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AnchorDesk

John Morris and Josh Taylor
Choose the right DVD burner for you! Here's how

John Morris and Josh Taylor
Contributing Editors, AnchorDesk
Friday, April 19, 2002
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If you've been in the market for a DVD burner, you've no doubt encountered a hodgepodge of standards: DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW. And while one isn't necessarily better than the next, compatibility can be a major issue. Some formats are incompatible with one another, and they also offer varying compatibility with devices such as home DVD players and DVD-ROM drives.

Our reviews team looked at an assortment of new drives this week. The Panasonic LF-D321U is a DVD-RAM drive for data backup. It can also write movies to inexpensive DVD-R media, which can be played back in a wide range of DVD drives and players. Too bad the Panasonic LF-D321U can't handle CD-R or CD-RWs as well.

The Philips DVDRW208 uses the competing DVD+RW format, and doubles as a CD-R and CD-RW drive. DVD+RW is rewritable, but the media costs a little more and is currently not compatible with as many DVD players. Despite the claims on the box, the Philips DVDRW208 doesn't support DVD+R. To be fair, Philips wasn't the only company caught with its pants down on this matter.

Finally, CenDyne's DVR-104 DVD-RW is the latest version of the Pioneer DVD-R/RW drive that started the DVD-burning phenomenon--at about half the original price.

Our recommendation? If you don't want to wait for the standards situation to get resolved, there are a couple of ways to go. If you want a drive for data backup, go with DVD-RAM. If you want to make DVD movies and play them back in DVD drives and players, stick with DVD-R/RW--at least until the mess with DVD+RW and DVD+R gets sorted out.

Battling DVD burners
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CenDyne DVD-R/RW EIDE
Editors' Rating: 6.9
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SONICblue Rio Riot Digital Music Player
Editors' Rating: 7.4
We get a full look at the iPod's major rival, the 20GB Rio Riot.
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Audible.com digital library (Editors' Choice)
Editors' Rating: 8.6
Ranked among the Web's best services, Audible.com lets you download lectures, radio shows, newspaper articles, and more to your PC, a portable device, or burn to CD.
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Creative Labs PC-CAM 600 Webcam
Editors' Rating: 7.2
More than just a Webcam, the PC-CAM 600 also captures snapshots, video clips, and voice recordings.
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Jessica Kashiwabara contributed to this column.

What do you use a DVD drive for? Which format do you use and how does it work for you? TalkBack to us!

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