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Top 10 DVD Drives

Dual-format drives offer versatility in the face of competing DVD standards.

Melissa Perenson

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DVD+/-RW Dual-X1 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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1. MEMOREX DVD+/-RW Dual-X1

4X DVD-R, 2X DVD-RW, 4X DVD+R, 2.4X DVD+RW, 16X/10X CD-R/CD-RW write speed, 2MB buffer, Internal IDE drive, Roxio DVD Builder 1.1, Easy CD & DVD Creator 6.1, and Drag-to-Disc 6.1 software

Bottom Line: Dual-format model turns in fast burn times for both DVD formats and is attractively priced.

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440N Indi DVD (TDK-AID+440) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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2. TDK 440N Indi DVD (TDK-AID+440)

4X DVD-R, 2X DVD-RW, 4X DVD+R, 2.4X DVD+RW , 16X/10X CD-R/CD-RW write speed, 2MB buffer, Internal IDE drive, Roxio DVD Builder 1.0, Easy CD & DVD Creator 6.0, and Drag-to-Disc 6.0 software

Bottom Line: Has the same great performance, terrific documentation, and strong support policies that its external sibling (the number 4 TDK External Indi DVD 4X Multiformat) does, but costs $100 less.

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GSA-4040B Super Multi DVD Writer (LG Electronics-GSA4040BI) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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3. LG Electronics GSA-4040B Super Multi DVD Writer (LG Electronics-GSA4040BI)

4X DVD-R, 2X DVD-RW, 4X DVD+R, 4X DVD+RW, 3X DVD-RAM , 24X/24X CD-R/CD-RW write speed, 2MB buffer, Internal IDE drive, MedioStream NeoDVD 5, BHA B's Recorder Gold 5 and B's Clip software

Bottom Line: One of the few drives that support all DVD formats, including DVD-RAM. Formating DVD-RW media is slow with bundled media.

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4X DVD+R DVD-R Multi-Format External Drive USB2.0 Firewire (TDK-DED+440BXN) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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4. TDK 4X DVD+R DVD-R Multi-Format External Drive USB2.0 Firewire (TDK-DED+440BXN)

4X DVD-R, 2X DVD-RW, 4X DVD+R, 2.4X DVD+RW, 16X/10X CD-R/CD-RW write speed, 2MB buffer, External USB 2.0 and FireWire drive, Roxio DVD Builder 1.1, Easy CD & DVD Creator 6.1, and Drag-to-Disc 6.1 software

Bottom Line: Great performance, excellent documentation, and strong support policies, plus flexible connectivity.

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PX-708A: 8x/4x/12x DVD+RW, 4x/2x/12x DVD-RW, 40x/24x/40x CD-RW Burner with Roxio Software (Plextor-PX708ASW) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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5. Plextor PX-708A: 8x/4x/12x DVD+RW, 4x/2x/12x DVD-RW, 40x/24x/40x CD-RW Burner with Roxio Software (Plextor-PX708ASW)

4X DVD-R, 2X DVD-RW, 8X DVD+R, 4X DVD+RW , 40X/24X CD-R/CD-RW write speed, 2MB buffer, Internal IDE drive, Roxio DVD Builder 1.1, Easy CD & DVD Creator 6.1, and Drag-to-Disc 6.1 software

Bottom Line: This drive can write at 8X--even to some brands of 4X DVD+R media. It?s the quickest we've tested reading from DVD discs.

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Sony DRU-510A PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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6. Sony Sony DRU-510A

4X DVD-R, 2X DVD-RW, 4X DVD+R, 4X DVD+RW, 24X/16X CD-R/CD-RW write speed, 8MB buffer, Internal IDE drive, Sonic MyDVD 4.5, ArcSoft ShowBiz, Veritas RecordNow DX 4.6 and DLA 3.57 software

Bottom Line: Lightning-fast drive for burning DVD+RW discs using packet writing--but 4X media is still tough to find.

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HP DVD 300i DVD+RW Drive - internal IDE (retail) (HP (Hewlett-Packard)-Q2108A) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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7. HP HP DVD 300i DVD+RW Drive - internal IDE (retail) (HP (Hewlett-Packard)-Q2108A)

4X DVD+R, 2.4X DVD+RW, 16X/10X CD-R/CD-RW write speed, 2MB buffer, Internal IDE drive, ArcSoft ShowBiz DVD 1.3, Veritas RecordNow 4.56 and DLA 3.59 software

Bottom Line: Still one of the speediest drives we?ve seen at authoring a DVD movie, and one of the few to include backup software.

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Pacific Digital 4X Internal DVD+/-RW Dual Burner Dual Support (Pacific Digital-U30182) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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8. Pacific Digital Pacific Digital 4X Internal DVD+/-RW Dual Burner Dual Support (Pacific Digital-U30182)

4X DVD-R, 2X DVD-RW, 4X DVD+R, 2.4X DVD+RW, 16X/10X CD-R/CD-RW write speed, 2MB buffer, Internal IDE drive, Roxio DVD Builder 1.1, Easy CD & DVD Creator 6.1, and Drag-to-Disc 6.1 software

Bottom Line: Good performer overall, and among the best at our write-once tests, but a bit sluggish when ejecting rewritable media.

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EXTERNAL PX-504UF 4X/2.4X/12X DVDWRITE/DVD-REWRITE/DVD-READ (Plextor-PX504UFSW) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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9. Plextor EXTERNAL PX-504UF 4X/2.4X/12X DVDWRITE/DVD-REWRITE/DVD-READ (Plextor-PX504UFSW)

4X DVD+R, 2.4X DVD+RW, 16X/10X CD-R/CD-RW write speed, 2MB buffer, External USB 2.0 and FireWire drive, Roxio DVD Builder 1.0, Easy CD Creator 5.3 DVD Edition, DirectCD 5.3, and PhotoSuite SE software

Bottom Line: Sleek silver chassis has an appealing look, and dual interfaces make this model flexible.

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Internal DVD?RW/CD-RW Drive (Pioneer-DVRA06USPK) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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10. Pioneer Internal DVD?RW/CD-RW Drive (Pioneer-DVRA06USPK)

4X DVD-R, 2X DVD-RW, 4X DVD+R, 2.4X DVD+RW, 16X/10X CD-R/CD-RW write speed, 2MB buffer, Internal IDE drive, Ulead DVD MovieFactory 2 SE, Ahead Nero Express 5.5, and SAI WriteDVD 5.0 software

Bottom Line: Hardware defect management offers extra data protection, but stretches rewrite times into hours, not minutes.

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We test rewritable DVD drives under Windows XP Home on PCs with 1.67-GHz Athlon XP 2000+ processors and 512MB of DDR SDRAM. To test each drive, we use the DVD video authoring, mastering, and packet-writing software supplied by the vendor. We use media supplied by the vendor or media supplied by Verbatim.

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