[ale] External CD/DVD Writer

[aaron]

On Saturday 16 July 2005 14:24, Greg Freemyer wrote:
> I'm thinking of buying a couple of external (USB/Firewire) DVD writers
> for the offic.
> 
> I definately want to get drives that support Dual Layer* DVD writing
> and work from both WIndows and Linux.
> 
> Haven't done any real looking yet, but I saw the LaCie drive for $129.
> 
> http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10304
> 
> Any thoughts/recommendations?
[snip]

Though I'm only talking about single layer units, my experience with both 
Lacie and more generic cases suggests that either will do the job.

I've used a Pioneer DVR 107 burner in a "generic"  ieee1394 / USB 2.0  
external combo case. It works fine and is automatically recognized by K3B on 
my Mandrake 10 box, as well as all the MacOSeX burning related software (both 
system bundle supplied and third party).  The only problem system was an M$ 
eXcrement Pile box, where connection required driver installs, yet some of 
the slightly older third party CD making tools still wouldn't recognize the 
drive or would only see it under the USB connection. 

Specific to Lacie, two weeks ago I plugged up a borrowed Lacie external burner 
on the Mandrake 10 / K3B box for some DVD duplication. Using 1394, the unit 
was recognized automatically and functioned fine. The drive in this Lacie 
case was an NEC 2500, and K3B let me run in dual disk mode, copying directly 
from the internal NEC 1300 A burner in the machine. I've also used this Lacie 
burner on MacOSeX systems with good, reliable results.

I think $129 Is a very decent price for a packaged unit, and I know because I 
just spent ~$115 to buy and ship the parts for a new external burner. The 
burners themselves have REALLY gotten cheap, and the best price I found for 
burners supporting dual layer and [ + | - ] [ R | RW ] (everything) was just 
$55;   For a couple feature and compatibility reasons, I went with the 
Pioneer DVR 109 for $65 I found at <http://surpluscomputers.com>.

There are dozen's of 1394/USB external cases out there, and my experience
from purchasing and using several external hard drive cases is that they are 
now fairly consistent in standards compliance and compatibility. I'm taking a 
chance with a $35 1394 / USB combo unit I found on clearance at 
<http://geeks.com> . I'll find out if this was a good choice when the drive 
arrives this week.

peace
(because freedom is only found in peace)
aaron



> 
> == * Dual Layer DVD
> From what I understand, from day one all DVD readers were supposed to
> be able to read Dual Layer DVD media (8.5 GB).
> 
> I don't know if most writers can / cannot write to dual layer media.
> 
> I've heard the dual layer media is still about $10 ea.
> 
> Greg
> -- 
> Greg Freemyer
> The Norcross Group
> Forensics for the 21st Century
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