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#16
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choosing an external DVD burner
I wish to address another point that nobody else seems to address. Depending
on how many DVDs you plan to burn, choosing a full-size high-speed burner (with an external power supply) might be a better option. The slim-size one you've been looking at is limited to 8X, for a reason. The USB can't supply the power for higher speeds, even with two connectors. But the main point is, that burning many DVDs at such slow speeds is a PITA. Especially since the advertised 8X is only really 8X at the very end of the DVD; in the beginning and during most of the time it is in fact 2X, 4X and 6X. And the read speeds are higher on the big ones too, in case you want to copy or read large files quickly. The only limitation on the big drives might be the USB transfer speed. The 16X speed is 22MB/s, while on my laptop USB2 can't achieve more than 20MB/s. Thus, I can't actually burn at 16X, and do it at 12X. The difference in burn times is not big between those two, however, as most of the time is spent burning at slower speeds from 4X up to 12X anyway. Oh, and apart from reading the customer reviews, avoid SONY drives like the plague, no matter what the reviews. It helps that they are overpriced, too. Jo-Anne wrote: Although I planned to buy an external DVD burner when I purchased my WinXP netbook in 2009, I didn't do it. Now I have more of a need for one (installing some software, copying files, playing CDs and DVDs) and have found an enormous number to choose from. The advice I received here in 2009 was to check reviews and not to go by price--that more expensive wasn't necessarily better. But what else should I consider? For example, will all burners work with WinXP? Is tray loading better than slot loading? Should any brands be avoided? I'd be grateful for advice. -- You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone. * Whoever bans a book, shall be banished. Whoever burns a book, shall burn. |
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#17
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choosing an external DVD burner
On 4/23/2011 2:44 PM, Jo-Anne wrote:
wrote in message ... On 4/23/2011 12:54 PM, BillW50 wrote: Hi Jo-Anne! Yes I noticed this too. Although I did notice something looking at it again. As the D version will also write to DVDs. While the F version seems to only read and not write. Well if you use that link I posted, it looked that way. But when you look at them individually, they are all writers. Frankly I don't think it makes a whole lot of difference which one you get Jo-Anne to be honest with you. Thank you very much, Bill! I just ordered the SE-S084D model from Newegg. It's a relief not to have to hunt through the large number of burners available. Hi Jo-Anne! You're welcome. And I had my three for 2 years now and they still work just fine. Mine are the older version B, but those D and F versions should be just fine. ;-) I have tried others and there was some problems. These were flawless and thus why I like them so much. ;-) -- Bill Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Thunderbird v3.0 Centrino Core2 Duo 2GHz - 1.5GB - Windows 7 |
#18
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choosing an external DVD burner
Jo-Anne wrote:
"BillW50" wrote in message On 4/23/2011 12:54 PM, BillW50 wrote: Hi Jo-Anne! Yes I noticed this too. Although I did notice something looking at it again. As the D version will also write to DVDs. While the F version seems to only read and not write. Well if you use that link I posted, it looked that way. But when you look at them individually, they are all writers. Frankly I don't think it makes a whole lot of difference which one you get Jo-Anne to be honest with you. Thank you very much, Bill! I just ordered the SE-S084D model from Newegg. It's a relief not to have to hunt through the large number of burners available. Shoot! All my typing was in vain. You shouldn't be so trigger-happy; about 12 hours from question to purchase. Hopefully the drive will work for your needs. -- You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone. * Whoever bans a book, shall be banished. Whoever burns a book, shall burn. |
#19
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choosing an external DVD burner
On 4/23/2011 2:54 PM, Patok wrote:
I wish to address another point that nobody else seems to address. Depending on how many DVDs you plan to burn, choosing a full-size high-speed burner (with an external power supply) might be a better option. The slim-size one you've been looking at is limited to 8X, for a reason. The USB can't supply the power for higher speeds, even with two connectors. But the main point is, that burning many DVDs at such slow speeds is a PITA. Especially since the advertised 8X is only really 8X at the very end of the DVD; in the beginning and during most of the time it is in fact 2X, 4X and 6X. And the read speeds are higher on the big ones too, in case you want to copy or read large files quickly. The only limitation on the big drives might be the USB transfer speed. The 16X speed is 22MB/s, while on my laptop USB2 can't achieve more than 20MB/s. Thus, I can't actually burn at 16X, and do it at 12X. The difference in burn times is not big between those two, however, as most of the time is spent burning at slower speeds from 4X up to 12X anyway. Oh, and apart from reading the customer reviews, avoid SONY drives like the plague, no matter what the reviews. It helps that they are overpriced, too. I don't disagree with anything you said. Although if you wanted to do a lot of burning, I don't think you would want to use any USB burner. I would be using an internal burner instead myself. Don't you think so? -- Bill Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Thunderbird v3.0 Centrino Core2 Duo 2GHz - 1.5GB - Windows 7 |
