The thing I don't understand about DVD burners

[Will Hay]

I first bought my CD Burner a few years back, a x2 'Creative' drive and very good it was too.
By the time I bought my first DVD burner (this time a x1 speed) the CD burners were now x52 speed.
What I don't understand, and I'm sure there's an excellent reason which only I'm unaware of is...
...why the manufacturers, having already learnt how to take a x1 speed CD burner to x52 speed, can't start off with the fastest DVD burner possible?
Why do they have to repeat the process of bringing out a x1 speed, then a x2, then x4, x8 and presumable the limit, x16 (I hear x16 is the limit, I don't understand this either).
Is this just a commercial decision to ensure all us geeks to buy more than one burner (as I have, I now have an A07), or is the technology completely different to CD burners and therefore undeveloped at the release date of the x1 speed DVD burners?
Will Hay

[Baldrick]

off topic? NO.

you could begin read this about dvd vs cd speeeeeeeeds:
http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#4.2

[Faustus]

The link Baldrick gave should explain alot. Basicly a new generation in accurate lasers and media to receive the data were required. Meaning we were starting with a fresh slate.

Its kinda like asking, hey if they Maxed out the PIII processors why can't we jump staight to top of the line P4s?

[Will Hay]

Wow, I feel like a naughty schoolboy...
....thank you for the lesson....
...........and more so the link and follow-up.
Will Hay

[handyguy]

Also after 16x for dvds, 52x cds, they tend to fly apart & fly out the front, now you wouldn't want that to happen would you?

[ZippyP.]

Is this just a commercial decision to ensure all us geeks to buy more than one burner (as I have, I now have an A07), or is the technology completely different to CD burners and therefore undeveloped at the release date of the x1 speed DVD burners?

Most likely a bit of both. Like everything to do with computers, planned obsolescence is a key marketing strategy. I never buy the latest and greatest and I'm stll waiting for DVD burners to hit $100 Can. Last I checked the best price was $120 for an LG 4081. The other advantage of waiting....media is getting cheaper and more reliable too. In the mean time I borrow an external drive from work now and then.

[Myrdhinn]

They have hit the $100 mark. I just recently bought my toshiba sd-r5112 for $99 CND. Though only -R.

[ZippyP.]

They have hit the $100 mark. I just recently bought my toshiba sd-r5112 for $99 CND. Though only -R.

Where?

[Gil T Pleasure]

We know that the 'X' in CD speed is based on floppy disk speed (ie, a 16x CD speed is equivalent to 16 times the speed of a floppy disk), but what is the 'X' in DVD based on? Why couldn't the manufacturers correctly labeled 1x DVDs as 9x DVDs? Isn't a 9x DVD more appealing than a 1x DVD?

[johns0]

zippyp,check here for $100 dual burner,i buy a lot of stuff from this site,very fast delivery also.
http://www.hltechnology.com/prod_sub.php?subid=87&sort=price

[gmatov]

Gil,

Where did you see a reference to 1X CD being 16X floppy disk?

I kinda don't believe that, as a floppy is very damn slow, but would not mind having it pointed out to me. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong.

But, more likely, that was the best speed they could get reliably with CD, so it became 1X, they released it, gotta make some bucks, gotta hold the better speeds in reserve, raise sales in 3 weeks, when we announce the newest and greatest, and the next step was a logical 2X. Then 4, etc.

But DVD speed had to come out at way higher than a CD, or who would buy and burn? I mean, 4 hour burns? C'mon, who's gonna buy them things? Same thing, the first stable speed, they churn 'em out, we'll make a faster one next week.

Cheers,

George

[holistic]

1X is audio CD speed of 150 KB/second or about 1.2 MB/second.

The rest is simple math.

Single speed DVD-ROM drives have a data transfer rate of approximately 11 Mb/s .

We know that the 'X' in CD speed is based on floppy disk speed

Where did you read that crap.? PC Magazine ??! :P

Also after 16x for dvds, 52x cds, they tend to fly apart & fly out the front

Site examples. (if they had stress raisers in them perhaps !) otherwise - as above ...bullshit.

][

[gitreel]

the x refers to how fast a stereo would read the disc.

[lordsmurf]

1x is realtime in raw mode ... 74 minutes to burn CD at 1x for 74 minutes of CD audio .

I don't think DVD had any such set speed ... 1x was the base ... 2x was twice as fast ... etc

[Gil T Pleasure]

Where did you see a reference to 1X CD being 16X floppy disk?

Where did you read that crap.? PC Magazine ??! :P

Boy, do I feel foolish.

Someone probably posted it as a joke on April Fools day no doubt and I took it as fact.

[code65536]

I'd guess that 1x DVD speed may be somewhat related to the speed at which DVD players read them at, much like how 1x CD speed is the speed at which CDs are read by sound systems.