ok i know dual layer burners will allow for more data to be stored on special discs, but other than that are there any benifits? i want to purchase a burner mostly for making back ups of DVD's so is this a feature i really want or need?

 

dual layer medias are still expensive, but the benefit is you can copy a movie (and most movies are dual layer capacity) w/o compressing or much of it.

 

The future of DVD burners is Dual layer. So if your buying one get a dual layer drive. Right now the media is too expensive to make it worth copying ($5 each disc) but as we all know they will probably be $1 each in about a year or 18 months.

What to look for? Well thier pretty straight forward. I haven't ever used a CDRW so I will probably never use a DVDRW but if that is something your intereseted in get a high RW speed.
Other than that theres nothing special.

I recommend NEC and Lite-On. Especially the NEC dual layer drives (read cheap).
I cant recommend Optorite (which I have) because this thing is LOUD. Everytime it starts spinning it sounds like a jet is taking off, not burning, spinning, which happens everytime you put a disc in or look at your drive in My Computer.

 

If the DVDs you want to back up are movies, then yes, you definitely want a dual layer burner (plus a copy of DVD X Copy ). With prices on DVD burners the way they are now, I'd say to get a dual layer one anyway. Any extra cost is negligible for what you get in return.

 

the dual layer burners i'm looking at are no name brands EMPREX and ARTEC. if these are not worth my time i guess i'll go with the new Sony dual layer. but if dual layer is in its early stages for consumers, shouldn't i wait for faster dual layer writers and just buy a name brand single layer burner for now?

 

the down side of getting a dual layer right now is that the dual layer write speed is very slow. sure dual layer media will probably become "affordable" in the near future, but i'm sure dual layer write speed will also become faster in the near future, so personally i would get the dual layer WHEN it comes time that you will actually be using dual layer. in the mean time, just find a very inexpensive singular layer drive or buy a used one off somebody.

 

if you want exact backups with no compression (quality loss) you would need a dual layer... thats if you want the whole movie on 1 dvd

a single layer dvd with no compression usually need 2 dvds for the entire movie

 

I would still go with the dual layer because the difference in price is so marginal. I bought the Pioneer 16x dual layer locally for $90 about a month ago. I got it from this place:

http://www.centralcomputer.com/products.asp?pline=HDVDW

You're not going to save much money by going single layer. I've also owned a Pioneer 4x single layer for several years, and it has been great.

 

go to www.newegg.com to get one, dual or single layer. And again I recommend Lite-On or NEC, all your getting for the extra money with the Sony is the Sony name.

Lite-On 16x+R, 4xRW, 8x-R Duallie- $61.00 with Nero 6, Power DVD 5 (Retail )

Sony 16x+R, 4xRW, 8x-R Duallie- $86.99 with Retrospect Express (Retail, OEM without software is 60.99)

Seriously, at least get it from NewEgg so you can save some scratch, and maybe get more software free, and some blanks for free (usually 8)

 

btw, why is it that whenever someone makes a DVDR thread, they always stress that they are planning on backing up thier DVDs?? how come people never state in their thread that they plan on joining netflix and want to copy each and every single DVD that they receive in the mail??