#20
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choosing an external DVD burner
Thank you, Patok! I think the slim one will work for me because I don't plan
to do much burning. I was concerned about not being able to use an external power supply, but I gather that for my purposes this should be OK. Jo-Anne "Patok" wrote in message ... I wish to address another point that nobody else seems to address. Depending on how many DVDs you plan to burn, choosing a full-size high-speed burner (with an external power supply) might be a better option. The slim-size one you've been looking at is limited to 8X, for a reason. The USB can't supply the power for higher speeds, even with two connectors. But the main point is, that burning many DVDs at such slow speeds is a PITA. Especially since the advertised 8X is only really 8X at the very end of the DVD; in the beginning and during most of the time it is in fact 2X, 4X and 6X. And the read speeds are higher on the big ones too, in case you want to copy or read large files quickly. The only limitation on the big drives might be the USB transfer speed. The 16X speed is 22MB/s, while on my laptop USB2 can't achieve more than 20MB/s. Thus, I can't actually burn at 16X, and do it at 12X. The difference in burn times is not big between those two, however, as most of the time is spent burning at slower speeds from 4X up to 12X anyway. Oh, and apart from reading the customer reviews, avoid SONY drives like the plague, no matter what the reviews. It helps that they are overpriced, too. Jo-Anne wrote: Although I planned to buy an external DVD burner when I purchased my WinXP netbook in 2009, I didn't do it. Now I have more of a need for one (installing some software, copying files, playing CDs and DVDs) and have found an enormous number to choose from. The advice I received here in 2009 was to check reviews and not to go by price--that more expensive wasn't necessarily better. But what else should I consider? For example, will all burners work with WinXP? Is tray loading better than slot loading? Should any brands be avoided? I'd be grateful for advice. -- You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone. * Whoever bans a book, shall be banished. Whoever burns a book, shall burn. |
#21
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choosing an external DVD burner
"Patok" wrote in message
... Jo-Anne wrote: "BillW50" wrote in message On 4/23/2011 12:54 PM, BillW50 wrote: Hi Jo-Anne! Yes I noticed this too. Although I did notice something looking at it again. As the D version will also write to DVDs. While the F version seems to only read and not write. Well if you use that link I posted, it looked that way. But when you look at them individually, they are all writers. Frankly I don't think it makes a whole lot of difference which one you get Jo-Anne to be honest with you. Thank you very much, Bill! I just ordered the SE-S084D model from Newegg. It's a relief not to have to hunt through the large number of burners available. Shoot! All my typing was in vain. You shouldn't be so trigger-happy; about 12 hours from question to purchase. Hopefully the drive will work for your needs. -- You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone. * Whoever bans a book, shall be banished. Whoever burns a book, shall burn. Thank you again, Patok! I only SEEM trigger-happy. Actually, I've been contemplating this purchase for almost a year and a half--and finally decided I should just do it. Bill's response was what I needed to get myself moving. Jo-Anne |
#22
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choosing an external DVD burner
BillW50 wrote: I don't disagree with anything you said. Although if you wanted to do a lot of burning, I don't think you would want to use any USB burner. I would be using an internal burner instead myself. Don't you think so? You must joking right? Jo-anne is not going to do a lot of burning. She is still trying to get hang of various CD/DVD burners and all she has at present is a basic Netbook. How are you going to install an internal burner for her? |
#23
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choosing an external DVD burner
On 4/23/2011 3:10 PM, Tester wrote:
