DVD Writers

[gamenutt]

im lookin for a good dvd writer. Wanted to see what was the best and most compatible out now. I looked and it looked like the Sony DRU-500A was the best but not sure if there was better out or if there was a better drive coming out this month

 

[lovedaddy]

My mate has got the Sony DRX-500UL. Its an external drive that supports both - and + DVD recording standards. Connects via USB2 or Firewire. Very nice drive (tho if you take the box to bits its just the internal drive in a case - so you could just get the internal model). I think it burns at 2x. Was costly at about 350 quid.

Personally, I've never needed the + standard, and have had a Pioneer a103, 104 and now a 105 without any trouble. Its able to burn Xbox and PS2 games and DVD movies (I've tried in about 4 different players) without hitch. The a105 I got the other day for about 170 quid I think. Does - standard only, internal (EIDE) and burns at a max of 4x (tho I hear media that supports 4x is still a little dodgy).

Personally, I'd choose the Pioneer, but if your worried about standards, get the Sony.

 

[danger]

not really having ever used a DVD writer....

is 2x speed likely to be as F*ing slow as a 2x CD writer would be ?

also is the DVD-RAM format (That was the other recording standard yeah?) dead? I haven't really looked into it before because they were bloody expensive

 

[lovedaddy]

It will take about an hour to burn a DVD-R at 2X. But then again, you got to remember your burning 4.7Gigs of data (as apposed to about 650megs) - when you look at the actual data transfers, they are about the same as a good CD-R.
The Pioneer A105 (the latest one I've got), can also burn CDRs at 16x, so should you just want to burn a cd, thats an easy option.

DVD-R(W)'s also suggest that you pad the DVD to 1Gig to increase compatibility with older players - so even if you were to just write a 50 meg file to a DVD, most software by default would pad to 1 Gig - thus taking longer than your average CD-R burner.

I'll go and get some figures to back me up and post again.

 

[danger]

enlightening cheers

 

[lovedaddy]

follow up

This is a little out of date, but you get the idea
http://www.techtv.com/products/consumerelectronics/jump/0,23009,3350234,00.html

"DVD recording speeds expressed in terms of the more familiar CD recording speeds would roughly equate to 9x for 1x DVD recording, 18x for 2x recording, and 22x for 2.4x recording. At 2x DVD recording speeds, a 4.7GB disc takes about 30 minutes to fill."