Ok, so I posted my initial question “Stupid DVD questions” - and got some amazing help from here thanks!! (Special thanks to my hero Rahul!  :wink:  ).

So…I bought my DVD burner - this one: http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start;sid=HX1YlJMSbnpY89J0BflSn9wDWgaOAbWc6_Y=?ProductSKU=DRX710UL&Dept=cpu_accessories&CategoryName=cpu_Sony_PCAccessories_CD/DVDBurn_DVDBurners

It’s Sony’s DRX-710UL drive with double layer recording capabilities.

I got it home, plugged it in, installed the Nero software that it came with…and now….questions….beware….many may be…stupid…

1) How much time should I expect that reading and burning a DVD will take - roughly? 30 minutes? 60? Reason for asking is to make sure that I don’t start getting used to speeds that are not correct and maybe I’m doing something wrong.

2) Can I ever by accident burn onto the original DVD and ruin it?
I’m making copies of my own store bought DVD so I don’t lend out the original to my crabby friends - and I’m afraid that maybe I could screw up my originals :-(

3) I have DVDX and DVDshrink both installed now and as far as user interface goes I kind of like DVDShrink. Is there anything in DVDXCOPY that I’m missing out on if I would end up using DVDShrink?

4) DVDShrink question: after I read the DVD into DVDshrink I click on the “Copy entire disk” or something like that and it start “Decoding” for about 25 minutes. I freaked up and cancelled it as it had not asked me to put a blank DVD into the burner. Does “Decoding” just read - and when it’s done it will PROMPT me for a blank DVD?

5) Speed.
I have a Sony TR1A (love it) and now the Sony 710UL burner.
The 710 can read at 16x speed.
a) Should I always just use the burner for reading the DVD - OR should I have the original DVD in the TR’s DVD reader and just put the blank DVD in the burner? What’s best from a speed-perspective?
b) I noticed that the 710UL supports USB and Firewire. Ok..here my idiotness comes out…eh…I plugged it into my USB port…so I guess it’s now using USB. Would firewire make anything faster and if so how do I ‘firewire’ it? Is it a special cable?

6) Double layer disks.
Now…I didn’t actually FIND any double layer disks at compUSA but if I had some - would both DVDShrink and DVDXCOPY ‘sense’ that it’s a double layer disk with a max storage capacity of 8.5GB? When using DVDShrink I use ‘automatic’ and it seems to ‘assume’ that it’s a single layer 4.7 or something DVD.

Ok….please be kind to me

And thanks again - this forum is so incredible friendly to people like me that honestly don’t know too much - but want to learn.

Hey Miss Tiffany…i’ll try to cover everything if I can.

1. A typical DVD (@ 4.7GB) in “standard” mode is considered to 2 hours long or 1 hour in High Quality. So, the real number here is 1 hour. So, 2x would be 30 minutes, 4x would be 15 minutes, and 8x should be 7.5 minutes. This only refers to actual burning time and does not take into account drive spin-up/down and buffering.

So, it will depend on what kind of discs you use. The most common nowadays is 4x (as they’re ridiculously cheap now). So, it’s going to be 15-20 minutes on average for a full disc burn.

2. No, once a disc is burned, it’s not possible to burn over it. Most burners will see that it’s already written to and refuse to burn on them. Even DVD-RW/+RWs will refuse to be written on unless they’re properly erased.

3. I haven’t used DVDXCopy so I’m not sure. I just know that I find DVDShrink easy to use. Perhaps some else here can comment on this one.

4. Yes. DVDShrink needs some time to decode and re-encode the video to fit on your target disc. Don’t worry about it. It will just rip the video to a temporary directory on your hard disk and recompress it. When it’s done it will ask you for a blank disc.

5. It doesn’t matter. The speed of the TR’s optical drive and the 710’s is close enough that it shouldn’t matter. And, it really shouldn’t matter about which interface you’re using. The firewire interface may have less overhead but again, the TR is fast enough to handle it all.

6. Yeah, it’s going to be a while until 8.5GB discs are widely available since DL drives just came out. Also, they’re likely to be expensive until everyone is shipping DL drives (that are all compatible). And yes, by the time the discs are available, programs like DVDShrink will know that you can burn 8.5GB of data.

Hope that helps.  :D

Groovy,

great replies - thanks!

1) I had no idea that the actual disks themselves would set the speed-limit I thought it was the drive itself that was the speed-limiting factor

What are good brands for single layer and double layer DVD disks by the way? Any cheap and reliable places around to buy from?

6) Ah - so I’m ‘cutting edge’ with my dual drive then? Cool, that’s a first

Yeah, it’s all about the discs!  :wink:

I normally buy the stacks of Ritek that Fry’s Electronics has on sale every weekend. They’re 4x DVD-Rs that are usually 50 discs for $25. For comparison, DL discs are around 10 discs for $90. Which really doesn’t make any sense right now. For that price, you may as well buy a second backup copy of your DVD in the “previously viewed” bin of your local Blockbuster.