BillW50 wrote: I don't disagree with anything you said. Although if you wanted to do a lot of burning, I don't think you would want to use any USB burner. I would be using an internal burner instead myself. Don't you think so? You must joking right? Jo-anne is not going to do a lot of burning. She is still trying to get hang of various CD/DVD burners and all she has at present is a basic Netbook. How are you going to install an internal burner for her? I think you meant this for Patok, as I totally agree with you. Although external DVD drives are even useful for non-netbooks too. Even though I have three netbooks too. And no, I rarely burn from a netbook. Usually just interested in installing things from CD/DVD actually. ;-) -- Bill Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Thunderbird v3.0 Centrino Core2 Duo 2GHz - 1.5GB - Windows 7 |
#24
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choosing an external DVD burner
BillW50 wrote:
On 4/23/2011 2:54 PM, Patok wrote: I wish to address another point that nobody else seems to address. Depending on how many DVDs you plan to burn, choosing a full-size high-speed burner (with an external power supply) might be a better option. The slim-size one you've been looking at is limited to 8X, for a reason. The USB can't supply the power for higher speeds, even with two connectors. But the main point is, that burning many DVDs at such slow speeds is a PITA. Especially since the advertised 8X is only really 8X at the very end of the DVD; in the beginning and during most of the time it is in fact 2X, 4X and 6X. And the read speeds are higher on the big ones too, in case you want to copy or read large files quickly. The only limitation on the big drives might be the USB transfer speed. The 16X speed is 22MB/s, while on my laptop USB2 can't achieve more than 20MB/s. Thus, I can't actually burn at 16X, and do it at 12X. The difference in burn times is not big between those two, however, as most of the time is spent burning at slower speeds from 4X up to 12X anyway. Oh, and apart from reading the customer reviews, avoid SONY drives like the plague, no matter what the reviews. It helps that they are overpriced, too. I don't disagree with anything you said. Although if you wanted to do a lot of burning, I don't think you would want to use any USB burner. I would be using an internal burner instead myself. Don't you think so? Certainly. But I was writing in the context of a laptop/netbook that have no space for a big internal drive. If you use a desktop/tower, then the internal burner is the way to go. I use several laptops, but no desktop; that's why I have the external powered burner. Other than that, one of my laptops already has its internal drive with exactly the same parameters as the one Jo-Anne is buying - reads/writes everything at up to 8X. Not only is it slow (and one has to factor in the verification time after burning - hopefully nobody here burns without verifying the written data), but it overheats, so I can't really burn more than one regular DVD at one sitting. Without a cool-off period, the next ones become coasters. -- You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone. * Whoever bans a book, shall be banished. Whoever burns a book, shall burn. |
#25
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choosing an external DVD burner
On 4/23/2011 3:29 PM, Patok wrote:
BillW50 wrote: On 4/23/2011 2:54 PM, Patok wrote: I wish to address another point that nobody else seems to address. Depending on how many DVDs you plan to burn, choosing a full-size high-speed burner (with an external power supply) might be a better option. The slim-size one you've been looking at is limited to 8X, for a reason. The USB can't supply the power for higher speeds, even with two connectors. But the main point is, that burning many DVDs at such slow speeds is a PITA. Especially since the advertised 8X is only really 8X at the very end of the DVD; in the beginning and during most of the time it is in fact 2X, 4X and 6X. And the read speeds are higher on the big ones too, in case you want to copy or read large files quickly. The only limitation on the big drives might be the USB transfer speed. The 16X speed is 22MB/s, while on my laptop USB2 can't achieve more than 20MB/s. Thus, I can't actually burn at 16X, and do it at 12X. The difference in burn times is not big between those two, however, as most of the time is spent burning at slower speeds from 4X up to 12X anyway. Oh, and apart from reading the customer reviews, avoid SONY drives like the plague, no matter what the reviews. It helps that they are overpriced, too. I don't disagree with anything you said. Although if you wanted to do a lot of burning, I don't think you would want to use any USB burner. I would be using an internal burner instead myself. Don't you think so? Certainly. But I was writing in the context of a laptop/netbook that have no space for a big internal drive. If you use a desktop/tower, then the internal burner is the way to go. I know of no netbooks with internal DVD burners (although they could be made). But lots of laptops do and can have DVD burners. I use several laptops, but no desktop; that's why I have the external powered burner. Other than that, one of my laptops already has its internal drive with exactly the same parameters as the one Jo-Anne is buying - reads/writes everything at up to 8X. Not