DVD Burning Question

[Kaugustino]

I have 2 questions.

1. For under $200 what is the best dvd burner to buy that will support these various dvd formats.

2. Is it possible to use a dvd+r, -r... to burn data cds like you would do with cdr/cdrw. Can you use the single or duel layered discs to do this

thanks

[Capmaster]

1) Pioneer 108 (A08)

2) Yes, DVDs come in recordables which are write once ...DVD+R, DVD-R. They're the equivalent of CD-R and the only difference between them is the format. They're virtually the same. To use them in settop players they must be finalized.

They also come in rewritables, DVD-RW and DVD+RW. These can be rewritten over and over up to about 1000 times (or so they say). They're the DVD equivalent of CD-RW. They cannot be finalized.

And last but not least, they come in specialty formats. DVD-RAM is the oldest rewritable DVD format and is used primarily in Panasonic standalones and writers. They can be rewritten 100,000 times (or so they say). They're close to hard disks in their error-handling and file integrity. They never need formatting, and they cannot be finalized either. There is also dual layer DVD+R. These are record-once media that are similar in capacity to commercial DVD movies you buy. The current only format is +R but DVD-R DL should be coming out soon.

And all newer DVD writers also write CD-R and CD-RW

[Kaugustino]

Thanks for the help

[Capmaster]

Thanks for the help

No problem