need DVD burner help...
 

i'm looking to get a good DVD burner that will be compatible with my DVD player (no, i'm not making copies of movies... yet;) ) this is for work but i will make some home video type things to play on my DVD player. are there any suggestions on one that is good and reliable?

I wouldnt rush out and get one yet, wait until one of the types of media becomes dominant.

At the moment theres DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM etc. and all are incompatible with each other.

This is gonna be like BETA vs VHS all over again.

i'm not rushing out, but i do need one for backing up material. tapes are too slow and my stuff is just too big for cd's. i'm looking at backing 3-4 gigs at the minimum every night. i was looking at something simply as a dvd-r or -rw. i need to be able to read it from a DVD drive on a computer... but i would like it if a video could be read on my DVD player at home.

This might sound silly, but i think you'd be better off getting a mother of a hd and backing up to that. Cheaper than buying a DVD burner and compatible media.

Here in aus its around $40 per disk for DVD-RW, and a 20gb hd is around $110...For backups its cheaper to use a hard drive. More reliable too.

Of course then you dont get the ability to playback in your DVD player.

we did think about going the HD route. however, it just isn't practical for our stuff. we are dealing with some secure material and can only have it on one computer.

sawg... the dvd-rw would be nice as well... but i just don't know enough about all the little details.

i have been looking at the panasonic burners... is there any thought about those?

Brand wise there shouldnt be much of a prob. Compared to cd burners, most DVD burners are of a high quality. At the moment i'd say go for DVD-R as the media isnt as expensive as some of the other formats.

all right... if quality is still high, then i won't worry much there. just go major name brand. is there anything i should be aware of? or just go for the one with the most features?

Yes. There are some burners that can burn to two different types of DVD writable disks, I'd look into one of them if your budget can stretch that far.

it is a bit expandable ;). i'm very much of the belief of buying the best because it will last you a lot longer than if you skimp. so i do have a bit of money to spend. i would like a dvd-r/rw (is there anything with dvd-ram too?). anyone with experience have anything they'd recomend?

it is a bit expandable ;). i'm very much of the belief of buying the best because it will last you a lot longer than if you skimp. so i do have a bit of money to spend. i would like a dvd-r/rw (is there anything with dvd-ram too?). anyone with experience have anything they'd recomend?

the best -RW system is the Pioneer A04 (OEM) 104 (Retail). the A04 goes for around £199 in the UK and media at 84pence to £3.40.

i don't know much on the +RW side, but something by phillips or sony would be best.

i think sometime soon they are clarafying the standards, the news and reviews are on www.cdrinfo.com

great... that was the exact one i was looking at. thanks

if you'll look directly above the forums, you'll notice a dvd burner ad more often than not.

have you checked that out?