new to DVD writer world, couple questions

[brookz]

I have a Panasonic DMR-E50 and would love edit/save video from DVD-Ram. Is the LG GSA-4082B the best option? Does it handle cartridges?

I've read about the new LG GSA-4120B. Would that be worth waiting for as a new user?

I assume from what I read LG is the best bet for DVD-Ram.

Thanks for any help.

[Ian]

The LG drives are your best option, if you need to write to DVD-RAM. And no, they don't support cartridges.

If you just want to read them, there are other drives out there that can, including the Pioneer 107D. A few other combo and DVD-ROM drives can as well.

[Kennyshin]

Perhaps you can buy a used DVD burner that can handle cartdriged DVD-RAM media. They are not that popular now. When I asked Ritek whether their DVD-RAM media also had cartridges, I couldn't get an answer, but their price was best as usual.

[dolphinius_rex]

Perhaps you can buy a used DVD burner that can handle cartdriged DVD-RAM media. They are not that popular now. When I asked Ritek whether their DVD-RAM media also had cartridges, I couldn't get an answer, but their price was best as usual.

Ritek's price was best on DVD-RAM? Are we talking about the same company here? In North America their prices on DVD-RAM suck so bad that even Maxell undercuts them! Let me put it this way, Ritek's price on 5,000pcs+ is about the same as my price from Maxell on 1pc. With the exception that Ritek's pricing is FOB California, and Maxell's is FOB B.C. and I live in B.C.

[brookz]

Thanks for the info. I would like to use the DVD-Ram cartridges I have. Is there a PC DVD writer that supports cartridges? Do older LG models support DVD-ram?

[dodecahedron]

the Panasonic drives support cartridge type DVD-RAM, i believe.

http://panasonic.com/business/office/lm_dvd_multi.asp
LF-M621U
LF-D521U

AFAIK no LG drive supports the cartridge-type DVD-RAM discs.\

the older models supported DVD-RAM too - GSA 4020B, 4040B, 4080B, 4081B.

[Kennyshin]

Perhaps you can buy a used DVD burner that can handle cartdriged DVD-RAM media. They are not that popular now. When I asked Ritek whether their DVD-RAM media also had cartridges, I couldn't get an answer, but their price was best as usual.

Ritek's price was best on DVD-RAM? Are we talking about the same company here? In North America their prices on DVD-RAM suck so bad that even Maxell undercuts them! Let me put it this way, Ritek's price on 5,000pcs+ is about the same as my price from Maxell on 1pc. With the exception that Ritek's pricing is FOB California, and Maxell's is FOB B.C. and I live in B.C.

That's strange. Maxell DVD-RAM is two to three times as expensive as Ritek DVD-RAM.

[dolphinius_rex]

Perhaps you can buy a used DVD burner that can handle cartdriged DVD-RAM media. They are not that popular now. When I asked Ritek whether their DVD-RAM media also had cartridges, I couldn't get an answer, but their price was best as usual.

Ritek's price was best on DVD-RAM? Are we talking about the same company here? In North America their prices on DVD-RAM suck so bad that even Maxell undercuts them! Let me put it this way, Ritek's price on 5,000pcs+ is about the same as my price from Maxell on 1pc. With the exception that Ritek's pricing is FOB California, and Maxell's is FOB B.C. and I live in B.C.

That's strange. Maxell DVD-RAM is two to three times as expensive as Ritek DVD-RAM.

Well, until yesterday I was a direct distributor for Optodisc America, Ritek USA, and Maxell Canada (more too, but less relevant), and all three offer the exact same pricing, only minimum order quantities vary. Ritek requires *LARGE* minimum orders, otherwise they knock the price up a LOT, or simply ignore you (really rather rude company!!!) Optodisc I have *VERY* good relations with, and I could order even 1 pc if I wanted . Maxell is the same way as Optodisc.

For quality, I would choose Maxell or Optodisc over Ritek ANYDAY for DVD-RAM. I would choose Optodisc over Ritek or Maxell anyday for re-writable media (seriously impressive results so far!) and for regular DVD-Rs and DVD+Rs I'd pick Maxell for quality and Optodisc for price. Since I can no longer justify the huge orders from Ritek, they will no longer be getting any of my business.

[Ian]

Until yesterday? You get a new job?

[dolphinius_rex]

Until yesterday? You get a new job?

No, my company decided to completely drop Ritek as a supplier. I had already stopped supporting them, but now the company will no longer be purchasing from Ritek USA at all. hehe, I didn't even have to *try* to convince them, Ritek just made it very difficult to get any products, and their pricing was always stupid, so it was only a matter of time.

I think in less then one year, Ritek will have lost a great deal of their current good reputation with the public.

