Memorex DVD+RW/+R Drive for $149.99 AR & coupons at Staples

[Tot]

I wish that we didnt have the format war going. It would have been so much easier if they would just give us the best format and let the sales be boosted. I am sure that lots of people are like me, hmmm I think I will wait till the war is over before I make my purchase.

However the price of 149.99+tax really makes me shiver.

Thanks for the deal mysticman1. We know we can count on you on this one.

 

[jeepers94]

Staples had the Memorex R+,R- 5pack,RW+,RW- 3pack for $14.98 and free $10 gift check friday.I ordered
5 sets and used 15 off 75.

 

[dongky]

from what i've read at DVD forums, +R/+RW has some incompatibility issues with standalone DVD players.
my .02

 

[Dm301]

I added the three pack of Memorex DVD+R 4.7GB @ $8.94 to get over $250

Thanks for the deal MysticMan1, you make my wallet lighter each post, hehe.

 

[tmpstuos]

:disgust:
It is asking me for a 16 digit code after I put in the five digit code for both coupons. Any ideas.

Tmpstuos

 

[MysticMan1]

tmpstuos

Turn off your firewall or any cookie blocking app that your running and try again.

 

[Antisocial Virge]

If this is the ricoh 5125 I hope you have better luck with the memorex media than I ever did. Out of a box of 10, 4 were bad. Been using verbatim dvd+r now without a prob. I think the memorex dvd media is trash.

 

[MysticMan1]

This site looks like a good place to get info on the DVD+RW/+R format
dvdplusrw.org for info on DVD+RW/+R format

DVD+R/+RW PC drives compared to DVD-R/-RW PC drives

 

[kombatmud]

Originally posted by: MysticMan1
This site looks like a good place to get info on the DVD+RW/+R format
dvdplusrw.org for info on DVD+RW/+R format

DVD+R/+RW PC drives compared to DVD-R/-RW PC drives

That site belongs to the DVD+RW alliance. I wouldn't trust any info there that says +R/RW is better than -R/RW. They're just trying to sell their own format.

So far, everything I've read suggests that the -R format beats the -RW in compatibility. It clearly beats it in price (not at B&M stores, but media for -R is much cheaper online then +R). I've had a DVR-104 drive for sometime, and recently upgraded to a DRU-500A.

I believe the DVD-R/RW format will win in the long run, but +RW still does have a speed advantage over -RW, so I will probably be using mostly +RW media in my drive for testing, and mostly -R for final discs. Regardless of which format is better, the DRU-500A is definately the best drive available currently. Anyone who isn't convinced of a specific format should buy one of those.

Although, this memorex drive seems like an excellent deal at $150

 

[Antisocial Virge]

Originally posted by: kombatmud

Originally posted by: MysticMan1
This site looks like a good place to get info on the DVD+RW/+R format
dvdplusrw.org for info on DVD+RW/+R format

DVD+R/+RW PC drives compared to DVD-R/-RW PC drives

That site belongs to the DVD+RW alliance. I wouldn't trust any info there that says +R/RW is better than -R/RW. They're just trying to sell their own format.

So far, everything I've read suggests that the -R format beats the -RW in compatibility. It clearly beats it in price (not at B&M stores, but media for -R is much cheaper online then +R). I've had a DVR-104 drive for sometime, and recently upgraded to a DRU-500A.

I believe the DVD-R/RW format will win in the long run, but +RW still does have a speed advantage over -RW, so I will probably be using mostly +RW media in my drive for testing, and mostly -R for final discs. Regardless of which format is better, the DRU-500A is definately the best drive available currently. Anyone who isn't convinced of a specific format should buy one of those.

Although, this memorex drive seems like an excellent deal at $150

Microsoft is gonna support +RW. -RW might end up having a hard go of it.

 

[ericboo]

It is the Ricoh 5125A. There is a review over at www.cdrinfo.com. I burned 4 for 4 Memorex DVD+R's without problem. Right now, Compusa has a 4-pack of TDK DVD+R's for $8.99.

