Do you recommend buying a laptop with superdrive or should i get an external DVD burn

[igmolinav]

Hi !!!

Do you recommend buying a laptop with superdrive or should i get an external DVD burner like the La Cie DVD burner?

What are the advantages or disadvantages to the external DVD burner?

Is it a "better performer" than the super-drive, the La Cie can write/rewrite/read at the following speeds 16x/8x/2.4x ???

Is La Cie the brand you would recommend if for an external DVD burner ?

Thank you,

ignacio molina
igmolinav

 

[Euan]

Do you need to burn DVDs on the move?

 

[AJ Muni]

Hi !!!

Do you recommend buying a laptop with superdrive or should i get an external DVD burner like the La Cie DVD burner?

What are the advantages or disadvantages to the external DVD burner?

Is it a "better performer" than the super-drive, the La Cie can write/rewrite/read at the following speeds 16x/8x/2.4x ???

Is La Cie the brand you would recommend if for an external DVD burner ?

Thank you,

ignacio molina
igmolinav

well for me having it built into my pb i think is the best. i dont wanna be tied down to only burning dvd's at my house, because i WASNT GOING TO BE CARRYING the external with me...and the way those work, jus like external HD'S...the smaller...the more $$$ ...and if you can think of it as an advantage the external can burn DUAL SIDES ...BUT from what i hear each dual-layer blank dvd are like $10 EACH...

 

[Ashapalan]

only if you'll need it.

I have the a combo drive on my laptop, and i dont regret not getting the superdrive because i dont use it. However, i do regret not getting the largest hard drive upgrade, because im all ready running out.

 

[lopresmb]

not too sure about the perfomance issue, but I kinda do like the "lightscribe" thing, where you can brun an image on the top of the DVD, that seems like a kinda cool thing to me, no more sharpie pens or grainy printed labels

 

[Artful Dodger]

lopresmb
not too sure about the perfomance issue, but I kinda do like the "lightscribe" thing, where you can brun an image on the top of the DVD, that seems like a kinda cool thing to me, no more sharpie pens or grainy printed labels

Hello, you may want to check the Apple.com site about the Lightscribe dvd burner. From what I've read and from my frined that has one it takes 30, Yes 30 MINS to burn the image on the dvd/cd and sometimes you may need to do it two times to get it nice and sharp.
So with that said I bought a LaCie 16x Porsche drive (DL 4x) and speed is very nice if you just burn at home. Cost for dvds can very and if you looked around you can find a deal: www.supermediastore.com just to help.
I use my LaCie with my new iMac and iBook (iBook has a combo drive as the iMac has SD).
Back to the looks of the dvds, they do look nice only a tad bit dull.
This could be an issue or not the "Lightscribe" dvds only come in "+R" format as of now and it hasn't been rumored when the "-R" format will begain to show up on shelves.
Just something to think about and enjoy your decision

 

[Euan]

If you want convenience and want to burn where ever you are then i guess the SD would be the best thing to go for.

as others said, take your time and think about it.

 

[Bern]

When I bought my Powerbook I opted for the 100GB HD instead of a superdrive. I mean how often am I going to be at a cafe or maybe on the Great Wall of China and suddenly say to myself; "damn if only I had my dvd burner with me".

 

[mkubal]

not too sure about the perfomance issue, but I kinda do like the "lightscribe" thing, where you can brun an image on the top of the DVD, that seems like a kinda cool thing to me, no more sharpie pens or grainy printed labels

I have the Lightscribe and really like it. The labeling is pretty nice because you don't have to worry about printed CDs where the ink never seems to dry completely and it looks a way better than writing in the CD. That being said, a full CD label takes a little under a half hour to "lightscribe." Not too big of a deal for me though.

More on topic though, it really depends on your situation. If you don't need to burn DVDs on the go I'd advise an external. Much faster burning and optional dual layer or double layer or whatever it's called.

 

[MacAficionado]

I did that very same thing, I got the Combo drive PB and then got a LaCie DL DVD Burner. They come with Roxio Toast Titanium which is awesome. I decided not to get the Lightscribe, because Disks are expensive and they burn a little slower.

16x is great, 4.3GB of data in about 8 minutes.

I don't regret it one bit.

 

[Mac_Freak]

Superdrive all the way. Now you may not need it, but in the longer run it will come in handy. Personally, I am gone skip that Dual Layer thing and wait for the Blue-Ray.

 

[zelmo]

not too sure about the perfomance issue, but I kinda do like the "lightscribe" thing, where you can brun an image on the top of the DVD, that seems like a kinda cool thing to me, no more sharpie pens or grainy printed labels

The Epson printers that can print right on media work pretty well. Every now and then you get one that doesn't print as centered as you'd like, but you'll never notice it as it spins in your player. Print quality is very good, at least on mine. And the media is pretty cheap, considering it has a special inkjet-printable surface.
<Ferris> If you have the means </Ferris>

Back OT, I decided against a Super drive in my PB, since I have a dog-ass slow DVD burner in my iMac G4. Figure I'll eventually get a new external burner that will be faster than what I would've gotten in my laptop. Of course, if you think you need to burn DVD's on the road...

 

[lfielder06]

FYI: The internal superdrives on pbook/ibook/mac mini do not burn at 8x. I burned a dvd the other day and it took over 30 min. to burn. This seems more like 2-3x at best. I use my external all the time now and really really regret spending the extra $185 on the internal SD. I think you should go with the 100GB hard drive then worry about getting an internal dvd burner. MCE Makes real 8x dvd burners that I was looking at getting.

 

[terriyaki]

if you're getting an ibook, no

if you're getting a powerbook, yes

 

[Demon Hunter]

I mean how often am I going to be at a cafe or maybe on the Great Wall of China and suddenly say to myself; "damn if only I had my dvd burner with me".

Happened to me just yesterday...

Seriously, I think it's a great feature and worth the price. If you are going to do serious burning though (high quantities, dual-layer, etc.) you should probably opt for an external, or perhaps both. External drives will always have greater speed and reliability (at least for the current era of slot-loading burners).

As lfielder06 has alluded to, you should be aware that many owners of recent SuperDrives are upset and have petitioned for a fix. They all complain about 2x speed. Some think it's firmware, others think it's a drive revision issue. I personally signed the petition, but haven't burned many DVDs yet (but I still love my SuperDrive, hehe).