New external DVD drive goes for gusto

Samsung began shipping a new dual-layer external DVD hard drive on Monday that can store two times more data than a single-layer DVD and 12 times more than a CD, the company said.

The 16X WriteMaster SE-W164C retails for $199, measures 6.4 inches wide by 2 inches high and weighs just over 2.6 pounds. The SE-W164C can write DVD+RW at 8X and 6X on a DVD-RW disc and can handle dual-layer speed recording at 5X. On average, the device takes 130 micro seconds to find something on a DVD-ROM and even less time to find data on a CD.

External drives let consumers burn and store more video, pictures and music without having to rely on internal drives that can jack up the cost and weight of a computer.

While there are similar 16X DVD drives on the market from Sony, Memorex, Iomega, Plextor, Toshiba and AOpen, Samsung said its external drive has the advantage of reading and writing in both the DVD+ and DVD- formats and can store up to 8.5GB on one disc--twice the amount of storage space taken up by a single-layer DVD and 12 times more than a CD, Samsung said.

The SE-W164C also has the benefit of being able to control the laser power in the inner and outer sides of the disc, Samsung said. The drive also includes a power save function and technology to prevent disc writing errors.

The external DVD recorder market is expected to grow by 87 percent this year, according to analysts with Research and Markets. Shipments reached 9.4 million in 2004 and could reach 67.7 million in 2009, analysts said.

[ajbright]

Why is this news?

For $50-$60 you can get an internal DVD writer that writes to both +R and -R formats, supports dual layer disks, and can write at 16X for +R, 8X for -R, 4X-6X for DL depending on manufacturer.

Even if you must get an external drive, say you're a travelling rep or engineer, then you can get a faster model for less than $130 with all the features this Samsung drive has.

I don't why this story is news at all, the drive is slow and overpriced. DL recording has been around for over a year at far more affordable prices and the ability to write to both +R and -R disks has been a standard feature of all DVD writers for at least 18 months.

[ballssalty]

Agreed

I don't get this at all. Practically everyone is offering a DL drive be it external or internal. There is nothing to this. This isn't news. Now if it could write 8.5GB to a single layer DVD, then that would be news.

[202578300049013666264380294439]

Because it "writes" double layer disks

The ones you're thinking about will "read" dual layer disks but they don't "write" new ones.

[drhamad]

OK, so it's a new product

But why is it front page news?

There's nothing new about this product. It's simply an evolutionary step. Maybe a mite bit faster than existing products, but this... article (can't even call it a review)... doesn't show that - not even using mfg claims, nevermind independant testing. Is this just a duplicate of their product literature?

[R. U. Sirius]

This is news?

My new G5 burns dual sided DVD's at 16x for 9 GB's. You can buy drives at Frys to put in existing computers or enclosures. So why is this news?

[wazzledoozle]

Spam

This is not news

[alamaison]

What the hell is this?

It must have been an *incredibly* slow news day!! Are you seriously reporting the release of a simple dual-layer DVD writer as one of the top 6 news articles of the day!?!

Press releases now?

People, make an effort, please. This would only be worthy as an announcement on the company's home page. The specs are ho-hum and new stuff is so close.

Are the editors on vacation?

[skeptik]

News: Cave man found at CNET - amazed by new technology!

Mr Singer:
Don't post anything else on this site until you've had the appropriate amount of time to acquaint yourself with commonplace technology.
Furthermore the following statement is nearly moroninc in it's effort to string press release hype into engaging commentary:
"External drives let consumers burn and store more video, pictures and music without having to rely on internal drives that can jack up the cost and weight of a computer."
External drives have no advantage over internal drives in storing content, actually cost more than internal drives and therefore jack up the cost of a computer even more.

[rk2469]

It's the "News because...

This device burns 8.5GB on a standard DVD -/+ R. These discs cost $0.19 each. DVD-DL cost $8 each.

Therefore, this device is very good and technically better DVD buner than your regular $80 burner.

Can you split the DVD into two and make them 8.5GB or can you buy DVD-DL disc and make them 8.5GB? Sure you can... But they cost more.

[rk2469]

Short Reader

it says it burns 8.5GB on single layer disc. There is no other device that does that.

DL = $8
SL = $0.19

you do the math.

[rk2469]

Short Reader

it says it burns 8.5GB on single layer disc. There is no other device that does that.

DL = $8
SL = $0.19

you do the math.
you can burn DL discs all you want if you want to pay $8 per disc.

[rk2469]

Your post is the spam

it says it burns 8.5GB on single layer disc. There is no other device that does that.

DL = $8
SL = $0.19

you do the math.
you can burn DL discs all you want if you want to pay $8 per disc.

[rk2469]

Can't you not read

this article isn't about dual layer. This article is about 8.5GB capacity on a single layer disc.