All Removable Media Drives

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: Though it's very expensive per megabyte, Iomega's Rev drive offers speedy, portable storage that's more scalable than that of a hard drive.

Specs: None

The Bottom Line: If you're not in the market for a DVD burner, the Lite-On LTR-52327S's performance, documentation, tech support, and modest price make this CD-RW drive a must-have.

Specs: CD-RW, 52x, 52x, 32x

The Bottom Line: Iomega's Super DVD Writer offers competitive performance for a reasonable price--perfect for anyone who wants five-format flexibility.

Specs: DVD±RW / DVD-RAM, 32x (CD) / 12x (DVD), 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±R), 16x (CD) / 2x (DVD-RW) / 2.4x (DVD+RW) / 3x (DVD-RAM)

The Bottom Line: HP's innovative DVD Movie Writer dc3000 offers an easy route from VHS to DVD, and it's a decent burner to boot.

Specs: DVD+RW, 40x (CD) / 8x (DVD), 16x (CD) / 4x (DVD), 10x (CD) / 2.4x (DVD)

The Bottom Line: Despite some petty penny-pinching on Sony's part, the DRU-510A establishes a new industry standard for burning performance and versatility.

Specs: DVD±RW, Internal, 32x (CD) / 12x (DVD), 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD), 16x (CD) / 2x (DVD-RW) / 4x (DVD+RW)

The Bottom Line: Its fast performance and cheap price make the Lightning V a good upgrade for experienced users.

Specs: CD-RW, 52x, 52x, 24x

The Bottom Line: Iomega's newest 750MB Zip drive is a good fit for students, families, and stationary SOHO users. But if you need greater portability and cutting-edge performance, check out the latest hard drives and recordable CD and DVD drives.

Specs: None

The Bottom Line: The CenDyne Lightning IV offers impressive performance at a bargain price--perfect if you're already familiar with the world of CD burning. But if you're new to CD burners, steer clear for now.

Specs: CD-RW, 48x, 48x, 12x

The Bottom Line: CenDyne's DVR-104 works well for authoring home DVDs, and a few updates make it a better deal than its predecessor. But this device is a bit slow compared to DVD+RW drives with second-generation DVD+R capability.

Specs: DVD-RW, 24x (CD) / 6x (DVD), 8x (CD) / 2x (DVD), 1x