only is it slow (and one has to factor in the verification time after burning - hopefully nobody here burns without verifying the written data), but it overheats, so I can't really burn more than one regular DVD at one sitting. Without a cool-off period, the next ones become coasters. Most people who have a netbook either also has a laptop or a desktop. So most netbook users probably isn't too interested in burning DVDs. I don't know what kind of laptop you have? But I have over a dozen. And most of them have internal burners. And six of them have removable drive bays. So I can insert an internal burner into any of them very easy. It sounds like yours doesn't have an internal burner. Well you can replace it with one or get an external burner. It sounds like you did the latter. And in this case, the slimline design probably would not be a good choice if you burn a lot. I haven't ran into any overheating problems. Although if I did, I would add a fan. If it had one, I would add a bigger one. As I never had a problem yet when I had to wait and let it cool down (ok back in the CD only days I did, but not for DVD burners). As that would be totally unacceptable to me. -- Bill Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Thunderbird v3.0 Centrino Core2 Duo 2GHz - 1.5GB - Windows 7 |
#26
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choosing an external DVD burner
BillW50 wrote:
On 4/23/2011 3:29 PM, Patok wrote: I use several laptops, but no desktop; that's why I have the external powered burner. Other than that, one of my laptops already has its internal drive with exactly the same parameters as the one Jo-Anne is buying - reads/writes everything at up to 8X. Not only is it slow (and one has to factor in the verification time after burning - hopefully nobody here burns without verifying the written data), but it overheats, so I can't really burn more than one regular DVD at one sitting. Without a cool-off period, the next ones become coasters. I don't know what kind of laptop you have? But I have over a dozen. And most of them have internal burners. And six of them have removable drive bays. So I can insert an internal burner into any of them very easy. It sounds like yours doesn't have an internal burner. Well you can replace it with one or get an external burner. It sounds like you did the latter. And in this case, the slimline design probably would not be a good choice if you burn a lot. The above passage and the one that follows show that there's some miscommunication. The laptop I was talking about *has* an internal burner - the one that overheats with heavy use. That fact, and because it is slow at 8X, made me buy the external powered burner. There would be no point in replacing it with another just as slow, even if it didn't overheat. I haven't ran into any overheating problems. Although if I did, I would add a fan. If it had one, I would add a bigger one. As I never had a problem yet when I had to wait and let it cool down (ok back in the CD only days I did, but not for DVD burners). As that would be totally unacceptable to me. True, but how do you add a fan to an internal slim-line laptop drive? -- You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone. * Whoever bans a book, shall be banished. Whoever burns a book, shall burn. |
#27
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choosing an external DVD burner
In ,
Patok wrote: BillW50 wrote: On 4/23/2011 3:29 PM, Patok wrote: I use several laptops, but no desktop; that's why I have the external powered burner. Other than that, one of my laptops already has its internal drive with exactly the same parameters as the one Jo-Anne is buying - reads/writes everything at up to 8X. Not only is it slow (and one has to factor in the verification time after burning - hopefully nobody here burns without verifying the written data), but it overheats, so I can't really burn more than one regular DVD at one sitting. Without a cool-off period, the next ones become coasters. I don't know what kind of laptop you have? But I have over a dozen. And most of them have internal burners. And six of them have removable drive bays. So I can insert an internal burner into any of them very easy. It sounds like yours doesn't have an internal burner. Well you can replace it with one or get an external burner. It sounds like you did the latter. And in this case, the slimline design probably would not be a good choice if you burn a lot. The above passage and the one that follows show that there's some miscommunication. The laptop I was talking about *has* an internal burner - the one that overheats with heavy use. That fact, and because it is slow at 8X, made me buy the external powered burner. There would be no point in replacing it with another just as slow, even if it didn't overheat. The vast majority of internal laptop optical drives are just plain slimline drives with extra brackets and sometimes adapters. So you can put in virtually any type you want too. I haven't ran into any overheating problems. Although if I did, I would add a fan. If it had one, I would add a bigger one. As I never had a problem yet when I had to wait and let it cool down (ok back in the CD only days I did, but not for DVD burners). As that would be totally unacceptable to me. True, but how do you add a fan to an internal slim-line laptop drive? Oh, I thought you were talking about an external 5¼ type. So what kind of laptop do you have that gets so hot? All of mine run relatively cool, except for my gaming laptop. But I wouldn't use that one to burn DVDs anyway. -- Bill Gateway M465e ('06 era) - OE-QuoteFix v1.19.2 Centrino Core Duo 1.83G - 2GB - Windows XP SP3 |
