help a newbie find a drive...

[schtoops]

hi

i am a freelance videographer that shoots with a HVX-200 which stores the footage onto p2 memory cards. i dump my footage onto a 400 gig raid 1 drive and 80 gig drive as well for backup. in addition, i've been backing up to dvd as an additional safeguard. sometimes my clients like to take the 80 gig drive to load into their system and sometimes they prefer a data dvd.

what i'm looking for is the highest quality DL DVD burner. price is not an issue. i prefer a relatively quiet drive as i'm recording sound as well. i can usually set up my laptop in a different area and use sound blankets to dampen the sound, but the drive can't sound like a lawn mower. also, i'm looking to be able to burn a DL dvd in 15-20 mins tops. and will USB 2.0 vs. Sata make much of a difference? i'm on a mac book pro and prefer to use USB leaving my expresscard slot free for other tasks. Also, can someone recommend the best DL DVD media for my needs. error free burns are my biggest priority.

thanks in advance

[ItalianJob]

Also, can someone recommend the best DL DVD media for my needs. error free burns are my biggest priority.

Use Verbatim DL only.

[Justin42]

The problem is to burn a DL disc in 15-20 minutes, you'll need to burn at 8x, which isn't always the most reliable speed, although lots of people do it and it burns ok.

Personally, I tend to burn DL media at 2.4x (takes 45 minutes) as that's what the media is rated at and tends to scan excellent. If quality is of the utmost concern, I'm not sure I'd burn over 4x.

The ONLY -- and I seriously mean that-- DL media worth looking at is Verbatim. Everything else is variable quality and usually pretty bad. Verbatim makes 2.4x and 8x media (and maybe some speeds in between), but many resellers (especially Best Buy) label the 2.4x media as 8x media-- since many burners support burning the 2.4x media at 8x. But it's not true 8x media and if quality is important, I'd track down TRUE 8x media.

A drive is a bigger question. The Pioneer 111 is an excellent burner, but can be kind of on the noisy side (one of mine definitely is too loud based on your description). I really like my LG H10L's burn quality on DL media, and it's a bit quieter in my experience than the 111. They make an external version, the E10L but it's getting rare. The latest H42 model should be just about as good, just a bit faster. Not sure if there's an external version. There IS an external LG E30L but I don't think it is based on the same chipset family as the H10/H42 lines are. (LG uses Panasonic and Renesas, the Renesas family burners tend to be better in many cases)

You should be able to burn up to around 8x-12x with no problems with USB connections. That's as fast as I'd recommend burning anything anyway, so that's not an issue.

[schtoops]

thanks guys...
also if it matters for burn speed i'm on a mac book pro with a 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo and 2 gigs of ram and during burns the computer will not be used for any other tasks. what kind of reliability and time am i looking at for burning at 4x or 6x speed for DL media assuming i'm on the best writer for these needs?

[Grain]

Your looking at 25-30 mins at 4X, 20ish at 6X. With Verbatim +R DL media, reliability will be very high (as high as you can get with DL media). If you are burning strictly data (ie not video that needs to be compatable with a lot of varied DVD players) then Verbatim -R DL media will work also, however it is more money generally than +R (not as common).
If speed is very important, then use the true 8X rated Verb media (has an orange colour to the packaging, opposed to a blueish colour w/ the 2.4X), they burn quite nicely at 8X.
I too have found the Pioneer 111D to be somewhat noisy, if your looking for quiet, LG may be the way to go.

[NateTTU]

I too am a newbie and just in about the same boat as the original poster.
I am looking for high quality burner for DL media, and thats just about it nothing else matters not speed or even how loud it is. It seems that most people recommend the Pioneer 111, however the only reason I have been a little hesitate on buying one is because I have seen a few online reviewers who said its quality wasn't all that great. I saw lots of other recommendations for older drives such as the DW1640 & DRU-810A. However these are pretty hard to find plus I would assume there would be newer and better ones out by now.
In short I just need a high quality burner for DL, thanks.

I have some NEC dvd drive in my dell from a couple years back, would this along with a good program be good enough to backup some of my dvds? I obviously would just use this to read the dvd, not write, or would it probably be better to just use my new dvd burner to read and write? Anyone got a good program to recommend?

Also, is there a good (aka cheaper) place to find verbatim media? I was going to get some sony dual layer media because it was going on sale starting tomorrow but sounds like everything else sucks.

Sorry for all the questions but I had to ask. The thing is the more I read the more questions I get.

EDIT: Almost forgot, it seems that there are different versions of the 111, is there any real difference I should be aware of? I really would not like to have to flash the drive.

[Justin42]

The only 111 you'll find in the US is the 111D, which is the most bare bones model, unfortunately.

I think many of the iffy reviews you read about the drive came early in its life-- Pioneer drives seem to start out kinda blah, and get stronger with each firmware revision until they're spectacularly good.

I think the fact it wins monthly on the polls here is a good indicator-- you won't find a drive as good all around as the 111. There is no way the Sony is better, although many people love Benq (but as you noticed, good luck finding one).

Verbatim DL media doesn't seem to be going on sale much, if at all, anymore. Save yourself some hassle and do not buy anything else. It's not worth losing $1.50 on a bad burn (And having to burn 2-3 more $1.50 discs to get a good one) when Verbatim is pretty close most of the time.

[NateTTU]

Since the DVR-111D isn't very common, isn't the DVR-710 an exact clone? Also what is DVD-RAM and why is it important to have support for it? Also, if someone could recommend a good program for backing up dvds I would appreciate it. Thanks.

[TCAS]

Look like despite good much advice to the poster he/she did not bother to come back for the answer.

[Ian]

Since the DVR-111D isn't very common, isn't the DVR-710 an exact clone?

Yeah, they're the same drive. Pioneer America takes the DVR-111D, tosses it in a retail box and calls it the DVR-710.