I have 4 standalone DVD recorders (two are still in unopened boxes) and I use 2 of them to both record & play back shows from cable TV. Basically is it good to use a DVD recorder as a player at least half of the time or should I get a few players & save the recorder lasers just for burning discs? What would you do? Or does it really matter one way or the other? My Samsung computer burner (plus the Plextor burner I used before the tray finally broke) has been used about 90% for burning discs and it's still burning well. The 2 standalone DVD recorders burn & play back great Both are about a year old and have had quite a bit of use however they make noise when the disc stops spinning like perhaps the brake pads are wearing out in each machine. I can live with that & will still use them until each laser dies or until the recorder starts having other major trouble.
i would just get a DVD player only for playback and use the recoder for both and replace the recorders as needed. using a DVD player for playback only which should last many years where as the recoder won't have as long as a life
Why doesn't a recorder last as long as a player? Laser burnout from lots of recordings or are they just not made to last as long as a player will?
A laser pick-up diode uses from 0.5 to 1.0 milliwatts of power to read a disc. Recording a DVD disc at 16X requires nearly 250 milliwatts (16X DL would be double that--the minimum acceptable laser power in milliwatts is estimated as square root of the recording speed times 50.) It's the heat that will kill a laser diode. Although recording at 1X is requires much less power, that power is still 50 milliwatts versus one-fiftieth for just playback.
