DVD Writer Help

[Phade]

Hey All,

In the words of Popeye the Sailor, “I’ve stands all I can stands and I can’t stands no more.”

I need a DVD writer! I want to use the drive for long-term data storage of full project files and also authoring DVDs to play in regular stand-alone DVD players. I’ve been eyeing the Sony DRU-500AX since it seems to have the most compatibility. Good idea? Suck idea? Something else better out there now? coming out next month? What is good media to get/avoid? What are some of the current good DVD authoring software?

Help and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!! ^_^

Phade.

[FurryCurry]

I really like the the Sony DRU-500AX for it's versatility. Your set top player might only like DVD-R or +R flavors, or happily play both. With the Sony, you aren't left hanging if your set top has issues with one format.

The only things about it that bug me are that the DVD ripping speed is limited to 2x, and it's a little particular about media.

I've had great results (on both the Sony, and a Pioneer A-03) with Fuji, Verbatim, and Maxell DVDs. The Sony absolutely hated the Memorex DVD-Rs I had, so I used them up in the Pioneer.

I think the Pioneer DVR-A05/105 is a well liked 4x DVD-R unit, if memory serves.

[Phade]

Hey FurryCurry,

Thanks for the reply! I'm not too concerned about ripping with the drive. I have a regular DVD ROM drive on my machine that I can use for that.

Thanks again and have fun!!

Phade.

[mckeed]

compatibility normally is a media issue rather than a burner issue, though some burners do do funky stuff. I have the pioneer A03 myself and if i use verbatim media it works in almost anything that will play DVD-R. That specific drive is pretty cheap now and also is does DVD-RW as well which are nice for backing up large stuff. Only burns at 2x, so if cost is more of a factor than speed, you can go with the A03. Never had a problem with it yet. Burns CD's at 8x as well if that matters at all... Slow ripping speed, at least slower than my other normal DVD drive is.

[RadicalEd0]

When I asked around a few months ago the Pioneer A04/104 DVD-R/RW seemed to be the most popular (and I've got one myself now :\). It's cheap, and the latest firmware can burn at 4x. It sounds nice to be able to burn DVD- and +R with that sony model, but -R is in general slightly more compatible and IMO wins over +R.

[TaranT]

I posted this at Heads Up! awhile back: the Cendyne and Asus DVD-R drives are OEM Pioneer DVR-105 units. Their prices are usually lower than the Pioneer retail packs.

The Cendyne's have been on sale at OfficeMax in the past.

The Pioneer drives will work in an external drive kit, if that's an option for you.

[dwchang]

Hey All,

In the words of Popeye the Sailor, “I’ve stands all I can stands and I can’t stands no more.”

I need a DVD writer! I want to use the drive for long-term data storage of full project files and also authoring DVDs to play in regular stand-alone DVD players. I’ve been eyeing the Sony DRU-500AX since it seems to have the most compatibility. Good idea? Suck idea? Something else better out there now? coming out next month? What is good media to get/avoid? What are some of the current good DVD authoring software?

Help and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!! ^_^

Phade.

I'm with FurryCurry on this one. I have the Sony DRU-500AX and I'm quite happy with it. The only complaint is the read speed (that Furry mentioend). However, they have updated the firmware (and intend to keep doing this) which has helped out a bit.

The drive is a bit pricy (~$300 I think...), but it's worth it if you're worried about compatibility issues (i.e the - vs. + argument). I have heard that Samsung is working on a dual compatible DVD writer as well, so whenever that comes out the prices on the Sony will drop accordingly. However, I'm unsure how far out that will be, just figured it'd help in the decision since you may want to wait.

[dwchang]

Hey All,

In the words of Popeye the Sailor, “I’ve stands all I can stands and I can’t stands no more.”

I need a DVD writer! I want to use the drive for long-term data storage of full project files and also authoring DVDs to play in regular stand-alone DVD players. I’ve been eyeing the Sony DRU-500AX since it seems to have the most compatibility. Good idea? Suck idea? Something else better out there now? coming out next month? What is good media to get/avoid? What are some of the current good DVD authoring software?

Help and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!! ^_^

Phade.

Ooops, I should've answered the entire post.

Well for long-term data storage, you'll be fine. I have my entire AMV/music/video/PPJs and source backed up on....6 DVDs as opposed to the literally 50+ CDs. It's very convenient.

As for authoring DVDs, I believe the + seems to have more compatibility (on more recent players), but it doesn't matter since you can write to either format. The product also comes with a program that helps you author the DVD. It has stuff like menu creation (yeah you can make some cool stuff) and a "wizard."

As for "normal" data discs, I'd suggest Nero. I use the most recent Nero for all my CD and DVD needs. It is fairly easy to use and well..it supports both DVD-/+R and CD-R writing. As I said above, for DVD authoring, the package itself comes with that software.

Media? Hmm...I guess I'm sort of a 'tard on this since I'm fairly exclusive with my media. I have had no problems with Verbatim and Sony products. They have updated the speeds (via a firmware upgrade), so I'm unsure if there are Sony 4x compatible media yet, but my 2.4 (is that number right?) burnt stuff works fine (all 4.6 gigs of it ). I don't think media is that big of an issue though since well...DVDs/CDs are fairly easy to produce. Also, as things become more standardized, all media will become fairly similar (like with CD-Rs).

Hope this helps.