Page 1 of DVD-Writer, advice/tips ; help please??!!

Should this be in the hardware section? If so, then sorry mods - was a bit unsure where to put it.....

Anyways, contemplating seriously whether to get a DVD-Writer for my PC. Have basically settled on the new Sony DVD-Writer as it plays the + and the - media. Problem is I`m a bit unsure about what type of media is best. I was checking it out on SVP just now and for 100 of one of the brands its £190!!! Clearly I can`t afford that, so I wondered if anybody had any advice/tips just to help clarify the whole thing. I`ll be chiefly using it for transferring multiple DivX films onto DVDR to watch on my DVD player, and also for making PS2 backups.

Is it easy to install, and what is the reliability of the drives. Problem is I don`t want to end up having loads of failed recordings because the media is so bloody expensive.

So, any advice?

I bought the Ricoh from Dixons a week ago, it made perfect backups of my PS2 games and also some movies but it was,nt compatable with DVD-decrypter or Smartripper. I bought a pack of 5 DVD+RW to try out on it, they were a bit expensive £25 but they worked great.

I ordered a pack of 10 DVD+R for £14 from Blank disc shop and they also worked great, but because i could,nt back up my movie collection , i took it back and bought the Pioneer A05.

I have no problem using Smartripper or Decrypter now, the free DVD-R/RW worked no problem but there is some strange stuff going on....

I bought 20 White Label DVD-R at £1 each, the shop owner said they worked perfectly with all DVD players and were the most compatable out of all the blank media he had.

To cut a long story short here is the outcome of backing up a few disks with this media, i am using my Toshiba 520, Goodmans GDVD 124 and PS2.....

Nero 5.5.9.14-dont load on any of my machine`s but load ok on my PC

Stomp Record Now Max-dont load on any of my machine`s but load ok on my PC

Alcohol 120% made pefect backup`s and played on all my players but can`t use it to burn Vob files.

Prassi Primo DVD works with all and seems to be the best software to use.

When i had the Ricoh, Nero and Stomp worked and Prassi and Alcohol did,nt.

I think i will need to do a pick and mix to see if i can find a disc that works with all software.

The Pioneer drive is silky smooth and you can hardly hear the disk spinning....this is the quietest drive i have owned.

The Ricoh was noisy when loading discs and the drive came out too quick.

As for installing the drive, i dont think you will have any problem, its really simple to set up.

I have only had this drive a few days, i am sure there is more people here who can fill us in on whats the best.

hi m8 i,ve got the sony dru500a easy to install cheapest disks to work are bulkpaq, the purple ones write at 1x while the blue ones write at2x, i paid 12.50 for 25 1x and £17.00 for the 2x from a local comp fair. 4x r expensive about £20.00 for 10. you could get a +RW burn to that then copy it to a -R to make sure it worked i picked them up for £2.50 each.

Thanks for the great help.

Going to leave it for a couple of months, and then get one.

I noticed SVP has some yellow topped DVDR`s which seem to be the cheapest on there? Have you used these? What is the best for PS2 backups by the way?