So far, so good....but mind your media!
Written: Jul 29 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Price, ease of installation, included software, tech support
Cons: CD-RW media compatibility issue
The Bottom Line: I would probably buy this again based on my experience so far, but I have gotten an education on media quality/compatibility issues.
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| huffabluff66's Full Review: TDK (AID+440BX) DVD±RW Burner |
I decided to take the plunge into DVD burners after seeing multi-format burners on the market for nearly a year with prices continuing to fall. I had little idea how to choose intelligently between the various brands, they are all pretty new with little track record to go by- this seemed like the right price at the right time, and a salesman at a "big box" store had suggested this one from his positive experience. Also, I have a Dell 4400, and Dell sells this burner as well.
Installation was a cinch. It appeared to be the same manufacturer (NEC) as the existing Dell CD-RW. I had an earlier version of the included Roxio software for a CD-RW burner, so updating was straight forward, but a little scary because the new version's graphic interface was quite different. A web update download from Roxio was also required.
I immediately noticed that I had a problem with CD-RW formating and the drive would not read my existing CD-RW discs. Ultimately, the problem seems to be with the Memorex CD-RW media, although this brand is listed as recommended according to the included literature. The TDK web site says otherwise, and TDK phone support had yet a different list of recommended media brands. Using TDK CD-RW media has "solved" this problem, although my Memorex media is, of course, still unreadable in the new DVD burner, which is somewhat inconvenient and frustrating. Fortunately I only have about $12 bucks worth of CD-RW's to replace and only a few to recreate, so not a huge big deal, but disappointing to have this compatibility issue. The TDK web chat tech support was helpful, although they had to finally give up and reveal their toll free number so I could go over the issue with a live tech.
So far, I have successfully played commercial DVD's & music CD's, played a music CD-R (coincidentally, TDK CD-R media burned on my existing CD-RW drive), copied a music CD from old drive to new drive onto CD-R (fast!), and burned a slideshow in Video CD format, which played fine on my Sony component DVD player. Next up is trying out the DVD video and data capabilities- I'm optimistic that it will be a rewarding and painless experience, so long as I have good media. Also see reviews of (older?)420N, which apparently had Nero software instead of Roxio.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 250 w/rebate
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
huffabluff66
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Reviews written: 3
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