Mexstan

Next week I will be in Laredo, Tx and want to buy an internal DVD drive for my computer. There appear to be close to half a zillion variations out there so am soliciting suggestions from you more knowledgeable computer gentlemen/nerds.
All I want to do is to be able to view and burn DVD's on my computer, so do not want to spend a small fortune. Also any suggestions as where to buy in Laredo would be appreciated. How about Best Buy? What to choose from DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R (DVD+R9), DVD-RAM???????
Anything I should watch for, avoid, brand(s), models etc?
Thanks.

satburn

As a 'nerd' I rarely visit the local retailers for my own personal needs. There's nothing wrong with that, I just don't need the cables, drivers, etc. that are included in a retail box. You, however, probably will. Things to watch for are buffer size and speed. Also, if it will burn dual layer discs or single layer discs. Much like you've learned with your truck, you always get what you pay for. Buy a cheap DVD drive, you'll have a "cheap" DVD drive.

For example:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827152058

Looks nice, and if I needed one I might try it, but it only has a 2MB buffer, it's black (won't match my case) and its a bare drive (all you get is the drive, no cables, nothing else. So you better have a spare slot on your IDE cable for one. All in all, it would work, but you'd need some burning software for it as well.

Personally, I've had good luck with NEC, Sony and Philips. Retail boxes will cost a bit more but you'll get some burning software and other things that you'll need already included in the box.

http://www.pricewatch.com/ is a good place to give you an idea on current street prices for computer hardware. Be careful here as a lot of these are bare drives and not retail boxes.

As for the different medias? This should serve as a good explanation:
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/...sExplained.asp

spunbearing

If I were to buy a new DVD burner I would go for a double layer with lightscribe. Matter of fact I've been wanting to buy a new one because the lightscribe is so cool. When you are done burning your disc you flip it over and lightscribe burns the label for you with a laser. Cool stuff and not expensive.

rbuchana

That's +1 for what Spun said. Especially about going with the double layer.

~Rory

ratboy3124

Can't go wrong with newegg.com

wcjp

I've been using the 16x Liteon DVD Burner. I they retail for $60-$70. They can burn double layer. I've resisted buying any double layer media. I don't want my data on something too obscure. I think the market is going to forget about double layer and move onto the next generation hi-def DVD's.

Mexstan

Thanks guys for the suggestions so far. The above raises a point/question. I know that generaly as soon as one purchases anything computer related it immediately becomes obsolete. Is there anything coming down the pipeline (next generation) for which I should wait a bit? Or is it "safe" to buy now?