DVD burners

F

fbsnr

I'm thinking of buying an internal DVD writer for my PC. I've seen
plenty of adverts online for the type of device that I'm looking for,
but none of them make any mention of supplying burning software with
the device. Considering that can cost as much as the hardware itself,
can anyone enlighten me whether it's normal practice for the online
sellers actually to provide basic software with their product, or are
you expected to buy this separately?

Frank
 
M

MCheu

I'm thinking of buying an internal DVD writer for my PC. I've seen
plenty of adverts online for the type of device that I'm looking for,
but none of them make any mention of supplying burning software with
the device. Considering that can cost as much as the hardware itself,
can anyone enlighten me whether it's normal practice for the online
sellers actually to provide basic software with their product, or are
you expected to buy this separately?

Frank

Both. If it's bought retail boxed, then it will definitely come with
software. Retail boxed is a complete kit, typically consisting of
mounting screws, software, and sometimes cables and sample blanks.
This is what you typically see on the shelves at electronics
superstores like BestBuy and FutureShop. These drives typically cost
more.

If it's bought OEM or Bulk, which is what you're more likely to see
online, the drive is sold by itself, and it might come with software
or it might not. Depends on what sort of deal the shop made with the
manufacturer for the drives. Unless the seller specifically mentions
it, the safe bet is to assume that you don't get any software.

If in doubt, zing off an email and ask. It might take a few days to
get an answer, but DVD burners are rarely emergency purchases.
 
J

Jan Alter

Take a look at newegg.com . In the product description you'll be made aware
if any and what software will be coming with the unit.
 
J

Joe

You can buy them with and without software but even with software it is not
the full version. Many retail drives come with NERO for example but it is
the OEM version of NERO not the full blown retail version of the software.
So even the ones that come with software will only give you the ability to
do basic functions.
Joe
 
J

John

I'm thinking of buying an internal DVD writer for my PC. I've seen
plenty of adverts online for the type of device that I'm looking for,
but none of them make any mention of supplying burning software with
the device. Considering that can cost as much as the hardware itself,
can anyone enlighten me whether it's normal practice for the online
sellers actually to provide basic software with their product, or are
you expected to buy this separately?

Frank


I can only talk about US retailers dont know about the UK.

In the US ---- they usually do come with software as the other poster
said but they are limited versions which tend to work only with the
burner supplied many times. In the past I also got older versions etc

However Ive read where they do only give you just the drive in some
cases but in the US they usually will state that and call the drive
OEM etc. or bare drive only etc.
 
F

fbsnr

Thanks for all the response.. It appears that in the UK, where I
reside, no software, not even OEM is provided in the majority of
cases, at least as far as the online retalers are concerned. It's
probably going to be much cheaper to buy a DVD burner from the US, if
they sell abroad, that is. Not many seem to.

Just one final point, please. Are specific manufacturer drivers sold
with burners, or does one have to usually ke do with Windows generic
ones ?
 
M

MCheu

Thanks for all the response.. It appears that in the UK, where I
reside, no software, not even OEM is provided in the majority of
cases, at least as far as the online retalers are concerned. It's
probably going to be much cheaper to buy a DVD burner from the US, if
they sell abroad, that is. Not many seem to.

Just one final point, please. Are specific manufacturer drivers sold
with burners, or does one have to usually ke do with Windows generic
ones ?

You use the generic ones. It doesn't much matter which OS or computer
type you use. Windows, Linux, and even OSX (Mac) have built-in
drivers for SCSI and ATAPI drives. The days of having to use special
drivers are over.

If it turns out your drive doesn't come with software, you might want
to check out www.burn4free.com

The program covers most of the basics that one might need, and it's
free.
 
F

fbsnr

MCheu said:
You use the generic ones. It doesn't much matter which OS or computer
type you use. Windows, Linux, and even OSX (Mac) have built-in
drivers for SCSI and ATAPI drives. The days of having to use special
drivers are over.

If it turns out your drive doesn't come with software, you might want
to check out www.burn4free.com

The program covers most of the basics that one might need, and it's
free.

Thanks very much for that. I'll give the software a try.
 

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