choosing an external DVD burner

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jo-Anne
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J

Jo-Anne

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.

Thank you!

Jo-Anne
 
In
Jo-Anne said:
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.

Thank you!
Click to expand...

Hi Jo-Anne! I like those slimline Samsung SE-S084. I got three of them
and they work really great. I tried others and they were not so hot.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...er=BESTMATCH&Description=samsung+dvd+external
 
In
philo said:
For the price...one can hardly go wrong.

I've found the NewEgg customer reviews to be helpful and honest
Click to expand...

Yes true! Although just a few years back, you couldn't touch one of
these for under 100 bucks. But it seems the more they sell, the more
inexpensive they get. ;-)
 
BillW50 said:
In

Yes true! Although just a few years back, you couldn't touch one of these
for under 100 bucks. But it seems the more they sell, the more inexpensive
they get. ;-)
Click to expand...

I have two self powere external dvd burners.

The "LG" model works more or less the same as the internals though even on
fast pc I tend to burn no faster than 8x.

I also have a "MadDog" external burner. Of ALL the burners I have (right now
7 in various pc plust the two externals) it is THE ONLY ONE does
"everything". Specifically, it is the only one capable of both reading and
burning "sub channel" info. In other words, it's the only one I can burn a
Karaoke cd with. Not a big deal unless you have friends into that sort of
thing, ask you to make a copy to then find out your brand new "does
everything" drive actually doesn't.
 
BillW50 said:
In

Hi Jo-Anne! I like those slimline Samsung SE-S084. I got three of them and
they work really great. I tried others and they were not so hot.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...er=BESTMATCH&Description=samsung+dvd+external
Click to expand...

Thank you, Bill! I looked at this model at Newegg last night and was
seriously considering it. The only drawback I could find is that it seems to
require two USB ports, which is all I have on my netbook. That would make it
hard to use my mouse. I do have a seven-port USB hub with an adapter to plug
into a wall outlet; but I had trouble with it on my laptop. Seemed like some
external devices worked OK with it and others didn't.

Jo-Anne
 
philo said:
For the price...one can hardly go wrong.

I've found the NewEgg customer reviews to be helpful and honest
Click to expand...


Thank you, Philo! I too like the Newegg customer reviews.

Jo-Anne
 
pjp said:
I have two self powere external dvd burners.

The "LG" model works more or less the same as the internals though even on
fast pc I tend to burn no faster than 8x.

I also have a "MadDog" external burner. Of ALL the burners I have (right
now 7 in various pc plust the two externals) it is THE ONLY ONE does
"everything". Specifically, it is the only one capable of both reading and
burning "sub channel" info. In other words, it's the only one I can burn a
Karaoke cd with. Not a big deal unless you have friends into that sort of
thing, ask you to make a copy to then find out your brand new "does
everything" drive actually doesn't.
Click to expand...

Thank you, pjp! I just looked at that one, and it does seem to be good--but
pricey.

Jo-Anne
 
Thank you, Bill! I looked at this model at Newegg last night and was
seriously considering it. The only drawback I could find is that it seems to
require two USB ports, which is all I have on my netbook. That would make it
hard to use my mouse. I do have a seven-port USB hub with an adapter to plug
into a wall outlet; but I had trouble with it on my laptop. Seemed like some
external devices worked OK with it and others didn't.
Click to expand...

Hi Jo-Anne! Oh no, don't let the two USB plugs scare you. As I have over
a dozen laptops here and three working netbooks. And I never needed the
second USB for extra power. I wouldn't plug it into any USB 1.1 ports
without a powered hub though. But you won't see any of those ports on
computers newer than 10 years old. Just use the USB plug that has two
wires coming out of it and you should be just fine. ;-)
 
BillW50 said:
Hi Jo-Anne! Oh no, don't let the two USB plugs scare you. As I have over a
dozen laptops here and three working netbooks. And I never needed the
second USB for extra power. I wouldn't plug it into any USB 1.1 ports
without a powered hub though. But you won't see any of those ports on
computers newer than 10 years old. Just use the USB plug that has two
wires coming out of it and you should be just fine. ;-)
Click to expand...

Thank you again, Bill! Looks like this'll do it, then!

Jo-Anne
 
BillW50 said:
Hi Jo-Anne! Oh no, don't let the two USB plugs scare you. As I have over a
dozen laptops here and three working netbooks. And I never needed the
second USB for extra power. I wouldn't plug it into any USB 1.1 ports
without a powered hub though. But you won't see any of those ports on
computers newer than 10 years old. Just use the USB plug that has two
wires coming out of it and you should be just fine. ;-)
Click to expand...


Oops, forgot one question: The Samsung S084 now comes in a D version and an
F version (see the webpage you referred me to). I think the F is newer and
perhaps lighter, although I couldn't find anything about it at the Samsung
website, other than a picture. At Newegg, it looks like the DVD-ROM access
time for the F model is a bit faster than for the D (160 ms versus 190). The
price for the F is just a couple dollars more than for the D. Any idea of
which to choose?

Thank you again!

Jo-Anne
 
Oops, forgot one question: The Samsung S084 now comes in a D version and an
F version (see the webpage you referred me to). I think the F is newer and
perhaps lighter, although I couldn't find anything about it at the Samsung
website, other than a picture. At Newegg, it looks like the DVD-ROM access
time for the F model is a bit faster than for the D (160 ms versus 190). The
price for the F is just a couple dollars more than for the D. Any idea of
which to choose?

Thank you again!
Click to expand...

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.
 
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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Hash: SHA1

Jo-Anne,

I would just go and buy a "decent one" that is reasonably priced because
they are all the same and can do almost everything unless you also want
the facility to copy an image on the face of the CD/DVD itself (as seen
on commercial CDs and DVDs). It uses what is called Light-Scribe
Technology but it is not important to play CDs and DVDs.

hth




Jo-Anne said:
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.

Thank you!

Jo-Anne
Click to expand...
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BillW50 said:
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.
Click to expand...


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.

Jo-Anne
 
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. :)
 
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.
Click to expand...

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. ;-)
 
Jo-Anne said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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. :)
Click to expand...

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?
 
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
 
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