[Ham-Computers] RE: Adding a DVD burner (questions)

Fri Jul 27 19:31:18 EDT 2007

Hi Aaron,

Trying to find good quality DVD discs that work on most drives is a 
challenge, and growing more difficult. Since producing the HHRP series, 
Historic Halligan Radio Project, I can attest to DVD quality and 
compatability.

I had the best success with DVD by Fuji and Sony, made "in" Japan, NOT other 
countries! Memorex was among the worst.

The dual layer drives are considerably more expensive to buy media for. 
However, they also hold about 7 Gig.

Since Phil is not into home movies, movies, photos etc., but more 'personal' 
data storage, ie beacon logs, QSL cards, OTR tales, music download storage 
etc., he is probably better off with the dual drive capability, but to burn 
single layer discs. For him it may be more cost effective. Not true in all 
cases, however. I know roughly how much he has stored and it is 
considerable!

My primary DVD drive is by Toshiba and it has performed beautifully! The 
dual drive on this system is a Pioneer. It has hardly been used. The other 
machine is the workhorse and that Toshiba drive is fabulous!

Duane Fischer, W8DBF/WPE8CXO
dfischer at usol.com
HHI: Halligan's Hallicrafters International
http://www.w9wze.net
HHRP: Historic Halligan Radio Project
hhrp.w9wze.net

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Hsu, Aaron (NBC Universal)" <aaron.hsu at nbcuni.com>
To: "I>Ham-Computers" <Ham-Computers at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, July 27, 2007 5:23 PM
Subject: [Ham-Computers] RE: Adding a DVD burner (questions)

> Philip,
>
> The media compatibility issue still exists, and is probably worse today 
> than it was a couple years ago.  As manufacturers need to make lower cost 
> media to compete, out goes quality.  You can find "quality" discs fairly 
> easily, but drive compatibility still needs to be tested.
>
> As to drives, I prefer Plextor and Pioneer drives.  A typical dual-layer 
> DVD writer costs about $50 these days.  The Plextor's are more expensive, 
> but they're typically considered the cream-of-the-crop.  LG makes decent 
> lightscribe drives, if you want lightscribe (LS).
>
> Is LS worth it?  Don't know - the media costs quite a bit more than even 
> ink-jet printable media.  Looks OK if you view it from an angle.  Wears 
> out the laser sooner though, if you think about it.  But for $50, you 
> could always buy another drive if it burns out.
>
> For "archival" quality backups, Mitsui makes "archival grade" media known 
> as MAM-A.  They use a 24K gold reflective layer and are scratch resistant. 
> You can find MAM-A via on-line media retailers.  Not cheap by DVD-R 
> standards - still over a buck each in bulk.  You can get more info about 
> MAM-A media here:
>
>  http://www.mam-a.com
>
>
> So, to answer your questions numerically:
>
> 1.  I generally recommend Pioneer or Plextor drives.  The current Pioneer 
> model is the DVR-112D and Plextor has two "800" series models.
>
> 2.  I'd install the new DVD-R drive on the "primary" IDE controller as a 
> "master".  Then I'd probably remove one of the CD-R drives and keep the 
> other on the secondary IDE controller as a "Master".  I currently have two 
> DVD-R drive in my system though I really never use both at the same time.
>
> 3.  Keep the external HDD on the Firewire port.  Yes, they are slower than 
> internal drives as the interface is slower than internal IDE/SATA.  1394a 
> (Firewire 400) is 400Mbps and USB 2.0 is 480Mbps max (bits per sec). 
> Don't let this fool you into believing that USB 2.0 is faster though...USB 
> has much more protocol overhead and the actual througput is higher with 
> 1394a.  For reference, ATA/100 is 100MBps max (Bytes, not bits), SATA is 
> 1.5Mbps (bits), and SATA-II is 3Mbps (bits).  For the bits per sec rates, 
> just divide the bps rate by 10 (includes some overhead) to get the Bytes 
> per sec.
>
> 4.  Personal preference.
>
>
> 73,
>
>  - Aaron, NN6O
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> Sent: Friday, July 27, 2007 12:53 PM
> Subject: [Ham-Computers] Adding a DVD burner (questions)
>
> Hi All,
>
> Well, after all this time of resisting the urge, I think that I'm going to
> bite the bullet and soon get a DVD burner for my computer (probably next
> month).  When I had the machine built a year and a half or so ago I didn't
> get one as I didn't think I'd need one, and had heard of 'compatibility
> issues' with various burners.  Instead I had the machine built with a 52x 
> CD
> burner AND a 52x ROM reader (both Sony units).  With my old time radio 
> files
> etc. I use a 'lot' of mass storage.
>
> Here are the specifics of the machine:
> Systemax with Intel MoBo, 3.4GHz Pentium 4, 1GB RAM, 3 SATA hard drives 
> (70,
> 70 and 320GB, though 1 70GB drive is only connected when backing up the 
> main
> drive) and the two CD ROM drives.  The MoBo has 4 SATA hdd ports and two 
> IDE
> Ports that can handle 2 IDE drives each.  Both CD drives are on the same 
> IDE
> cable. Power supply is a 550 Watt unit and the full tower still has empty
> drive slots.
>
> Primary purpose of the drive will be for mass data storage of OTR (Old 
> Time
> Radio) by genre or program, NOT watching videos.  Examples, Your's Truly
> Johnny Dollar consists of 756 files occupying 7GB, Lux Radio Theater 393
> files on 5GB, Theater 5 has 256 files on 4.6GB and so forth.  Many 
> programs
> only occupy a couple hundred MB or so and could be "grouped".
>
> I seem to recall many "compatibility" issues with early DVD burners, which
> is why I avoided them like the plague. It wouldn't do any good to burn a
> couple hundred GB of files and then be unable to access them later.  Hence
> my dependence on an external hdd for total backup of the shows.
>
> Here are my multiple questions.
> 1.  For this application, what should I look for in a burner?  Keep in 
> mind,
> this is for DATA storage, NOT for movies etc.
>
> 2.  Would I be better off with an Internal unit, adding it on the 'other'
> IDE bus as a master, or removing one of the present drives and putting it
> there?  Or would an external drive be a better (though probably more 
> costly)
> choice.
>
> 3.  I still have more USB slots open as well as a USB hub sitting on the
> shelf.  The present 320GB external hdd runs on the firewire port, but can
> also be moved to a USB port. This external drive 'seems' a little slow 
> when
> I copy a hundred gig or so to it, is that normal for external drives?
>
> 4.  How 'good' are laser scribe drives and DVD's?  Are they worth the 
> extra
> cost to avoid having to make paper labels?  (many of my "bulk" downloaded
> shows include labels in .jpg format).
>
>
> 73 de Phil,  KO6BB
> http://www.ko6bb.com
> DX begins at the noise floor!
> Ten Meter CW Beacon KO6BB/B, 20 Watts 24/7 on 28.248MCs.
> Merced, Central California,    37.3N  120.48W  CM97sh
>
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