24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW) DVD Drives

The Bottom Line: If you're looking for an external burner that's small enough to carry with your notebook computer, the Asus SDRW-0804P-D is the one for you.

Specs: DVD±RW (+R DL), 20x (CD) / 8x (DVD), 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD±R) / 2.4x (DVD+R DL), 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW)

The Bottom Line: The LaCie d2 DVD+/-RW FireWire and USB 2.0 (16X/8X/4X/2.4X) with LightScribe is an average external drive at an average price.

Specs: DVD±RW (+R DL), 40x (CD) / 16x (DVD), 40x (CD) / 8x (DVD-R) / 16x (DVD+R) / 2.4x (DVD+R DL), 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW)

The Bottom Line: This double-layer drive is versatile but is easily outpaced by other external DVD drives.

Specs: DVD±RW (+R DL), 40x (CD) / 8x (DVD), 40x (CD) / 8x (DVD-R) / 12x (DVD+R) / 4x (DVD+R DL), 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW)

The Bottom Line: The Sony DVDirect does an admirable job of transferring footage directly from a camcorder to a DVD without using a PC, but editing capabilities are sacrificed for the sake of simplicity.

Specs: DVD±RW (+R DL), 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD), 48x (CD) / 8x (DVD-R) / 16x (DVD+R) / 2.4x (DVD+R DL), 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW)

The Bottom Line: The Asus DRW-1604P's generally slow performance scores overshadow its fast double-layer burning.

Specs: DVD±RW (+R DL), 40x (CD) / 16x (DVD), 32x (CD) / 16x (DVD±R) / 4x (DVD+R DL), 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW)

The Bottom Line: For the price, this drive isn't worth it. You can find faster double-layer drives for less money.

Specs: DVD±RW, 48x (CD) / 12x (DVD), 48x (CD) / 8x (DVD-R) / 12x (DVD+R), 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW)

The Bottom Line: This external drive is great for ripping DVDs but a tad slow when writing.

Specs: DVD±RW (+R DL), 40x (CD) / 16x (DVD), 40x (CD) / 8x (DVD-R) / 16x (DVD+R) / 2.4x (DVD+R DL), 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW)

The Bottom Line: Though double-layer burning is getting all the hype, you're still better off with a single-layer burner: this one.

Specs: DVD±RW, 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD), 48x (CD) / 8x (DVD-R) / 12x (DVD+R), 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW)

The Bottom Line: A solid burner/rewriter for CDs and DVDs, though poor playback compatibility may cause users to wait before moving to DL technology.

Specs: DVD±RW (+R DL), 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD), 48x (CD) / 8x (DVD-R) / 16x (DVD+R) / 2.4x (DVD+R DL), 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW)

The Bottom Line: Lite-On's double-layer SOHW-832S is a very good DVD burner, but double-layer burning technology needs time to mature before it's totally worth the investment.

Specs: DVD±RW, Internal, 40x (CD) / 12x (DVD), 40x (CD) / 8x (DVD±R), 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW)