# Is it the right time to buy a DVD burner yet? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2002, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417 "2002-12-22T20:02:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417/1 "2002-12-22T20:02:36Z")
There’s a dearth of information about DVD burners at my favorite hardware sites. I posted this at the anandtech forums: > [@](#): > > At 4X, how long will it take to burn a 4.7 gb DVD-R? Also, how far off are affordable (~$300) blueray DVD burners and media? Is it a mistake to be an early adopter with DVD writing technology? So what does the doper gang think? ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417/2 "2002-12-22T20:07:47Z")
I plan on waiting just a bit longer for the price to drop ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417/3 "2002-12-22T20:20:13Z")
I’m sitting on the couch, watching football, when suddenly a thought pops into my head… doh, posted to the wrong forum again. Mods please relocate this to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417/4 "2002-12-22T20:43:48Z")
$99 has historically been that price level (from [cnet.com](http://cnet.com) artical - I just happen to agree). Not to say that you should buy it at $99. If you need one you might have to spend considerably more. Also the $99 level is the point at which you could buy one, not that you would buy that particular one as you may want some bells and whistles. Basically cnet decided that $99 is the point where the ‘whatever’ is being produced in great numbers by off brands forcing the price to lower across the board. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417/5 "2002-12-23T17:50:43Z")
4x +r disks can cost $10 each. It depends on what happens with the formats, as you know there are two main formats , -r & +r +r disks cost about twice what -r disks cost. Thats why I got the sony dru500a, at the time it came out, it was $253 with tax & shipping from dell. Of course I had to wait 2 months for it. Now, you’re lucky if you can find it. Or even get it at list price, $349.00 (Office Depot: list price $349.00 our price: $379). This one does -r & +r so when one format wins, I can still use it 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417/6 "2002-12-23T19:41:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cainxinth \* > \*\*Mods please relocate this to IMHO. \*\* Okay. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417/7 "2002-12-23T21:01:15Z")
I too have been wondering when the time will be right to buy a dvd burner. Anybody have a dvd burner that can tell me this: How do they work? Is it like a VCR, that you can set to record your fav show while you are out? ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417/8 "2002-12-23T21:47:53Z")
**Debaser** , I believe the OP was referring to computer DVD burners (y’know, like CD-RW), but, yes, I believe the set-top ones are designed to be more or less VCRish. (Or at least that’s how they were described a year or two ago, when things were still in the R&D stage.) As for the computer equivalent, is there a “standard” that’s compatible in a majority of set-top DVD players? (And why does it feel like I’ve asked this before?) ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417/9 "2002-12-24T03:24:06Z")
Thanks for the responses everyone. Here’s a [link](http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=30&threadid=936874) to the anandtech thread if anyone is interested. I’m torn over what to do. I really need to backup my hard disks, but it seems like waiting a year would save me a lot of money and time. P.S. **handy** , thats the exact drive I’m drooling over. How in the world did you manage to get one for $250! ---
**Author:** ![Toddly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@Toddly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toddly)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417/10 "2002-12-24T03:37:42Z")
I woud wait and consider an external or additional hard drive for backup. They are not fast enough and still pricey. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417/11 "2002-12-24T04:40:11Z")
It’s the lack of standardization that conerns me. As I understand it, there are five different formats: DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R and DVD+RW. Newer drives handle several formats but not all: DVD-RAM/-R, DVD-R/-RW, and DVD+R/+RW seem to be common. I do have a DVD-RAM drive at work and it’s nice for backups. But unless you really need removable media (backup, transporting, archiving), an external hard drive seems to be more cost-effective. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417/12 "2002-12-24T09:18:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cainxinth \* > \*\*P.S. **handy** , thats the exact drive I’m drooling over. How in the world did you manage to get one for $250! \*\* Maybe he hangs out at Anand’s Hot Deals forum? (God, what a weird picture that is…) ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417/13 "2002-12-24T16:23:05Z")
“P.S. handy, thats the exact drive I’m drooling over. How in the world did you manage to get one for $250!” Before it came out, that’s right, just _before_, Dell was having a sale on it. Naturally, they didn’t have it, so they made us wait. Dell is pretty cool. Catch a sale they have & you can get at pretty nice deal on it. I found it a couple weeks ago there for $337-20% That doesn’t mean they have it in stock though but they do mail it when they get it in. ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417/14 "2002-12-25T08:09:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KKBattousai \* > **Maybe he hangs out at Anand’s Hot Deals forum?** Sounds like the right idea, and I think I’m going to wait a few months on this. The drives are a little too slow, and the format picture isn’t clear enough yet. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417/15 "2002-12-25T16:29:37Z")
“Maybe he hangs out at Anand’s Hot Deals forum?” Nope. I use another forum. Sometimes I use Fat Wallet but wading through all the messages there takes a long time. Not all deals come through. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-the-right-time-to-buy-a-dvd-burner-yet/144417/16 "2002-12-25T17:47:11Z")
Here are some good deal forums/sites I use. DealNews [Doc’s Online Deals and Steals](http://www.techimo.com/forum/f16/index.html)