LF-D311 is here.

[IM_Riktar]

Woo-Hoo! I am going to have to wait a few more days before my order of discs comes from MeritOnline to start trying out DVD-R burns. So in the meanwhile I picked up some CompUSA DVD-RAM discs to start backing up some of my larger files. Some things I noticed:

Speed - This unit isn't going to win any awards in that area. BUT,,, it is nice to file away 4.7 gigs of data and just walk away without having to worry about feeding the damn thing discs.

Compatibility - It works out of the box with the backup software in W2K so I can schedule backups of my work on a daily/weekly/whatever basis. I just have to remember to have a DVD-RAM disc in the drive.

Video burning. As stated above I will find out how this thing works later this week. For myself I just want to archive some of my longer VHS Family video tapes to DVD-R.

Backup/Ghosting - Hey Jerry, did you ever try ghosting your HD image to this unit? If so what software did you use? I am going to try Norton Ghost later this week and let you know how it went. Unless you can tell me why I am wasting my time.

Why oh why did I wait this long to get one of these things? Oh yeah, the price finally fropped down to "hobby level". Yah that was it.

[Jerry Jones]

I e-mailed PowerQuest to find out if Drive Image could make a c: drive image on a DVD-RAM disc.

They told me they were "working on it" but didn't have it ready yet.

Yes - it's a slow save, but - man - is it nice to be able to save 4gb of material on one disc.

It makes CDs virtually obsolete.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

P.S. The MeritLine DVDs - in my experience - occasionally don't perform as expected. Some do. Some don't. I've been extremely pleased, however, by the Sony and TDK brands of discs. No glitches with those brands.

[Jerry Jones]

By the way, did you install the latest DVD-RAM driver/software?
It fixes an issue that occurs in connection with Windows Media Player.

http://www.panasonic.co.jp/dvdram/lim/eoem/down2000.html

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[IM_Riktar]

Yes I have the latest drivers installed right off the website. Everything I have tried has worked without a hitch.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to try the Norton software this weekend. I will let you know how it goes.

[Vidgal]

Yes, the LF-D311 is a winner for me, too. I've had it a few months and everything I have tried has worked very well. I also have a copy of Ghost, but haven't had time to try it yet as I've been too busy burning DVD's that have worked in every system they have been placed in -- so far. No problems with Meritline discs to date. With what they cost me, I figure it's cheap enough that I can burn another if an occassional disc goes bad. I'm also using the double sided RAM discs to keep editable backups of content. Most of my stuff is fairly short (45 minutes or less), so I put the DV files on one side (and maybe part of the other) and the DVD compliant files on the other side. The unit is slow, but no slower than one of my older CD-RW's, so I can cope, especially for the price difference between the LF-D311 and the new Pioneer. I am sure the Pioneer is a great burner, but for $225, I'll live with my Panasonic until the whole DVD-R/+R/Strange Prioprietary format thing is worked out.

[Sciascia]

Does this look like a good deal then? I assume the big difference is next gen or speed? I didi a little reading and it got some rave reviews as well.

[Vidgal]

Now I'm jealous! Looks like a great deal. Appears to be the newer -- and supposedly faster -- model for a few bucks more than I paid. Did I mention my $225 included shipping? Why did that make me feel better? Oh well, with technology you always pay less next week. One thing I should have mentioned is that the software -- with the exception of the RAM stuff -- is virtually worthless. I had all burning and authoring stuff I need for now, so I didn't care much, but don't expect anything much in that regard.

[Jerry Jones]

Vidgal,

I agree with you completely.

The MeritLine discs, if nothing else, are so cheap at $1.19 that a person can use them as "test" burns... at the very least.

Where did you get your LF-D311 for $225???????

Man, that was a good price!!

Lowest I've seen lately is around $270!

Jerry

[Vidgal]

Jerry:

I got the DF-D311 on ebay sometime in mid-May. It was actually a LaCie external drive, but I knew the real drive inside was the Panasonic, just in case the firewire case didn't work -- and it didn't. I tried that thing on three different machines running three different OS's. It would only be recognized on a friend's Mac. LaCie tech support was less than supportive. I assume the firewire chip they used is incompatible with most firewire boards in PC's. I have a Pyro board, so it isn't some funky off brand. I have a feeling the seller on ebay was selling because he could not get the case to work. Perhaps not realizing the drive inside was good even without the firewire. Therefore, I took off the case, installed the internal Panasonic, loaded up the downloaded drivers from the Panasonic site, and it all worked. Someday, when I have nothing else to do, I may try to get the firewire case to work with a hard drive or something. Anyway, long story short: Panasonic drive: good; LaCie firewire case: bad.

[Jerry Jones]

Interesting story!

Congratulations on your initiative!

Jerry

[Sciascia]

I love those kind of stories. Just glad to hear that you didn't get worked over and yes $225 is an outstanding price, even for today, let alone a few months ago.

The bundled SW titles never impresss me with anything I buy, in most cases they are packaged as bundled for a reason, like they couldn't cut it on their own.

[Jerry Jones]

Sciascia,

I must also thank you for calling my attention to the new Panasonic LF-D321.

Strangely, the price of the LF-D321 - a newer model drive - is less than the price of the LF-D311 drives that are left in stock.

I guess it shouldn't be a surprise the price is lower... as each new generation of virtually every product is less expensive.

Thanks again,

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net