DVD Burners Hit Prime Time
Though the format wars continue, rewritable DVD finally has mass appeal. We test 13 drives, starting at $250.Jon L. Jacobi
Good-bye, CD-RW. Hello, rewritable DVD. The latest DVD burners are faster and can hold more data than your CD-RW drive. And as sure as someone getting whacked on The Sopranos, the prices of these drives will keep falling. For as little as $250, you can now own a rewritable DVD drive that will turn your movies, photos, and TV recordings into high-quality DVD video playable in most living-room DVD players.
But there are other good reasons--besides being able to burn movies--for you to plunk down your money on a new DVD burner. One of the most compelling is the ability to create reliable backups painlessly. A rewritable DVD drive lets you store gigabytes of data on a single disc, so backups will take only a handful of DVDs. Forget the swap-a-disc-every-5-minutes routine of CD-RW drives; the speed and convenience of rewritable DVD will transform your backup habits for the better.
If homemade DVD movies and easy backups aren't enough to sway you, how about the one-drive-writes-all factor? Most rewritable DVD drives also burn and read all types of CD media, though not as quickly as a late-model CD-RW drive can.
The Politics of Burning
Rewritable DVD might have reached a wider audience already if it weren't for the logjam of competing standards and the conflicting claims of compatibility with the huge installed base of set-top DVD players. Many prospective buyers have kept their wallets in their pockets rather than face a confusing choice between the competing formats: DVD-RW and DVD-RAM (both from the DVD Forum), and DVD+RW (from the DVD+RW Alliance).
Adding to the confusion, both DVD-RW and DVD+RW have their own corresponding write-once formats: DVD-R and DVD+R, respectively. (The-R and +R media offer greater compatibility, particularly with DVD set-top players.) Fortunately, new drives like our Best Buy, the Sony DRU-500A, support both DVD-RW and DVD+RW. These bet-hedging wonders let buyers migrate to DVD without worrying over which format is more compatible or which one will eventually win out. DVD-RAM adherents can also cover more bases with Panasonic's new LF-D521 or LG's Super-Multi DVD-Writer GMA-4020B, which support DVD-RW as well.
Each format has its strengths, and no single format is best for everything: While DVD-R and +R are good for video, DVD-RW and +RW are good for storing data because they let you reuse the discs. DVD-RAM still has a niche in data storage as well, because the discs are protected in cartridges and can be rewritten a huge number of times.
But as welcome as multiformat drives may be, the DVD format battle has never been the problem that the VHS-versus-Betamax contest was. Whereas the two videotape formats were physically incompatible, all five consumer-level DVD recordable/rewritable formats use discs that are physically similar and will work in some--but not all--devices; see " Plus vs. Dash vs. RAM: Battle of the Formats" for additional details. For more on compatibility, see " DVD Players and Discs: Press Play and Pray?"
Compatibility is certainly a concern, but write speed is another important factor in deciding on one format over another: If you will be writing to a particular type of disc often, choose the drive with the highest speed rating for that type. If you are burning a large number of discs (such as multiple copies of a promotional video for your business), a faster drive can save you a significant amount of time. In our tests, we found that all of the DVD-R drives that supported the 2X write speed could burn a 20-minute movie to disc in just over 10 minutes. But the DVD+R drives we tested (which can write at 2.4X speed) had a slight edge: They all took just over 9 minutes. Sony says that its DRU-500A can write DVD-R at the recently announced 4X speed, but we couldn't evaluate this claim because no production-level 4X-compatible media was available when we conducted our tests. Our informal trials with preproduction 4X media indicate that 4X recording is likely to be about 70 percent faster than 2X.
Consider media cost and availability as well when choosing a format. At this writing, DVD-RW has a small cost advantage in cost per gigabyte and is more widely available, but this may change as one of the formats becomes more popular (see " Burning Cash: The Cost of Media").
Many Formats, Single Drive
The Sony DRU-500A reduces your odds of getting format remorse: It writes to DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW, and DVD+R; and it's the only rewritable DVD drive in our review that can use 4X DVD-R media. It's also a speedy CD-RW drive (at 24X CD-R and 10X CD-RW), and it retails for only $349--less than a number of the single-format drives. As a result, it won our Best Buy award without a serious challenge.
