Best DVD Burner for the Money?

[Aztec_gizmo]

I forgot to ask, since good media is vital to successful burns, where do you guys purchase quality media at a good price? I know buying online is my best bet instead of buying at BestBuy. Also I burn alot of stuff, but I do not always keep what I burn ( I throw it away). So, the media cannot be to expensive (less then $1 US). I know Maxell is expensive, so I do not think I could use that. But, what about other brands....Prodisc, Ritek, etc?

[budz]

MAXELL dvd media can be purchased from OFFICE DEPOT. VERBATIM can be purchased from there as well which is on sale right now. If you have a SAM'S CLUB, they sell VERBATIM for $42.00 for a 100 pack spindle which is a good price. Rima.com for TAIYO YUDEN is the best online store. SONY DVD+R (MADE IN JAPAN) is on sale at BEST BUY.

PRODISC used to have some problems for the BENQ drive....I haven't used that media in a long time...Check the BENQ FORUM for more info on media.

[Bodysurf]

Please point me in the the right direction if you can. Thanks.

Pioneer DVR-110 (1st choice) or Pioneer DVR-110D (2nd choice).

(I would avoid the Pioneer DVR-109 in 09/2005, as it is rip-locked at 5X and the cost difference betweeb the DVR-110 and the DVR-109 is negligible).

I forgot to ask, since good media is vital to successful burns, where do you guys purchase quality media at a good price?

As the post before this one wrote, the 100 count spindle of 16X InkJet Printable Verbatim DVD+R media for $42.00 at Sam's Club is a good deal and what I use exclusively now.

True Taiyo-Yuden DVD+R media is a great choice too. RIMA.COM is one place that carries them.

Check out NoMoreCoasters.COM for other choices.

[budz]

Check out NoMoreCoasters.COM for other choices.

Take that website with a grain of salt.....

[Bondiablo]

I always buy discs at www.rima.com, unless I only need a few. Taiyo Yuden are the best but if you don't want to spend that much Ritek seem good. Prodisc and Optodisc are garbage, everytime I tried to burn those anywhere near capacity they failed. If you ask nice, rima will usually send you a sample of a few different discs for free.

[shdwsclan]

I'm going to replace move my old pioneer A06/106 to another computer and ugrade to a pioneer dual layer. My main reason for choosing pioneer again is the reliability and DVD-R DL support.

Can anyone tell me the difference between purchasing a
Pioneer DVR-R100, Pioneer DVR-509, and Pioneer DVR-A09/DVR-109

Their spec sheets are the almost identical word for word, they may be worded somewhat differently, but they must have a reason for releasing 3 units. This is a mystery to me......

Also, should i just go for a Pioneer DVR-A10/110 instead of these...are there any significant gain such as more writing formats.

I know that all of these units will write a DVD-R(W) DL, which is very nice.

Any thanks would be appreciated.

[shdwsclan]

CORRECTION - Any help would be appriciated, thanks in advance.

[ROF]

The best burner for the money spent is one that works reliably. Just because someone buys an NEC today doesn't mean the NEC sitting on the store shelf behind it will function identically to the one you purchased. As with any tech purchases there are alot of factors involved in what is good and what is bad.

First, you must decide which factors are important to you. Is dual layer burning important? If it is, then is time of burns a factor in your purchase? Do you want to be able to write to -DL or both +/-DL? How about lightscribe? Do you want to write with a sharpie on your discs? Do you plan to use labels on your discs? Branded media? Unbranded media?

The simple answer to your question is nobody can recommend a best burner for the money. I may have a pioneer that has been work over like a thoroughbred, yet the same model pioneer you purchase was put together improperly and has inherent problems from the moment you install it.

Never ask anyone to recommend a piece of tech device to you, unless you want opinions about how there tech functions. If you do listen to them, remember what you purchase may not have the same results.

A better question would be to explain exactly what's important to you in your purchase (speed, burn types, media, etc) and take all responses with a grain of salt.

[jbelder]

How could the Plextor possibly be the best drive for the money? So many drives do the same or better for 1/3 the cost. Why is it elite... because it costs more? Plextor hasn't been the same since they abandoned SCSI (and that was a LONG time ago). The write quality sucks, the media compatibility sucks, and the build quality sucks.
The Pioneer 108 gets my vote. It's been showing up off and on at Newegg refurbished for less than $40.

-Evan-

I guess you don't do much burning? I have used Plextor drives since way back in the cd burner times. Iam currently using a 712A with over 500 hundred plus on it and it still blows away the junker 108 I had a couple years ago 14 on PIE!!!!!!!

[jbelder]

How could the Plextor possibly be the best drive for the money? So many drives do the same or better for 1/3 the cost. Why is it elite... because it costs more? Plextor hasn't been the same since they abandoned SCSI (and that was a LONG time ago). The write quality sucks, the media compatibility sucks, and the build quality sucks.
The Pioneer 108 gets my vote. It's been showing up off and on at Newegg refurbished for less than $40.

-Evan-

Plus you can get a refurb 712A for $80

[suppafreak]

Just upgraded mine to BENQ 1640, from Plextor 708A. Also looked at the CDFREAKS.COM reviews. I am very happy with this one. Burns the TY +/-R DVDs almost perfect. By the way, Plextor using the BENQ drives, slaps the Plextor label on it and sells it for $25-50 more.

[budz]

Just upgraded mine to BENQ 1640, from Plextor 708A. Also looked at the CDFREAKS.COM reviews. I am very happy with this one. Burns the TY +/-R DVDs almost perfect. By the way, Plextor using the BENQ drives, slaps the Plextor label on it and sells it for $25-50 more.

the only plextor drive that is a rebadged benq 1640 is the plextor 740.