care to help a noob? I'd like to have some general info

[davidbr]

Hi everyone,

I was considering purchasing a DVD burner.
I don't know much about the subject, thought you could help...

First thing I'd like to know is whether it's advisable to buy now, or maybe it would be better to wait a couple of month to get better/cheaper devices..

Thanks in advance,
David.

[burninfool]

If you need a DVD writer buy one.As with all electronics there will always be another drive that is faster,cheaper with more features.If I need a new car I'm going to buy one now because I can't wait 5 years for a hydrogen powered one.

Happy New Year

[NoSmartz]

Now is as good a time as any.All varieties to choose from.I payed 192.00 for mine a month ago and the same model now is 170.00.It just works out that way.Also,cheaper doesn't mean you're going to get a good one.There are a lot of cheap duds out there.Spend the bread to get a good one.Don't worry about the speed of the model either,it won't for a while to come.Quality is what you want.

E

[davidbr]

Thanks for the quick replies.

I don't need a DVD Writer very urgently, I can wait.
The reason I asked is because usually when new technology arrives prices are extremely high, and then it gets cheaper very fast as well till it's almost steady.

I'd also like to know which things I should look at when I look for a good DVD Writer.
You said quality rather than speed, which factors determine the quality of the product? When I view reviews, what should I look at?

Thanks again,
David.

[NoSmartz]

Well,the reviewer you read will tell you the pros and cons.Right now,most burners can do 4x and some can do 8x.Since a lot of these burners can do the same thing,you have to look for reliabliity.This is where the you can start to weed out the "cheaper" ones.I've yet to find a really cheap one that Rocks totally!!!!!Why does HONDA do so well with their auto's even though they're a little higher in price in each model class,RELIABILITY!!
Go to cdrlabs homepage and you can find tons of Reviews on all kinds of DVD Burners.What works good and what doesn't.You'll start to see things like some aren't compatible with some formats(i.e...RAM, +RW -RW etc..) or their read and write speeds aren't as good as others.Some don't have digital audio output and some won't have good overburn(in terms of minutes.Most of these better high end drives you can record 99 minutes of music to certain 99 minute cd-r media).Trust Ian,he reviews all the drives here CDRLabs and you can't go wrong with what he says.I bought my DVD ± RW 'cause of his review.He tests all of them himself.Stick with brands like Nu-Tech,Plextor,LG,TDK and Lite-On.You can't miss with these.

E