The LG Electronics Super-Multi DVD-Writer GMA-4020B and the Panasonic LF-D521 get honorable mentions--both of them can write to DVD-RAM as well as to DVD-R and DVD-RW discs. Because DVD-RAM has advantages for purposes such as data backup (thanks to its built-in data verification and rated rewrite capability of 100,000 times or more per disc), these drives will appeal to people who want to burn both data and video DVDs.
The emergence of multiformat drives also means that older rewritable DVD technology is likely to get cheaper in a hurry. If you're not worried about state-of-the-art performance, wider compatibility, or leveraging lower media prices, you might find an older drive on sale at a price you can't resist. One caveat: Try to confine your search to so-called second-generation drives (like the single-format models in our review). First-generation DVD+RW drives such as HP's Dvd100i (which we didn't review but which is currently available at bargain-basement prices) lack the ability to burn to DVD+R media--they can only write to DVD+RW discs. We recommend a newer model unless you want one strictly to handle making backups.
Innie or Outtie?
After weighing the format, speed, and cost of media, you still have to decide whether you need an internal drive or an external model like the Ikebana, CenDyne, and LaCie units. Although an external model usually costs about $100 more than an internal drive, an external drive is easier to install. (If you lack the necessary port, however, you'll need to add an interface card. You might be able to write data to DVD successfully using USB 1.1, but no vendor recommends it.) We didn't see any difference in performance between external and internal units in our tests.
All three of the external drives we looked at offered friendly setup and decent documentation. We preferred the CenDyne and the LaCie (with the LaCie getting the edge overall thanks to its price), however, because they have both USB 2.0 and FireWire interfaces. This makes them usable with more systems than the USB 2.0-only Ikebana can support. (Thus, for example, dual-interface drives would be great for sharing among several PCs in an office.)
Burning Your Videos
Most of the authoring and data-mastering programs that came with the drives performed without a serious hitch, making it relatively easy to burn digital video and back up data to DVD. The drives generally had similar software bundles, though some included older versions of applications. A few of the drives came with Sonic's MyDVD 4 or MedioStream's NeoDVD Standard 4 for video authoring (writing video to DVD), both of which offer more features than the older versions bundled with many drives. Although none of the DVD authoring programs can do much more than perform basic editing tasks (such as trimming the video you want to put onto a disc), several of the drives we looked at also included ArcSoft's ShowBiz video editor, which lets you do more-advanced editing, such as adding transitions, special effects, and titles.
The only major problem we encountered was with Ulead VideoStudio 5 SE DVD, which was bundled with the Ikebana DVD+RW/+R drive. The software it uses to burn video to DVD seems to be something of an afterthought; it's on the CD that comes with the drive, but it isn't covered in the manual. The audio on the DVD+R disc we created with VideoStudio 5 didn't play on several DVD players, and Shecom (which makes the Ikebana drive) was unable to offer a fix. Shecom says that it's replacing Video Studio 5 with CyberLink Power Director in the Ikebana's software bundle, however.
For video, some drives can take advantage of yet another format variation, DVD+VR and DVD-VR. Vendors claim that these formats make +RW and-RW discs more compatible with the set-top DVD recorders that many manufacturers are now beginning to offer: It allows both a computer and a DVD recorder to add and remove video from the disc. (Previously, you could only edit video on a PC and play it on a set-top DVD recorder.) DVD+VR and-VR are available only if the drive's DVD authoring package supports it, however, and MedioStream's NeoDVD 4 is at present the only such program that supports television.
We liked Ahead's Nero Express 5.5 data-mastering program best for writing data to DVD: It provided the widest range of features and the greatest control over the burning process. When it came to packet-writing software, Ahead's InCD and BHA's B's Clip proved far abler performers than the HP and Veritas DLA (Drive Letter Access) software. In particular, the DLA software data took noticeably longer to write data to rewritable discs.
Speeds 'R' Plus
The drives displayed relatively little variation in burning video to DVD-R and +R discs in our tests, though the drives capable of burning DVD+R media were a little quicker, due to their slightly faster 2.4X writing speed (versus 2X for DVD-R). The Sony DRU-500A led the pack in writing MPEG video to DVD+R discs, while the CenDyne CD000176 did best for DVD-R. We also tested the time each took to write a large amount of data to both types of write-once discs (these results are not listed), and once again we found only slight variations between drives, although the +R drives were a little faster overall.
