dexter757

Does anyone have a DVD-R here, i am considering getting the new Sony or Pioneer DVD-R, does anyone have any advice or experiences with them ???

Also does anyone know how much the media costs for them ? I want to do a back up of my current DVD's. How much does a blank CD cost.

Thanks guys
Ryan

belboz

Welcome to the forum Ryan. I've been using the Pioneer 104 for a few months now and I've been really happy with it. I haven't burned any DVD-RW discs, but all the DVD-R discs I've burned have been readable on every drive/player I've tried so far.

I buy my blanks from Meritline. I've been sticking to branded media so I spend about $2.50 per disc. With the no name generics, they can get under a $1 per disc, but your risk or running into problems rises.

Discussions about backing up copyrighted materials is frowned upon by the founder/owner of this forum, so we don't get into that here. Most everything else, though, if you have questions, feel free to ask.

shaun3000

Dexter,

For the record, DVD-R drives only burn on DVD-R media. (Same goes for -RW, and then there's the +R and +RW which only burn on those discs) ANYWAY, you can't use a regular CD-R disc to make a DVD with a DVD burner.

Just wanted to clear that up incase your mention of CD wasn't a typo.

Mr. Salty

Not only is this frowned upon around here, it's impractical.

Almost all commercially-made DVDs are dual-layered these days, which means they hold way more data than can be burned on a single-layer DVD-R. You would either have to split each of your existing DVDs across multiple discs, or you would have to further compress the data, severely compromising quality in the process.

In addition to the technical limitations, there's the expense. Even with the price of blank media dropping, it would cost considerably more to back up your entire collection than it would to replace the occasional disc you might damage.

Shon

I have the Pioneer DVR-AO5. I love this burner. It is -R/RW only.

I choose this player because it burnes -R at 4X's speed and -RW in 2X's speed. It can also use the 2x -R and 1x -RW media as well. I have not had any probems with this burner what so ever.

I really dont need the +R/RW media (media cost more and some players dont read the +R/RW discs.)

It comes with "My Sonic" software that makes it easy to create chapters and soforth.

In all the different forums I have visited this player along with the DVR-AO4 has recieved rave reviews. Cost was around $300 and I installed it in an external case. You cant go wrong with either the AO4 or AO5 (AO4 is the later version that burns at 2x -R)

dexter757

Thanks for the replys people, much apreciated.

Does anyone know if they are going to bring out burners that can burn dual layers ?

Seeker

The answer, as with all things computer related, is, of course.

But do you want to wait till then, when they are affordable?

Mutley Hyde

Shon, I'm thinking about getting the AO5, and had some questions about region playback, PAL/NTSC conversion and all. I would bet this is probably frowned upon here as well, so would you please email me your email address so I could pick your brain?

Thanks!
[email protected]

Tommy Boy29

I don't know why you say that DVD copying is frowned upon. Didn't you read the case in CNN?

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/01/07/d...sen/index.html

If it's done for personal reasons, and you lawfully bought the dvd, it's your property, you can do what you want with it, now if you were to make a copy and sell it to someone or share it online, yeah, that would be illegal. But don't be too quick to jump on someone for wanting to make a backup of a dvd. The kid above did, and beat the studios in the court.

shaun3000

I don't think that was in the US

NoirTech

It wasn't. It was in Norway. So that really wouldn't apply here, until the courts here made their own decision.

duy37

I also use the Pioneer A04 and also buy blanks from Meritline, however I go with DVDPRo Grade-A for .67 each (200qty). Go with the sampler and see what works for you and I found that on my Panasonic DVD player, Playstation2 and Toshiba DVD-ROM, DVDPRO works great overall. I have burned about 400 DVDPRO discs. No coasters and no problem whatsoever for me and for people that I burn for. Now, in the long run will generic crap out more easily than brand name? I don't know, but at .67 each it makes economic sense. the discs that i've burned 7 months ago still work great. Oh also note that these discs are only 1x. thats why they're so cheap, the Pioneer has burn-proof so I can surf the web and chat while its burning so speed is not much of an issue.

Also I heard that Fry's had a generic dvdburner for 199. best data or something and its actually a 104 or 105 underneath

namja

In the U.S., you cannot copy any DVD movies. Even if you own the movie (unlike VHS movies). The DMCA prohibits DVD copying.

belboz

I'll have to give those blanks a try. I did try some other generics early on which didn't turn out so well, hence my current practice of buying branded discs.

To clarify this a bit, the DMCA prohibits breaking or circumventing the security features built into electronic devices and media to protect IP content. Indeed, under the DMCA, even explaining or discussing the methods of how to do so would be considered illegal. It's a horribly conceived law that is overreaching and serves the IP holders at the expense of the legitimate rights of consumers.

Unfortunately, it has not been very well tested in the US courts and as such many aspects of what exactly is legal or illegal is still vague.

Keep in mind, however, that not all DVD-Video discs are protected by CSS or Macrovision since they both require royalty payments from those studios/distributors who wish to use it. Indeed, the last time I checked a couple years ago, there were many "Hollywood" movies that weren't so protected and therefore can be legally duplicated as allowed under Fair Use.

Take a look at this site's sponsors, though. Such fine distinctions are almost certainly lost upon them and as such this site has a strong incentive to err on the side of caution when determining its policies in regards to such discussions.

X

This is an excellent explanation of what we often are forced to reduce to one or two sentences due to expediency. Thank you!

theboss777

Do you know of any websites to get a deal on a sony dru500a burner? Thanks.