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- How come Macs have DVD-RW drives and PC’s don’t (that I could find easily)? I found lots of pages with other people asking the same question. I found a few press releases from early and mid 2000 that said the units were expected to start shipping in the fall of that year. - MC
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I don’t know why you have been having trouble finding them, but they should be out there. Several months ago, I received a retail model of a Toshiba DVD-RW (for PC) at my then-office for review. Maxtor and Sony should have units by now as well. Keep looking; unless each company ran into some sort of production problem, they should be out there.
Of course, you may be running into a scarcity issue: the drives are being grabbed up as fast as they can be stocked. Even at $500-$700 apiece, there are plenty of willing buyers.
Possibly because you are looking for “DVD-RW” which is not typically how these devices are described. “DVD-RAM” is the
description used most of the time.
IDE UNIT
http://www.egghead.com/category/inv/00059278/03710349.htm
"DVD RAM EIDE/ATAPI INTPC SOFTWARE/1PC 5.2GB MEDIA/CABLE
Introducing the QPS Que! Internal DVD-RAM for Apple G3/G4 and PC desktop computers. The Que! DVD-RAM features an IDE interface and brings all the excitement of the new DVD format to personal computers with 5.2GB of data storage space. The Que! DVD-RAM is ideal for desktop publishing, archiving and presentations."
FIREWIRE UNIT
http://www.necxdirect.com/hai/prod_page.html?key=0000157247&nonce=guest
"9.4GB EXTERNAL DVD-RAM FIREWIRE WIN/MAC
"The QPS Que! Fire DVD-RAM drive is ideal for desktop publishing, archiving, and presentations. This drive grants you the ability to record a full-length 120-minute movie on one of the DVD-RAM media equaling close to 4.7GB of data. The Fire DVD-RAM provides a total of 9.4GB of double-sided storage space with enhanced caching for optimal read and write throughput and maximum transfer rates of 33.3MB/s.
Recordings on the Fire DVD-RAM are playable on today’s DVD-ROM’s and home-TV set players as well. The drive is backward compatible so don’t throw away your CD’s yet, cause DVD-ROM, CD-ROM,
CD-R, and CD-RW can be read with the Fire drive. It can be used with your PC or Mac, and includes software, media, a carrying case, and more."
If you mean of the built-in variety, Macs have them because it makes life easier for folks who produce their own movies and presentations with Apple’s iDVD and DVD Studio Pro software.
Actually, DVD-RAM and DVD-RW are not the same thing. They are very similar, but they are separate standards and are not compatible with each other. I don’t know which is better.
Well, I’m not saying one is better or not, but I would prefer the DVD-RW. You see, DVD-RAM is not compatible with consumer DVD players. Most DVD-RWs are compatible with most consumer DVD players.
But, this really only matters if you’re interested in using your computer to make things that work in your DVD player.
My DVD player, for example, can play MP3 disks as long as they’re stupid 8.3 format. This means I now have about 100 CD’s converted to about 7 or 8 disks. Imagine if I could burn a DVD-formatted MP3 disk! About 3.8 gigs (IIRC) versus 680MB! That’d be nice.
Also, one of my DVD players will play VCDs, an old, low-quality standard predating DVD. I currently make some VCDs with the computer to play in the DVD player. But again, it would be fabulous to make real DVD’s.
DVD-RAM just wouldn’t cut it.
I’m kind of afraid the money to upgrade to DVD-RW, though, since I think the industry is really, really going to go to something entirely different-but-the-same, mainly to dig themselves out of their stupid little deCSS mess.
??? see below description of DVD RAM unit per my previous post.
"FIREWIRE UNIT
http://www.necxdirect.com/hai/prod_page.html?key=0000157247&nonce=guest
“9.4GB EXTERNAL DVD-RAM FIREWIRE WIN/MAC
Recordings on the Fire DVD-RAM are playable on today’s DVD-ROM’s and home-TV set players as well.”
OK I’m confused, by DVD-RW do you mean DVD-Re-Writable (i.e. a DVD burner)? Because I was under the impression that these cost more like $2,000 or $3,000, not $500-$700.
AFAIK, the Panasonic “Superdrive” in the top end Mac G4 is the only type of drive that can write DVDs that are viewable in standard DVD players, as well as write CDR/CDRWs and DVD data disks (makes a great permanent backup media). Apple has an exclusive because they committed to it before anyone, and bought out essentially an entire year of production of the drives. Compaq is next in line, but they have nothing to compete with iDVD and DVD Studio Pro.
BTW, I hate that name “Superdrive.” Whenever I hear it, I think about those awful Imation Superdrives that they sold with the first iMacs, as an external floppy disk drive.
The basic reason why Mac’s are usually advertised as coming with DVD-RAM (the only G4 towers I’ve seen offer the RAM, not RW, but I’m not saying that option isn’t available) is because that’s a piece of hardware that’s more likely to be used by someone who owns a Mac. Apple’s really been pushing their products as the tool for heavy video editing, and that can take up space.
PC’s, of course, are only good for playing games (:D), so they only offer the CD-RW for all them High School kids to copy games for their pals.
(Note: That last comment is to be taken in jest)
Another reason why you don’t see many DVD recordable devices is because the industry has yet to adopt a universal standard for recording DVDs. This means that many manufacturers are hesitant to start mass production of a particular type of DVD. What will probably end up happening is a de facto standard will eventually emerge.
For more info on the technology: