[Randallg]

Hi I'm thinking of getting an external DVD burner for my Macbook to save the internal DVD burner from wear and tear so am wondering which way to go for the burner?

Firewire is obviously the best but on a cost/benefit analysis does USB win?

Also, should I buy a external burner package or perhaps buy an external DVD enclosure and buy a cheap internal burner to go in it which can then be exchanged in the future? The second option would mean I can get a lightscribe burner but don't know if there is much Mac software to do this.

Should all USB and Firewire DVD burner drives be compatible with Macs?

Thanks in advance for any good tips on this!

[Brains]

I'm always amazed at how few people actually know how to use the forum's "Search" feature ...

Have a look at this posting I did some months back, which recommends a Welland external FireWire enclosure, a bog-standard full height DVD burner, and five minutes of your time to bolt the two together. Even at today's prices, doing a DIY external burner will only cost you about $130, and if you cane the external burner and it fails you're only up for a $20-30 replacement burner.

If your computer has FireWire, use it -- much faster, less taxing on the CPU, smoother burns. And don't bother with LiteScribe, a) I'm not aware of Mac software that can do it, b) the extra charge on LiteScribe blanks is not worth it, and c) more often than not the quality of a LiteScribe burn is not very readable at all. You're better off investing in a colour printer that can either print directly onto a white blank, or even better, printing out round adhesive labels you can stick on that will help protect your burnt treasures from UV, scratches and damage. In case you didn't know, the data layer is the top of the disc -- scratch the bottom, you can sometimes buff out the damage, but scratch the top ond the disc is history.

[Randallg]

Thanks mate, I did a search but nothing came up so thanks for finding your earlier post.

Your advice confirms what I was thinking so will definitely go with the firewire option and get one of those Wellands.

Cheers!

[Randallg]

For anyone else's reference I had some trouble tracking down any stores with stock of the Welland enclosure and eventually found an eBay store named AUSTLINE who are selling a no-name combined USB and Firewire enclosure for $36.70 plus postage. I got the express delivery and it arrived on my doorstep the day after I ordered. I installed my ASUS DVD writer (from my now abandoned PC box) and had it up and running in just a few minutes. The fan inside the enclosure is a little noisy but I reckon I could disconnect it if I really wanted. In any case, it was a very cheap and easy solution to adding a firewire DVD drive to my system and saving the life of my Macbook's DVD drive!