buying a PC DVD burner....suggestions? (1 Viewer)

[Brian Dobbs]

Can anyone give me advice on what to look for when buying a DVD burner for my PC? All I know is that I should probably buy a burner that can do DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, and DVD+RW. I'm also interested in creating interactive menus for the DVDs I burn, so do burners come with software to do that? I'm looking to spend $300 - $350 dollars.

 

[TyC]

The only burner I know of that burns to all formats is Sony's DRU-500AX. It comes with Sonic's MyDVD.

 

[Kieran Coghlan]

I second the suggestion for the 500AX. Make sure it's the AX and not the 500A, though. The AX burns at dvd 4x speed, while the 500A burns at 2x dvd speed.

Readily available for $349 (best buy) or for less if you shop around.

 

[TyC]

From what I've read a firmware update will change a DRU-500A into a DRU-500AX.

 

[DaveGTP]

Indeed, as far as I know, the AX is just the A with the firmware updates flashed.

 

[Brian Dobbs]

thanks everyone for the responses.

i think i'll go with the multi-format Sony...seems to be the best choice.

My next question is where to buy it. Is it safe to buy from a site that i've never heard of before, but sells it for much cheaper?

 

[Brian Kidd]

You're taking a chance when you buy something from an unknown store. I'd stick with someplace with some recognition, if for nothing else that you can easily exchange it if something goes wrong. The Sony is definitely the way to go. I have an HP that burns DVD+R and love it, but I also realize that with two competing formats, you never know which is going to win in the end.

 

[CraigL]

I got a pioneer a05. From what i've heard from everyone I know...the best you can get. I'm never going to use any other format but -R so it was an easy one for me.

 

[DaveGTP]

As far as a site that you don't know much about, see www.resellerratings.com for info on how reputable they are.

 

[Rob Landolfi]

I also recommend the DRU 500AX. I have the DRU500A (with the two firmware upgrades installed; now it's the AX), and have enjoyed great performance in any desired format.

I bought mine from Circuit City online as both local and internet availability at the time (late Jan) was pretty weak. My normal internet favorites were continually out of stock, and I 'had to have it' in a reasonable amount of time. One thing about buying items like this from CC that I have found useful is that you can return it directly to the local store if it fails within its warranty timeframe. When I mistakenly plugged my DV camcorder into my Onkyo receiver while it was on, I tripped (or blew) something (resistor or protection circuitry) and was able to take it to CC for repair. They shipped it out, did the repair, and I had it back all within 3 days or so at no cost to me. I was impressed.

Good luck.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Lite-On will be releasing a -R/+R dual format drive soon. Going by their CD-R writers in the past, it'll probably be a high-quality unit at a considerably cheaper price than the competition.

 

[Eric_L]

Yahoo shopping features dealers who have all been rated by prior customers.

 

[Vickie_M]

Newbie stands up.

Thanks in part to this thread, we just bought a Sony DRU-500AX. Thanks! However, my husband had to go out of town on business before he had a chance to install it.

Are there any web sites (or HTF threads) that could help me get a jump on how to use it? I am completely clueless about recording DVDs. I've never even burned my own CDs. I'm not clueless wrt computers, I know my way around a keyboard, mouse, files, folders, cut&paste, all that. I just want to get up and running asap after he comes back and installs it (in about a week). There are a million things I want to dub off onto DVD (live concerts we camcorded, important and irreplaceable stuff on 20 year old VHS tapes, etc.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Newbie sits down.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

I picked up a Verbatim (A Rebadged NEC ND1000A) from Office Max a few months ago for $169 (After Rebates) been working great so Far. It's a DVD+R and I have'nt had a standalone where the disk would not play

 

[DeathStar1]

For anyone else looking to get one, I'd also recomend the HPDVD200I. It only writes to +R/RW, but out of about 200 burns or so, I've only had about 5 failures. And having purchased it in last August, but original burned discs are still working flawlessly. Also, for anyone worried about player compatability problems, they work perfectly on my set top Sony player as well..

Question though. My burner can get the job done in around 40 minutes, after it finished the Video/Audio Multiplexing in DVD Movie Factory. However, is it worth ugprading to the 4X? I havn't seen many specs on it, and I'm hoping that the price will have gone down a bit since last August as well.

Maby I can sell this current one on Ebay for about $100's and cover half the cost..

 

[Brian Dobbs]

Vickie, if he hasn't installed it then there's not much else you can do. You might be able to install the software that came with the drive and tinker around with Sonic MyDVD.