CD burner or DVD burner

[Navarone]

Hi

I need something answered once and for all. Is it possible to burn dvd's on a standard cd burner like an HP-CDWriter?
Secondly, do you need a dvd burner to make dvds that will play on a stand alone dvd player. And, third, can you use cd-r media on dvd burners to make dvd's?

Thanks

[mikewg]

Is it possible to burn dvd's on a standard cd burner like an HP-CDWriter?
No. That's why they sell DVD Burners for many hundreds of dollars more than HP-CDWriters. If you could burn DVDs on a regular CD Burner, there'd be no market for DVD Burners. To make VCDs, a HP-CDWriter is fine.

Do you need a dvd burner to make dvds that will play on a stand alone dvd player?
To make DVDs? Yes. To make VCDs? No.

Can you use cd-r media on dvd burners to make dvd's?
No. Hense why they sell DVD-R media. If you could use CD-R media to make DVDs, there'd be no market for DVD-R media which is much more expensive. If you want to make VCDs, then common CD-R media is fine.

[SergeantD]

Wait a second here, you mean you need a burner to makes CDs and DVDs? I've been geeting all my discs from the disc fairy.

[Navarone]

Thanks for the info, but let me ask a few more questions. Can VCD's be played on a DVD stand alone player? Is there some article or info explaining the differences between CD and DVD?

Thanks

[JHebert]

Is this a joke thread or something? How does one become a "Member" and still have these most basic of questions? I don't mean to offend or come off rude but you really need to start with some reading in the guides to your left.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: JHebert on 2001-12-13 08:04:54 ]</font>

[Macros746]

MOST stand alone players will play standard VCDs. Some will even play SVCDs and XVCDs. ALthough you could definitely find the answer by searching about this site I will try to give a brief summary.

DVD- the highest quality digital storage. It is MPEG2 format at a very high bitrate (read very sharp and detailed) It looks the best but requires a DVD Player or a DVD rom drive. It has a very specific media (DVD-R discs) that cannot be played or burned on a regular CD-rom drive

SVCD- In terms of visual quality a high level (high bitrate) SVCD is the second best format. Essentially, it is the same format as DVD (it is also MPEG2) but it has a lower bitrate and therefore can be put on 1 to 3 discs per movie. This format also allows for Dolby Surround. It uses regular CD-Rs or CD-RWs and can be played on all reasonable powerful computers (read: Pentium II) with a software player, and on a few select stand alone players.

VCD- This format uses MPEG-1 instead of MPEG2. In terms of visual quality a well made VCD is approximentally equivalent to a commercial VHS tape when played on TV. It has CD quality sound and can also be burned onto CD. It is the most compatible with Stand alone players and can be played on low end computer systems (pentium 133 and better) It uses standard CD-R and CD-RW and is a bit more compact than SVCD (1 two hour movie, two CDs)

Divx- The newest kid on the block this format uses the most compressed of all the formats: MPEG4. It has MP3 quality sound and picture quality ranges from excellent to try awful and blocky. It is the format of choice for tranferring files and for simple storage of movies. There are no stand alone players (yet) that play Divx and it requires a more power PC to play than either VCD or SVCD. It offers the best compression of any of the formats and can often hold an entire movie on one disc. This format can also be burned onto CD-R or CD-RW.

I hope this answers your questions.

Macros