Can somebody recommend a good dvd burner?
 

I have been asking around because I want one for Christmas( yes, I am finally crossing over to the Dark Side that Marcus inhabits). I have 2 primary questions:
1. Is an external or internal burner better...and why?
2. Can someone recommend a good brand to buy and a place to buy it?

Any other info would be appreciated. Thanks all!

1) Get a Internal ALWAYS, less problems that way, with a external you will have far more bad burns and read errors.

2) As far as a Internal DVD burner goes get a Pioneer DRU-109 Dual Layer DVD burner.

Thats what I have, there might be a newer version I think the 700?? But all in all a very good burner, super fast, well if you got the right fireware install. Which I have, well I think I do LOL.

Mine ran about $90 from new egg.

Brent

I've used a external Toshiba Burner with my Toshiba Laptop. It does far better and reads better than most of the internal DVD burners I've seen.

One problem with the internal in a desktop that most of the time you are hooked up to the internet and have other programs running. This will create a lot of bad burns.

I second the Pioneer burner. They are the best. No questions.

If you want external, just buy a USB 2 case for the Pioneer from NewEgg as well. I've done this and they work well. However, the USB 2 speed will limit the burn speed to about 4x-6x. Internal is the best way to go.

I'd go with the Pioneer as well. I have 2 DVR-109's that I paid about $60 each for shipping included, if I remember correctly. I think the 110 is out now as well, but they should be great as well. The burns that come off of Pioneer's are the best hands down.

Liteon are good . Fairly reasonable too.
check directron.com Can get burners cheap :P 40.00 Grandpa LOL!

I have to disagree about using external pioneer DVD burners. I purchased one from newegg and had nothing but problems. It would only burn at 2-4X. I sent it back and they sent me a new one-same problem. The rep said that they have been having that same complaint quite a bit.He at first thought it might be my laptop, but when he found out I had a laptop with 3.2 Mhz, 1gig ram and a 80 g harddrive he backed off and told me that they have been quite a few of them returned. If you are going for external I would highly suggest the Toshiba. All externals come in their own closure and a cord for the power supply.

Greg, I do believe I've probably burned more DVDs by using a external then anyone on this site. I've only used externals. The Toshiba I'm using surpassed the Pioneer, NEC, Liteon, Plextor, Sony (uck).All of which I've tried.

Yeah, I wouldn't go with an external DVD burner either. That's ok for Data backup, but not for video. Buy and install an internal, you'll be much happier. Although it is good to hear there is a good external on the market in case it is a necessity.

I am going to go with an internal most likely.

You know may have I overreacted regarding the External Pioneer DVD burner. I was looking at some receipts on the Pioneer burners I had and they were the 108s. It could be that Pioneer corrected the problem. I'm not sure whether a person could conclusively say that an internal burner read better than an external, which I feel is more important than burn speed. I burn at between 6X & 8X with my external, which means I can read and burn a disc about every 15 minutes (with Decryptor).

Of course, my internal DVD burner in my laptop is a (Matcrapta) and only burns at 4X, which is why I like my external. It is strange though, how sometimes this crappy internal will read discs that my Toshiba won't and vice versa. I might explore the possibility of swapping this burner on my laptop out.

I've probably burned 3000 discs on externals (video). I believe they have come a long way since the 2.4X burners. Does anyone remember the cyclic redundancy error that we used when we were try to read and burn discs? I seldom happens now days. It's also great to have the plug & play option. Greg, I believe you told me that you have just a basic CD Rom in your computer, so I would have to agree that if you can do it, swap it out and upgrade to an internal DVD burner.

dang, the prices have come down to nothing! I paid nearly $250 for my first DVD burner.

I am curious if the above subscribers to this thread are hooked up to the internet (cable) while they burn. I usually run adaware/spywire/ virus programs before I burn and shut all other programs off.

I forgot to add, Greg is about to learn the importance of the quality of discs that he uses once he starts using a DVD burner.

Pioneer.

An internal burner will always be better than external because of how data transfers work internally versus externally. But if you have a very cooperative system, you'll often have no troubles either way. The only worry would really be 12x or 16x speeds externally, as the data rates really don't do too well that high.

My wife already ordered me one online. It should be here Tuesday! But get this, she wont let me have until Christmas day !!! :(

In my routine checking of some old posts, some of the content seen here is almost amusing. As technology has progressed, external DVD burners are now far more viable.

A good Samsung or Pioneer burner works great in either USB2 or Firewire, and you can easily achieve excellent burns at up to 12x-16x, assuming you're using good media.

Times have changed.