Lightscribe

Raven1 · 12-11-2006, 07:41 PM

I was thinking of changing out my slower DVD burner for a new Lightscribe drive. The cost of the drive is reasonable, it's the DVD media that I found to be a bit pricey.
Any word on it? I mainly do video editing, and etc. so my Academy awarding video has yet to make it to DVD, but when it does is Light scribe necessary, or just a cool toy to play with before I go back to regular DVD's?

R1

JustCallMeDave · 12-11-2006, 07:47 PM

I've not seen a reason to get the Lightscribe. Get an NEC burner for around $30 and spend some money on a label application kit. Lightscribe is pretty gimmicky, and you have to buy special media to use that feature.

Chromaflage · 12-11-2006, 11:06 PM

Raven1, my good friend, need I save you from yourself yet again? You can buy many of these for the amount of money you'd spend on the lightscribe media. Just as effective, I think.

lor · 12-11-2006, 11:51 PM

I'm not crazy about the light scribe, from what I've seen it looks like very basic text and graphic print on a DVD face. You can get alot more fancy and artistic with a label kit.
However, as one who also does video editting also, there may come a time when you desire to sell ,or widely distribute your work.
A label kit will allow you to make a cool looking DVD. But there is a drawback to the labels. The main problem with a label is that inside a DVD player, things can get a little warm and if the adhesive starts to lift ever so slightly, the DVD will wobble and start to skip. This is why I abandoned the label kit.

My final solution was to purchase a inkjet printer which prints directly to DVD's.

As far as a new DVD player, I would just get something which supports Dual layer DVD's. There are expensive now, but I suspect the cost will come down. Concerning faster burn rates, you may want to review the reliability of some of the faster media. There have been some compatibility issues with some of the 8X and faster media when used in set top boxes.

TheTexan · 12-12-2006, 06:08 AM

Be careful with the peel and stick labels. I trashed a cd drive on my computer and a cd player in a vehicle using the stick on labels. I have Lightscribe on one of my computers and it is constantly getting better.

cptdarel · 12-12-2006, 07:13 AM

I have one in my computer, not impressed, one tone graphics, not a variety. ok for organizing and labeling if thats all you want.

Bugle4em · 12-13-2006, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cptdarel

I have one in my computer, not impressed, one tone graphics, not a variety. ok for organizing and labeling if thats all you want.

wthr4d · 12-14-2006, 07:23 AM

I worked with Lightscribe (and others) in my time with HP. As a DVD burner it is no different than any other burner. What does set it aside is the added software capability that allows you to burn a DVD THEN flip it over and "burn" a monochrome (black on gold) image into the top surface. The image is lower Resolution, IMHO, but can make near photo quality graphics. the burning of the image label takes a fairly long time. I beleive that it turns at around a 2x speed. It will still use regular media for those times you dont want a fancy label.

As was stated before, its a gimmik, but it may be one that catches on. They are working very hard and dedicating resources to improving the process. I havent looked into it lately and so Im limited on what kinds of things I can tell you regarding what improvements they will be making in the near future. I can tell you there will be lots more to come from the Lightscribe label. one thing to remember is that it is also one of the few things left that was invented and is being researched/developed right here in Oregon.

Is it worth it now to buy a Lightscribe drive? that depends on what you do with it. Gifts, Presentation Disks at work, organizational style. As for day to day use though, Chromey is right...the Sharpie is more economical and faster.

Paul

Raven1 · 12-16-2006, 11:13 PM

OK Chomie, you can't blame a guy for trying new things. I see on your fancy Cobia you'd rather go for one of these....

When you could also find your around with one of these....

Akuracy503 · 12-17-2006, 01:53 AM

We use one at work to send out data to clients, it looks professional if done with taste otherwise it's very limited.

That being said the one I use personally on my home box well let's just say it flat out stopped working one day a year after purchase.

There are better reliable options for a media burning drive, don't get suckered with the etching gimmick..especially if its for personal use.

The etching process itself takes a very long time, 20-30 minutes per media.