Tom’s Hardware Guide puts DVD burners to the test, trying out three drives that use DVD+R/RW (the Philips DVDRW228, the Ricoh MP5125A, and the Sony DRU120A), two that use DVD-R/RW (the Pioneer DVR-A05 and the TEAC DV-W50E), and one that writes to both standards (the Sony DRU-500A, pictured at right). Fortunately, the article also goes over the different standards, explaining their differences, which are mainly the result of a stupid dispute among hardware manufacturers. Their conclusion, perhaps not surprisingly, is that when it comes down to it there is little discernible difference between the drives, but that the DVD-R/RW drives are better for archiving data, and the DVD+R/RW drives are better for video. And that if you’re willing to spend the extra cash, the DRU-500A from Sony just about solves that problem.
