DVD burners

P

pcrouch13

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 12, 2004
Messages
150
i've asked before but didn't seem to come up with a good answer

pick one...

option 1) sony dual layer burner (about 200 bucks)

option 2) plextor 8x burner

do you all think it is worth it to spend more now to have dual layer capabilities in the future? (both burners do single layer -R at 8x)
 
Neither. NEC 2510A for 88$ from NewEgg.. 8X +R, 8X -R and 2.4X DVD+R DL. Very good drive. I'd go for the NEC, as +R DL is 2.4X right now, translating to 45 minutes for a full disc. Not worth it,IMO, but the capability is nice to have, and the NEC is an excellent drive.
 
TechHead said:
Neither. NEC 2510A for 88$ from NewEgg.. 8X +R, 8X -R and 2.4X DVD+R DL. Very good drive. I'd go for the NEC, as +R DL is 2.4X right now, translating to 45 minutes for a full disc. Not worth it,IMO, but the capability is nice to have, and the NEC is an excellent drive.
Click to expand...

good to hear that, I just bought it for 79.99 Dads and Grads sale at newegg.
 
I've been looking for a dvd burner, and decided to wait for the dual layers to come out, so that either (1) single layer drives - price went down (2) if dual layer was reasonable, get one

And so the dual layer drives do look to be reasonable.. although the media seems to be rather non existent at the moment (but I'll be ready for when they hit en mass).

But my question though is, the NEC drive that was recommended here - 2510A - what's the difference between that drives the the "NEC 2510A - SW"

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-152-023&depa=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=27-152-022&depa=0

The first is the 88 buck one that was suggested, the second is 95 bucks. Both advertise as "dual layer," but only the 95 buck one, under "write speed," says, "2.4X Double Layer DVD+R9."

Also, the 95 buck one says, "Packaging: OEM (W/ Roxio Software)," whereas the 88 buck one is just, "OEM Bulk Pack (No Software Included)"

Is the price difference just that the 95 buck one comes w/ software? Or is there an actual difference?

(I'll probably call NEC or Newegg to clerify model # and specs.. but if anyone knows off hand..)

THanks.

[edit] Follow up. another NEC burner (73 bucks) - can supposedly be firmware flashed to support dual layer? How realiable are these firmware updates normally? What's the pro/con for doing it that way (aside from just the price difference)
 
1)The difference seems to be in the software only. The 2510, whichever model you go for, does DVD+R DL @ 2.4X, so the 88$ model ought to be ok, assuming you have software which can take advantage of the drive's capabilities, eg. Nero and Roxio EMC.

2)The 2500 and 2510 seem to be electrically identical, as per the specs NEC has provided to the FCC.This means that the 2500 can be flashed with the 2510 firmware, enabling +R DL support for the drive.But some minor component changes may have crept in, like upgraded lasers and PUH units for the 2510, which may make +R DL burning more stressful for the 2500. Therefore, I'd advise you to buy the 2510... the 15$ difference is worth it,IMO.
 
much thanks...

two more questions...what are your thoughts on newegg's extended warranty?

what software would you recommend for backing up full dvds? ( my brother has dvd x copy that works pretty well, but it's not on the market any more. i'd just like to be able to pop a dvd in my dvd rom and media in the NEC and make direct copies of my movies)
 
I think DVD writers are good to have a warranty on. My Pioneer 105 died but Cendyne is out of business so I can't RMA it anyway :mad:

As for DVD backup, even though this would be better suited for the software forum, try a site like www.doom9.org - and yes, you can directly copy DVDs.
 
To back up the DVDs, you need to rip them to your HDD first, for which there are a number of excellent tools. I use SmartRipper (Google it). Then I transcode (reduce the size of the files to 4.38GB.. DVD+/-R/W size) using freeware DVDShrink (google it too.). Then I burn the resulting Video_TS and Audio_TS directories with RecordNow Max 4.6, came with my 851S DVDWriter.
 
my brother's copy of dvd xcopy is the old one where you can put a dvd in up top and blank media in the burner and make a direct copy of anything...that's the type of software i'd like.

i know it can be done by ripping, but i'd like to keep it as quick and simple as possible.
 
I believe that TechHead suggested his method because if you're backing up movies or such straight from a dvd, those dvds tend to be dual layered, meaning they are greater than ~4.4 GB, and so he has to rip/shrink/etc...

I don't know if there is a stand alone software that does all of that, but my method is similar to TechHead's.

