Roxio's Complete Guide to Buying a DVD Recorder
posted: December, 9 2004
By Becky Waring
DVD recorders are one of the hottest computer add-ons, with the ability to create home DVD movies and slideshows, backup large hard disks, archive videotapes, and much more. If you've been hankering to upgrade the optical drive that came with your PC, this holiday season is the perfect time to buy. Great deals abound, for yourself, or for gifts.
But what type of drive should you choose? DVD Recording technology has been advancing rapidly, and the myriad formats and speeds can be very confusing. New terms like double-layer and Blu-Ray just add to the alphabet soup of DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD-RAM. And those are just the media types! There's also a long list of recorded formats, including DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, DVD-VR, and DVD-ROM. Then to cap it all off, most DVD recorders can also record CDs. Read on for the full scoop on the latest DVD technology.
Deciphering the Alphabet Soup
The first thing to decide is what type of drive you need. Here's a quick guide to the various CD & DVD recording types:
| Format | Write/ReWrite | Capacity | Best For | Recording Speed* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CD-R | Write-once | 650 or 700MB (74 or 80 mins.) | Audio CDs, data sharing & archiving | 32X |
| CD-RW | Rewriteablee | 650 or 700MB (74 or 80 mins.) | Data backup & Audio CDs | 24X |
| DVD-R | Write-once | 4.7GB | DVD-Video, data backup, DVD-Audio | 16X |
| DVD+R | Write-once | 4.7GB | DVD-Video, data backup, DVD-Audio | 16X |
| DVD-RW | Rewriteable | 4.7GB | DVD-Video, data backup, DVD-Audio | 4X |
| DVD+RW | Write/ReWrite | 4.7GB | DVD-Video, data backup, DVD-Audio | 4X |
| DVD-RAM | Write/ReWrite | 4.7GB | Data backup, archiving | 3X |
| DL (double-layer) DVD | Write/ReWrite | 8.5GB | DVD-Video, data DVD | 4X |
* for latest DVD recorders as of Dec. 2004. CD recording speeds are given for combo CD/DVD recorders.
Most current recorders can burn more than one type of disc. The basic options are DVD-R/RW drives, DVD+R/RW drives, multiformat drives that write all four types, and new double-layer drives that add DL capability to the mix. A few do DVD-RAM. All of these can also write CD-R/RW discs.
We recommend getting a multiformat drive, including double-layer support if you expect to copy DVD movie discs. This will cover all the bases. DVD-R/RW generally offers the best compatibility with various set-top DVD players, with DVD+RW a close second. These are the formats that most users will choose for creating DVD movies and archiving data. While DVD-RAM was the first entry in the format wars, it has largely been relegated to office data environments, thanks to its superior reliability and ability to rewrite up to 100,000 times.
By the Numbers
How much speed do you need in a DVD recorder? Today's fastest DVD drives can reach transfer speeds as high as 16X, which means you can write a full 4.7GB DVD-R or DVD+R in 6 minutes or so. (1X for DVDs is 1.38MB/sec.). However, you'll usually see three numbers in drive marketing material separating DVD write and read speeds. For example, 16X/4X/12X means the drive can write at 16X, rewrite at 4X and read at 12X. A second set of higher numbers, such as 32x/24x/40x gives CD write/rewrite/read speeds. As you can see, write speeds are typically lower than read speeds, but that's okay, since most people spend relatively little time writing as opposed to reading.
Unfortunately, while specs can be helpful guideposts when comparing one drive to another, they can't be taken strictly at face value. Real-world transfer rates can be one or two notches below the spec, and can also depend on the speed rating of your media. Drive performance can also be limited by your system. For example, the speed of your USB or IDE connection.
Internal or External?
If you have an open drive bay in your computer, you'll save a little money and desk space with an internal device. However, this means opening your PC and understanding internal cabling. External drives are a little more expensive, but offer the flexibility to move around to different PCs. You may also want to consider a "portable" drive, which is powered by the USB or FireWire bus in your computer, rather than plugged into a wall.
Interface Options
If you choose an internal drive, the interface will likely be some flavor of ATAPI/ATA/IDE. In newer machines, these interfaces handily exceed maximum transfer speeds for both CD and DVD drives, so whichever you happen to have in your computer is fine. However, older versions of SCSI and ATAPI (especially if DMA is not supported) are potentially too slow to support maximum data transfer rates. If you have an old machine, consider an external drive that you can transfer to a newer machine when you upgrade.
For external drives, the choices are more complex. We recommend FireWire (also known as IEEE1394 or i.Link) or USB 2.0. USB 1.0 will greatly limit your recording speed, so make sure your computer has a USB 2.0 interface if you get a USB 2.0 recorder. FireWire and USB drives both have the major advantage of being hot-pluggable, so you don't have to turn your computer off before attaching them.
What about those Blu-ray drives?
While Blu-ray technology is exciting (27GB on a single-sided disc!), it's not slated to be available until late next year at the earliest, and the first drives will likely cost thousands of dollars. But they are the future, since they will hold high-definition video, which is finally making inroads into the television market.
The Bottom Line
That's everything you need to know to make an informed CD-RW buying decision! Start with the type of drive and speed you need, then narrow things down by interface and internal or external, and finally, look at the bells and whistles, like bundled software utilities, connections for headphones and sound output, fan noise (if any), warranty, casing, and manufacturer reputation.