Drives Supporting All DVD Writing Standards? 48
lnxslak asks: "I was asked today to research a viable DVD burning solution. I thought this would be a simple task, little did I know of the horrors waiting me just around the corner. There are 5 different DVD writing standards. DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW. After coming to terms with this I figured I'd just get a drive that does them all. Is there a drive out there that does this, and (hopefully) more ? Have you guys had any experiences positive/negative with various brands? C-Net reviews are great, but I'd like some comments from people that actually know how to use a computer."
Re:Second Post (Score:1)
Re:Second Post (Score:2)
By the way, I think Hitachi is making a universal DVD burner. It at least does DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW. I am not sure about DVD-Ram. See that mods!!! I'm NOT off topic!
My 2 cents (Score:2, Insightful)
From what I've heard, the "-" (DVD-R/DVD-RW) standard is winning the formats race due to higher compatibility and wider industry support. So I'd say go with that type of drive. However there are drives coming to market that can burn both the dash and the plus standards.
Re:My 2 cents (Score:5, Funny)
According to the MPAA, there are 11,113 standards of DVD burners, since a 8x DVD+R Writer counts for 8 standards, 4x DVD-RW counts for 4, and etc.
Re:My 2 cents (Score:3, Informative)
So, if your application is data-centric, dvd-ram is the way to go. It is basically the same type of tech used in MO drives, but a lot cheaper for the media. Also, dvd players are starting to come out supporting dvd-ram.
Re:My 2 cents (Score:2, Interesting)
That said, I'm a little scared of losing the supply of dvd-ram disks, and I've been thinking of trying to get an extra drive.
DVD-RAM isn't dead (yet, anyway) (Score:1, Informative)
If you plan on investing in any of this equipment, being able to read/write DVD-RAM discs on your computer could provide you some benefit as it lets you easily exchange information between these units and your computer.
I doubt Panasonic and Toshiba would be releasing new products that support DVD-RAM if it were an obsolete format. I happen to have a DMR-HS2 and have been very happy with it.
Re:DVD-RAM isn't dead (yet, anyway) (Score:2)
Here you go (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Here you go (Score:1)
Sony DRU500A (Score:4, Informative)
I'm Still looking ... (Score:3, Informative)
Extremetech DVD page [extremetech.com]
Extremetech dvd/cd page [extremetech.com]
arstechnica dvd a04 review [arstechnica.com] with a great comparison table down the bottom.
Sony DRU500 (Score:5, Informative)
There are drives that combine DVD-RAM with DVD-R/RW out there. I have one of the first DVD-RAM drives made, (read very slow). DVD-RAM has some advantages over other rewritable formats, most particularly in that it really is designed from the ground up as format for rewritable data storage. The big downside with DVD-RAM media is that you can't put a DVD-RAM disk into a typical DVD-ROM drive and read the data, while this is possible with other DVD formats.
Currently, there isn't one (yet) (Score:1)
Here is a list of what other vendors are using:
Apple: DVD-R
Dell: DVD+R
Gateway: DVD-R
HP: DVD+R
I like the -R format, it seems to work well. Haven't tried the +R yet but I'll bet it's just as good.
DVD-RAM is not worth worrying about.
Re:Currently, there isn't one (yet) (Score:3, Informative)
A review from someone who knows how to use a compu (Score:5, Funny)
I own a universal DVD burner myself, which came with my computer, which was conveniently bought from my local Gateway Country store, where I got best deal on the dollar, professional technical help on setting up my modem and extended warranty for a very low price.
I am satisfied with my universal DVD burner, I usually use it to save digital pictures of my cat. In Windows XP Home Edition (it's a company called Microsoft that makes it, I think they are a Seattle-based company, but you might check your local phonebook to see if you have a dealer in your town) you just click "Burn this to CD..." and even though it is DVD, not CD, the operating system from Microsoft (highly recommended for high-tech professionals, by the way) knows the difference and does the burning just right.
On a 5-point scale I would rate my universal DVD-burner as 5 stars.
That's a bit harsh... (Score:1)
Dude, you're gettin' a sony :) (Score:1)
Both read/write DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD-R, and CD-RW. DVD-RAM is basically obsolete.
BotSequitur V1 (Score:1)
n 1: a reply that has no relevance to what preceded it
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DVD-R media is MUCH cheaper than DVD+R (Score:1)
Find it yerself! (Score:1)
I use it constantly to help friends & family to choose what DVD player (standalone) to buy, so they don't buy something that *only* does DVD and pay through the nose for it.