Once DL media becomes more prominent (and in my opinion, cheaper), then direct dvd burning will be a lot easier I think, since you won't have to worry about the 4.4 GB limit anymore.
 
pcrouch13 said:
my brother's copy of dvd xcopy is the old one where you can put a dvd in up top and blank media in the burner and make a direct copy of anything...that's the type of software i'd like.

i know it can be done by ripping, but i'd like to keep it as quick and simple as possible.
Click to expand...

It may SEEM like it's doing a direct copy but its actually saving it to your hard drive and encoding it, then it burns to the other drive.

It just may not seem like it b/c it actually encodes as it rips.
 
Oh, follow up question.. mostly directed to TechHead..

What media brand have you used and like on this drive? I just ordered it and have been shopping around for media - the cheapest, but most reliable - I could find, and it seems that the drive is on the newer side, so not too many "tests" from other users are out yet.

When I looked up the NEC 2500, it looked like that drive was compatible with about any media. But I'm wondering from your own opinion.
 
Kuo said:
Oh, follow up question.. mostly directed to TechHead..

What media brand have you used and like on this drive? I just ordered it and have been shopping around for media - the cheapest, but most reliable - I could find, and it seems that the drive is on the newer side, so not too many "tests" from other users are out yet.

When I looked up the NEC 2500, it looked like that drive was compatible with about any media. But I'm wondering from your own opinion.
Click to expand...

I don't have a 2500/2510 :D. All my information comes from 2 sites, http://club.cdfreaks.com and http://forum.rpc1.org .Club CDFreaks has a dedicated NEC subforum, where I picked up my info, and they say that almost ALL media will burn well on the 2500/2510A. Recommended media would be Prodisc,Ritek,Maxell,Verbatim and Taiyo Yuden. If you need any more info, you should post there too, and the guys there will be happy to help you out. I post there as "Bhairav", by the way.
 
well, i think i am a little late, but anyway i will have advice you to buy the plextor 8x,
my brother has one, and the drive feels, and looks like top quality (thats how plextor is)

the drive is fast, it reads cd and writes dvd's,cd's quite fast, it convince me to buy the 12x one from them
 
Taiyo Yuden - FujiFilm uses them. Good discs. I recommend all of them except maybe prodisc that I have not tried (not saying it is bad, just that I do not know).
 
I read on another forum that prodiscs were rather good - and that more people had success w/ them than the Riteks.

So I just ordered a spindle of Prodiscs (they were cheap too), so I could test them out. Figured they were cheap enough that if I didn't liek them, I could unload them to a less picky friend for not too much, heh.
 
dandragonrage said:
To correct TechHead, Taiko Yuden* - FujiFilm uses them. Good discs. I recommend all of them except maybe prodisc that I have not tried (not saying it is bad, just that I do not know).
Click to expand...

Fujifilm used TY for their older CD-R discs. They've switched over to Prodisc now. Fuji +R from NewEgg is RicohJPNR01, -R is TYG01 -> Taiyo Yuden.
 
Anyone use this burner? (the nec 2510a).

are windows drivers good enough these days? i can't seem to find drivers on the NEC page, although google returns results for drivers, i would perfer manufacturer drivers
 
I'd get the Plextor.
I got the Plextor 712A which is basically faster than it's 708A brother, and with the 8MB Buffer opposed to the 2MB, and I love my drive. Best BURNER DRIVE I've ever OWNED!!

I love GiGaRec which basically makes any 700MB CDR burn up to 850MB-900MB. So you basically don't have to burn as much DVDRs if you have some files which are around the 800MB mark.
 
Cool. Apparently, lotsa drives are having trouble reading them.What capacity are you burning them up to?
 
I'm using the GiGaRec at 1.2x which is suppose to make the discs 840MB-850MB, I've burned 3 CDRs under this process and my LiteOn Drive reads them fine.

Apparently the LiteOns are suppose to be one of the best DVDROM drives you can get.
 
TechHead said:
Definitely. The 165/166 and newer 167 Lite-On DVDROM drives are very good.
Click to expand...


After reading off CDFREAKS months ago, that the LiteOn 166 series drives have the best access times and best over all preformance in ripping and reading, the thing that sold me on the drive is that it has a wicked firmware package/flasher as well as LiteOn has the LtnRPC program which you can set the drive to any reigion area for DVDs and as well as reset the vendodr count on how many times you can change the drive's region area :D

My LiteOn/Plextor DUO is very slick :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top