DVD Burners And What Do You Recommend?

[Bob_G]

You're all set - just swap out the CD burner for the new DVD burner, match the jumpers and your good. Modern DVD burners are backward compatible and will burn/play CDs.

 

[blake711]

Yup Bob_G is correct. A new DVD Burner will burn and read CDs also. So you will want to replace your current CD-RW with the new DVD-RW that you are going to purchase. Then you can read anything you burn on the old DVD-Rom that you currently have or burn in the future. Plus you can burn anything on the new DVD-RW you will be installing be it DVDs or CDs.

Bye keeping the DVD-Rom instead of the old cd-rw you will be able to read DVDs from it and burn them to the new drive if you are using something like DVD-Shrink. If you have a slow older dvd-rom like a 4x read then you may want to go ahead and upgrade it to a new dvd-rom also that way you don't have a bottleneck. Its a money/performance game at that point.

Since your running win-xp you will have no issues with windows configurations, windows will see the drive and wont require you to do anything on that side.

 

[Gene]

Thanks Bob_G!

Blake,
My DVD ROM drive is 16X so that should suffice, correct? I'm going to order the NEC black 18X DVD+-R burner with 12 DVD-RAM Write-OEM for $29.99 from newegg and install it where my CD-RW now resides. Again, thanks so much for your time and "plain speak" concerning this. Folks like you are an asset to forums like CPF!

 

[Trashman]

I stopped by a CompUSA today to buy some blank media and I discovered that H-P has reformulated their LightScribe coating. The package claims "Faster labeling and sharper images than original LightScribe media." So I bought a few packages of them to try out for comparison. We'll see...

**EDIT**

Ok, I burned one of the "improved" discs at the high resolution setting. It still took about 21 minutes (versus about 26-28) on a 2Ghz machine and I see NO subjective improvements in image quality. Some of the text actually looks a little worse. :duh2:

I wonder why the media would boost labeling speed? Anyway, it appears to me that HP has the best Lightscribe media. I haven't tried them all, but Memorex is by far the worst and some of the LS labels printed on the Memorex media have completely faded, and I mean completely, like you can sort of see that there was once something there, but you really can't see what it was! Those actually need to be re-labeled with a sharpie! The next worst are the Verbatims. They're better than the Memorex discs, but they still show considerable fading. The HPs seem to suffer the least fading of all, so far.


EDIT: I said that the Verbatims had the "next worst" fade factor, but I just cam across a TDK LS disk that I had a LS label on, and it has faded even more than the Verbatims. I now rank them, from best to worst, HP, Verbatim, TDK, and Memorex. If people saw the fading on the Memorex as their first example of LS printing, they'd never buy it. So far, to me, it looks like HP is the way to go.

 

[blake711]

Gene Glad I could help man.. Thats what forums are for. I use them for everything. So when I can help someone out in my field I am glad to.

As for the 16x reader you should be good to go man with leaving that in your pc. If you got any questions after you receive the new drive just post it up in here.

Blake

 

[eluminator]

Thanks Bob_G!

Blake,
My DVD ROM drive is 16X so that should suffice, correct? I'm going to order the NEC black 18X DVD+-R burner with 12 DVD-RAM Write-OEM for $29.99 from newegg and install it where my CD-RW now resides.

Suffice for what? Just joking, yes it will suffice. There is very little difference in burn time between 16x and 18x. In fact depending on the burner and media you may get better burns at 12x.

The IDE ribbon cables come in two flavors. The old ones have 40 conductors. For your modern DVD burner you want to use the newer 80 conductor cables. These are usually called ATA 100/133 cables.

There will be some errors in the communication link when you try to use the old cables and XP will drop the communication protocol from DMA mode 4 down to DMA mode 2 or PIO mode. These modes are too slow to get over 8x speed. You can see what mode you have by using Device Manager. Look at the IDE channel properties.

 

[cyberhobo]

I bought a Benq dual layer a while ago. Works like a dream and came with a bunch of free software.

I second the Benq for DVD. Too bad Plextor doesn't make a decent DVD burner. Their CD burners are however, top-notch.

 

[Trashman]

I got one of those "bulk" BenQ LS drives. It often makes my computer hang until I shut it off. The firmware on mine is non-upgradeable, though I think there is a hack upgrade out there. Except for the buggy firmware, it works well. If you're looking into BenQ, try to get a BenQ branded drive. The "bulk" drives are sold as BenQs, but they don't say BenQ anywhere on the drive.

