Need help choosing.........

[spmiz12]

I was what is the concenus on the top 4 or 5 burners out there???? I am in the market for one and I keep going round and round when trying to decide. I am new to DVD recording and am getting more confused the more I read. Also I know that most current burners are 4X speed so I was wondering is it worth it to get one now or hold off till speeds go up???

Thanks for your help......

[vric]

Pioneer and Sony are the top used drive here.. Personnaly I have a LG (Hitashi) 4020B.. Beside the fact it's 2X drive, it's awersome so far. Better than the Pioneer of my friend and over 100$US less

the only real downside, is the -RW part being only 1X.. this is verrrry slow ! beside that, 2X is fine, I can wait 25minutes for a DVD.

[mkelley]

The Sony consistently gets the best reviews but it's a little pricey if all you're going to do is one format -- you'll spend about $80 more than on the really nice Pioneer.

That said, I went ahead and bought the Sony and have been *very* happy with it -- it performs well with all the cheap media I've thrown at it and installation was a breeze in my XP box. It's also one of the few drives supported by nearly everything (if you look at the specs for the upcoming Adobe Encore, for example, they've only certified four burners so far, with the Sony at the top of the list).

As to whether you should wait... there's no question there will be faster drives coming out near the end of the year. DVD burning is more optimized than CD burning, so I doubt whether we'll see 12x or higher drives for quite some time, but my hunch is that 4x and 8x will become common. However, 4x media isn't all that common right now, and there are issues with using it (like movies not playing on some standalones). IMHO it will be a year or two before we'll see 8x certified media, let alone anything higher (quality control issues have to get worked out even on the 1x stuff).

If you don't need a burner right away it's always better to wait -- the same can be said for a computer, new car or spouse :>) However, you'll be missing a lot of fun in the meantime <g>.

[vric]

it all depend of how money is important to you.. IF you have no limit then:

1. Sony
2. Pioneer
3. LG/Hitashi

IF money are importent, then:

1. LG/Hitashi
2. Pioneer
3. Sony


All depend of money and if you want +RW Compatibility