DVD Burner
Here you will find background information on the DVD Burners. From their origin to the importance they hold in todays use when considering which computer to purchase and where to buy them.
A DVD recorder (or a DVD writer) is a consumer electronics device that records analog or digital audio/visual (A/V) signals in a digital format onto a digital versatile disc (DVD). DVD recorders are distinct from digital video recorders (DVRs) in that they record onto a removable disc (the DVD) instead of a hard disk. Like a video cassette recorder (VCR), the DVD recorder has standard A/V inputs and playback functions. Like a DVD player, the DVD recorder can also be used to play many audio and video CDs.
DVD recorders first appeared on the consumer market in 1999 in Japan, and then in 2000 in the rest of the world. Early units were priced between 2,500 and 4,000 USD. As of mid-2004, substantial increases in the quantities available and in the number of retail outlets selling DVD recorders have resulted in price reductions of approximately 90% compared to prices in 2000.
DVDs come in three major formats: the "minus" (also referred to as "dash") format (DVD-R and DVD-RW), the "plus" format (DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD+R DL), and the DVD-RAM format. Nearly all DVD recorders use either the minus or plus format, but at least one available model (in 2004) uses both minus and plus formats. The minus format is promoted by a group of manufacturers known as the DVD Forum. The plus format is promoted by a group of manufacturers known as the DVD+RW Alliance. Some manufacturers belong to both associations.
As of 2004, both formats seem equally popular with consumers. While the plus vs. minus "battle" may evoke memories of the Beta-max vs. VHS video format war of the 1980s, consumers are faced with a less stark choice here in that both plus and minus formats are compatible with the vast majority of DVD players now available.
Many writers have anticipated the DVD recorder to be the natural successor to the VCR because of the advantages of DVD recording. These include:
noticeably superior video and audio quality
no rewinding required
quicker access to particular portions of the recording
DVDs require significantly less storage space than videotape
onscreen labeling not available on VCRs
DVDs are significantly less subject to wear and damage than videotape
no problem with copy fade
possibility of deleting portions of recording (e.g. for incremental video watching)
play list allow of watching recordings in arbitrary order, and far more.
The main disadvantage of DVD recorders compared to VCRs is cost (as of 2005). While VCR's come essentially for pocket change nowadays, the emerging standard of home DVD Recorder set-top boxes is yet to become as plausible an option. However, the downward pressure on the prices of recorders and recordable discs due to increased supply and market competition is likely to soon eliminate this disadvantage. Another notable disadvantage is that DVD recorders require some extra time both to initially format the disc for recording and to finalize the disc once recording has been stopped. This disadvantage does not apply to DVD-RAM disks, which behave more like a hard disk and require no finalization.
PC based software for capturing, editing camcorder videos and burning them to DVD have long existed. While extremely versatile these methods are extremely time consuming and unreliable involving separate stages of capture, editing, MPEG2 encoding, DVD authoring and burning.
DVD recorders are much faster and reliable. Most incorporate incorporate a firewire connector that allows the connection of a Mini DV or Digital 8 camcorder so they can capture digitally with no loss. They can simultaneously record a simple DVD as the tape is played back. Some editing of the resulting DVD is usually possible such as adding chapter points.
DVD recorders available on the market as of 2005 are not capable of capturing the full range of the visual signal available with high definition television (HDTV). This is largely because HDTV standards were finalized at a later time than the standards for DVDs. However, DVD recorders can be used with HDTV since currently available HDTV sets also have standard A/V connections. It is expected that a HD-DVD and HD-DVD recorders will eventually be developed to capture the full signal range available with HDTV.
Single drive DVD recorders can record from their tuner or video source and play back to video in only real time, i.e. at 1x speed. However, some DVD recorders also include a hard drive and thus can perform high dubbing operations between the drives.
At single speed (1x) a DVD recorder writes 1.32 MB (1,385,000 bytes) of data per second , which means that a drive with 16x speed designation allows a data transfer rate of 16 × 1352 = 21640 KB/s (21.13 MB/s). As CD drive speeds are given in multiples of 150 KB/s, one DVD "speed" equals nine CD "speeds," so an 8x DVD recorder should have a data transfer rate similar to that of a 72x CD drive.
In physical rotation terms (spins per second), one DVD "speed" equals three CD "speeds," so an 8x DVD drive has the same rotational speed as 24x CD drive.
For a DVD-R single layer recordable disk with 4.38 GiB capacity, it costs a 4x DVD recorder about 15 minutes to fully write it.
DVD recorders are designed to prevent the copying of commercially produced DVD's that incorporate copy protection such as MacroVision. They can also detect and enforce anti-copying signals sent over the air in broadcast television programming. To date no examples of broadcasters activating this have been noted but it remains a threat.
To backup a commercial DVD disk, DVD fans must use a PC to decrypt the DVD data from the DVD disk and shrink the data from double-layer space into a smaller size to let it fit into a single-layer DVD recordable disk. Some popular software have been seen to make the two phases possible, such as DVD Shrink.
In addition to considering your burner needs, determine if the processing power of your PC is sufficient (speed, RAM, storage space). Even if your system meets minimum requirements, DVD copying is a resource-intensive chore for your computer, so a more powerful machine will greatly enhance your copy performance.
DVD ripping isn't hard, you just have to make sure that you have the pieces necessary to make it work.