I'm in the market for a DVD burner ...

[Cyde Weys]

I just received some e-mail ("spam") that offered a great deal on a DVD
burner: only $140! Before I buy it though, I have some questions ... it
supports +R and +RW media. Are these the good kinds? I.e. compatible
with DVD players? Also, the DVD-R write speed is 4X - is that bad,
good, etc.? Are there significantly faster ones on the market?

Anyway, the URL for the product is
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?sku=I21-8130 P

P.S. - Has anyone dealt with Tiger Direct before, and are they a good
retailer?

 

[John]

I just received some e-mail ("spam") that offered a great deal on a DVD
burner: only $140! Before I buy it though, I have some questions ... it
supports +R and +RW media. Are these the good kinds? I.e. compatible
with DVD players? Also, the DVD-R write speed is 4X - is that bad,
good, etc.? Are there significantly faster ones on the market?

Anyway, the URL for the product is
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?sku=I21-8130 P

P.S. - Has anyone dealt with Tiger Direct before, and are they a good
retailer?

$139 is a good price but its not that hard to get it close to that
price. It seems like its the NEC. This unit seems to be getting
popular now and seems to be the - THE low cost unit for DVD+R at 4x
which is a good sign because for a while DVD+Rs were being
aggressively pushed to compete with the DVD-Rs when both were 2x and
2.4x . Then suddenly the 4x came out and I didnt see the DVD+Rs pushed
that much but with this widely available unit in Europe and Asia and
now the US - it makes it very competitive with DVD-R 4x.

From the specs it seems like the NEC and I guess either they
subcontracted out to someone or they are making it themselves. I dont
see any Ricohs with this spec yet.

DVD-R boosters always the media is cheaper for DVD-R but as people
have pointed out there is 1x-2x media , not so hot media around so
that distorts the pricing possibly - DVD+R has to burn at 2.4x though
probably DVD-R is cheaper. Ive also seen DVD+R getting cheaper
recently with the sale at Office Depot for $1 a disk.

Also compatibility wise - frankly all the people I know ened up with a
DVD+R burner the Ricoh in its many guises - mine was a Memorex, and
the burned disks seem to work with all the players we have. Havent
found one yet that cant play the burned disks.

 

[Cyde Weys]

$139 is a good price but its not that hard to get it close to that
price. It seems like its the NEC. This unit seems to be getting
popular now and seems to be the - THE low cost unit for DVD+R at 4x
which is a good sign because for a while DVD+Rs were being
aggressively pushed to compete with the DVD-Rs when both were 2x and
2.4x . Then suddenly the 4x came out and I didnt see the DVD+Rs pushed
that much but with this widely available unit in Europe and Asia and
now the US - it makes it very competitive with DVD-R 4x.

From the specs it seems like the NEC and I guess either they
subcontracted out to someone or they are making it themselves. I dont
see any Ricohs with this spec yet.

DVD-R boosters always the media is cheaper for DVD-R but as people
have pointed out there is 1x-2x media , not so hot media around so
that distorts the pricing possibly - DVD+R has to burn at 2.4x though
probably DVD-R is cheaper. Ive also seen DVD+R getting cheaper
recently with the sale at Office Depot for $1 a disk.

Also compatibility wise - frankly all the people I know ened up with a
DVD+R burner the Ricoh in its many guises - mine was a Memorex, and
the burned disks seem to work with all the players we have. Havent
found one yet that cant play the burned disks.

So you're saying I might as well buy it then? Okay, sweet.

 

[John]

So you're saying I might as well buy it then? Okay, sweet.

Actually I wouldnt mind upgrading myself to it myself.

The caveats though I want to repeat - its a DVD+R 4x and DVD+RW 2.4x
I think. That means a) you have to buy generally more expensive dvd+
disks b) theres no guarantee that DVD+ is going to win the DVD+ vs.
DVD - competition.

 

[Cyde Weys]

Actually I wouldnt mind upgrading myself to it myself.

The caveats though I want to repeat - its a DVD+R 4x and DVD+RW 2.4x
I think. That means a) you have to buy generally more expensive dvd+
disks b) theres no guarantee that DVD+ is going to win the DVD+ vs.
DVD - competition.

Yeah, but there's also no guarantee that DVD- is going to win the
competition ... and combo DVD recorders cost more than twice as much as
this one, so it's a good deal?

 

[Cyde Weys]

It seems to be. I see it selling at a lot of places now for $149-160
and the posts Ive read on it say its decent.

Oh, one final question. It burns 4.7GB per disc, right? Just wondering
if there's any storage differences between DVD- and DVD+ format.

BTW, what are the differences between DVD+ and DVD-, besides price of media?

 

[John]

BTW, what are the differences between DVD+ and DVD-, besides price of media?

for everyday common usage none.
If you go to the DVD+ organization site theyll list some advantages
the DVD+ has but I think its more useful when you edit video or
something. Most people dont notice any difference. WHen speeds were 2x
the 2.4x was a plus for DVD+ but now they are 4x.

You can copy movies though of course its not right to do so. And you
can back up data etc.

 

[Cyde Weys]

Don't people EVER learn?

Okay, I admit, I subscribed to their list, but I call it "spam" because
it's VERY RARE that I ever find something useful in the newsletter.

What do you think happens when you allow people to profit from spam?

BTW, Tigerdirect has such a bad reputation (having nothing to do with
spam) that most experienced purchasers won't touch them with a 10-foot
pole. Check out resellerratings or any of the major forums, or the
better business bureau in many states... they all have files on
Tigerdirect.

What kind of stuff are we talking about? Selling broken products? Not
delivering what was promised?

 

[John]

What kind of stuff are we talking about? Selling broken products? Not
delivering what was promised?

Ive never ordered from them so I wont bash them but I always thought
they sold some cheesy stuff. They just seem cheesy to me.

Newegg is selling it for more $159 O think but they are dependable and
check the shipping, Sometimes that alone makes the deal totally
different. Check out the feedback on NEwegg by the buyers. They all
love it except for the unavoidable one or two people for any product
who say they hate it.


http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=&submit=Go&description=nec+1100