Wow, yeah I agree. I think I’m off to Fry’s this weekend

I do hate that place though…seems like the staff there is even more clueless than what I am….

Haha…yes. However, even worse than the Fry’s employee is the old man who lurks in the aisles just waiting for someone to ask them a question or just starts talking to you when you’re looking at stuff on the shelves. 

I suggest checking the paper on Friday or Saturday morning and going early and fleeing before the crowd arrives.  :wink:

Not bad suggestions….

Stupid question again…

What’s the difference with all these different DVD models?
+R
-R
RW
etc?

Any dvd’s I should stay away from - or always go for?

Also…hmm…i saw that there is such a thing as 8x DVD disks…Does that require a drive faster than the one I bought?

+R / -R - these are write only, read many times discs. Basically, these are single use DVDs. The plus and minus are just different types of discs that hold the same capacity. The reason why there are two specifications is that the major companies couldn’t agree on a standard so they each made their own.

+RW / -RW - is the same thing except that the discs are rewriteable. The only downside to these (other than being more expensive) is that they don’t always play well with console players. They’re should be fine in computers though.

Generally, speaking…if you stick with name brands then you shouldn’t have much problems. Ritek is a pretty decent lesser known brand as they’re one of the companies that makes discs for companies like Sony, TDK, etc.

Your drive should be able to burn 8x discs.

I too am just learning about burning dvd’s.  I have both DVDx and DVD shrink but have not used either yet so I can’t comment there.  As far as the 8x media (discs) you referred to.  The link you gave for your burner says that it can burn +R format at 16x.  So yes the 8x will work and they will take 1/2 the time of a 4x disc.

+R and -R are different formats I believe.  +R seem to be by far the most popular and cross compatible.  Also it seems to be the format with the fastest burn speeds.

Also be aware that the top DL (dual layer) burn speeds right now are 2.4.  SO it will take about 50 minutes to burn a DL disc.

Now I have a few questions.  How is the size of this drive?  I am looking for a small DVD burner that I could bring to a friends house without it being a hassel.  I carry my laptop in a small bag and would like to be able to slip it in the side pocket.  If not this drive, while looking did you see any other small dvd drives?

Thanks BB

Hi,

I wouldn’t exactly call it small.

It’s:
DIMENSIONS (WxHxD)
7.20 X 2.25 X 10.5 inches

WEIGHT
.2 lbs.

I do however kinda like how it looks with the TR

So, what I may get is some 8x R+ DVD disks this weekend. Will be interesting

I’ve noticed that -R has better compatability with set-top DVD players…I am sure people will come on and say the opposite…it’s sort of like Pepsi and Coke, it’s hard to convince someone to drink the other kind.

Erik

WOW

Yeah I really like the way it looks but I was hoping for something a bit smallerl.  I actually own a Fujitsu P7010 so I’m not sure how the two would look together.  I would certainly get the 8x discs.  I don’t know if you sit at your computer while burning or if you leave and do something else.  For CD’s I usually sit and wait, so those few saved minutes are worth it to me.

I am not sure which Fry’s Groovy is getting the deal on 4X’s at.  I usually go to the one in Concord but haven’t seen that deal yet (I will keep an eye out next time I am there).  You may see if Fry’s have a similar deal on 8x’s.

BB

[quote author=“tifosiv122”]I’ve noticed that -R has better compatability with set-top DVD players…I am sure people will come on and say the opposite…it’s sort of like Pepsi and Coke, it’s hard to convince someone to drink the other kind.

Erik

Yeah, this is mostly true. I’ve had the most success with DVD-R. However, I actually found that certain company’s (who support DVD+R) like Sony or Phillips don’t always play DVD-Rs.  :?

Hmmmm that is good to know.  I actually thought +R was most likely to be compatible with DVD players.  So just now I took the time to ACTUALLY look at my DVD player and it only supports DVD-R so THANKS!!

If it is the one I am thinking of (I believe right off hwy 680) then that Fry’s is real nice.  I usually pop into any Fry’s I drive by because I am a true nerd

BB

I have this slim writer from panasonic…it’s a top loading drive. I picked up one for around $192 from buy.com a few months ago. I haven’t tried burning anything as yet on it so I can’t tell you anything about it’s performance. And, it’s not all that fast too…I dont think the ultra slim writers get much faster than this one.

[quote author=“tifosiv122”]I’ve noticed that -R has better compatability with set-top DVD players…I am sure people will come on and say the opposite…it’s sort of like Pepsi and Coke, it’s hard to convince someone to drink the other kind.

Erik

I have spindles of both. Really haven’t encountered compatibility problems with either. I think the key is to stay away from the cheap stuff.