Why does DVD speed matter?

[Iamstuckinmycomputer]

I want to get a DVD drive to watch DVD's on my computer. My dilemma is that i cannot afford one of these 12x DVD drives. So i was wondering why i cannot just buy a cheapy 1x or 2x drive. Since DVD-ROM disks are not commonplace yet, what is the advantage to getting a high speed drive? Isnt 1x the same speed as a stand alone player? If this dosent make since, feel free to call me an idiot, but it just dosent seem logical to me to buy a high speed drive to just watch movies. Thanks, -andy

 

[Zorba]

Well if you just want to watch movies, then you should get the slowest that can play them (I have no idea what speed that is). The reason for the higher speed ones is for people that use it for other things (ie DVD-ROM, I know of some software that uses it, although not enough for me to want to buy a DVD drive).

 

[Iamstuckinmycomputer]

Thanks, thats exactly what i was wondering. I have not found enough software to make it useful for me yet i still want to watch movies. So does anyone know what speed i need? Thanks, -andy

 

[Painman]

Whatever you can get at a price you like... remember that DVD-ROMs do CD-ROM too, and usually the faster they read DVD, the faster they read CD as well.

Tired of having nothing on DVD-ROM? Blame the MPAA. As far as I know they control almost the entire DVD technology and permit access to it as they see fit.

-Pain

 

[RZSupraTRD]

I didn't really feel a difference between my 4X and my 8X Toshibas. I can't see the real speed boost I guess the difference in speed is to small to notice

 

[Iamstuckinmycomputer]

So like a 4x would play movies fine right? How much do you think i could pick up a used 4x for?

 

[Thorn]

A 1x would play movies fine, that's all movies are played at anyway... kinda like how CD-ROMs play music CDs at 1x, no matter what speed CD-ROM you have.

A used 2x DVD can probably be had for very little ($25-35).

 

[Iamstuckinmycomputer]

Thanks, thats all i needed to know.

If you have one thats slow and cheap, head over to the for sales forum, and offer me one!!! -Andy

 

[Huma]

Some issues you may encouter are fast forward or search weirdness with a slow dvd, and if you want to rip vob files, a faster dvd doesn't hurt.

 

[mindiris]

If it's just movies, and you like to watch movies in other regions consider hunting for something 5x or slower, since anything faster is almost guarenteed to be region locked.

In any case, faster ones might have better firmware and compatiblity with more DVD movies.

Or, if your signature is actually remotely true, a stand alone player would be better on your pocket book (no need to get a hardware decoder to make it not skip frames, deinterlace, filter...). Plus most people have a bigger TV screen.

Anyway, 5x or slower should be overkill already.

 

[mindiris]

double post

 

[Auric]

One thing to consider is that the 1x and 2x drives prolly ain't multi-read capable. They might not even read CD's at all. The search is fine on my 1x. Maybe it can do smoother 8x search on faster drives and maybe ripping is faster. Mine takes 12m per GB!

 

[AngelOfDeath]

The meaning with the higher speed is for future use. The higher the speed the higher the data-flow(Theoretically ). No matter what we all need this media 'cause of the high data capacity I think its about 5Gb on one Disk which is 7-8 times the capacity of a normal CD.

Not to confuse anything...the CD's are the same the only difference is that the normal CD-rom laser reads with a yellow light while the DVD-rom laser reads with a blue light. The Blue light is thinner than the yellow which makes it possible to have the data lie closer on the same disc .

But no you don't need the higher speed but you'll gonna need it sooner or later ...think you know that

AoD

 

[veryape]

I( don't think he does know that he'll need it sooner or later,take a look at his setup! Although i don't even think that you will be able to find anything in stores at less than 8x. Thats as low as i've seen them lately at any of the major stores i go to.

 

[DaddyG]

I would forget getting a 'used' DVD rom. Your just going to get somebody elses crap. Look out for rebates and specials DVD's can be had for less than $100. AND you'll get all the software, drivers, cable and warranty.

 

[IsOs]

The setup described in your signature will not be able to play DVD. You will need a DVD decoder which comes in a PCI card form. Your 386DX don't have any PCI slots. Buy standalone unit, which cost <$200 when on sale and connect it to your TV.

 

[Mark R]

The key points are:

• High speed is not relevant to movies.
• Old DVD drives can't always read CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW[1] well
• DVD drives are mechanical devices, and wear out. Care is necessary if buying 2nd hand.
• Newer drives have better hardware and firmware - probably offering improved performance with dirty/damaged discs or at layer changes, etc.
• Newer drives are, without exception, region locked. Useless if you want to watch import movies.

Certainly, I don't see the point in the brand new drives. The older ones are satisfactory for most purposes (indeed, better, if you don't believe in region locking).

If you can find an unused/lightly used 4x one then that would be what I would go for.

[1] - CD-ROMs are designed for reading with an infra-red laser. With CD-R, the coloured dye is optimised for this. When a DVD drive's red laser is used, it cannot see through the dye on CD-Rs. Newer DVD drives have an infra-red laser in addition to the red laser, so that good CD-ROM compatability is maintained.

 

[beer]

Relax.
He doesn't have a 386. It wouldn't even be able to load Internet Explorer. LOL. It's a joke.

 

[Marty]

Actually, CD-ROMs read disks with infrared lasers, while DVD-ROMs read disks with red lasers. Reliability and cost are still hampering the introduction of blue-laser devices.

Marty

 

[JellyBaby]

Another point: the fastest DVD drives are typically the loudest and some may even vibrate the case if not battened down properly.

I'm pretty sure you'd be fine with an 8x drive. The 16x are out but don't seem to be any faster than the 8x and least from the single review I read of a Pioneer. Go figure.

 

[Mday]

after the 3rd generation of DVD drives, you can get any drive and you can expect it to be able to handle all CD-ROM formats and DVD.

2x DVD drives are needed for &quot;full motion&quot; video as the datastream transferred to be rendered would be enough. of course some say 1x, but transfer rates do go up and down all the time.

BTW, 1x is the 1st generation, 2x is the 2nd, and 3rd gen is like 4x to 6x.

first generation had no CDRW or CDR capability, 2nd had limited. and 3rd really supported multiread (CD format).

the next generation which can have multi on it is expected to support the DVD rewritable formats, meaning DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM... and all that crap.

so, if you want a cheapy, get a 2x or faster.