Need DVD writer HW recommendations

[texan]

Pardon me if this is the wrong thread to post my query....I have a CD-RW drive and would like to invest in a DVD drive for reading and writing.

 

What are the top 3 to 5 recommended DVD/CD reader-writers which are rock solid using Retrospect V6?

 

Also what is the def'ns of: DVD-R; +R; Double sided; what works best with Tiger's BURN or Retro's;..

Is there a source for simple explanations of these issues?

 

I plan to burn VERY few movies or any music. (but I would like to do so if desired); i will burn mostly data as in back-ups or specialty DVD/CDs using Toast V6/V7.

 

Current sys:

10.3.9 on a G4 Graphite 400MHZ Desktop w/ 704MB Ram/100GB srorage. Retro ver 5.1.177 and driver 4.3.103;

I have a CD burner as follows:

 

ID=ATAPI-A; Vendor=Matsushita; Product= CD-RW CW-7586; Version=1.01;

Driver=Panasonic CD-RW (5.01)

 

All information much appreciated..

 

Cheers, Jim B

[texan]

All: I reviewed a "recommendations" search of this form and saw that this compatibility thing is very complicated. It seems that the number of variables: manufacturer, its market plan, media type, et al, all have to come together to offer one a smooth experience w/ Retrospect. Forgot to mention Apple and their approach to installing devices without worrying about compatibility to Retrospect; Just so it burns with Finder, huh...

 

So, to pick a device I will continue using this form, compile a list of problem drives and go with the least troublesome drive.

 

I too like HDD as back-up. But, one *always* wonders... what if the back-up HDD fails JUST when I need to restore?

 

A vexing problem to say the least. As a home & small business user with no 'critical' large files to back-up, I'll stay away from Tape.. it is too expensive IMHO.

 

Thanks for keeping this forum going.

 

Cheers, Jim B

[natew]

Hi Jim,

 

One suggestion for you: Backup to DVD and to hard disk. Daily I back up to DVD+RW, Weekly to hard disk, quarterly to DVD+R.

 

It is cheap and easy and gives me peace of mind...

 

Thanks

Nate

[davidp158]

I have used Retrospect with OS9 and a DAT drive for years. I finally switched to OSX when I purchased a G5 3 months ago. To date, I've been sending files back to my old Mac and using Retrospect to archive to the ol' DAT machine. This is cumbersome at best, and I want to start using CDs and DVDs with Retrospect on the G5.

 

I've been reviewing the multitude of hardware compatibility options on the Dantz web site, but I'm hoping that some of you can offer some real world advice on a solution to my needs.

 

1. My G5 has the Pioneer DVR-108 "Superdrive", but the Dantz compatibility page says it will not let me use CDRs with Retrospect, only DVDs. Does anyone offer a burner that will burn both DVD's and CDRs AND work with Retrospect on MacOSX?

 

When I choose the CD-RW/DVD combo search option, nothing comes up for LaCie products. The Pioneer DCR-111 (Apple version) qualifies for DVDs, not CD-RW, and the notes on performance indicate its slow.

 

 

2. I don't know that I'll need a dual layer burner any time soon, but I'm interested in the LaCie burners that offer the Light Scribe option. It would be great to have add nice graphics to the CDs instead of hand written labels.

 

3. Which interface is the most reliable and offers the most options with Macintosh OSX? Should I go with an external Firewire or USB burner? Or should I replace the internal Apple Superdrive? Will I be able to boot from an OSX CD or DVD if I replace the Apple Superdrive?

 

4. Is re-writable media reliable for incremental archives with Retrospect? I've heard that re-writable CDRs used to be kind of flaky, but I'm hoping the technology has evolved. DAT tapes, although very slow have been quite reliable and convient for incremental archives. I don't look forward to burning and managing an excessive number of CDs and DVDs, so re-writable media would be nice.

 

Sorry for all the neophyte questions, but I'm at a loss on how to proceed.

 

Dave

[natew]

Hi

 

I can't help you with drive specifics but any interface other than SCSI should be fine.

 

In regard to media, all optical media is cheap and easy to use. However reliablity is lower than other media types. If you back up to optical media do so often and on multiple discs. I personally use a combination of DVD and hard disk for backup.

 

Thanks

Nate