I bought it to burn initially transfer VHS movies to DVD and it did the job. Price was a concern, so I was not as worried about the +R/-R wars. If you are, get the Sony that does both.

 

[C'DaleRider]

From the current issue of PCWorld magazine:

"A recent study by Intelligenkey Labs says that DVD+R discs worked in 90% of DVD players in its test, while DVD-R worked in 77%. For rewriteable discs, Intellikey found that +RW worked in 72% of players, while-RW worked in 66%."

And surprisingly, no one has mentioned the time factor. DVD-R/-RW take longer than +R/RW to write. This is because the -R/RWs use software to format the disc...most have a long lag time between formatting and writing. The +R/RW recorders use internal hardware formatting that does it faster.

Format and write times for 1.18 GB of info:

Some DVD-R/-RW drives:

[*]Cendyne CD000176 ..... 122:02 (min/sec)

[*]Pioneer DVR-A04 .... 106:17


Some DVD+R/+RW drives:

[*]Memorex DVD+R+RW ... 7:33 (min/sec)

[*]Pacific Digital U-31034 ... 7:29

[*]HP DVD Writer Dvd200i .... 13:27

Link to chart for recording times for various formats and tested drives.


This info is from PWCorld magazine's latest issue....... the entire article is HERE.

An excerpt from the article:

PCWorld Magazine, Dec. 2002, p. 114.
Drives capable of writing to DVD-RW discs can do so only at 1X--less than half the speed rating of DVD+RW drives writing to +RW media. (The Sony supports 2X DVD+RW, but media isn't yet available.) But the much faster times of the DVD+RW drives compared to the DVD-RW units are also partly due to a function built into DVD+RW drives that lets them format rewritable discs in the background. This allows you to start writing data to a DVD+RW disc much quicker--generally within a minute of inserting the blank, unformatted disc. DVD-RW drives can perform this trick too, but generally only with the aid of extra-cost software, which wasn't included with most of the drives that we tested (the Sony DRU-500A was the exception). The software accompanying DVD-RW drives lets you copy the files you want to a temporary folder while the formatting continues, and then write the files to disc with a single mouse click. The slowest drive we tested was CenDyne's CD000176, which took over 2 hours to format a DVD-RW disc and then write the data in our tests. The LG Super-Multi DVD-Writer was relatively fast, taking just under 90 minutes to perform the two tasks. The Sony DRU-500A was fastest (due to the formatting capability mentioned above).

This take from HERE.

 

[MysticMan1]

Originally posted by: kombatmud

Originally posted by: MysticMan1
This site looks like a good place to get info on the DVD+RW/+R format
dvdplusrw.org for info on DVD+RW/+R format

DVD+R/+RW PC drives compared to DVD-R/-RW PC drives

That site belongs to the DVD+RW alliance. I wouldn't trust any info there that says +R/RW is better than -R/RW. They're just trying to sell their own format.

So far, everything I've read suggests that the -R format beats the -RW in compatibility. It clearly beats it in price (not at B&M stores, but media for -R is much cheaper online then +R). I've had a DVR-104 drive for sometime, and recently upgraded to a DRU-500A.

I believe the DVD-R/RW format will win in the long run, but +RW still does have a speed advantage over -RW, so I will probably be using mostly +RW media in my drive for testing, and mostly -R for final discs. Regardless of which format is better, the DRU-500A is definately the best drive available currently. Anyone who isn't convinced of a specific format should buy one of those.

Although, this memorex drive seems like an excellent deal at $150

I would put my money on the +RW format to win this format war because it's being backed by the big companys like SONY, Philips, HP and micorsoft while Pioneer is the only big company I see supporting the -RW format.

 

[fr]

I have an hp dvd200i which is basically the same recorder as this one (rebadged Ricoh). I have used hp and Memorex media with no problems at all. The Memorex DVD+Rs play in every DVD drive or player I throw it at. My notebook DVD can't read DVD+RW, but DVD+R reads fine.

