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Reesy
10-09-2002, 13:34
Anyone out there got one of these?
Any advise, comments, suggestions at all please?

Cheers
James
Dodge
10-09-2002, 17:45
Reesy, Do you mean DVD Rom or a DVD player??

If its DVD Rom for your 'puter - get one, almost anyone.

Have a look at www.pcpro.com (http://www.pcpro.com) - check their 'A' list and reviews.

Dodge
Reesy
11-09-2002, 04:14
Hi Dodge, I mean neither mate, ive already got a DVD reader

DVD RAM is in essence a DVD writer (Like a CD writer but uses DVD`s), I seem to be filling me CD`s up a bit too quickly and DVD`s cpuld be the answer as they have a capacity of upto 5.2 GB.

Theyre comparitavely quite new (and expensive), hence me asking for any advice. I guess not many have them yet....

Cheers for you help anyway, heres an interesting link for you (if a little old)
<a target="_blank" href=http://www.toshiba.com/taissdd/products/docs/dvdramwhitepaper.shtml>http://www.toshiba.com/taissdd/products/docs/dvdramwhitepaper.shtml</a>
CarponlineEditor
11-09-2002, 07:18
Ive just got one with my updated computer and it is much better than my old writer. Saying that though a chocolate tea pot would be much better than my old one as I paid over £200 for it and never did manage to burn any cds on it, blooming thing, lol...

This one is a Philips DVD/RW 1600 series and it is great with the RW discs. It plays DVDs great too but to be honest I havent the wedge at present to buy the writable DVDs, saving my pocket money to get some..

Still learning about the thing too..

Andy
DanCleary
11-09-2002, 09:47
I would have to say Philips is the way to go
Reesy
11-09-2002, 10:26
Whys that Dan out of interest?
Reesy
11-09-2002, 10:29
PS Andy cheers for the info, based on cost per storage (ie how many GB`s for ya money) DVD`s are cheaper than any other format at present... just a bit pricey per each disk but worth it I rekon if it means I can get more on one disk and not keep having to faff about using multiple disks etc....

Dont suppose you know the spec of the DVD burning capabilities do you?
Cheers
James
DanCleary
11-09-2002, 12:44
Philips were the first to invent DVD, just in case you didn't know. They again were the first to sell dvd recorders and ram's.

i've got a few bits of philips gear and have never had any problems.
Buzzby
11-09-2002, 18:44
Try this link to novatech mate

http://www2.novatech.co.uk/NOVATECH/Specpage.html?parameters=stockcode=PIO-DVDRRW'
Dodge
11-09-2002, 20:20
Reesy, well I live &amp; learn! Always called them DVD writers!! We use them at the office for data backup - quicker, cheaper &amp; more reliable than tape &amp; more gigs than CD's (which I'm sure you already know).

Still worth having a look at the pcpro site A list &amp; reviews - I've always found their recommendations pukka - not necassarily the A list but the 'Best Value' in their technical reports. All available on their site once you register (gets you a monthly email update!!).
OnTheDrop
11-09-2002, 21:30
DVD-RAM &amp; DVD Writers are 2 different technologies. You cannot write DVD-RAM media in a DVD-RW &amp; vice versa.
If you want a DVD-RW, the Pioneer 104 series is one of the better ones and at good prices currently (under £200 inc VAT for OEM drives). DVD-RAM media cannot be used in standalone DVD players, where as the vast majority of DVD-R/RW media can be (for playing back home movies etc).

Carponline Editor

DVD-R media has plummeted in price and can be picked up for around 54p each when bought in 100's (4.7Gb Dual Layer)
Big_Rik
11-09-2002, 22:44
I thought 4.5Gb was single layer, single sided.
9 for dual and 18 (or 17 point summink) for dual, double??

Dell are selling one of their 4500 Dimensions for £899 with a free upgrade to a DVD writer at the mo.
On their site somewhere...
OnTheDrop
11-09-2002, 23:02
Did I put dual layer? I meant single layer, 4.7Gb per layer (for general use, 2 hrs Video footage at standard MPG2 compression)
CarponlineEditor
12-09-2002, 07:09
All very interesting stuff this. So where can this cheaper media be bought, any ideas? I wouldnt mind trying this not just for data storage, but being new to this what other things could these discs be used for??