[Kennyshin]

Perhaps you can buy a used DVD burner that can handle cartdriged DVD-RAM media. They are not that popular now. When I asked Ritek whether their DVD-RAM media also had cartridges, I couldn't get an answer, but their price was best as usual.

Ritek's price was best on DVD-RAM? Are we talking about the same company here? In North America their prices on DVD-RAM suck so bad that even Maxell undercuts them! Let me put it this way, Ritek's price on 5,000pcs+ is about the same as my price from Maxell on 1pc. With the exception that Ritek's pricing is FOB California, and Maxell's is FOB B.C. and I live in B.C.

That's strange. Maxell DVD-RAM is two to three times as expensive as Ritek DVD-RAM.

Well, until yesterday I was a direct distributor for Optodisc America, Ritek USA, and Maxell Canada (more too, but less relevant), and all three offer the exact same pricing, only minimum order quantities vary. Ritek requires *LARGE* minimum orders, otherwise they knock the price up a LOT, or simply ignore you (really rather rude company!!!) Optodisc I have *VERY* good relations with, and I could order even 1 pc if I wanted . Maxell is the same way as Optodisc.

For quality, I would choose Maxell or Optodisc over Ritek ANYDAY for DVD-RAM. I would choose Optodisc over Ritek or Maxell anyday for re-writable media (seriously impressive results so far!) and for regular DVD-Rs and DVD+Rs I'd pick Maxell for quality and Optodisc for price. Since I can no longer justify the huge orders from Ritek, they will no longer be getting any of my business.

I guess they charged a lot indeed and ignoring most of their small distributors. It's just that Maxell and Optodisc are not for South Korean market so Ritek is practically the only provider to think of. I could import Ritek DVD-RAM 9.4GB media but there was hardly a single demand ( could be certain of at any moment then. Most users just wanted at most one or a few DVD-RAM disks. At that time, DVD-RW was not that cheap either so DVD-RAM 2x seemed good in terms of performance and cost. USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394b hard disk drives have evolved so fast that most end users at home gradually ignored MO, DVD-RAM, ZIP, FDD, and other media standards invented to replace floppies. Personally, I have over 20 hard drives of over 18GB size including SCSI and 2.5-inch and about 70 including 4GB and 6GB drives.

There are even HDD-based mobile DivX/MP3 players.

I agree with you that Ritek's gonna lose a lot in the coming months if not already. Taiwanese statistics indicate market share drop for Ritek which I think is no coincidence. During the same period, CMC, Nanya, Prodisc, and a few Indian and Hong Kong firms multiplied their outputs and profits often in a matter of months. Maybe Ritek will learn to accept both small-scale orders and large-scale OEM orders or will focus more on OEM production in the coming years like Taiyo Yuden of Japan.

[Kennyshin]

Until yesterday? You get a new job?

No, my company decided to completely drop Ritek as a supplier. I had already stopped supporting them, but now the company will no longer be purchasing from Ritek USA at all. hehe, I didn't even have to *try* to convince them, Ritek just made it very difficult to get any products, and their pricing was always stupid, so it was only a matter of time.

I think in less then one year, Ritek will have lost a great deal of their current good reputation with the public.

I wish I could work again. I mean something other than baby-sitting, but my wife's gonna kill me for saying this again. She doesn't even let me hire baby-sitter and houeskeeper.

[dolphinius_rex]

I've seen Ritek trying to slowly break into the hardware market now too... and this I find rather hilarious!

As for me, I'm a worker. I don't feel satisfied unless I'm doing something useful. I often stay up very late doing research or coming up with new ideas or strategies. Sadly, it has been known to put some strain on my relationship with my girlfriend.

[Kennyshin]

I've seen Ritek trying to slowly break into the hardware market now too... and this I find rather hilarious!

As for me, I'm a worker. I don't feel satisfied unless I'm doing something useful. I often stay up very late doing research or coming up with new ideas or strategies. Sadly, it has been known to put some strain on my relationship with my girlfriend.

I lost one once so I understand the feeling in a way. I eventually quit the company without first telling the boss.

[dolphinius_rex]

I've seen Ritek trying to slowly break into the hardware market now too... and this I find rather hilarious!

As for me, I'm a worker. I don't feel satisfied unless I'm doing something useful. I often stay up very late doing research or coming up with new ideas or strategies. Sadly, it has been known to put some strain on my relationship with my girlfriend.

I lost one once so I understand the feeling in a way. I eventually quit the company without first telling the boss.

Wow... that's devotion! Quitting your job for your loved one As for me, I try to make it up to her every couple weekends. I take her out and do nice special stuff, to remind her that she's on my mind even when I'm scatterbrained