 

[Gene]

I found out the burner comes with no screws or cables. Do I use the ones that are currently on the CD-RW drive?

cyberhobo,
What's this about 80 conductor IDE cables? I did read in the reviews for this burner that a guy stated he needed these cables to make it work but others had no such problems.

Blake, HELP! Do you think I'll need any other cables or screws in this installation?

 

[flynndog]

Wal-Mart Has Lite-on double sided DVD burners for 50-60 bucks. Tom's Hardware rates Lite-on high.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2004/07/07/double/

Flynndog

 

[blake711]

Gene,
What you got is called a White box. That means it doesn't come with a retail box packaging, paperwork, cables and such. You should be able to use what is already in your computer. Just use the existing cable that you have and remove the screws out of your old drive and install them in the exact same place on the new drive and you wont have any issues.

As far as the cable some manufactures require an 80 conductor Ultra DMA cable for Certain DVD-RWs. Have a look at this picture it shows a 40 and a 80 conductor cable. See if you can identify what you have. Also normally a UDMA calbe will have a blue plug on the end going onto your mother board. If you don't have the 80 conductor cable your drive will still work and probably be fine. Still if you don't have an 80 conductor just send me a pm with your address and I will drop one in the mail for you ASAP and cover the postage. I have plenty laying around so its no big deal if you need one.

Blake

 

[Gene]

Blake, you are a gem! Thank you for your simple and concise explanations and for taking the time and patience to do it. I haven't received the burner yet but it should be here in the next couple of days. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks again my friend!!!

 

[Gene]

Okay, got the newegg NEC DVD burner yesterday from newegg and installed it today. It went without a hitch and I made sure everything was installed correctly.

After set-up, I turned my computer on and a Windows, (I'm running XP), warning screen came up that said; "Secondary Drive 1 Not Found". It also said to hit F1 to continue or F2 to set-up. I tried both but to no avail as they both just started my computer. I restarted and even shut down the computer several times but to no avail.

Do I need software for this installation? I was under the assumpution from posts above that XP would recognize this burner but evidently not.

What do I do and if I need software, where can I get it?

EDIT: Newegg sent my order out fairly quickly, ( 7 days from order to receipt), but can you believe that in this day and age, newegg does not accept e-mails? You have to call them to get a response. I guess that's okay but I would much rather do business with a computer parts supplier that accepts e-mail inquiries!

 

[Bob_G]

When you say you installed everything correctly, does that mean you verified that the jumper setting and the cable connection matched? Sounds like maybe a mismatch there to me.

If you have two drives on the same cable, you should have your DVD set to "master" if it's on the end connector of the cable, and "slave" if it's on the middle one. If it's the only drive on that cable, hook it up to the end connector, and set the jumper for master.

 

[Trashman]

I wonder why the media would boost labeling speed? Anyway, it appears to me that HP has the best Lightscribe media. I haven't tried them all, but Memorex is by far the worst and some of the LS labels printed on the Memorex media have completely faded, and I mean completely, like you can sort of see that there was once something there, but you really can't see what it was! Those actually need to be re-labeled with a sharpie! The next worst are the Verbatims. They're better than the Memorex discs, but they still show considerable fading. The HPs seem to suffer the least fading of all, so far.


EDIT: I said that the Verbatims had the "next worst" fade factor, but I just cam across a TDK LS disk that I had a LS label on, and it has faded even more than the Verbatims. I now rank them, from best to worst, HP, Verbatim, TDK, and Memorex. If people saw the fading on the Memorex as their first example of LS printing, they'd never buy it. So far, to me, it looks like HP is the way to go.

Whoops! Sorry guys, but I gave some bad info. All those great HP LS burns I was talking about....well, they're Verbatims. I actually just got my first HP DVD-R LS discs, so I'm not yet sure about the fade factor when it comes to them. Sorry! Verbatims are good! (I did have one fade a bit, though, but most are pretty good)

 

[Coop]

Okay, got the newegg NEC DVD burner yesterday from newegg and installed it today. It went without a hitch and I made sure everything was installed correctly.

