DVD Burners Gain LightScribe, DVD-RAM Akron OH

DVD burners continue to evolve. For evidence, peruse our latest DVD drives chart, where we welcome nine new feature-packed models.

Though 18X single-layer DVD write speeds are becoming more common (see the Samsung, Plextor, and Sony internal drives), the benefit at this point is minimal, especially considering that no official spec for 18X DVD exists and that the prospects for 18X-branded media are undetermined.

On the other hand, DVD-RAM support is, at long last, nearly ubiquitous; of the units ranked here, only the Plextor PX-760A and the LaCie d2 lack DVD-RAM capability. DVD-RAM can be a handy rewritable format for data backup and video recording. Another trend is the inclusion of LightScribe Direct Labeling--this feature is available on two internal models and three external drives on our chart.

Click on the links below for the latest hard drive rankings or a comprehensive list of all DVD drives we've tested.

• Most current Top Internal DVD Drives chart


• Most current Top External DVD Drives chart


• All Optical Drives

Click on "See Image Enlargement" to see the chart.