Andy
Reesy
12-09-2002, 16:33
Making "back up" copies (cough, cough) of DVD`s /forum/images/icons/smile.gif

Im just after one to fill the DVD`s up with a rapidly expanding MP3 collection and hate flicking through dozens of CD`s (all unlabelled ofcourse /forum/images/icons/smile.gif looking for the right one...
OnTheDrop
12-09-2002, 22:33
http://www.blankshop.com/x871.html (click the DVD-RB1 link for the media description)

25 x 4.7Gb 1x speed rated ( for Pioneer DVD-R drives )DVD-R media = £15.00 inc VAT (60p each)
Reesy
13-09-2002, 02:03
Cheers for the link Buzby, just had the time to check it out.
Thanks

Good link for the disks too /forum/images/icons/smile.gif
KevinBabij
17-09-2002, 14:09
Considering one myself to archive large digicam TIFF images.
Currently lucky to get 100 images to a CDR so should expect upwards of 800 with rewritable DVD.
PC World (cringe!!) have one model currently on offer at c£250
Reesy
18-09-2002, 04:57
Is it this one Kevin?
<a target="_blank" href=http://
<a href="http://www.pcworld.co.uk/store/martprd.dll/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1087952310.103232076 0@@@@&amp;BV_EngineID=cccgadcgffldlmicefecfgmdffgdflg. 0&amp;page=Product&amp;sku=657015>
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/store/martprd.dll/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1087952310.103232076 0@@@@&amp;BV_EngineID=cccgadcgffldlmicefecfgmdffgdflg. 0&amp;page=Product&amp;sku=657015 (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/store/martprd.dll/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1087952310.103232076 0@@@@&amp;BV_EngineID=cccgadcgffldlmicefecfgmdffgdflg. 0&amp;page=Product&amp;sku=657015</a>)[/url]



Does anyone know the fastest rate these are available at at all?

5 gigs could take a while!!!!! to burn at a 12x write speed!!!!?
[Edit] Dodge the link you meant to post ends in .co.uk not .com me thinks.... am reading it now, I might even find my own answers LOL /forum/images/icons/smile.gif
FANX
James
OnTheDrop
18-09-2002, 15:45
Reesy, I think you have your wires a little crossed /forum/images/icons/smile.gif

If you were to use CD-R media in the DVD-R drive, you would be able to burn them at 12x (150Kbps x 12 = 1.8Mbps) where as if you were to burn onto DVD-R media, you would be able to burn at a maximum of 2.4x ( 2400Kbps x 2.4 = 5.76Mbps ). DVD-R burning speeds are much higher than CD-R speeds. As CD-R's are governed in speeds of 150Kbps (1x) where as DVD-R's are governed in speeds of 2400Kbps (1x).
A full DVD would take approx 33 minutes to complete at 1x burning times.
Reesy
18-09-2002, 16:37
your not wrong there mate... I am gettin a bit confuzled! /forum/images/icons/smile.gif

So can you just kindly post how long it would take (at current available technology) to burn a dvd disk please... I take it its not 33 mins.

Thanks for your help!
OnTheDrop
18-09-2002, 22:46
I made a small mistake.

DVD-R is writable at 1x at 1380Kbps &amp; 2x at 2770Kbps. Therefore to write 4316Mb of data to the DVD-R it would take at 1x, on average, 56min 24 seconds, and at 2x, an average of 28mins 22 seconds. The times may seem a little slow but when you look at the amount of data each DVD-R disc holds compared to what a CDR holds, it isn't that bad. Also another thing to remember is that the faster you burn a CD/DVD, the lower quality the actual reproduction is on the disc itself, as the laser burns the information into the media shallower the faster you go. I have come across a lot of media that is 40x CDR rated, that when burnt at anything above 24x, causes problems in some non-pc hardware. I have a friend who does PSX/PS2 software, and he always burns at 1x onto CDR media due to the PSX/PS2 laser pickups, not being able to read high speed burns correctly. The same goes for standalone DVD players with DVD-R &amp; CDR media, the faster the burn, the greater the chance of video skipping &amp; audio errors.