[jayman_1975]

Hi...can someone recommend a good quality dual layer dvd burner. I want to back up my dvd's and let the kids use the back up copies so they don't wreck the originals. Quality is important.

[philthomas]

The Pioneer 112D is a decent enough drive .... if you shop around you'll pick one up for less than £20. If you intend backing up to Dual-Layer DVDRs, use Verbatims ... in my experience these are the most reliable. Dont be tempted by the cheaper brands as many of them end up as coasters

[Neodude112320]

I have no experience in pioneer DVD Burners,but i have always bought,and always use LG Dvd Burners,the best in my opnion,although.I love the verbatim re-writable media though,and TDK is pretty good.I Have had lots of trouble with the Sony Blank CD's though.

[jayman_1975]

Thanx for the replies. I think i might try that pioneer one. Can someone tell me if there will be any better quality using a dual layer burner compared to the single layer one i have now using ripping/compression software. I seem to think there is some quality loss with this method during the compression stage....doesn't it make sense that there would have to be some loss of some sort?

[philthomas]

Definitely ..... compression will reduce quality. How much is often in the eye of the beholder.
If you are watching the compressed DVD on a 12" Portable TV, the quality will not be that much different, but play the DVD on a 46" TFT or Plasma and the pixellization and sometimes jitter, will be apparent.
Dual Layer, on the other hand will probably retain most, if not all of the original quality.

Once you have the Pioneer, you can try both and see the difference for yourself.
Generally speaking, if a movie is more than 2 hours long, the compression will be noticeable.
Sometimes, however, this can be minimised by making a movie only back up and cutting out all the extras ... meaning less compression.

HTH