Most reliable DVD brand for buring?

I have two questions-
I am going to be switching from windows this summer
and i would lke to know if all of my memorex cd-r,
cd-rw and dvd-r, dvd-rw and dvd+r discs work-

Yes, they will ALL work and probably better than they do under Windows. I moved to the Intel iMac from using three other operating systems (Linux, Windows and OS/2) and found all my previous CD/DVD-type disks worked perfectly. Whereas, with a T40 Thinkpad I could only work with CD-R and DVD-R and could NOT work with DVD+ anything.

if not
can i assume that they would if i get boot camp and
run them from there?

You probably won't have any reason to use boot camp - at least I haven't had any reason to fire up any of my other non-OSX machines since moving to the iMac. One of the biggest reasons is the joy of running OSX. Not only does it 'just work' but it works extraordinarily well. No virus, no trojans, no crashes, no problems.

But if you do believe you'll need to 'jump' to Windows then I'd suggest using Parallels Workstation 2.1 for Mac OSX. It's only $49 and will allow you to run WinXP (home or Pro) virtually without having to reboot at all - and your WinXP will run just as fast and normal as it would if installed separately. (Take a looksee at http://www.parallels.com/en/download/mac/)

Here's an example - and I'll compare OSX to WindowsXP Pro. Under WinXP I plug in my HP Color Laserjet and a message pops up announcing "new hardware found" followed by another message asking me to go through the process of installing the appropriate driver either from CD or hard drive. Then, for good measure, I'd have to reboot and you know that can take quite a long time before I'm back up and ready to test the printer.

Under OSX I connect the HP via USB. That's it. No pop up to announce new hardware found. No need for time consuming finding and installing of a driver. I can unplug and plug back in at any time and the moment it is plugged in, the printer works. OSX just finds it and makes it ready.

Burning CDs and DVDs. Suggest you get Roxio's Toast 7.0.2 (latest release) just because it makes burning stuff so very easy to do.

Viewing and obtaining data from CDs and DVDs. Insert the disk and (depending on how you tell the system under preferences) the CD or DVD disk appears as an icon on your desktop. Click the icon and a folder of the contents comes up just as it would with WinXP or any other OS. You can set preferences to automatically start your movie player the moment it detects a DVD movie.

I burn to DVD+ and DVD- all the time. I also burn to DVDRW+ (I've never seen a DVDRW- but it is probably out there somewhere). You can burn them so they work only on a Mac or on both a Mac and PC (you get the option at burning time).

I also use an external LaCie Slim DVDRW/CDRW which is, again, connected via USB. Now the new Intel iMac's don't officially support the LaCie Slim (although they support all other LaCie CD/DVD drives) but the Slim works beautifully and rarely gives me a problem (usually the result of a bad DVD). I use the LaCie to cut back on the wear/tear of using my internal SuperDrive for everything. The LaCie Slim is a holdover from my old WinXP Pro system and I was happy to see it could be used under OSX. I use the extneral often because I've been burning DVDs and CDs for several years now and have worn out quite a few DVDRW/CDRW Roms. When it does eventually die I'll opt for one of the supported LaCie's.

As for "media" - I use (almost exclusively anymore) the generic brand of DVD-R, DVD+R, DVDRW-+, CD-R and CDRW disks from Staples. I buy them in stacks of 50 ($17) and 100 ($30) and usually see 1-4 bad burns out of every 50 or so. Still a great price per disk.

I've used every familiar brand and they are all just about the same except for SONY. They tend to offer more bad disks in each package than any other seller.

I hope this information is helpful to you (and to anyone else).

Hudson


20" Intel iMac fully loaded Mac OS X (10.4.6)

thank you very very much-that was extremely helpful-looks like most of my stuff is ok-

Dell Windows XP Pro

I thought I would have the LaCie by now... when I
went to my dealer to get it the ONE that they had in
stock had been sold an hour before I came in. She
ordered another for me but it still hasn't arrived.
Last night I was going to use some Amazon gift cards
and get it from them... but they're out of stock
until the 20th.

But I have this msg flagged and will let you know how
it works when it arrives.

Hey cdb2!

Did you get this LaCie yet? I'm wondering how well it works for you. I do have the LaCie Slim and it is not one of the 'supported' ROMs but it does work very well. The only caveat is having to burn at 2X under Toast.

So I'm wondering what speeds you are able to get using one of the supported LaCie drives.

Thanks!

Hudson

I have an iMac intel duo and a power mac g5. i updated the g5 with a pioneer drive and it burns DL. Verbatim seems to be most compatible playing in my Sony and Denon DVD players. However the iMac duo with the Matshita u846 burns RDATA and Verbatim the do play in my Sony and Denon. Mat u 846 is slower to burn than the pioneer. So Verbatim seems most reliable. You can purchase them on line for about $3 a disc. Hope this helps

If any of you are looking for Verbatim DVD they are on sale for 20 cents with two coupons


http://www.supermediastore.com/verbatim-8x-dvd-r-media-94852-thermal-hub-printab le-cake-box-100pk.html?WT.mc_id=dealnewsdealsubmission060421

My word - that's a good price even without the rebates!

I've just one question - what is "Thermal Hub Printable"? I buy Verbatim LightScribe when I can find them, but I'm sure that "Thermal Hub Printable" can't be LightScribe, can it?

Excellent price on media that I trust, though... thanks for the find!