In yesterday's edition, I tried hard to confuse you with the different types of DVD media on the market. I gave you DVD-R, DVD+R, and DVD+R DL. Today, I want to unconfuse you by talking about the actual DVD burners themselves and why the different media types almost don't matter.
Today's DVD burners look nearly identical to the CD burners we have been using for years. There are two main types...internal and external. Internals are meant to be used as permanent attachments to your computer, whether it is a laptop or a desktop. You attach them to your computer's chassis and connect them via IDE cables, just like your hard drive (or internal CD burner). If you ordered your laptop with a DVD burner, you don't have to do anything.
The external burner, as its name implies, sits outside of your computer in its own chassis and connects to your computer via a USB2 cable or a Firewire (IEEE 1394) cable. My own external DVD burner actually has both connections.
FYI, a USB1.1 connection is probably too slow. If you want an external burner and your desktop computer does not have a USB2 connection, you can buy an internal card very inexpensively, or just save some money and buy and internal DVD burner. Internal DVD burners start at about $50 whereas externals start at about $200. I paid only $99 for my external, but I really got a rare, but good deal.
The other decision you must make when buying one of these devices is whether to buy a single layer or dual layer DVD burner. Actually, the decision is being made easier by the manufacturers as just about all new burners work with both single and dual layer media. And the dual layer DVD players are now about the same price as the single layer burners.
The other good news is that today's single layer burners work with both DVD-R and DVD+R disks, while the dual layer burners work with all three types. And, as an added bonus, all DVD burners will burn CD's also.
To put all this in perspective, if I could only afford one burner, I would buy a dual layer DVD burner since it can handle all my music and video needs, now and in the near future (remember dual layer media will be coming down in price).
If you would like to find out more about DVD burners, I invite you to check out two web sites. The first is newegg.com, an on-line computer hardware retail outlet. Here you can look at the different types of burners available and do some price comparison. I like this site as it offers some in-depth insight into each of its products and lets consumers write about their experiences. They also offer very competitive pricing and good customer service if you decide to buy.
The second site I invite you to look at is videohelp.com. This is a very in-depth site (almost overwhelming) that looks at every aspect of video. If you want more information about the subjects covered so far, this is the place to go.
Tomorrow, we will look at the kind of software you need to burn your DVD's.
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