I am expecting this Firewire DVD-R/+R drive any day now. It’s new, and it goes up to 8X speeds when burning DVDs.
I ordered some Memorex 4X blank DVD-Rs from Amazon.com because I figure they were a safe bet, but frankly, I have NO idea what kind of media this burner can take. I understand that it can use either DVD-R or DVD+R and DVD-RW and DVD+RW. And of course it can burn CDs too.
But I am not sure of speeds. I thought I read somewhere that you need to get the specific speed of DVD media that will go with your burner. For instance, if you have a 2X machine, you need 2X DVD-Rs. But I have a feeling I misunderstood. Could I use any DVD burnable media, as long as I burned it no faster than it was designed for? (Meaning, I would burn a 2X DVD-R at 2X, even though I can go up to 8X.) Or, must I be extra careful about what media I use?
I also read somewhere that the quality of the media is important (as it is with CD-Rs) so I’m sticking with brand names like TDK and Memorex. Are there any lesser known brands that are okay?
Anything else I should know? I want to mainly use this to burn backup copies of the massive amount of clutter I have on my hard drives, but I love the idea of making DVDs of some of my iMovie projects (when I start making iMovie projects . . . ). I am getting iDVD 4, but my Mac is not fast enough to run iDVD (at least not to burn DVDs) and besides, my DVD burner is external so I don’t think iDVD supports it anyway.
I also will be using this DVD burner on my PC (which has Firewire) and I’d like to know what software I could use with it there. Basically, I’m clueless. I have looked at support sites (several of them) but I still am not getting a clear picture. My initial concern right now is not wasting money buying media that my machine will not support, though. Or worse, getting media that will in some way damage my machine. (I read a caution about that somewhere too.)
Don’t worry, but yes, you’ll be limited to burning at the max speed allowed by the media. In this case, upto 4X. The software you use might allow you to burn faster, but I would not recommend it, you’d likely end up with coasters.
As for backing up I use DVD-RW and format them to act like floppies (inline-packet writing). It’s useful and easy to use.
That’s DVD+RW that I use. I stick to + format simply because I have less compatability problems with it (and closing a disk takes much less time), YMMV.
Thanks Kinthalis! I just bid on some DVD+RW disks that I had my eye on! Bless your heart. And thanks for the link.
So, I take it that if I have, say, a 4X DVD media and I (for some reason) wanted to burn it at 2X, I could do that, right? I am basically limited to the high end of the media’s burning capabilities, like with CD-Rs.
And, if I have a slower burner (which I don’t) I could use 4X disks but just burn them at my machine’s maximum, 2X, right? Or, if I, with my fabulous 8X machine, find a good deal on some 2X disks, I can use them as long as I burn them at 2X?
I just want to be extra sure before I go on a DVD media buying frenzy! And it is nice that I can use either type—DVD-R and DVD+R (and their RW variations).
Yeah, that’s the reason I got my ± drive too. Compatability sakes. If my mom’s DVD drive has problems with my + media, I know I can record her a - disk. I got a 4X drive though
Just a caveat: Some media wont work well in some recorders. It’s usually a good idea to buy a few discs of some brand and test them out before buying that spool of 50.
You can also check dvdrhelp.com for compatibility lists.
