OEM vs Retail; Internal vs. Ext

[djcc]

I'm no stranger to the guts of a box but am a complete novice when it comes to DVD-R. Although it has been awhile, I used to build all my own boxes for work as well as personal use.

Never had a DVD burner. Currently have a Dell 8200 with a DVD-ROM and CD burner. Currently have Roxio software for the CD burner as it came pre-installed on the Dell. Want to add a DVD burner, either internal or external. OS is WinXP, SP1 (not yet willing to go to SP2!).

I have 2 options. First is internal vs. external. Second is OEM packaged vs. Retail packaged.

First question: I have a firewire card, so external is not a problem. Have the masses had good luck slapping an internal drive into an external enclosure from somewhere such as newegg, or is greatest compatability going to come from a retail packaged external drive? Any recommendations on enclosure? If I am not looking for portability, is external really worth the add'l expense?

Second question: Prices on OEM internals are sometimes substantially less than their retail counterparts, and the only difference appears to be the software. So whether I yank my CD burner and replace it with a DVD burner internally, or use it in an enclosure, what are my options for software if I purchase OEM? Not sure if my current version of Roxio will do what I need for burning DVD's, so buying the retail version of that, or something like the Nero suite, would nearly eliminate the savings of OEM vs. retail.

Any other pro/cons of internal vs. external and OEM vs. Retail appreciated.

[Dr. DOS]

First question: I have a firewire card, so external is not a problem. Have the masses had good luck slapping an internal drive into an external enclosure from somewhere such as newegg, or is greatest compatability going to come from a retail packaged external drive? Any recommendations on enclosure? If I am not looking for portability, is external really worth the add'l expense?

I have heard some problems with some third party apps (testers, etc) running against IDE drives in third party enclosures. I have also heard rip speeds are slower on IDE / enclosure setups.

I've seen Internal IDE Liteon drives for $50.00 now. DVD -/+ R/RW's vs some externals that are still in the $200.00 range. Mine... TDK, 1394 ext... sweet machine.... I bought it to travel.

Second question: Prices on OEM internals are sometimes substantially less than their retail counterparts, and the only difference appears to be the software. So whether I yank my CD burner and replace it with a DVD burner internally, or use it in an enclosure, what are my options for software if I purchase OEM? Not sure if my current version of Roxio will do what I need for burning DVD's, so buying the retail version of that, or something like the Nero suite, would nearly eliminate the savings of OEM vs. retail.

With Retail your gonna get a Lite / LE / SE Version of something. Roxio, Nero, or something equally as bad. Roxio V6 is worthless. (wants to rencode compliant mpegs all the time) ... Buy the OEM version and spend a few dolloars on some other apps....

[djcc]

Thanks Dr. Dos. Your final comments is "buy the OEM version and spend a few dollars on some other apps..." You mean the OEM drive, or the OEM version of something like Nero?

The OEM Nero suite seems to be all over the internet for $5 or less, although, I've never purchased anything from those e-tailers and do not know if they are reputable or not.

A simple check of Amazon shows the full Nero product at something like $60. Again, that nearly eliminates the savings from an OEM drive.

[Dr. DOS]

Sorry... OEM Drive. Looks of good, task specific, tools out there that do a bettre job than the roxio's and nero's of the world. Don't get me wrong... there's a time and place for those tools but not worth paying for LE versions. Look around ... some good free apps to... and it really depends on what you want to accomplish. (DVD copying or Home Movies or both) ???

[cbsmooney]

Some companies do not support their oem drives and you have to look for firmware or programs to turn it into a retail version.

[snafu099]

Unless you already have software that is going to reconize your new drive the price differance between an OEM and a retail box to me are just not wirth it.. With retail units selling for as little as $30-60 ON SALE-AFTER REBATES, why hassle with finding/buying comatable software.

Yes the bunled software is not full, but does what most of need to do.

I have had no issues with any of the 6 burners I have bought being put in a generic usb enclosure (have used both usb1 and 2 compatable)

It is the quality of the external case/drivers that are important, not the drive itself.

Example: putting a ATA100 hdd in external usb box connected to system that the bios did not support increased the data transfer rate from 3mb to 9mb (usb-1 port) which allowed me to capture video at an acceptable bitrate