Watch out for that Sony (Score:3, Interesting)
Anyway, I currently don't see any significant advantage of +R/+RW over -R/-RW, given the people actually write these discs. So I think if I get a DVD burner any time soon, it will be a Pioneer DVR-105. This burns -R discs at 4x speed (maximum DVD+R speed of any current drive is 2.4x), though the 4x blanks are currently considerably more expensive than 1x and 2x blanks. I figure that won't last and DVD blanks will be like CD-R soon enough.
One drive... (Score:1)
One drive to read them
One drive to write them all
and in the darkness bind them.
Depends on money (Score:2)
Re:Depends on money (Score:2)
Re: Sony DRU-500a problems? (Score:3, Interesting)
Anyway I've had one of these multiformat drives on order for a month now, and there's still no sign of stock. I've looked everywhere - no stock in the UK, and none I can find in the US. No-one has any delivery dates either - the retailer I've ordered from says his supplier won't even confirm a date, and they've already blown three of them.
All this makes me wonder if the device has been withdrawn for some technical reason. I'm aware there's been a BIOS update already, but it does seem odd that no shop anywhere can get hold of these drives. Even Sony's own online shop says end of January before shipping.
Has anyone heard anything?
Cheers,
Ian
There's no such thing as a "DVD+RW" format (Score:1)
The drives and discs are called "DVD+RW" on the fairly spurious grounds that they are compatible with DVD drives. +RW is *not* a DVD format. That's why it doesn't have the DVD logo on it.
There are several Panasonic drives which support all the DVD writing standards; for example, the LF-D321U. Only one drive supports both DVD and +RW writing standards, the Sony DRU500A.
In terms of which you actually want to use: DVD-R is best for video discs playable on a DVD player. +RW or DVD-RAM are best for data storage. I haven't found much use for DVD-RW, except test burns of DVD-R discs to check the DVD authoring worked properly. +R is a bit better than +RW but not as good as DVD-R for video, and less convenient than +RW for data, so there's no much point in it.
Re:There's no such thing as a "DVD+RW" format (Score:1)
For example, 1 DVD-RAM disc costs more than several DVD-R discs. If you are really concerned about data, you could burn 2 DVD-Rs for the cost of 1 DVD-RAM. (I always double-burn everything -- I've burned some 1900 cds, each twice.) Or even 3. Having a spare means when you scratch your precious dvd and lose 100M of data, that you can simply go back to your archive copy and re-copy a 2nd copy of it. Yay.
Also, the Panasonic LF-321U is one of the cheapest drives out there that does what it does. There is a good deal at TigerDirect.com [tigerdirect.com] -- $199. You can add a 2nd year to the warrantee for $22 more. Grand total of $235 with shipping. I don't know how long this deal is going to exist, but I have one on order as my first DVD-Writer and am really looking forward to it. (It's a christmas present from my parents)
Re:There's no such thing as a "DVD+RW" format (Score:1)
Re:There's no such thing as a "DVD+RW" format (Score:1)
I see DVD-RAMs for about 6 dollars.
Which is easier? Being careful and burning multiple copies, or paying 10 times as much? Which takes more time? Burning 2 copies, or earning the money to pay 10 times the cost for all your data storage needs. (Answer: Depends how much you make per hour, really.)
And keep in mind those cartridge DVD-RAMs may not work in other people's DVD-ROM drives. If you want to give data to your friends, it's not the most compatible solution.
I would personally not be caught dead paying 10X the cost for the storage. The whole reason I am only now, as of December 2002, switching from CDR to DVD-R is because it is finally cheaper per-byte to store the data.
I have some 2 terabytes of information and aquire new data (mostly due to encoding tv shows I watch) at about a gigabyte per day. That comes out to a hefty sum each year (I have ordered 1000 cdrs 4 times in the past 2 years). For anyone wanting an economic solution, DVD-R is the way to go.
Thanks a lot for all the help (Score:1)
Thanks again.
Re:Thanks a lot for all the help (Score:2)
Cheers,
Ian
yes my friend has one (Score:1)
My experiences with DVD-RAM - good for backups (Score:1)
The initial format may take 30mins, but after that formats only take 60secs, although there's no need to format as you can just delete all files.
I would recommend DVD-RAM as a backup solution (new DVD-RAM drives support approx 4.5GB per side of disk). I use one disk for each type of data (e.g. one disk for mp3/ogg, one disk for data). Remember to make off site backups (parents, friends house).