Are Cheap DVD Burners Worth the Trouble?

Just Any DVD Burner Will Not Do

Another invaluable advantage is how DVD readers and writers probably are the most widely used storage devices today. Every new PC or notebook carries an optical drive and can at least read DVDs and CDs, and more and more computers have DVD writing capabilities. Rewriteable media allows users to re-record data many times instead of creating single-use DVDs (called WORMs - Write Once, Read Multiple). While DVDs are not extremely durable, the discs will store your data safely for several years. For very important data, we recommend redundant storage - even if your discs are kept in a safe place.

There are so many different DVD recordables and DVD writers. We recommend opting for branded products, especially the recordables, as we've already seen physical degradation of so-called no-name recordables only a few years after they were written. Storing data on a DVD is an irreversible process that burns physical marks into the dye layer(s), which is why we recommend relying on brands that you know and trust. Rewriteables utilize a phase-change recording layer, which can be altered approximately 1,000 times.

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