DVD writer for PC help please

happyhero

Hi I have a PC with USB2 and firewire connections, a cd writer and DVD reader (seperate drives). I want to write some DVD's with my home movie edits I am making. I have a Panasonic DVD player with harddrive under my lounge TV which supports DVD-R and DVD-Ram. I would like to be able to watch the DVD's on here for a start. I also have a laptop which we may want to watch the DVD's on

I have a few questions which I was hoping for some help with as follows:-

Should I get an internal or external drive?

Do internal and external drives perform differently or is one inferior to the other or do they perform identically to each other?

Can anybody recommend which ones are the best for reliability, performance etc? Maybe suggest a couple of good models?

Any help would be appreciated.

bat999

Hi
It's your decision whether you buy an internal or an external DVD writer.

Advantages of buying an internal one:-
It would probably directly replace one of your existing drives using the existing wiring and fixing screws. A very simple job if you want to do it yourself.
Cheap and cheerful - less than £20.

Advantage of buying an external one:-
You could probably use it with either of your computers.

See what other responses you get to the thread though before you dash out to the shops.
:cool:

happyhero

Any recommendations on models or makes to have and to avoid, etc, please?

happyhero

any recommendations on models or makes to have and to avoid, etc, please?

Sorry for repeating but had a slight problem with my account.

Lakeuk

I've always found lite-on's good

happyhero

Lakeuk wrote: »

I've always found lite-on's good

Mainly I want to write DVD-R I think, to keep my videos on, is there any special features to look out for? Any tips etc?

jrrowleyws

Virtually all DVDRW drives will write DVD-R and DVD+R.

If you dont have USB2 then I would get an internal DVD writer as speeds will be quicker. Does the laptop have a DVD drive already? If not, the easiest option would be to get a USB drive as changing laptop drives is a pain.

bat999

Have you decided whether you want to use the DVD writer with your PC or with your laptop or with both?

happyhero

bat999 wrote: »

Have you decided whether you want to use the DVD writer with your PC or with your laptop or with both?

Well that tempts me to get an external one so that I can, but its not that important. The DVD player on the laptop is faulty at the moment and I am in the process of getting a replacement, I don't feel happy with leaving the faulty one in there. But that was why I asked about the difference between internal and external, I dont want to sacrifice anything to have an external one. I would want it to perform as good as an internal drive.

Lakeuk

I'd get an internal one because they are so cheap, you'll pay at least double for a external one

Example - £22.60 (inc postage)
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/119566

BillScarab

I've got a Pioneer dvr-111d, which I'm happy with. I'm no expert on burning DVD's but I've had a lot of success burnign DVD-Rs on my old single layer burner (an NEC one) however most blank Dual Layer DVDs seem to be DVD+R and I have read that DVD+R is a better technology.

There's a lot of info on https://www.videohelp.com

have a look on there and see what people are recommending. Alternatively a lot of online retailers like Novatech, Ebuyer and Komplett have customer reviews.