Re: Possible spies.com mirror(s)

From: <solarfox_at_texas.net>
Date: Thu Jun 27 2002 - 16:26:58 EDT

On Thu, 27 Jun 2002 13:42:43 -0500, you wrote:

>Unfortunately, I think a CD-ROM option would become quite cumbersome.
>The Spies archive itself is 2.3 GB which would span three 80 minute
>CDRs. Add to that all the other material Mark is suggesting and you are
>into double digit CD counts. Time and money factors start to kick in.

        Well... just to inject some actual numbers into the decision-making
process:

        A 4.7Gb DVD-R would be equivalent to six 800Mb CD-R's. (Well, 5.875
CD-R's, actually, but let's not be overly fussy about fractions. :) )

        A 16X CD-R burner (which is actually the low end of the spectrum, these
days, what with burners going into the 32X and 40X territory) can burn an
800Mb disc in approximately five minutes. Therefore, it'll take about 30
minutes to burn a set of six discs on a 16X drive. If you've got an even
higher-speed burner, adjust the numbers accordingly. :)

        A DVD-R burner such as the Pioneer A-04, on the other hand, has a
maximum DVD-R write speed of 2X - and that, only on media which has been
certified by Pioneer and for which the drive has an appropriate "write
strategy" built into its firmware. (Note that 1X speed on a DVD is
1350KB/sec, vs. 150KB/sec for a CD.) This means that at _best_, your write
time for a 4.7Gb disc will be about a half-hour IF you have 2X-certified
media; otherwise, it'll take a full hour to burn.

        Blank CD-R's range in price anywhere from $0.16/disc to $0.50/disc.
Therefore, a set of six CD-R's would cost between $0.96 and $3.00.

        DVD-R media, on the other hand, retails for about $4.00/disc (for the
bargain-brand "GQ - Great Quality" media they sell at Fry's, and which is
most definitely _not_ 2X-write compatible), up to around $8/disc for TDK's
2X-certified.

        Looks to me like CD-R would be the more economical choice in terms of
time and money

>I would expect nothing less than DVD authoring that could be read by all
>DVD drives. I think Panasonic finally came out with a writer that would
>accomplish that.

        If you're talking about DVD-Authoring media, then the DVD's become
_far_ less economical; not only do Authoring drives cost well over $1000
all by themselves (probably closer to $2000), but Authoring media is about
$20 a disc...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"For the children" - the phrase politicians use to justify a course of action
so irrational it cannot be justified in any other way.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
solarfox@DON'TMESSWITHtexas.net (Gary Akins jr.)
http://lonestar.texas.net/~solarfox
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Received on Thu Jun 27 13:34:56 2002

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