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Date:	Tue, 18 Sep 2001 18:37:45 PDT
From:	Steve Carter <scarter@vcnet.com >
Reply-To:	scoug-help@scoug.com
To:	scoug-help@scoug.com
Subject:	SCOUG-Help: CD record drive ?

Content Type: text/plain

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As for SCSI, Plextor has essentially dropped out of the market,
leaving only Yamaha, which was its only real competitor anyway.
The need for SCSI CD burners has largely gone away with faster
hardware nowadays. The one IRQ serving many devices advantage
of SCSI remains, though. SCSI devices are often substantially
more expensive though. External Firewire and USB drives are
also available. Most folks choose internal IDE drives for cost.

HP CD burners have a POOR reliability record, so I'd avoid them
altogether. HP OEMs Phillips, among others. Avoid.

The burn-proof technology widely available today has a lot to
recommend it, and I believe the latest versions of RSJ support it.

I've switched over to 80 minute (700MB),12X (150 x12=1800KB/s) media
exclusively, even on my 4X burners, 'cause it's widely available and
about the same cost. The difference between 10X and 12x for write-once
media (CD-R) is about 1.5 minutes out of about 7 minutes. Not enough to
sway me much. I don't really think you're going to save a lot of time
with a 16X or 20X burner, practically speaking. If you write a LOT,
you'll eventually burn out the laser diode. A big problem early on
in the product cycle, but much less today. Faster writing speeds
require more laser power, and they don't last as long when they
run hotter.

Write-once (CD-R) speeds range from about 12X at the bottom of the market
(but you can still find slower) to 24X. CD-RW (re-writable) speeds
top out at 10X presently. There's not much price difference until
you get to the very top, and even there, CD-burner prices have
plummeted, as DVD is just around the corner.

You can buy an IDE Lite-On 12x10x32x with Burn Proof for ~$70 on pricewatch.com.
Dunno if they're any good, just inexpensive. The 24x Lite-on is over $100
and the 24x Plextor is over $200. Both have burn-proof (buffer underrun prevention).
burn-proof is not the only buffer underrun technology out there, just the best known.

or an IDE (or SCSI) Yamaha 16x10x40x for just over $100 (probably my choice).

Seems like Plextor and Yamaha have the best brand-recognition for
quality hardware. A lesser brand might very well be adequate.

++++++++++++++++
On 9/18/2001, Peter Skye wrote, in part:
>
>I'm going to buy a CD recording drive.
>Are there any manufacturers I should stay away from?
>
>Should I buy the "fastest one" or are
>there more errors as the speed increases?
>Any other advice?
>- Peter

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