After set-up, I turned my computer on and a Windows, (I'm running XP), warning screen came up that said; "Secondary Drive 1 Not Found". It also said to hit F1 to continue or F2 to set-up. I tried both but to no avail as they both just started my computer. I restarted and even shut down the computer several times but to no avail.

Do I need software for this installation? I was under the assumpution from posts above that XP would recognize this burner but evidently not.

What do I do and if I need software, where can I get it?

EDIT: Newegg sent my order out fairly quickly, ( 7 days from order to receipt), but can you believe that in this day and age, newegg does not accept e-mails? You have to call them to get a response. I guess that's okay but I would much rather do business with a computer parts supplier that accepts e-mail inquiries!

Make sure the jumper settings and cable positions are correctly. Also check your bios settings. oh, and you did connect the power cable tot the new drive too didn't you?

 

[eluminator]

After set-up, I turned my computer on and a Windows, (I'm running XP), warning screen came up that said; "Secondary Drive 1 Not Found". It also said to hit F1 to continue or F2 to set-up.

Do I need software for this installation? I was under the assumpution from posts above that XP would recognize this burner but evidently not.

You don't need software. Like others have said, check the master/slave jumper on the drive. It should be set like the old one. Usually a jumper on the first position makes it the master. No jumper makes it the slave.

The message you got is puzzling. It seems to me it is a BIOS message, not a Windows message. If you got the Windows splash screen first, then it's no doubt a Windows message.

I don't know why you want two optical drives anyway, but some people do.

 

[Gene]

First off, I want to thank all you guys for your responses and especially from the ones that helped me.

Okay, I still don't understand what you guys mean by jumpers or masters or slaves or whatever. I removed the DVD-RW from the computer and the only thing I could see different from the CD-RW that I removed was there was a little cap that was pushed over two pins.

On the CD-RW I had removed, it was pushed over two pins on the far LEFT. On the DVD-RW, it was pushed over the two pins on the far RIGHT. I pulled it off and pushed it on the two pins on the far LEFT.

I restarted the computer and my Windows XP now recognizes it. That screen, "Secondary Drive 1 Not Found" is gone.

Next question is how do I burn DVDs? I have DVD Shrink and tried to use it but to no avail. I take it that I put a blank DVD disc in the DVD-RW, correct?

Could any of you guys please tell me how to burn discs with this setup? I have DVD Shrink but can't figure out how to use it. I appreciate any help you guys could provide for this computer challenged moron! Thank you.

 

[Coop]

Okay, I still don't understand what you guys mean by jumpers or masters or slaves or whatever. I removed the DVD-RW from the computer and the only thing I could see different from the CD-RW that I removed was there was a little cap that was pushed over two pins.

On the CD-RW I had removed, it was pushed over two pins on the far LEFT. On the DVD-RW, it was pushed over the two pins on the far RIGHT. I pulled it off and pushed it on the two pins on the far LEFT.

Well, you've found the jumpers it's those little caps over the pins...

Next question is how do I burn DVDs? I have DVD Shrink and tried to use it but to no avail. I take it that I put a blank DVD disc in the DVD-RW, correct?

Could any of you guys please tell me how to burn discs with this setup? I have DVD Shrink but can't figure out how to use it. I appreciate any help you guys could provide for this computer challenged moron! Thank you.

To burn DVDs I highly recommend Nero. This piece of software is very easy to use when it's in express mode (Nero express from the start menu). It has a wizard based interface for common jobs like copying cds/dvds and creating audio and data disc s and other stuff like that. But can also be used in a more advanced mode for experienced users. That way you just have to buy one software package, and not spend another bundle of cash when you want more options. Check out www.nero.com for more info.

 

[Gene]

Yeah, it would have been such a whole bunch easier if somebody could have just said to check "that little cap" on the back instead of all the jumpers, masters or slaves in the beginning!

Thanks MayCooper but I guess there's no more free lunch in burning DVD's as in DVD Shrink? If I buy Nero will it be easy to burn DVDs and will I have to pay out the fee every year? How the heck do you burn DVDs with this new NEC burner? Do you put the blank DVD disc in the burner and then the movie in the CD-ROM?

My search for burning DVDs began as I live very rural and when it snows, my T.V. goes out. I wanted to burn some DVDs and start a library as my wife and I can watch DVDs on the player when it snows.

Again, thanks and any help will be so much appreciated!!!