Choosing a DVD-ROM Drive
In the past, DVD-ROM drives differed sharply in price and performance according to the generation to which they belonged. But DVD-ROM drives have rapidly become commoditized, much as CD-ROM drives did. Nowadays, even $60 entry-level ATAPI drives provide 16X read performance for DVDs and 40X or greater for CDs. You’re unlikely to go wrong with a current-model DVD-ROM drive from any of the major Japanese producers including Hitachi, NEC, Panasonic, Sony, and Toshiba.
Use the following guidelines when choosing a DVD-ROM drive:
Make certain the drive will read at least DVD-ROM (DVD-5, -9, -10, -18); DVD-R; and the following CD formats: CD-DA; CD-ROM; CD-ROM XA; CD+(E)G; CD-Midi; CD-Text; CD-I; CD-I Bridge (Photo-CD and Video-CD); CD-R; CD-RW; and multisession (Photo-CD; CD-Extra; CD-R; CD-RW). If possible, get a drive that will also read DVD-RAM (2.6 GB and 4.7 GB formats) and DVD+RW discs.
In the past, we recommended getting a DVD hardware decoder card to watch DVD-Video on a PC. That advice is now obsolete. Even the slowest recent systems can display high-quality DVD-Video using the software decoders that are bundled with DVD drives and video cards. If for some reason you must watch DVD-Video on a slow system (< 400 MHz), rather than installing a dedicated DVD decoder card, we recommend installing an upgraded video card that supplies DVD acceleration in hardware. The video quality will likely be higher than with a DVD decoder card, and the newer video card ...
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