#28
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choosing an external DVD burner
BillW50 wrote:
Patok wrote: The vast majority of internal laptop optical drives are just plain slimline drives with extra brackets and sometimes adapters. So you can put in virtually any type you want too. Any slimline, you mean. Back when I was looking for a replacement drive, all slimlines were no more than 8X, that is, the same as what I already had. As there was no way to put in a full-sized one, I bought an external one. True, but how do you add a fan to an internal slim-line laptop drive? Oh, I thought you were talking about an external 5¼ type. So what kind of laptop do you have that gets so hot? All of mine run relatively cool, except for my gaming laptop. But I wouldn't use that one to burn DVDs anyway. It is not the laptop that gets hot, it is the drive itself. It "helps" that the radiator and fan assembly are diagonally on the other corner of the laptop, and while the chips sit comfortably around 45°C, the drive itself heats up. With use, that is. Burning one DVD is enough to feel it by touch, on the panel above the drive. -- You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone. * Whoever bans a book, shall be banished. Whoever burns a book, shall burn. |
#29
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choosing an external DVD burner
In ,
Patok wrote: BillW50 wrote: Patok wrote: The vast majority of internal laptop optical drives are just plain slimline drives with extra brackets and sometimes adapters. So you can put in virtually any type you want too. Any slimline, you mean. Back when I was looking for a replacement drive, all slimlines were no more than 8X, that is, the same as what I already had. As there was no way to put in a full-sized one, I bought an external one. Only x8 speed? I wonder if they are still limited to this speed? As I believe all of my slimline drives all are x8 speed. True, but how do you add a fan to an internal slim-line laptop drive? Oh, I thought you were talking about an external 5¼ type. So what kind of laptop do you have that gets so hot? All of mine run relatively cool, except for my gaming laptop. But I wouldn't use that one to burn DVDs anyway. It is not the laptop that gets hot, it is the drive itself. It "helps" that the radiator and fan assembly are diagonally on the other corner of the laptop, and while the chips sit comfortably around 45°C, the drive itself heats up. With use, that is. Burning one DVD is enough to feel it by touch, on the panel above the drive. Well mine do get hot, but I never had one quit writing reliably. While I do have lots of computers around here, six of them have swappable drive bays. So it is easy to pull one out and feel and test with an IR temp probe. I dunno, it sounds like your solutions sounds the best for you. And can you actually burn x8 or faster with USB? As I don't see those speeds with USB optical drives. -- Bill Gateway M465e ('06 era) - OE-QuoteFix v1.19.2 Centrino Core Duo 1.83G - 2GB - Windows XP SP3 |
#30
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choosing an external DVD burner
BillW50 wrote:
Only x8 speed? I wonder if they are still limited to this speed? As I believe all of my slimline drives all are x8 speed. I haven't checked recently, but I think that's still the case. I wonder if any of them wrote Blu-ray too, wouldn't that increase the normal DVD speed? I don't know. And can you actually burn x8 or faster with USB? As I don't see those speeds with USB optical drives. Oh yes. As I mentioned before, not 16X, because in my setup, where the laptop is connected to an external powered USB2 hub, and the DVD writer is connected to that, the max speed to the writer is about 20MB/s, a little less than the 22MB/s of 16X. I burn reliably with 12X on normal DVDs, and 8X on DVD+R DL. Actually I *can* set the burn speed to 16X, and it works, but at the end of the disk the USB can't keep up with the burner, and it has to pause. This leads to oscillations in the effective writing speed, and to oscillations in the read speed of the written disk (as seen with Nero DVD speed). So I *could* burn in 16X, I just prefer not to risk it. The stupid drive boasts that it can write DVD+R at 22X. Yeah right. I'm sure it can, when taken out of its enclosure and connected directly to a SATA cable inside a desktop; connected via USB, no way. And it can write DVD-RAM at 12x; that would be wonderful, if only I could find an actual DVD-RAM disk rated for more than 5X. -- You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone. * Whoever bans a book, shall be banished. Whoever burns a book, shall burn. |
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