hey all, i'm looking for advise on a cheap DVD burner that preferably burns all formats and would be compatible with mac and pc. the mac compatibility is optional.
it can be usb 2.0 or firewire (gotta invest in a firewire card sometime anyways)
i seen an LG and a Sony for pretty cheap, any suggestions?
edit: ya my bad, dont know what i was thinking when i wrote this. usb 2.0 and firewire and mac compatibility dont matter, i just want a cheap burner for now
if $ is your main concern, but to get the most for it, then here it is:
http://www.ussa.com/ussaonline/product.asp...2D140%2D1003621
DVD-R: 4x, 2x (5,400/2,700 Kbyte/s)
DVD-RW: 2x, 1x (2,700/1,350 Kbyte/s)
DVD+R: 4x, 2.4x (5,400/3,240 Kbyte/s)
DVD+RW: 2.4x (3,240 Kbyte/s)
CD-R: 16x (2,400 Kbyte/s)
CD-RW: 10x (1,500 Kbyte/s)
but only shows windows supported... not the fastest, but it's only $95 + free insured ground ups.
edit---oh wait, i just realized you want usb or firewire... so you're looking for external only? that, and i just realized you're in canada, the free shipping does not apply. that's only in the U.S.
External drives are so expensive. Id sooner get an internal and an incasement for it that converts it to external. With usb 2.0 or firewire capabilities of course.
don't wanna spam, but anyone have anymore suggestions?
Check some review websites like toms hardware and such. It might be helpful to find a dvd burner comparison so you make sure youre getting the most bang for your buck. Go to a book store and thumb through a few pc magazines too. Its not much help, but i dont really have any recommendations for an external drive. Sorry.
"Time is money", as the saying goes. 8 speed burners save a hell of a lot of "quality time".
If you want quality, buy a Plextor 708. Plextor equals professional/quality. Press the eject button on that baby and... omg, it is soooo smooth, it's... but I'm getting carried away and sound like a tech.... I have fitted one for a client and loved it to bits. That is where my money is going. They make an external version. Expensive? Yes. Mac compatible, I don't know.
Internal drives. If you want entry-level but excellent, go for a Lite-On 811. Lite-On have a track record at being good at copying anything you throw at it. Many DVD/CD writers won't backup some protected DVDs and CDs, rendering said device half way pointless if you bought it as an insurance policy for your entire games collection.
Four speed is fine, if you have time to kill. Again, Lite-On have a good record, this time with the 411. Build quality on Lite-On drives is not up to Plextor's very high benchmar but I have have Lite-On CD Writers in my computers and have only burned three coasters over two years. I spent a very long time researching and talking to other techs and those are my favoured brands because they have a high success rate at backing up trouble CDs/DVDs and are better at coping with cheap/unbranded DVDs than other burners are, again saving you a lot of money in the long run.
LG's four speeder handles every format under the sun, if I recall, and has an excellent specification on paper but poor build quality. Pioneer have a good track record, in terms of build quality, but they aren't as good at backing up protected media as the Lite-On burners.
A much more interesting question is which media to buy, specifically which brand - the reject rate on DVD media is alarmingly high, though lower if you use a Plextor (read the reviews!) Don't buy unbranded DVD media unless you're a bit of a gambler; some are just fine, many are not. A good rule of thumb, if you want quality or are doing a DVD authoring job for a client, is to go for DVD media made in Japan. Look at the label. The brand that is most highly rated on the forums, out there, seems to be Maxell, the ones sold in jewel cases, made in Japan. Unlike with CD media, it is to an extent true that "you get what you pay for".
Hope that helps. Merry Christmas Shopping 
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