Drives capable of writing to DVD-RW discs can do so only at 1X--less than half the speed rating of DVD+RW drives writing to +RW media. (The Sony supports 2X DVD+RW, but media isn't yet available.) But the much faster times of the DVD+RW drives compared to the DVD-RW units are also partly due to a function built into DVD+RW drives that lets them format rewritable discs in the background. This allows you to start writing data to a DVD+RW disc much quicker--generally within a minute of inserting the blank, unformatted disc. DVD-RW drives can perform this trick too, but generally only with the aid of extra-cost software, which wasn't included with most of the drives that we tested (the Sony DRU-500A was the exception). The software accompanying DVD-RW drives lets you copy the files you want to a temporary folder while the formatting continues, and then write the files to disc with a single mouse click. The slowest drive we tested was CenDyne's CD000176, which took over 2 hours to format a DVD-RW disc and then write the data in our tests. The LG Super-Multi DVD-Writer was relatively fast, taking just under 90 minutes to perform the two tasks. The Sony DRU-500A was fastest (due to the formatting capability mentioned above).
We tested LG Electronics' Super-Multi DVD-Writer GMA-4020B and Panasonic's LF-D521 as DVD-RW/-R drives, but both of them can also write to DVD-RAM discs. We tested DVD-RAM on the single-format Vivastar RS-111 and Pacific Digital DVD Burner U-30116, using the DVD-RAM format's unique verify cycle in its default, enabled state. This means that as data is written out to the disc, the drive reads it back to make sure it's written correctly. While this process does ensure accuracy, it effectively halves performance, which explains the slow write speeds we saw with these drives: Although both the Pacific Digital DVD Burner U-30116 and the Vivastar RS-111 are rated to write DVD-RAM at 2X, they appeared to write at only 1X with the verify cycle enabled. In addition, both drives support writing to-R media at just 1X, and they produced relatively lackluster results in our tests of writing a movie to DVD-R.
Neither of the single-format DVD-RAM drives can write to CD-R or CD-RW discs, which means that you can't use them for burning audio CDs, writing Video CDs, or storing data that can be read on standard CD-ROM drives. That limits their suitability for general use, but these drives are less expensive than most of their more-flexible cousins.
Burning to CD-R
All of the drives we tested (with the exceptions noted above) can write to CD-R discs, and all did a reasonable job in our tests. Once again, though, the Sony DRU-500A stood out from the crowd: Thanks to its support for 24X CD-R media, it was significantly faster than the other drives, burning the 700MB of data we used in our tests in under 5 minutes. All of the other DVD+RW drives supported CD-R burning at 12X, and all managed to complete our tests in under 8 minutes. The DVD-RW drives were a little slower. They support writing to CD-R media at 8X, and all of them took just under 11 minutes. Across the board, the drives produced the kinds of results we have seen from similarly rated CD-RW drives.
We didn't test CD-RW performance, but again all the drives (except the Pacific Digital DVD Burner U-30116 and the Vivastar RS-111 DVD-RAM drives) permit writing to CD-RW discs. The speeds they support vary, with the lowest rated being the DVD-RW drives at 4X, and the fastest being DVD+RW drives at 10X.
Although a dedicated CD-RW drive may be faster (models that can burn CD-Rs at 48X and CD-RWs at 24X are now available), a DVD-Rewritable drive can still do most of the things a CD-RW drive can do (and plenty more things it can't).
The Future Is Faster
Greater performance is in store for rewritable DVD drives. Pioneer recently announced its DVR-A05, which matches the Sony DRU-500A's 4X DVD-R speed rating, but it wasn't available in time for this feature. The DVD+R/+RW Alliance has countered with the announcement of a 4X specification for writing to both +R and +RW discs, but don't expect to see models that support it until at least early 2003. Mitsubishi has announced a laser that will allow writing to both formats at 8X, but drives that use this laser won't appear until late 2003.
Even though faster drives are on the horizon, now is a good time to consider buying a rewritable DVD drive, and the Sony DRU-500A is the clear winner as the fastest and most flexible drive.
