CD-R? CD-RW? DVD? what's the difference?

[Sephiroth2088]

I've recently been looking for an external CD burner for my computer. I was wandering what all the different types of CDs and DVD disks there are. Basicaly I'm interested in playing music, but also some anime episodes on my hard drive. What type of CD can I do that on? Also about DVD does that mean I could actualy watch them on a DVD player if I burned them to a DVD?

[Shoeberto]

CD-R is a CD that you can only write to once, then from there it can only be read from, and are about 700mb in size.

CD-RW is ReWriteable, so after writing to it you can erase the contents and put something else on it. They are usually 650mb in size.

If the drive says DVD-ROM, then that means it can read CDs, but not write them - same with CD-ROM.

DVD-R is a DVD that can be written to that is about 4.7gb in space.

DVD+/-RW is like a CD-RW with a DVD. There's a difference between the + and the -, though most DVD burners can use both.

[Sephiroth2088]

Besides the size of the disk is there any difference between CDs and DVDs? I'm guessing the only difference is that you wouldn't be able to watch video you burn onto a CD using a DVD player.

[Peegee]

You can burn 'VCDs' and 'SVCDs' on a 'CD' and watch it on a 'DVD player' if the 'DVD player' supports it.

'DVD data files' (like avi anime) do not play on a 'DVD player' -- however you burn anime onto them and watch on your computer

You can convert avi files into DVD if you want. I'm not sure what sort of play time you can get. It depends on quality of course.

DVDs are 4.7 gigs each. Depending on your budget get what you can afford. DVDs costs me about 33cents cdn each if I buy from the right places. The burner I got brand new, but basically should cost you about 100$. CD burners are cheaper, the cds are more expensive (for the space you get), but are easier to use.

Make sure your hard drive is dma configured. My brother's isn't, and I have great problems burning dvds on it. :)

[Sephiroth2088]

Just six more questions

1. So I can burn my anime onto CDs and watch them on my computer?
2. I have to convert them to DVD to burn them onto DVDs but do I have to do that if all I want to do is burn them to a CD and watch them on my computer?
3. If I don't plan on rewriting I should go with CD-R?
4. Would it cost too much more to get an external burner with DVD burning capability?
5. What's the difference between the plus and the minus
6. How does an internal burner compare to external?

[Shoeberto]

1. Yes.
2. There are different modes of burning - Data, Audio, and Video are a few examples. If you burn things to CDs or DVDs as data, they will only be able to be read through your computer - it's like any drive or folder. As audio, they will be burnt like any music CD and playback through a music CD player like that. As video, it will be played back through DVD players. You can burn video to normal CDs using a technology called Video CD, though you only have about 70 minutes on it and the quality isn't very good.
3. Yes.
4. Likely, yes. Even internal DVD burners are still a bit pricey - though that has been dropping lately.
5. I really don't know.
6. Depends on the type of external you go with - there's USB 1.1, USB 2.0, and Firewire types. USB 2.0 would be the fastest, though even that, I think, is slower than IDE (the type of cables on the inside of your computer.) I think the biggest difference would be the speeds of it (I have a USB 1.1 burner and it's pretty slow) and the fact that you're sitting it on a desk or something instead of it sitting inside of your computer, which is a big plus if you're unfamiliar or uncomfortable working inside of a computer.

[Peegee]

dvd +/- are just two ways of encoding data, I think. Anyway, get one that is both +/- if you go the dvd route, otherwise you can't read dvd - dvds. Or get a dvd+ since practically everything is dvd+ anyway.

It's up to you.

[Leeza]

My DVD burner was around $200, so it's not all that super expensive, but I can burn CDs or DVDs with it so it's just more versitle than getting just a CD burner. And you then don't have to go and convert any files to get to see good quality on the TV instead of just the computer.

The only thing with DVDs that I find a pain is that you can't just add to it like you can with a CD. You have to have your DVD file saved to your hard drive first, add to it, remove what's is currently on the DVD and then burn everything back on again. But the quality is worth it.

I think most DVD burners are now +/- compatable so I don't think you really need to worry about that part when buying DVDs. But you'll know what type you have when you buy a burner anyways.