DVD-ROM Drive with DVD-RAM support, must be PLAYBACK ONLY.

[Cyrax9]

Hey everyone I need a little help here.


I'm building a new PC and I'm looking over Optical Drives to purchase for it.

The OS' will be Linux AND Windows ME which I have a non-refundable copy of.

Anyway here's the problem, Win ME only supports ONE (1) Writable Optical drive from what I hear. In addition I can't really afford two Writers in one PC and I only need one Writer, but I need another optical drive that supports DVD-RAM.

I've basically chosen the Sony DRU500A or DRU500X (whichever is the INTERNAL drive) that Burns/Plays DVD-R/W and DVD+R/W, burns CD-R/W and Supports DVD-Audio, a format I'm looking forward to using with the Audigy 2 Soundcard I'm also buying for this PC.

Now I hit a roadblock though. Short of cooking a hot meal for me that DVD Writer does everything, everything EXCEPT play DVD-RAM Discs!

I have a Panasonic DMR-HS2 and I want to edit some DVD-RAM Discs I've burned on the HS2 on the PC with the Sony DVD Writer once I build the new machine.

I basically need a DVD-ROM Drive that supports PLAYBACK ONLY and can read Cartridge Type DVD-RAMs or DVD-RAMs removed from their cartridges if possible. The drive CAN NOT burn DVDs as well. I need a drive that is READ-ONLY, preferably a Panasonic or a Sony and definitely not a Pioneer (I went through 4 DVD-ROM drives from them, 'nuff said) and the drive MUST be compatible with Disc's burned in a Panasonic DMR-HS2 DVD Writer.

If anyone can tell me the name and/or model number of such a drive, as well as where I can purchase one in the USA and what the price is, I'd appreciate it greatly, I'd also prefer a drive that's easy to install and should naturally be compatible with my two OS'; Windows ME, and Linux.

Thank you in advance and if anyone knows a good drive at a good price, please let me know so I can order it, I'd prefer a drive that's made by Sony or Panasonic and should definitely have a good reputation since I just had to replace several Pioneer DVD-ROM drives because they were all defective and were the DVD-116 model. I don't want to go through that again.

Thank you again in advance and as always the more help, the better I need this drive soon so I can have all of my parts ready when I go to build the PC, as of now I only have a Floppy Drive and a case but I bought those early, now it's time for the Optical drives and I have the DVD Writer picked but, just need a DVD-ROM Drive for convenience and the fact that I always have two optical drives no mater what nowadays. I'm used to having two and I need two in this case. As always any help is appreciated;

~Cyrax9~

[disturbed1]

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=55&manufactory=12...tby=14&order=1

[Cyrax9]

Thanks for the link I'll consider this one (I looked at it awhile back actually since my Gateway 2000 has a Toshiba drive) but I was wondering if there are any non-OEM drives like this out there or if I'll have ot settle for OEM.

I'd prefer a non-OEM unit but if this is the only one I guess it'll do, I've had bad luck with OEM Equipment in the past, namely Pioneer stuff but if this drive is good and there aren't any retail drives I'll go with this one. I almost bought it before as I said but I'm reluctant to buy anymore oEM Equipment after the problems I had with Past OEM stuff.

[FulciLives]

Hello

PANASONIC makes a DVD burner that supports the -R format only but it can both read and write to DVD-RAM discs. So if you get this there really is no need for another optical drive as this also writes CD-R and CD-RW discs as well. However it does not support DVD+R/RW writing so I think it does read such discs.

There are two versions but the newer version supports 2x DVD-R whereas the old version only supports 1x DVD-R writing.

One nice thing is this drive will write 2x on the Samsung BeAll brand of DVD-R media. Not only is it cheap media (well, not the cheapest but by no means on the expensive side) but it is also highly reliable and perhaps most importantly very well made meaning it is VERY compatable with various stand alone DVD players including most PS2 and XBOX game consoles.

I know the SONY supports both -R and +R and burns at up to 4x but consider this ... the PANASONIC unit is cheap (last I checked I found one on-line for around $160 and although branded as OEM it DID include ALL of the software that comes with the retail version) and it will be the only drive you need since it is all in one. Plus a 2x burn is 30 minutes or less. I can live with it but that is up to you of course but consider this ... 2x DVD-R media is the cheapest around for the most part. Both DVD-R 4x and DVD+R 4x are much more.

BTW the TOSHIBA drive is considered VERY good by members of the AVSFORUM newsgroup. This is where I first heard about it. I believe it was someone on that board that first discovered how easy it was to read a DVD-RAM disc into a computer and create a DVD with your computer burner with no need to re-encode. This means you can use your stand alone DVD recorder to "capture" and then just author on the computer. One very nice and unique feature of DVD-RAM discs.

Please note however that I've heard you need to install a special driver to get the toshiba to work properly with DVD-RAM discs that have been recorded on a stand alone DVD recorder ... otherwise it doesn't work properly when trying to copy the *.VRO file from it. I think it is a driver that the aforementioned PANASONIC drive uses but I'm not sure nor do I know how easy it is to get this "mystery" driver. The TOSHIBA website says that the unit will work with WINDOWS and no driver is needed ... nor offered for just bought the PANASONIC DVD burner myself just so I know for sure that I won't have any DVD-RAM problems. I have no problem being "restricted" to 2x DVD-R discs.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[The village idiot]

Just get the Panasonic LF-D521 (or its retail twin). About the same price as the Sony, but supports DVD-RAM, as well as CD-R/W and DVD-R, and maybe DVD-RW (can't remember). How many more formats do you need?

[FulciLives]

Just get the Panasonic LF-D521 (or its retail twin). About the same price as the Sony, but supports DVD-RAM, as well as CD-R/W and DVD-R, and maybe DVD-RW (can't remember). How many more formats do you need?

Yes thankyou ... the PANASONIC LF-D521 IS the DVD/CD burner I was talking about in my other post. I think the LF-D521 is the model number of the RETAIL version because I've seen OEM versions and they had this odd very long model number that was totally different than LF-D521

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[MOVIEGEEK]

@Cryrax9,
Lite-On,LG,Hitachi and Goldstar DVD-ROM drives read DVD-RAM and they are around $40USD.
Q.Does WinME handle multiple writing drives? A.Yes(use RecordNow DX/MAX or Nero)
Q.Does WinME support DVD-RAM writers? A.Yes(the drive uses special drivers)

[The village idiot]

Q.Does WinME support DVD-RAM? A.Yes(the drive uses special drivers)

win2000 also needs special drivers to use DVD-RAM. Don't know about XP because I don't run it. Most often those drivers come with your drive. If you buy an OEM drive, you may have to download the drivers from the manufacturer's web site. For OEM Panasonic drives go to: http://panasonic.jp/dvdram/english/

it looks like XP needs drivers too

The above page contains info on Panasonic DVD-RAM products, not just drivers!

Now couple one of these drives with the new Panasonic DVD players that uses -ROM disks, and you have a complete package for re-writeable fun.

[FulciLives]

Hey !!!

I just realized something ...
Doesn't WINDOWS ME only support file sizes up to 4GB?
I know when I started messing around with DVD creation I upgraded from Win98SE to WinXP just so I could convert my two hard disk drives to NTFS which supports file size above 4GB
I found this to be pretty much essential!

Just a thought

- John "FulciLives" Coleman