Tech Guide: Buying a CD/DVD burner

Understand CD/DVD burners | Specs that matter | Select the right format | Which discs to buy | What you can do with your burner | The software you need
Which discs to buy
When shopping for blank CDs and DVDs, be careful -- it's a time-tested truth that you will get what you pay for. You can certainly find bargains on high-quality discs, particularly with CD media, but bear in mind that some cheaper discs are prone to errors, may not last as long, and could create compatibility problems with your home stereo or your set-top DVD player. CNET uses Verbatim media for testing CD and DVD drives, but it's worth trying out a few brands to see what works best for you.

Disc options: What kind of disc should I use? | Minutes vs. megabytes | Recordable vs. rewritable

What kind of disc should I use?
The mess of media formats can be mind-numbing, and each has its pros and cons. We break down each kind of disc.

DISC TYPE RECORDABLE REWRITABLE CAPACITY ATTRIBUTES
CD-ROM -- -- 74 mins./650MB
or
80 mins./700MB		 Nonrecordable.
Software typically distributed on CD-ROM. Commercially pressed rather than burned.
CD-R Once only -- 74 mins./650MB
or
80 mins./700MB		 Good for recording audio CDs.
Highly compatible with CD players.
CD-RW -- Up to 1,000 times 74 mins./650MB
or
80 mins./700MB		 Less compatible with CD players.
Slower than recordable media.
Less expensive over time (if reused).
DVD-R Once only -- 4.7 GB Highly compatible with set-top DVD players.
DVD+R Once only -- 4.7 GB Slightly less compatible than DVD-R with set-top DVD players.
DVD-RW -- Up to 1,000 times 4.7 GB Slightly less compatible than DVD-R and DVD+R with set-top DVD players.
DVD+RW -- Up to 1,000 times 4.7 GB Slightly less compatible than DVD-R and DVD+R with set-top DVD players.
Double-layer (DL) DVD Once only -- 8.5 GB Large enough to hold most full-length movies without compression. Compatible with set-top players.
DVD-RAM -- Up to 100,000 times 4.7 GB Much less compatible with set-top DVD players.
Good for archiving.
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Minutes vs. megabytes: Sizing up discs
The number of minutes you see listed on CD media labels, generally 74 or 80, tells you how many minutes of music the disc will hold. The number of megabytes listed, typically 650 or 700, lets you know how much data it can hold. CD technology was originally created to hold 74 minutes of music and 650MB of data, but nearly all manufacturers have bumped up capacity to 700MB (or 80 minutes), and these are usually the type of discs you'll find in stores.

CD audio has a single fixed bit rate that results in a nice, predictable capacity; video and audio on DVD can come in a number of resolutions and variable bit rates, so there's no way to state definitively the exact number of minutes of A/V data a DVD will hold. That said, a 4.7GB DVD generally holds about 4 hours of DVD-quality video and about 16 hours of VHS quality video.

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Recordable vs. rewritable
If you're using your drive for backing up files, editing or working with unfinished video, storing programs that you might patch in the future, or any other task where your data may change over time, we recommend using rewritable discs, such as -RW, +RW, or -RAM.
Although these discs cost more initially, they're reusable, so they're a more economical solution over time, not to mention more environmentally friendly.

Use recordable discs (-R, +R) when you're absolutely sure you'll be keeping data (for example, when you're burning a movie that you'll want to hold on to) or when you need to be 100 percent certain that the disc will play in any machine (most CD players won't play a CD-RW, for instance). But take note: The compatibility of DVD+RW and -RW discs isn't as much of an issue as it is with CD-RW; rewritable DVDs are nearly as compatible with drives and players as DVD-recordable discs.

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Talkback 13 comments

    Very useful article. Thanks. ...Anonymous -- 21/06/04

    Very useful article. Thanks.

    Any chance you could do an article reviewing some budget external cd burners - I need one but I have no idea which to buy. Help! Thanks.

    Excellent explanation of the g ...Anonymous -- 30/06/04

    Excellent explanation of the gobbledy **** abbreviations used with DVD's and the various format limitations; e.g. I had no idea DVD-RAM was physically fragile.

    Great article, now I won't emb ...Anonymous -- 02/12/04

    Great article, now I won't embarrass myself by referring to DVD-R as "minus R" thanks so much!

    Clear and informative presenta ...Anonymous -- 10/12/04

    Clear and informative presentation.

    You need to update this. 16x a ...Anonymous -- 14/12/04

    You need to update this. 16x are the norm now and on the table relating to speed vs time is N/A

    In this article you have incor ...Anonymous -- 05/01/05

    In this article you have incorrectly defined 1MB as equalling 100KB, it should be 1MB = 1000KB.

    "Shorthand terms are used to describe how fast a burner performs. A CD-RW drive rated 52X/32X/52X can write a CD-R at 52X, write a CD-RW at 32X, and read a CD at 52X. The X stands for times the original transfer rate of a disc. For a CD, the original transfer rate is 150 kilobytes (KB) per second; so 52X would equal 7.8 megabytes (MB) per second, and 32X would come to 4.8MB per second (1MB equals 100KB)."

    Well written and informative.E ...Anonymous -- 10/01/05

    Well written and informative.Easy to understand for a novice. I'm looking to buy a dvd burner soon and this answered many question I had.

    THANK YOU. I CAN NOW ANSWER SO ...Anonymous -- 04/07/05

    THANK YOU.
    I CAN NOW ANSWER SOME OF MY WIFES QUESTIONS ABOUT WHY WE NEED A NEW DVD DRIVE.

    Avoid "Heartburn Pro" Unhappy user -- 07/08/05

    Just wanted to share my experience with Iomega and HotBurn pro. I bought a Iomega USB CD-RW drive and HotBurn Pro came with it.

    HotBurn pro copies music CD's OK (no violation, this is a CD a friend made and gave me permission to copy), but I couldn't make a readable data CD, even when I slowed down write and added a simulated burn step.

    I tried to update the product using the "update" button, but the download didn't work, I got a message that "your current installation is not valid".

    Worse, I had to put up with registering at iomega.com just to GET the download. I think companies should make it as easy as possible to download bug fixes, and registrations are a mistake (especially if the sofware doesn't work after all the rigamarole).

    So, I'm deinstalling Hotburn pro, and given how nosy Iomega was, will be looking for companies that just want my money, rather than my money and my email...

    website John Stephens -- 01/12/05

    One of the most difficult websites to read. Blue writing on blue background: bad design

    DVD Burners / player compatability Victor Johnson -- 31/12/05

    Very informitive, however-Can I transfer digital camara pics w/a dvd burner to dvd disk format that can be played/viewd with the common home/tv type DVD-Player. Do I need a special software and/or dvd burner? Anyone, please. Thankx

    Advice on dvd burners Desmond Auer -- 14/05/07

    The article is well thought out and presented. Just one query, what are the hardware requirements for using a dvd-burner?
    I have a Pentium 1.1 GHz processor with 256 MB RAM running Windows XP and I was told that my machine would not be able to run a dvd burner. Is this correct?
    If so, what ARE the requirements for a computer to run a dvd burner?

    iSkysoft DVD Creator for Mac sese -- 10/05/09 (in reply to #320079329)

    iSkysoft DVD Creator for Mac is the best dvd burner for mac users,This mac dvd burner can convert all formats such as MP4, M4V( without DRM protection), MPA, MPG, MPEG, MOV,3GP, 3GP2, FLV, MOV,VOB, DAT, TS, TP, TRP, M2TS, AVI, MKV to DVD on Mac OS X.
    http://youtubetodvd.blogspot.com/

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