hi, between these few choices, which is the most stable and last longer?
1)Samsung 18x
2)Lite-On 20x
3)Imation 18x
4)Sony 18x

i know this is the software section but it is becasue i also want to ask this question. what software do i use to convert any movie file format to dvd format which can also be use on a dvd player?

Just got the Samsung have burned DVDs with no problem and reasonably quiet. Had to return a Lite-On 20X because it wasn't burning, kind of surprised because I've never had a problem with Lite-On, but really like the Samsung

As for copying DVDs there are a lot of programs out there many of which of free, check out Source Force but search for Windows DVD copying if your using Windows. If you want to copy commercial protected DVDs, there's software out there that will reportedly do it but not sure of the legality. If you want to do a little editing Roxio Easy Media Creator is nice all in one, does photo, audio, imaging, as well as video. For a video only editing program I have CyberLink Power Director, which I like but Adobe also has a could program From what I've read Pinnacle's newer versions have a lot of problems

what about nero v7? i come across nero vision but it looks like it's only for video capture from external devices and nero recode mostly from one dvd format to another dvd format.

Nero is very similar to Easy Media Creator, an all in one. What exactly do you want to do?

for now, i'm planning to get a dvdrw drive to convert movies which originally not in dvd format to dvd format which is suppose to make it clearer and also because dvd can store bigger size than cd so that the dvds i create could be watch with a dvd player because home theater system sounds much better than a decent computer speaker. about converting other format movies to dvd format, does it really improve the video and audio quality?

If the movies you want to convert are VHS tapes, I'd suggest you get a DVD/VHS recorder. I bought one for my wife for Christmas. Capturing analogue tapes and burning them to a DVD is a pain. If the tapes are from a camcorder, you have to use the computer and for that I'd suggest a stand alone video editing program like the Cyberlink Power Director or the intro level Adobe program. Both the Nero and Roxio programs are limited when it comes to editing. If you get a Retail DVD burner as opposed to OEM, a few dollars more, you should get a more limited version of Nero, which at least will let you try it out. If you're capturing analogue camcorder tapes, you'll need a box to run the camera through.

actually i have the videos in my hdd. i want to convert the movies into dvd format and burn it into dvdr so that i can watch it in a dvd player. Not planning to do any video capture at the moment.

If that's the case, I'd suggest getting a Retail version of the DVD burner that comes with Nero, maybe $32 vs $29 OEM. I just checked newegg and they don't have a retail version of the Samsung, which I'm real hppyy with but have both LG, have one and no problems, and the Lite-On. If you get a Lite-On, I'd stick with the 18X rather than 20X, had problems with the 20X times and had to send it back. As I said, there are also free versions that will do this but often you need 2 programs, e.g., one to render and one to burn or copy. My experience with free software like this is that unless you get lucky, you'll have to try a lot of programs before you find one you like, which is OK if you want to put the time into it. If you don't have an all in one program, Easy Media is nice because it will rip/burn/copy everything except protected stuff, e.g., if you want to create or burn an image or make copies of programs. Will also handle photo and video editing. The editing might be nice if you want to put a title or other info on the disk. Are your video files .avi?

i'm not sure about it. i looked at the properties of the video but it only show the video bitrate and audio bitrate.... didn't mention the format of the video. some of it state the video compression is Divx.is that the format?

Yes Divx is a format, which most new video burning programs can handle. Below is the page from Roxio with all of the features of Creator 9

http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/ [...] html#video

You can find it for less that $100 before the $20 upgrade rebate. If you don't have one of the programs that qualify for the update, you might have a friend. Roxio has a less expensive program that does music and videos but for the extra money you might be better off with the full program given everything it does. It's very like that once you start making DVDs you'll want to try to do some editing. Anyway, there are a lot of DVD burning programs out there, many of which will be shareware, i.e., they will give you a trial version usually up to 30 days or so many burns. This is Roxio's return policy.

"Roxio has an unconditional 30-day money back guarantee for all products purchased directly from Roxio via our online store or Inside Sales. If you are having a problem with our software, we may be able to resolve your issue either over the phone or by e-mail. Please contact us and we will be happy to assist you."

Suggest you Google DVD Burning Software and see what you come up with becaue like I said, there are a lot of options.

thanks a lot..... i'll look out for the software you've mention.

Good luck. When I first started with video, it took a lot of time as well as trying various programs to figure out what I wanted, which in part was figuring out exactly what I wanted to do but interesting & learned a lot. This is a good video site although sometimes gets pretty technical and some posts need to be taken with a shaker of salt but worth while checking out.

http://www.videohelp.com/