Which one of these should I buy?

HI. I have done the research/reading and have come up with three choices. I was looking for some input and thoughts on which to buy. If all three are equal then I will go by cost.(Canadian prices) I'm looking for the most reliable to make backup copies of movies on DVD-R's and DVD-RW's.(verbatim and sony media) Thanks.

Benq DW1655 $59.00
LG GSA-4167B $79.00
Sony DRU810A $109.00

 

Those 3 drives definitely favor the plus format-booktyping purposes!

Dash format: Definitely the NEC 3550 or the Pioneer 110

Try NCIX.com. Shipping for USA or Canadian residents.That's where I bought my benq 1650 from.

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?majorcatid=103&minorcatid=1015

I'm not sure about any other sites for canadians.

 

I'm not sure I understand the reasoning to select a drive based on -r or +r performance. I have always bought -r media as I though that it was more compatible with DVD players. So does this booktype setting make +r media work with DVD players? If so, then how/why does one choose -r or +r media? (Which will then affect which drive I buy.) Thanks....

 

In the world of dvd,there is a huge compatability issue between stand alone players and backups.

Stand alone players were meant to play the original,pressed in dvd-rom format. Now comes dvd backups. These are a burned-in format,not presses. You've got plus and dash.Then you got r/rw/and r Dl. Thats a lot of different formats/types of discs.

All these stand alone players can vary at how they read those burned-in backup discs.

No disc error: It doesn't recognize a backup-usually compatability.

Now if you can get the player/s to recognize your backups,then you've got to get through the playback issues of Freezing/Skipping/Jumping/and pixellation.

Media quality is the first thing to rule out when playback issues occur.It can even give players that no disc error. That's why quality media is critical. It can prevent issues later on,down the road.

Quality media can:
Improve playback quality
Help burn success rate
Longevity of your backups.

Now you've got some quality backups and using quality verbatim or taiyo yuden media. You slap one of your dash backups into a buddy's stand alone player and it says: Dirty disc/wrong format/wrong region/etc.

You've eliminated the media quality as the problem.So that leaves you with compatability issues. That buddy's stand alone player may state in the specs that it plays the dash format. You can't go by the specs. Different stand alone players react differently to different burners. This means: My benq dash backups may not play in my apex stand alone player,but my HP 640 dash backups do!

Booktyping:

Noticed earlier I stated original dvds are the pressed in dvd-rom format. Some models of burners have the booktyping ability.It's also called bit-setting.It helps fool stand alone players into recognizing your backups.Players will think they have an actual,original dvd in it and will have an easier time playing it. Not all burners support this feature,and only the plus format can be set to booktype. It may take special burn programs/utlilities/or hacked-cross flashed firmware. By having a booktype capable writer,you'll have 3 formats to try when searching for the correct format for stand alone players. Dash/Plus/and Plus-booktyped to dvd-rom.



I look at it as: How many players are going to play my backups?

If you just got a couple of players/your pc drives/and maybe a ps2 or xbox,then booktyping may be no big deal. If you have a huge family/friends,then the odds of finding players that give you a no disc error will be greater. It's another option to have in the war against stand alone compatability. I know. I now have a total of 7 pc dvd-rw drives. They all have no trouble playing their own backups.But stand alone players do have trouble with some of their backkups.
4 of these are benqs and I don't worry about who gets backups from which of my drives. They're all booktyped,and play virtually anywhere.
My HP640c: Just using it to read and scribe.Way too many crc errors.
Khypermedia +8x: Wouldn't play in my apex player
I/O Magic 16x-Empa drive. Total pc of crap.The dash fared better than the plus.Using it for reading only.

This is using quality media,with updated firmware in all my burners. Nothing else I can do to help out compatability with my non benq drives.
Booktyping your backups with a quality drive will take care of the possibility of running into a stand alone player that'll give you that no disc inserted error. It doesn't help the playback quality,just helps those drives recognize that they have a dvd backup disc in them.

 

Wow!!! Great response saugmon. Thanks!! So my last question is, if using plus media in a drive that has the booktyping feature will have a better chance of playing in more stand alone DVD players, why wouldn't I/everyone select this type of media and buy burners with this feature? Is there any reason not to use plus media? (or do some stand alone players prefer dash media?)

 

The only stand alone players that I know of that favor -R discs are the Toshiba models ...

And ... read the link in my sig about why +R is the superior format ...

 

So there lies my dilema. My stand alone is a Toshiba. But from what I'm hearing/reading, +R media and a bitsetting burner is the way to go. (my Toshiba won't last forever and who knows what brand I could buy next) My head scatching continues.......

 

[bold]It all depends where your backups go[/bold].

Me personally: My couple el cheapo stand alones/3 pcs with 5 dvd drives/and a tv recorder: I have no issue with the dash. It's my dad's and cousins stand alone players that do.

When I backup some home vids from peeps,I'll use my tv recorder and then rip off 30+ copies in my pcs. If someone can't play my backups,then it's usually their player's fault! I hear very few complaints.

Now majority of peeps will only have a couple drives to play their backups in.They won't notice the compatability issue as easily.When they encounter a stand alone player that won't recognize their backups,that's when they come here. Specially the high dollar,fancy surround sound sytems like denon.They want their backups to play on the fancy drive,not no cheapie drive.

I'll take a $25 stand alone over $300 + player any day. Those el-cheapos usually play everything you throw at them.

 

We have a Cyberhome 'el-cheapo' that refuses to play the rocks that I throw at it ... and one of the granddaughters couldn't get the sandwich that she stuffed in it to play either ...