Going to buy a dvd writer next week just wanted to find out which one is the best to buy and if anyone can give me any help on getting started i`d be very grateful thank you

Most people on here would recommend the Pioneer A05 DVD-R/RW, has the potential to write x4 to SELECTED DVD-R media, its the latest drive from pioneer & preceeds the A03 & A04, which are proven good drives/sellers, try to avoid a DVD+R/RW drive, as the media for these drives is more expensive & harder to locate...................Tony92

the new sony 4x speed is now out, it writes + or -, but i have no idea if its any good or not.
the pioneer is £200, (a05), OEM
the sony is £269 , retail boxed

hope it helps

It's kinda like asking someone to tell you what's the best car to buy.....depends on a lot of things doesn't it?

I like the pioneer line personally....but I have also heard good things about the sony as well.

the sony looks ok but the pioneer is cheaper, and why would you need to have a dual drive, your not gonna buy more expensive media when the better -r media is cheaper than the cheapest +r media, and the pioneer is £70 cheaper anyway.

mwave.com has the new Sony 500ax out for 329 I think, its the 500a with the firmware & a little bit better reading. cheaper than the 500a, boy thats odd.

The sony dru500a or any of the Pioneer drives (Cendynes are Pioneers with a different label on the box). It all depends whether or not the + format matters to you. If you want to burn + as well as - then get the sony dru500a if you are only concerned with the - format get one of the Pioneer (Cendyne) drives as they are quite a bit cheaper. Staples and officemax periodically have specials on these drives.

i have the pioneer a04 2x speed, not a problem so far.

i would sell this to go and buy a sony only because the sony writes faster.
but,
4x discs are dearer, so really the choice is yours.

if you have the extra cash go for the sony, at least when one of the formats ( + or - ) goes obslete, you will still have a writer that will work.

hope it helps.

derek.