Jon L. Jacobi is a freelance writer who regularly covers rewritable DVD. Melissa J. Perenson is an associate editor, and Richard Baguley is a senior associate editor for PC World.
Burn It Right: Choose the Best Drive for You (chart)
| Rewritable DVD drive | Street price (9/30/02) | Write speed for movie (min:sec):1 DVD-R | Write speed for movie (min:sec):1 DVD+R | Format disc & write 1.18GB (min:sec):2 DVD-W | Format disc & write 1.18GB (min:sec):2 DVD+RW | Format disc & write 1.18GB (min:sec):2 DVD-RAM | CD-R write time3 | Features | Software (DVD authoring, DVD mastering, packet writing, and other) | Warranty and support | Comments | |
| DVD-RW drive | CenDyne CD000176 (http://www.cendyne.com/products/dvd-rw/CDICD00153.htm) | $469 | 10:06 | n/a | 122:02 | n/a | n/a | 10:42 | 2X DVD-R, 1X DVD-RW, 8X CD-R, 4X CD-RW;4 FireWire and USB 2.0 interface, external drive, 2MB buffer | Sonic MyDVD 3.1, Ahead Nero Express 5.5, Ahead InCD 3.3, Intervideo WinDVD | One-year warranty; 12-hour weekday and 4-hour Saturday phone support5 | FireWire and USB 2.0 interfaces make this external drive flexible, but it is the most expensive in this roundup. (  ) |
| DVD-RW drive | LaCie D2 DVD-RW U&I (http://www.lacie.com/products/product.cfm?id=72975C8C-79FF-11D5-97D30090278D3ED0) | $429 | 10:07 | n/a | 101:14 | n/a | n/a | 10:54 | 2X DVD-R, 1X DVD-RW, 8X CD-R, 4X CD-RW;4 FireWire and USB 2.0 interface, external drive, 2MB buffer | Sonic MyDVD 3.5, Roxio EasyCD Creator Basic, Roxio DirectCD, Intervideo WinDVD, MusicMatch Jukebox | One-year warranty; 12-hour weekday phone support5 | A tough but attractive case and both FireWire and USB 2.0 interfaces make this drive ideal for sharing among several PCs. (  ) |
| DVD-RW drive | Pioneer DVR-A04 (http://pcworld.pricegrabber.com/search_prodsummary.php/masterid=562474) | $289 | 10:09 | n/a | 106:17 | n/a | n/a | 10:43 | 2X DVD-R, 1X DVD-RW, 8X CD-R, 4X CD-RW;4 IDE interface, internal drive, 2MB buffer | Sonic MyDVD 3.1, Veritas RecordNow DX 4, Veritas DLA, Cyberlink PowerDVD 4 | One-year warranty; 10.5-hour weekday toll-free support | Though it writes slowly to-RW media (typical for such drives) and has lengthy formatting times, it's the least-expensive drive here. ( ) |
| DVD+RW drive | HP DVD Writer Dvd200i (http://pcworld.pricegrabber.com/search_prodsummary.php/masterid=585757) | $349 | n/a | 9:16 | n/a | 13:27 | n/a | 7:25 | 2.4X DVD+R, 2.4X DVD+RW, 12X CD-R, 10X CD-RW;4 IDE interface, internal drive, 2MB buffer | HP (Sonic) MyDVD 3.5, HP (Veritas) RecordNow 3.5, HP (Veritas) DLA, HP (Veritas) Simple Backup, ArcSoft ShowBiz 1.1, Cyberlink PowerDVD 4, MusicMatch Jukebox | One-year warranty; 12-hour weekday phone support5 | Terrific software bundle includes backup and video-editing utilities. Good for both video and data DVDs. (  ) |
| DVD+RW drive | Ikebana DVD+RW/+R (http://www.ikebanadrive.com/USB2_DVD+RW+R.htm) | $399 | n/a | n/a 6 | n/a | 7:46 | n/a | 7:14 | 2.4X DVD+R, 2.4X DVD+RW, 12X CD-R, 10X CD-RW;4 USB 2.0 interface, external drive, 2MB buffer | Ulead Video Studio 5 SE DVD, BHA B's Recorder Gold, BHA B's Clip 3.3, Cyberlink PowerDVD 4 | One-year warranty; 8-hour weekday toll-free support | Well priced for an external drive, but it comes with older software. ( ) |
