DVD Drives

DVD drives are generally grouped under drives, controllers & storage in terms of computer equipment. These drives allow you to watch movies on your computer, and they can also read CD-ROMs, so you get a two-in-one feature. Many DVD drives let you burn DVDs, but you have to make sure you have a drive with a "writable" feature. DVD drives come in the following formats: DVD+ROM, DVD+R/RW or DVD+R/RW(recordable and rewritable), DVD-RAM (random access rewritable), and DVD-R DL (double layer).

DVDs can be single-sided or double-sided, and can have one or two layers per side, which affects the amount of memory on the disc. If there are two barcodes on the underside of the disc, it is double-sided. Also, single-sided DVDs tend to be standard silver, while double-sided can be gold-toned.

DVD drives will often come with "write" speeds, "rewrite" speeds, and "read" speeds. A 12x speed means that it can do that function 12 times as fast as the traditional DVD drive. However, speeds are now up to 52x! Like in other areas of the tech industry, particularly processing chips, we are seeing faster and faster processing times in machines that are actually dropping in price.

Many new PCs and laptops come with a built-in DVD burner, but you can get external drives, even powerful ones, at remarkably affordable prices. When you hear the phrase "dual format," don't worry. This simply means that the DVD drive can read DVD R, DVD RW and DVD+R formats, and most DVD drives can read all these formats.