question for dvd gurus.
 

decided i need to bite the bullet and get a dvd burner. my question is, what to get?

i've been pretty much looking into the toshiba -r burners, the 2x and the newer 4x burners. basically, because they're dirt cheap. like, $135 for the 4x OEM.

for right now i just need a good data archival system. i have over 4gb of work stuff that needs to be backed up on a more stable system than a hard drive, and i don't really want to spend several hundred dollars on a tape system.

i don't think i'll be doing any video with this system, just data. i sold my video camera, so i'm not sure if it's worth spending a couple hundred extra for a top-line gadget-filled +/-. especially if i'm going to be archiving everything to -r (i assume the -r format would be the best choice for data archiving).

anyways, if you have any info on this matter, i'd appreciate it. my nerves are starting to unravel on this whole data situation, i know how incredibly unreliable hard drives can be. tape would probably be the ultimate solution, but looking into a good sony 8mm drive or something of the sort... and you're looking at $900 for just the drive, so we're not going to do that just yet ;)

Buy a multiformat reader, (one which supports DVD+ and DVD- formats)

Either the Plextor PX-708A which is pricey, but well made and reliable, or the Pioneer DVR-106 (OEM) or DVR-A06 (Retail).

If you are going to be doing daily/frequent backups then you really need to go tape.

I've got a few Seagate 10/20 gig tape drives at some of our smaller offices. They run (pricewatch) 135 for the baredrive, 165 for the retail pack (some half decent backup software IDE) 180 (scsi) and 300 (usb2) . Tapes run 30ish each.

Just get the retail pack and an extra tape (or two) and set up an every other day swap if you want to be secure. Or just get one tape and do a weekly backup.


The tapes are pretty good. I've got a few that sit on the shelf for a few years and still read. I've only had 2 tapes go bad (over 30 tapes/6 drives in use) and they were both DOA or dead w/in 1 week.

Not that this is anywhere near as fun as a dvd-r/rw/+r/+rw but it does work well.

If I were you I'd go with a -r and not worry about the +. If you are just doing backups you really just need a bunch of cheap media. The - media as far as I can tell is quite a bit cheaper than the +. Ohh and if you dont have a dedicated machine for the burning I'd go with a 4x.

i agree that tape is the best way to go.

but here's my issue with tape. if i'm going to get a tape system, i want to get a tape system that can back up all my stuff, not just my oh-shit backups. with that, i'd be backing up at least 150gb of stuff, and that's not exactly fun to do with a 20gb tape drive.

so, i figured with that i'd wait until i can score me either a cheap 8mm drive, or just bite the bullet and spend the $400+ for a decent one.


so, i was figuring dvd would be a good solution to back up my really important immediate stuff, and i'd worry about a tape later.

i also think the +/-R drives are definitely nicer setups, but i don't see the need for it when i'm not making dvd's for set top devices. i'm not even going to be using it for movies. eventually i'd do that, but again if i were looking to spend $300 on something right now, i'd probably be looking more towards a tape system.

although, i do hear good things about the pioneer system, and it's not too much more than the toshiba, so maybe i'll go that route. even though it's still almost 2x the price...

Been using tape to back up my systems for about three or four years, and although it's reliable, the media is durable and very few tapes have gone bad the problem lies in the fact that it's just too damn slow. Then of course there's no guarantee the tape copied the file correctly, so you need to verify its contents each time, it doubles the time it takes.

You can certainly get faster tape backup solutions now, and they do about 850mb/h, and with automated backup you stick in the tape and you're away. But we're talking about a lot of money for that kind of speed. Try and retrieve something on tape though...you'll wonder whatever happened to 'drag 'n drop'. Wait for minutes for the tape to wind to the point and then await its slow delivery to your hard disk...

For a home user, even for a power user, tape's too archaic and inconvenient (and expensive) for it to be worth while.

I've got my tape system gathering dust, only doing the monthly backup now. Running hard disks over USB2, or firewire to backup is easier. 60gb, 120gb, at 30mb/s, and as quick retrieval as I need. A backup system is only as good as its ease of use, and tape is pretty much obsolete outside large companies needing the 200gb+ storage tape provides.

You mention the reliablity of hard disks...most have 1yr warranties and a lot of disks still have 3yr warranties - not too many tape manufacturers guaranteeing their tapes these days beyond 30 days.

unfortunately a warranty on a hard drive doesn't make it a reliable storage device :(. i've never had a drive die on me, but i figure it's bound to happen.

i'm still not sure which i want to go with tho. the seagate 10/20gb tape drive retail box is $165, comes with a tape and the software, and i could get all my important stuff backed up with one tape (the one it comes with), and this isn't the case with dvd.

ugh... so i dunno. and with that route, i wouldn't have a useless dvd recorder in 6 months when i want to upgrade to the +/-.

i was also thinking dvd ram, i hear those work better for data archival. i see LG makes a dvd +/- now that also writes to dvd ram. but, the drive gets bad reviews. although, it seems it may have started a new trend in future drives. yet another good reason to wait on dvd...