CD Writers

[Need Help]

Okay, I'm looking into getting a burner and have a few questions.
What does 'Burn proof technology' do ?

A friend said its only useful if you are using the computer while burning. ie: the burnt CD will have no errors in it (while using the computer)

Another friend said forget about it, get good software and it will have no errors.

So is it really worth the extra $$$ to get a burner with this technology ?

What size buffer is good for a 12x8x32 burner ?

What's a good error rate ?

Do you have to have a 'super high performance' PC for it to write reliably at 12x ?

Any recommendations for around / under $200 USD ?

What's some good brands ?

Sorry for the amount of questions.
Look forward into hearing your reply

Cheers

[Shinma]

"What does 'Burn proof technology' do ?"

Assists in prevention of ruined recording attempts or "coasters" as they are commonly referred to.

"A friend said its only useful if you are using the computer while burning."

Incorrect, although it does assist in that particular case as well.

"Another friend said forget about it, get good software and it will have no errors."

Incorrect, depending on circumstances during the recording and such.

"So is it really worth the extra $$$ to get a burner with this technology ?"

Yes. Actually, you will not have much of a choice. Majority of the good brands with current common speeds, automatically have some form of "burn proof" technology.

"What size buffer is good for a 12x8x32 burner ?"

The larger the better, all else being equal. Typically starts at 2MB and goes up from there.

"Do you have to have a 'super high performance' PC for it to write reliably at 12x ?"

No, but 128MB of RAM is definitely preferred and half decent processor as well, of course.

"What's some good brands ?"

I believe the current favorites from members here are:
Plextor
TDK
HP
Ricoh
Yamaha





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Cheers.

[This message has been edited by Shinma (edited 05-04-2001).]

[aug1516]

Burn-proof is great technology that you should definetly pay extra for. It ensures that you will never get a buffer-underun. You can go about playing games and such while still burning a cd and not have to worry about anything. I wanted to test out this burn-proof software so I defragged my hard drive while burning the cd and the cd came out fine. The buffer size itself is not so important anymore with burn-proof. Besides that any 12x burner out there has a decent buffer size. You dont need a super high end pc to burn at 12x. I imagine that even a 133-166 Pentium could do it fine. However, if you want to do on the fly copies from 1 cd to another then I imagine that you cd-reader would have to be able to keep up with the burner. I usually set my burning software to image to the hard drive first then go to the burner. Some good brands of burners are Plextor and Yamaha. There are also some Iomega burners out there that can have their firmware flashed so that they basically become a Plextor.

[10101]

Visit:
Yamaha's Website and you'll find cool BURNPROOF CD-RWs!

[Need Help]

Thanks for the replies.

I found a Ricoh writer that has 'JustLink'
Is this their name for burn proof ?

I have found:

Lite-On 8x4x32 for $230
Lite-On 12x10x32 for $350
Acer 12x10x32 for $350
Ricoh 'JustLink' 12x10x32 for $390

All of these are burn proof, and the prices are in Australian dollars.

I know Ricoh is a respected brand for CD-RW, but is it worth while to pay $40 more ?

Which one would you pick ?

[Best4x4]

The Ricoh MP7125A 12x10x32 with JustLink technology also has very good DAE (digital audio extraction) which makes it worth the extra $$$.

Ricoh MP7125A

Sincerely,

Best4x4

[Need Help]

Best4x4, thats the Ricoh one for $390.

So JustLink is their name for Burn proof ?

[Shinma]

Originally posted by Need Help:
Best4x4, thats the Ricoh one for $390.

So JustLink is their name for Burn proof ?

That is correct.

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"I know nothing."
Cheers.



[This message has been edited by Shinma (edited 05-06-2001).]