# DVD-R Drives

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-r-drives/125420>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 24, 2002, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-r-drives/125420 "2002-08-24T23:08:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![pezwookiee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@pezwookiee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezwookiee)\
**Post date:** [August 24, 2002, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-r-drives/125420/1 "2002-08-24T23:08:40Z")

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I’m putting together a new computer and want to have a DVD-R drive. Do I also need a separate DVD/CD drive?

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**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\
**Post date:** [August 24, 2002, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-r-drives/125420/2 "2002-08-24T23:39:57Z")

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Best bet if you only want one such drive is to get a combination DVD/CD burner. That way, you can burn DVD’s and CD’s as well as play them both.

But to answer your question directly: no. A DVD-R drive will play both DVD’s and CD’s.

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**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\
**Post date:** [August 25, 2002, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-r-drives/125420/3 "2002-08-25T15:56:15Z")

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Try a Pioneer a04, tons of people are using them & they do both. Try searching the net for the best price, they should be around $260 & up

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**Author:** ![Slugworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@Slugworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slugworth)\
**Post date:** [August 25, 2002, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-r-drives/125420/4 "2002-08-25T20:32:06Z")

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On a related note, does anyone know where DVD-R standardization is at this point? Is it premature to buy a burner, like I’ve been told often in the past?

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**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\
**Post date:** [August 25, 2002, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-r-drives/125420/5 "2002-08-25T23:37:16Z")

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A good question, Slugworth. I’ve been told that there’s a significant difference between DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, and the like.

To the OP: I’d still recommend getting a secondary drive in order to transfer information between individual discs.

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**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\
**Post date:** [August 26, 2002, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-r-drives/125420/6 "2002-08-26T16:17:13Z")

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dvd-r is pretty well supported. But check the box too, to see what kind of disks it writes.