 

[sat4fun]

[/quote]I would put my money on the +RW format to win this format war because it's being backed by the big companys like SONY, Philips, HP and micorsoft while Pioneer is the only big company I see supporting the -RW format.[/quote]

Hmmm....Sony has backed many loosers in format wars in the past. This will be a VHS vs. BETA type battle. VHS won that battle because the players were less expensive. Everyone agrees that BETA was better in quality, but cost and compatibility wins wars like this. At this time more lower end DVD players will play DVD-R than DVD+R and that is why I am going with DVD-R. When I burn videos of my kid, I want to increase my chances that that DVD will work in my family and friends DVD players. I do not know the exact numbers, but it seems to me that there are atleast twice as many Pioneer DVD-R's out there than Phillips, Sony, HP and Ricoh DVD+R units combined. Media price IS a factor. I am sure that media is the same proce at Staples, but who actually buys media there? Last time I looked at the usual online media outlets, DVD+R was still more exensive. One would be wise to have a combo unit if that unit cost less than two seperate units.

To sum it up, this is a format war and compatibility and cost will win out.

 

[C'DaleRider]

Originally posted by: sat4fun

I would put my money on the +RW format to win this format war because it's being backed by the big companys like SONY, Philips, HP and micorsoft while Pioneer is the only big company I see supporting the -RW format.[/quote]

Hmmm....Sony has backed many loosers in format wars in the past. This will be a VHS vs. BETA type battle. VHS won that battle because the players were less expensive. Everyone agrees that BETA was better in quality, but cost and compatibility wins wars like this. At this time more lower end DVD players will play DVD-R than DVD+R and that is why I am going with DVD-R. When I burn videos of my kid, I want to increase my chances that that DVD will work in my family and friends DVD players. I do not know the exact numbers, but it seems to me that there are atleast twice as many Pioneer DVD-R's out there than Phillips, Sony, HP and Ricoh DVD+R units combined. Media price IS a factor. I am sure that media is the same proce at Staples, but who actually buys media there? Last time I looked at the usual online media outlets, DVD+R was still more exensive. One would be wise to have a combo unit if that unit cost less than two seperate units.

To sum it up, this is a format war and compatibility and cost will win out.[/quote]

Sony essentially lost the BETA/VHS war because they refused to license the darned thing to anyone else.........wanted to be the only supplier of the "better" tehcnology. Not licensing for secondary producers will hinder any product's marketshare development....look at Apple with its 5% share.

 

[Richard98]

Originally posted by: sat4fun

I do not know the exact numbers, but it seems to me that there are atleast twice as many Pioneer DVD-R's out there than Phillips, Sony, HP and Ricoh DVD+R units combined. [/quote]

In my opinion, this is merely due to the amount of time that DVD +R has been on the market. DVD +RW drives were not availble until the summer of 01 and DVD +R/+RW were not available until 4/02, while DVD -R was introduced by Pioneer in 1998 (a 3-4 year head start). VHS and Laserdisc had a commanding lead over DVD during the first year of its introduction. I guess you'd need to be the judge as to whether Pioneer is willing to throw enough $$ at the DVD -R format to compete with Phillips, Sony and HP.

The multi-format Sony would be preferable, but I think this would run you an extra ~$200. The Memorex I ordered from Staples has shipped by UPS. Thanks again to MysticMan1 for the deal!

 

[MysticMan1]

Just got my Memorex DVD+RW/+R Drive from the UPS guy. It says "DVD tecnology by Ricoh" on the Back of the box.

 

[Z80]

OUT OF STOCK! - you snooze you loose and I really really wanted one :disgust:

 

[wombat44]

I don't really care who wins the format war. Given similar compatability and media prices, I'm inclined to go for the cheapest decent burner available. If I end up backing the wrong horse? So what, I'll be buying another burner in a year or two thats 4 times as fast, at a quarter the price. The burner I buy today will be obsolete by then, no matter which format wins.

Anyone want to buy a 2X CDR burner??

-jim.