Go cheap or get a new 8x burner?

[TimeZone]

Hi, I'm ready to buy my first DVD burner and was looking at some fairly inexpensive ones.

I saw the I/OMagic dual format internal 4x DVD +-RW advertised at CompUSA for $139 after rebates. This price ends Thursday (9/4 - today) I think.

I also noticed at Best Buy they have the Verbatim internal Dual format (+- RW) 4X DVD producer drive for $149 (doesn't have rebate, that's the real price.)

The Verbatim Producer is also offered as an external 4x +-rw for $199 that uses both USB 2 and Firewire.

What are the thoughts on these drives? Is one noticeably better than another or perhaps something I should stay away from? Also do some drives rewrite at 4x speed while other only do 2x or 2.4x on rewrite? I don't want to pay a lot but want a good burner that has good compatibility with media and that won't just create coasters all the time.

The external verbatim is tempting, since I have a PC, an Imac, and a notebook computer that I could share it with for backing up data and storage on each of them. Is their any problem with an external like this for ripping or use with something like DVD Shrink, Nero or DVD Xcopy? I would probably use firewire for the hookup.

When I was in Best Buy looking a guy was stocking the shelves before closing with stuff they had just gotten off the truck. I noticed in the box with drives that hadn't been put on the shelf yet were several Plextor internal 8x DVD+-RW drives. I asked how much these were going for and he checked and said they were $299. Cheaper than what I thought they might be, but really more than what I was looking for. They are tempting though. I wonder if I would wish a few months from now that I had opted to get the 8x, when it starts becoming more the standard.

Thanks
TimeZone

[TimeZone]

I decided to go with the Verbatim external +- RW 4x for $199 from Best Buy. That way I can move it around for backup and stuff of other systems. It has both firewire and USB 2 ports. I'm using the firewire.

This has the Nec ND-1300a drive in it. The firmware on it is 1.05. Does anyone know if this ought to be upgraded. I am not sure if an external unit takes the exact same firmware as the internal models or if it is modified in some way? Anyone know?

I backed up a movie to DVD+RW, but it only played on the drives on my computer, not on my stand alone players (an old Panasonic DVD-A310 & a Sansui DVD/VCR combo unit.)

I then tried a DVD-R and it worked in both!

This drive seems to burn fine so far. It does seem to have a problem though analzying movies from DVD Shrink. It doesn't even really want to prevue hardly. Its like the burner goes to sleep and doesn't kick in when jumping to different sections of the movie on the prevue. Anyone know a way around this? Luckily I have another internal DVD-rom reader, so I can use it to rip.

TimeZone

[David_Janssen]

Be carefull when flashing (your firmware) sometimes you loose
certain "features" checkout other users who done this already with this drive, did you already discover www.dvdrhelp.com ?

[TimeZone]

I did manage to flash my external Verbatim Producer drive (based on Nec 1300A) to 1.07 free v2 from Herries site. I also just reflashed it to the 1.07 free v3. This was using the Windows flasher. All seems to be good. I also am not having the problem with reading DVD's while in DVD Shrink anymore., but I'm not sure why on this. I've been happy with the drive.

Yes, I have found dvdrhrlp.com

Thank you,

TimeZone

[Oriphus]

I think it was a wise choice to go with the 4x writer considering there is very little media available that can burn at 8x. Traxdata are in the process of producing 8x media for an OEM customer which should be released around Christmas, roughly the same time as the Pioneer DVR107 8x -R/+R writer.

[David_Janssen]

Originally posted by Oriphus
I think it was a wise choice to go with the 4x writer considering there is very little media available that can burn at 8x. Traxdata are in the process of producing 8x media for an OEM customer which should be released around Christmas, roughly the same time as the Pioneer DVR107 8x -R/+R writer.

You don't need 8x media, you can burn 8x on 4x media....
Be sure you have Ricoh media, and this isn't always mentioned
on the box/case... Traxdata 4x is okay, not "top"...
Verbatim is...

[Oriphus]

You don't need 8x media, you can burn 8x on 4x media....

I knew that, but considering the high risk of error on 4x over 2x, i think it be best to use a certified 8x disc, rather than one that will stretch right to the limit of 8x. Also, I believe that these writers are not true 8x writers. I have heard rumours that they start writing at 6x and increase the speed to 8x nearer the edge of the disc, or else vice versa. Also, i feel that Ritek media has a higher compatibility than Verbatim. I have used and tested both and found Verbatim to be quite funny on the Sony DVD players. Both Ritek and Verbatim faultered slightly on Samsung DVDS224 and earlier models.

[David_Janssen]

Yes, i also guess... Nero is still buggy too, so it's hard to tell at the
moment, but... Plextor's 708 works great with, Vertabim and the
original Ricoh.

[Oriphus]

Glad to hear you have a winning combinatiom. I'll probably end up getting the Pione DVR107, but im in no rush any time soon. I'd rather spend my money going skiing after christmas than getting a second writer.

[David_Janssen]

Originally posted by Oriphus
Glad to hear you have a winning combinatiom. I'll probably end up getting the Pione DVR107, but im in no rush any time soon. I'd rather spend my money going skiing after christmas than getting a second writer.

Well, a good combination of media and hardware is not all you
need, what i mean is, the new Nero 6.X versions are still buggy,
if you're using Nero, that is, so be sure, your problem isn't Nero
itself, if you have any.

[Oriphus]

Yeah, i dont use Nero. Nero 6 has had some issues as has Nero 5, but 5.5.10.42 seemed to work fine with DVD ROM UDF/ISO. Generally I use Record Now Deluxe by Veritas. I find it to be the best, i have used most of the software available in my tests and liked it.