| DVD+RW drive | Memorex DVD+RW+R Internal ReWriteable Drive (http://www.memorex.com/products/product_display.php?cid=1&pid=424&oid=491) | $250 | n/a | 9:06 | n/a | 7:33 | n/a | 7:16 | 2.4X DVD+R, 2.4X DVD+RW, 12X CD-R, 10X CD-RW;4 IDE interface, internal drive, 2MB buffer | Sonic MyDVD 3.5, Ahead Nero Express 5.5, Ahead InCD 3.3, ArcSoft ShowBiz 1.1, Cyberlink PowerDVD 4 | One-year warranty; 9-hour weekday phone support5 | A good, no-frills internal drive with an adequate software bundle and an attractive price. ( ) |
| DVD+RW drive | Pacific Digital DVD BurnerPlus U-31034 (http://www.pacificdigital.com/products/alldvd.htm) | $320 | n/a | 9:01 | n/a | 7:29 | n/a | 7:12 | 2.4X DVD+R, 2.4X DVD+RW, 12X CD-R, 10X CD-RW;4 IDE interface, internal drive, 2MB buffer | MedioStream NeoDVD Standard 4, Ahead Nero Express 5.5, Ahead InCD 3.3, Intervideo WinDVD, ArcSoft ShowBiz 1.1, Dantz Retrospect | One-year warranty; 12-hour weekday toll-free support | This DVD+RW drive is fast, reasonably priced, and comes with backup software. ( ) |
| DVD+RW drive | Philips DVDRW228 (http://pcworld.pricegrabber.com/search_prodsummary.php/masterid=600224) | $390 | n/a | 9:05 | n/a | 7:30 | n/a | 7:14 | 2.4X DVD+R, 2.4X DVD+RW, 12X CD-R, 10X CD-RW;4 IDE interface, internal drive, 2MB buffer | Sonic MyDVD 3.5, Ahead Nero Express 5.5, Ahead InCD 3.3 | One-year warranty; 9-hour weekday toll-free support | This drive performs adequately, but it costs a bit more than similar drives and its software bundle is basic. ( ) |
| Multiformat drive | LG Electronics Super-Multi DVD-Writer GMA-4020B (http://www.lge.com/c_product/pc/optical.jsp?ca_code=020200&navigation=1,20) | $399 | 10:57 | n/a | 89:12 | n/a | n/a | 7:08 | 2X DVD-R, 1X DVD-RW, 2X DVD-RAM, 12X CD-R, 8X CD-RW;4 IDE interface, internal drive, 2MB buffer | BHA B's DVD, BHA B's Recorder Gold, BHA B's Clip 5, Intervideo WinDVD | One-year warranty; 13-hour weekday toll-free support | Supports DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD-RAM, but it's expensive compared to other multiformat drives. ( ) |
| Multiformat drive | Panasonic LF-D521 (http://www.panasonic.com/office/technology/stor_dvdram.html) | $350 | 10:47 | n/a | 117:13 | n/a | n/a | 7:07 | 2X DVD-R, 1X DVD-RW, 2X DVD-RAM, 12X CD-R, 8X CD-RW;4 IDE interface, internal drive, 2MB buffer | Sonic MyDVD 3.5, BHA B's Recorder Gold Basic 5, BHA B's Clip 5, Panasonic DVD-MovieAlbum SE 3, Panasonic FileSafe | One-year warranty; 8-hour weekday toll-free support | One of the new breed of multiformat drives. Offers plenty of flexibility for both video and data use. ( ) |
| Multiformat drive | Best Buy Sony DRU-500A (http://pcworld.pricegrabber.com/search_prodsummary.php/masterid=632463) | $349 | 11:56 | 8:38 | 23:39 | 7:48 | n/a | 4:42 | 4X DVD-R, 2X DVD-RW, 2.4X DVD+R, 2.4X DVD+RW, 24X CD-R, 10X CD-RW;4 IDE interface, internal drive, 8MB buffer | Sonic MyDVD 4, Veritas RecordNow DX 4.5, Veritas DLA, Veritas Simple Backup, ArcSoft ShowBiz 1.1, CyberLink PowerDVD 4, MusicMatch Jukebox | One-year warranty; 12-hour weekday toll-free support | The first drive to support both-RW and +RW formats, as well as quick-formatting of-RW discs. Fast, and comes with a good software bundle. (  ) |
| DVD-RAM drive | Pacific Digital DVD Burner U-30116 (http://www.pacificdigital.com/products/dvdram.htm) | $299 | 21:28 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 17:18 | n/a | 1X DVD-R, 2X DVD-RAM;4 IDE interface, internal drive, 1MB buffer | MedioStream NeoDVD Standard 4, Ahead Nero Express 5.5, Ahead InCD, Diamond Cutter, Acid Music, SoundForge, MusicMatch Jukebox | One-year warranty; 12-hour weekday toll-free support | A reasonably priced DVD-RAM and DVD-R drive with a comprehensive software bundle. ( ) |
| DVD-RAM drive | Vivastar RS-111 (http://www.vivastar.ch/usa/3_products/3_1_hardware_prod.htm) | $350 | 14:53 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 17:24 | n/a | 1X DVD-R, 2X DVD-RAM;4 IDE interface, internal drive, 1MB buffer | Cyberlink Power Director 2 Pro VE, Vivastar Recording, Vivastar DVDForm | One-year warranty; 11-hour weekday toll-free support | This DVD-RAM drive is good for data backup, but it can't write to CD-R or CD-RW discs. The software bundle is very limited. ( ) |
Best Buy
The Sony DRU-500A supports several formats, offers fast burn
speeds, has an excellent software bundle, and can write to the new 4X DVD-R
media--and it doesn't cost much more than slower, less flexible drives.
Plus vs. Dash vs. RAM: Battle of the Formats
Talk about rewritable DVD, you'll sound as if you're choking on an acronym salad. Two of the three competing DVD writing specifications--DVD-RW and DVD+RW--are currently engaged in a heated battle to become the industry's de facto standard.
Writing Once, Writing Twice
DVD-RAM is the only rewritable format that lacks a write-once variant--though most recent DVD-RAM drives can write to DVD-R or DVD-RW discs, too. Both the DVD-RW and DVD+RW formats use highly reflective write-once media and rewritable phase-change media for their RW variant.
Each type of drive, however, formats rewritable discs for packet writing in a different way. A DVD+RW drive's firmware handles the physical formatting of a disc. When you insert a blank disc into the drive, the formatting occurs in the background. During use, it seems as if the drive takes scarcely more than a minute to complete the formatting before it allows you to start copying data to the disc.
The DVD-RW spec leaves disc formatting up to the software that you use with the drive. All first- and second-generation DVD-RW drives came bundled with packet-writing software that must perform a full disc format--which can take an hour--before you can start writing to the disc. In contrast, some of the third-generation units supporting DVD-RW, such as Sony's DRU-500A, include software that can format DVD-RW discs in the background.
Manufacturers claim that both-RW and +RW media will hold data for approximately 30 years under optimal storage conditions. DVD-RW and +RW media can be rewritten up to 1000 times; in contrast, DVD-RAM media in a cartridge can be rewritten up to 100,000 times--a big bonus if you use the discs for regular backups.
Only one drive (Sony's DRU-500A) currently ships with Mt. Rainier support built in, and its primary benefits--the ability to read discs without the aid of third-party software installed, and the ability to use defect management--won't be available until Microsoft integrates Mt. Rainier into the next full revision of Windows. See " Drag 'N' Drop To CD-RW Easily" for details.
DVD-RAM was created with data applications in mind. The discs are preformatted with sector marks when they're made, and manufacturers claim this gives DVD-RAM drives random-access capability (like that of hard disks), enabling them to find data on the disc more quickly than other rewritable DVD drives can. DVD-RAM media and drives also contain extensive defect-management and error-correction technologies, to ensure correct data storage.
