg.com Runs sales on DVD burners quite frequently & if you are lucky you may be able to find a drive you like with free or atleast reasonable shipping ! Good luck & happy Shopping!
