What is the best External DVD burner?

[divedude]

I want to buy an external DVD burner to attach to my new iMac. Any suggestions for the best, most reliable one?

After reading about numerous problems people are having with the internal one and experiencing a failure after only 15 minutes of play, I don't want to mess with the internal one. It said my DVD was either dirty or scratched. It is as pristeen as when I burned it and doesn't have so much as a fingerprint on it. It plays in all my other DVD players just fine. I figured the player would be a problem considering CD's and DVD's come out just as hot as if they had been in a toaster

I don't mind buying a new external burner and I don't want to take my iMac back because I am happy with the 24" monitor, it looks great. So what are your suggestions for the best one?

 

[peeaanuut]

i have an LG and it works great with my mini. Does Dual layer DVDs and Lightscribe as well as all the regulars plus DVD-Ram. I have had no problems burning or playing anything from it and I dont even have toast yet. So it has all been stuff form iDVD and just burn folders.

Now Im not saying its the best, but so far it is the best that I have owned.

 

[divedude]

i have an LG and it works great with my mini. Does Dual layer DVDs and Lightscribe as well as all the regulars plus DVD-Ram.QUOTE]

Thanks for your reply. Which model is it?

 

[RafMac]

Take it back to Apple for replacement as that is unusual. Invest in more RAM instead?????

 

[rpaloalto]

Get you self a Pioneer internal drive an run it through a external power case. Pioneer is very good with any mac. I bought a pioneer 112d and a Venus ds5 aluminum power case with fire wire all for under $80 from my local fys. Try this link for more info on external drives.http://www.ripdifferent.com/phpbb2/viewforum.php?f=35

 

[divedude]

Take it back to Apple for replacement as that is unusual. Invest in more RAM instead?????

I don't think it is unusual. Prior to ordering, I tried a couple at the Apple store and after a few minutes, the DVD's all come out hot. I shoot underwater video and sell DVD's, so I need a burner that is reliable. I don't mind buying an external burner, I am just looking for some suggestions onones others have had experience with. And I just installed 4GB of memory in the iMac, so I am good there. Thanks anyway.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

The internal drive is so slow even at reading. It's been the only thing aboout my iMac that I've been disappointed with.

I wish there was a good internal replacement option, something that would read dvd's at 16x but I've not been able to find anything. At this point, I'm going to pick up an external 16x DVD reader and see how that does. I'm ok with DVD burns at 8x as I don't burn too many, but I do rip plenty of DVD's to my media server.

 

[peeaanuut]

Divedude: they do not make my model anymore but I have not been dissapointed in any LG external burner that I have worked with or owned. They are usually at a good price at Frys, Best Buy or even Circuit City. They usually can read just about anything you throw at them and burn just about any media you can buy. I rarely ever get bad burns and if I do, it is more computer related than burner related.

 

[Tom J]

Has anyone had any luck using an external drive to import from DVD-RAM disks? What drive and software would I need to import into iMovie or FCExpress. I only need to be able to import from Panasonic DVD-RAM disks. I would use the iMac's built-in drive to burn.