Melissa J. Perenson
Cost and Compatibility Count (chart)
| Disc type | Can be written by DVD-RW drives | Can be written by DVD+RW drives | Can be written by DVD-RW/+RW drives | Can be written by DVD-RAM/-R/-RW drives | Can be written by DVD-RAM/-R drives | Disc capacity | Cost of disc1 | Disc comes in a cartridge? | Quick format? | Data verification? | Defect management? | Maximum rewrites rating | Sequential/random read/write? | Best for data or video? | |
| Write-once | DVD-R | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 4.7GB | $4 | No | n/a | No | No | n/a | Sequential | Video |
| Write-once | DVD+R | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | 4.7GB | $5 | No | n/a | No | No | n/a | Sequential | Video |
| Write-once | CD-R | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 700MB | >$1 | No | n/a | No | No | n/a | Sequential | Video and data |
| Rewritable | DVD-RW | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | 4.7GB | $6 | No | Optional | No | No | 1000 | Sequential | Data |
| Rewritable | DVD+RW | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | 4.7GB | $7 | No | Yes | No | Yes2 | 1000 | Sequential | Data |
| Rewritable | DVD-RAM | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | 4.7GB3 | $15 | Yes4 | n/a5 | Yes | Yes | 100,000 | Random | Data |
| Rewritable | CD-RW | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 700MB | $1 | No | No | No | No | 1000 | Sequential | Data |
Burning Cash: The Cost of Media
The price of media is a huge factor in choosing a drive: Since RW discs, for example, currently go for $6 apiece and DVD-RAM discs are $15, you can quickly spend as much on media as you did on the drive.
Write-once DVD-R discs (carrying 1X and 2X speed ratings) are widely available on store shelves and in quantity, but DVD+R media is a little harder to find. You'll pay about $4 for a single DVD-R disc, while DVD+R discs cost just under $5 apiece. Rewritable DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs are both currently priced at about $6 apiece.
In the short term, you can expect DVD-R prices to fall--several factories in Taiwan are switching their lines to produce DVD-R discs to meet increased demand. Long term, however, industry experts expect market forces to push prices down for media in both formats as more drives are sold.
DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs are physically the same. However, the two media have their own lead-in codes on the disc that a DVD device uses to identify the format and speed rating.
Built for Speed
Media with different speed ratings use different dyes and alloys. That's something to keep in mind if you're considering buying a drive rated at one of the higher speeds (such as 4X for DVD-R or 2X for DVD-RW), because these drives won't work at their top speed without the right media. In other words, a 4X DVD-R drive won't be able to write at 4X if you use a less expensive 1X or 2X DVD-R disc, so make certain that you buy the right-speed media to get the most out of your drive.
It is also worth checking the drive manufacturer's site for updates: A glitch in the firmware on Pioneer's DVR-A03 and DVR-A04 models (and on drives from companies such as CenDyne, LaCie, and QPS, all of which use the same mechanism) may cause problems if you try to use an affected drive with certain types of 4X media. Pioneer has released a patch that fixes this; click here for more details and to download the patch.
Melissa J. Perenson
DVD Players and Discs: Press Play and Pray?
Once you've burned your video to DVD, you'll want to play it back on your TV, but will it work? In much the same way that some CD players have problems playing CD-R discs, some DVD players refuse to play discs created in rewritable DVD drives.
We tried six write-once DVD discs (three DVD-Rs and three DVD+Rs) in a selection of 11 DVD players, all of which were released over the last couple of years. The results of our tests were promising: 10 of the units played all of the recorded video without problems. Only one (a Yamaha DVD-S520) refused to play the DVD-R discs, which were supplied by Verbatim. Note, however, that our tests covered only a small number of players, all of which were fairly new models. A recent study by Intellikey Labs says that DVD+R discs worked in 90 percent of the players in its tests, while DVD-R worked in 77 percent. For rewritable discs, Intellikey found that +RW worked in 72 percent of players, while-RW worked in 66 percent. Though results vary and the data isn't exhaustive, DVD+R discs seem to work in more players than DVD-R discs do.
Commitment Issues
Though most manufacturers seem unwilling to commit to saying that recordable DVD discs will or will not play in their products, some manufacturers have started listing their players' compatibility with DVD media: Sony lists its recently released NS-D315/B DVD player as being compatible with DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW video discs, but not with DVD+R. Interestingly, Pioneer (which makes the DVR-A04 rewritable DVD drive) doesn't mention rewritable DVD in the manuals for two of its recent DVD players, except to say specifically that DVD-RAM discs won't play.
Many manufacturers offer firmware updates for DVD players. Always check the manufacturer's Web site, since such updates may make the player more amenable to playing back rewritable DVD discs.
Richard Baguley
In the Box: Easy Install
