smiles 0 #1 June 24, 2004 I have been checking out DVD burners, and would like to get started with burning my home movies. Any help on what burner to purchase would be helpful, thanx. I don't understand all of the burning terminology that deals with the discs and the software. Trying to buy blank discs for the burner you find out how many different formats are out there. DVD+RW or DVD-RAM? What does SVCD and DTS mean? DVD + RW - R = A whole lot of confusion! I found a website of terminology that is helpful at: http://www.manifest-tech.com/links/dvd_terms.htm The great thing about this site is that it covers the gamut of burning terms. Various CD and DVD disc formats is also included on the whole range of terms that go along with the authoring process. SMiles Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kennedy 0 #2 June 24, 2004 I wish I could help, but I can't even get this POS compaq to burn exact copies of music CDs that will play in my car stereo. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1* Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rmsmith 1 #3 June 24, 2004 I have aways liked the Plextor line of products as they're usually supported by most of the software companies. You will need a fast computer with at least 512-MB of memory and at least 10-GB of free disk drive space. I use one at work, not yet at home. The amount of storage space on a DVD still surprises me. If you can afford it I would consider a USB external unit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yoink 321 #4 June 24, 2004 QuoteI have been checking out DVD burners, and would like to get started with burning my home movies. Any help on what burner to purchase would be helpful, thanx. ------------------------------------------------------------ In general, get a good quality, branded DVD burner such as a Sony or Similar. Don't worry too much about the numbers that follow the name - these refer to different speeds that the burner can support. IMO, burning anything above 4X is pointless anyway, you get errors and reduced quality. Once you have one picked out, PM me the specs or post it here and we'll try to make sure you're not buying a lemon! ------------------------------------------------------------ QuoteI don't understand all of the burning terminology that deals with the discs and the software. Trying to buy blank discs for the burner you find out how many different formats are out there. DVD+RW or DVD-RAM? What does SVCD and DTS mean? DVD + RW - R = A whole lot of confusion! ------------------------------------------------------------ OK. First off we'll talk about DVD disc formats. There are basically two types, DVD- and DVD+. There is very little difference between the two unless you are intending to professionally author discs, in which case you want DVD-R(W) Author. Now, this is the important bit - You have to get the DVD format that is supported by your DVD burner and vice versa. Get the wrong type and you won't be able to use it... OK so far? Each of the two types, + & -, also come in R and RW. The difference between each is the number of times you can write to a disc. DVD R is a on-time-only deal. You can write to it once and the data's on there for good. With DVD RW it is possible to overwrite data on a disc, but these are substantially more pricey. With any DVD media, again go for a decent branded version rather than a cheapo knock-off version. DTS is a sound format, a bit like Dolby - It stands for Digital Theatre Sound. Nice, but not really important unless you have a very expensive home cinema set up. SVCD is different to DVD - it stands for Super Video CD and these can hold about 35-60 minutes on 74/80 min CDs of very good quality video. You also need a program that supports SVCD burning... Have a look at Video Help.com here. It has some good resources. Next you need to decide what you want to do with your new burner... any questions, feel free to PM me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites