TDK 420N DVD Writer


Help us keep the list up to date and Submit new DVD and Blu-ray Writers here.

What is the DVD Write speeds? CAV, CLV, PCAV, ZCLV. Read our DVD Writer colum explanation.

Search DVD Writer:   (Leave empty to search for all)  with these features:
+ List all features
Order by: Hits:
test
1 DVD Writer hits, Showing 1 to 1 DVD Writers
 - 
DVD WriterOrder by Name
Write support
CDR, DVDR, BDR, HDDVDR
Read
speed
Connection
Buffer, Bit
PriceOrder by Price
Best
RatingOrder by Rating
CommentsOrder by Comments
TDK 420N


OEM:
NEC
Chipset:NEC
16xCDR CLV
10xCDRW CLV
DVD-R
DVD-RW
DVD-RDL
4xDVD+R CLV
2.4xDVD+RW CLV
DVD+RDL
DVD-RAM
BD-R
BD-RE
BD-R DL
BD-RE DL
HDDVD-R
HDDVD-RW
HDDVD-RDL
HDDVD-RWDL
HDDVD-RAM
40xCD
12xDVD
BDROM
HDDVD
EIDE, 2MB
More info
$200 8.9/10
32 votes
Read 36
comments

(53726 views)

Post comment
DVD Media comments for this DVD Writer (click on the link to read the comments):
1 Bencole Platinum Series 4xDVD+R (........001) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
2 CompUSA 2.4xDVD+R (OPTODISCOP1) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 2 poor.
1 CompUSA 2.4xDVD+R (OPTODISCOP2) comments, 0 good, 1 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Digital Matrix 4xDVD+R (MEDIA ID001) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Fujifilm 2.4xDVD+RW (RICOHJPNW01) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 HP 2.4xDVD+R (RICOHJPNR00) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Imation 4xDVD-RW (CMCW03......) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Imation 2.4xDVD+R (RICOHJPNR00) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Imation 2.4xDVD+RW (RICOHJPNW01) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 KHypermedia 2.4xDVD+R (CMC MAG.R01) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 KHypermedia 2.4xDVD+RW (CMC MAG.W01) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Liquid Video 2.4xDVD+R (OPTODISCOP2) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 1 poor.
3 Memorex 4xDVD+R (RICOHJPNR01) comments, 3 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
2 Philips 2.4xDVD+R (CMC MAG.R01) comments, 2 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Philips 2.4xDVD+RW (CMC MAG.W01) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 1 poor.
1 ProMedia 4xDVD+R (MEDIA ID001) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Radius 4xDVD+RW (OPTODISCOP4) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Sony 2.4xDVD+RW (RICOHJPNW01) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 TDK 8xDVD+R (CMC MAG.E01) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
4 TDK 4xDVD+R (RICOHJPNR01) comments, 4 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 TDK ScratchProof / Armor Plated 2xDVD-R (TDKG02000000) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Verbatim (DataLife) 2.4xDVD+RW (CMC MAG.W01) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Verbatim (DataLifePlus) 2.4xDVD+R (MCC.....001) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Verbatim (DataLifePlus) 4xDVD+R (MCC.....002) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Verbatim (DataLifePlus) 2.4xDVD+RW (MCC.....A01) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
Post your DVD Media comments here
Comments
36 comments, Showing 1 to 25 comments
 -  Next ->

I've had the 420n almost since it was released (don't ask the price, yikes). After a few chair-kybd interface problems, it has worked admirably. Only about 5% coasters. I've used for many many CD-R's w/o problems. Mostly Maxell CD-R. DVD+R and DVD+RW will not read in my Toshiba standalone player, but Panasonic DVD-F85 standalone will play everything I've given it save one botched DVD, including DVD+R/+RW, MP3's CD Audio backups, & picture cd's.
Pinnacle Studio 8 SUX BigTime - nuthin but BSOD's or just App crashes - even w/ patches. My system:
MSI KT4V (6712), 500MB DDR, ATI A-I-W 8500DV vid, 100GB WD Drive
Software use: dvd decrypter 3.2.3.0, Nero (for nothing fancy) 6.3.1.10, DVDFab 0.17.0


Comments posted by blinky114 from United States, July 22, 2004. Rated this writer 7 of 10.





Had this drive for about 6 months. No problems at all burning at 2.4 for the +RW or 4x on the +R disks. Used Sony, Maxell, and Memorex disks.

Recently bought a 5 pack of tdk DVD+R disks and had them for backup. Today, went to best buy and bought a 25 pack of the same for 24.99. Went home, tried one, and it would not read the disk as a 4x but only as a 2.4x write speed. Returned them, got another pack, same think. Interesting is the fact I tried one of the 5 pack TDK disks and they were read as 2.4x/4x without a problem.
Eventually returned the 2nd pack and settled for a 15 pack of imations DVD +R 4x. But again, these also were being read as a 2.4x write speed only.

I also contacted TDK on this matter. They stated there is a NEW FIRMWARE for this drive. Firmware is 1.3a.
Downloaded it from their site, and guess what, the imations now read correctly and so do the "bad tdks'( kept one just to see if I can get it to work).

So if you have issues with the drive, get the new firmware here:

http://www.tdk.com/support/dvdburners/indidvd4xsup.html#firmware

Elgreco


Comments posted by elgreco from United States, March 15, 2004. Rated this writer 9 of 10.





I see one comment stating that after the latest firmware upgrade the TDK 420N dvd burner will do DVD-R and DVD-RW as well ??? is this true. anyone else experience this


Comments posted by gaffdinner from Canada, February 18, 2004. Rated this writer No rating.





Everything seems to work except for copying CD to CD. I don't know why because it has no problems copying DVD to DVD (custom made, not comercial). It hangs about 2-3% of the way in writing the lead in. I have check the Nero support questions and they list the problem but their answer is a non answer. I also talked to TDK on their support chat. Still no solutions. Seems very strange that only this one feature should fail to work. Otherwise I recommend the unit and its software with reservations.


Comments posted by LeBaronM from Other, February 07, 2004. Rated this writer 7 of 10.





Although it seems to burn R+ media pretty well, I wish TDK would have added book type because none of my stand alone players will play any of the DVD's I burn except for my PS2. Still, the price was great and maybe some day I will find a dvd player they will play on.


Comments posted by Tom from Other, January 09, 2004. Rated this writer 8 of 10.





Installed in a P4-2.4GHz with 512Mb of RAM.

Flawless installation. Easy firmware update. Using the included Nero 5.5 plus DVD Shrink and EZ CD-DA Extractor.

No coasters with TDK, "BMI" (generic), or Ritek blanks, but the generics max at 2.4x.

Have made DVD-V, MP3-DVD, JPG-DVD, MP3-CD and JPG-CD. Everything plays in my Pioneer DV-563A DVD player. The DVD-Vs play in a PS2.

$69 well spent, I think. Unless you have a compelling need for DVD-R/RW, this drive will get you into the game painlessly and cheaply


Comments posted by RDClark from Other, January 06, 2004. Rated this writer 9 of 10.





I have had this drive for several weeks now and I am satisfied with it. It works well. I have used Optimum +R Discs (from Staples) and have burned approximately 50 DVDs with only one coaster.

My only complant is that this drive does not rip nearly as fast as advertised. I have used DVD Decrypter, DVD Shrink and Nero and this drive just does not rip very fast. I use my Liteon DVD Player for ripping.

Overall, I would recommend this drive.


Comments posted by JoRodd from Other, December 12, 2003. Rated this writer 8 of 10.





This writer has worked perfect from day 1. No problems at all.


Comments posted by terrya64 from Other, December 06, 2003. Rated this writer 10 of 10.





Just got it in today from where I orderd it from Buy.com for $69. I've been wanting one and the $60 in rebates and the conveniently already black bezel roped me in.

as has already mentinoed, the tray mechanism is loud compared to my plexwriter and Lite-On DVD. But it does have a really nice shiny smooth finish to the cover.

I smartripped the officespace dvd that roomate had laying around and it came out to 4.00GB, so i tried burning with nero. This was on a fresh reboot after installing drive, no messengers or anything were even running yet. went and ate, came back and it had a failture...weird

so i went ahead and ran it through DVD2ONE for good measure and also updated the firumware, and burnt a disc successful, was supprised it worked in roomates PS2!!

I'm using 30spindle of Verbatim DVD+R 4x discs from Samsclub. Guess ill have more experimenting to do. a 50% burn rate is costly and annoying. guess I get what i paid for though, Father's pioneer was 3 times the price of this one.


Comments posted by Menel from Other, November 29, 2003. Rated this writer 7 of 10.





I bought this DVD Burner at Best Buy about a month ago for a very insane price ($55 after $20 rebate). Brand new never opened. Used Verbatim, Sony, TDK media so far with no problem. Even managed to do a firmware upgrade with a hitch (made it region free).
Didn't like bundled software. To back up DVDs I use DVD Shrink + Nero.
On occasion I have used Ulead MovieFactory to author. Great Drive for the price, Deserving of a "10".


Comments posted by Joe M. from Other, November 26, 2003. Rated this writer 10 of 10.





Got it very cheap at buy.com $120 + shipping - $60MR. Easy installation. Windows XP detect driver by itself. Updated firmware from TDK website. Burn at 4X on TDK media come with the box without problem. In order for my Nero to burn at 4X, I have to put the media in before launch Nero.


Comments posted by Boy from Other, November 25, 2003. Rated this writer 10 of 10.





I have had this burner for about 3 months now and I love it!!! Bought it for $179.00 after 20 dollar mail in rebate from Tigerdirect.com. I am not useing any name brand media, I am using optodics's and they work great. heres the web site: http://www.precisioncddvd.com/4dvbyop1.html


Comments posted by Mike from Other, November 04, 2003. Rated this writer 10 of 10.





I have had this burner for about a month, picked it up at a local Fred Meyer (Portland, OR area) for WAY less than I should have, but its their error...hehe. Anyway, this burner is fabolous if you own a PS2, I have not had problem one. In fact I also use it for CD Burning,SWEET!! NOt the fastest, but I can't stress enought about its reliability. I have been using Nero 6.0.0.15, DVD Shrink 3.0 AND 2.3 (3.0 went weird on Unbreakable, so use both!) and DVD Decrypter to 'get the jobs done right' I have a P4 board, 524MB PC 2100 running at 2.850Ghz with 220GB HDD using Win XP Corporate. One thing I did find out about my Version 7 PS2 is that once you use a DVD+RW once and erase it, then put on another movie my PS2 WILL NOT EVER READ IT!!! So be warned, do what I do; never buy DVD+RW's for movies, just for archiving and its also cheaper that way :). I didnt give it a 10 because of its "slower" CD Burning, but its awesome to have both in one and another DVD-ROM so I can "Get the job done twice as fast"...hehe. Caio!


Comments posted by jump_ace from Other, October 13, 2003. Rated this writer 9 of 10.





I have had this burner for about a month, picked it up at a local Fred Meyer (Portland, OR area) for WAY less than I should have, but its their error...hehe. Anyway, this burner is fabolous if you own a PS2, I have not had problem one. In fact I also use it for CD Burning,SWEET!! NOt the fastest, but I can't stress enought about its reliability. I have been using Nero 6.0.0.15 and DVD Decrypter to 'get the jobs done right' I have a P4 board, 524MB PC 2100 running at 2.850Ghz with 220GB HDD using Win XP Corporate. One thing I did find out about my Version 7 PS2 is that once you use a DVD+RW once and erase it, then put on another movie my PS2 WILL NOT EVER READ IT!!! So be warned, do what I do; never buy DVD+RW's for movies, just for archiving and its also cheaper that way :). I didnt give it a 10 because of its "slower" CD Burning, but its awesome to have both in one and another DVD-ROM so I can "Get the job done twice as fast"...hehe. Caio!


Comments posted by jump_ace from Other, October 13, 2003. Rated this writer 9 of 10.





Makes flawless DVDs,VCDs,SVCDs. Whisper quiet. Used Memeorex media.


Comments posted by Chris Fram from Other, September 04, 2003. Rated this writer 10 of 10.





My first DVD Writer. So far no problems. Purchased at Staples for $99 after a $50 rebate and $50 coupon. Using TDK +R & +RW media. Will try Fuji media next.
Installed in seconds and was writing my first RW system backup without any extra hassles. Followed by some movie DVD backups. Again no issues. Seems to take about 10-15 mins to write a movie backup.
Plan to install the software that came with the writer only when and if needed. Using WinProducer that came with my MSI 4200VTD video card to convert my VHS tapes directly to MPEG. Then using NERO 6 to burn the DVD. I have an ATHLON 2500 (1.83MHz no oc),1 Gb, Win XP Pro, 160 & 120 Gb HDDs, MSI 128Mb ViVo card.

Decided on this card because of the price (tried of waiting too). Now I can wait till an 8x DVD writer becomes affordable. I had been shopping for a dual writer but all DVD players (and my family) play the DVD+R/+RW not the DVD-R.


Comments posted by D.S. from Other, August 31, 2003. Rated this writer 10 of 10.





The truth about DVD burning(experience gained after purchasing the TDK 420N...and returned it).

You better have a top of the line system P4-2.8G+, 512M+ ram, Windows XP, A good motherboard.

Truths:
1. When capturing video you are only going to capture in real time.
2. After capturing plan on converting the AVI file to MPEG. This process is dependent on your system performance and as I found out you will have to have a "top of the line" system. This process took about 1(maybe longer) hour for 30 minutes of video.
The system I had:
HP 4315 laptop
AthlonXP 1.8 Ghz
512 DDR

3. After creating your mpeg file, plan on more time being needed for the burning of the video. The TDK drive comes with Pinnacle 8 software which is buggy. You must download the latest patches and install them for you to have any chance at success. Once you get Pinnacle 8 software stable, you should be able to create the mpeg file from the captured video. Now you will have to go thru the burning process once your DVD movie project is complete. The Buring process takes another 2 hours for a full DVD burn. Alot of time is spent "rendering" the movie.

4. The pinnacle 8 software that comes with the drive is buggy. I would often receive unknown error during the burning process (using Fuji DVD+rw or HP +rw). This meant that all that time spent during the rendering process had to be repeated. The work around that pinnacle claimed to work was to reformat the dvd disc using another software suite (ex. nero 5.5), even though pinnacle 8 software already attempted its own formatting of the dvd disc. Other problems, such as the program freezing was present.

The conclusion. If you plan on purchasing a DVD burner and want to use it to archive your captured video(via 1394) plan on spending alot of time for "processing" unless you have a top of the line system. I did not realize how much time is needed to convert 40-60 minutes of video to Mpeg. You must also expect the "rendering" process to consume some time. Pinnacle 8 software is a great concept too bad that it is buggy.


Comments posted by Orlando H from Other, August 20, 2003. Rated this writer No rating.





This DVD burner is the best for it value. I dicided to go with this burner since I only care about DVD+R as it will be the standard and DVD+R is compatible with all my DVD players. The quality of the copied DVD is amazing. (No quality lost at all when I use DVDXCOPY to backup my movies from DVD9 to 2 DVD5). This burner is awsome, it tooks about 12 mins to burn 4.7GB. I am highly RECOMMENDED this product. It's best using with TDK disks, all media (DVD+R/RW) should work fine.


Comments posted by Danny from Other, July 03, 2003. Rated this writer 10 of 10.





Although this is a rebadged NEC 1100, I am very happly with the drive. I've burned several TDK 4x +R, several TDK 2.4x +R/W, and several Verbatim 2.4x +R, with no problems. Burning with Nero using UDF 1.02, all disks work perfectly in my Sampo 631CF DVD Player.

Highly recommended!!!


Comments posted by Phil Locke from Other, July 01, 2003. Rated this writer 9 of 10.





I LOVE MY TDK INDIDVD 420N BURNER!!!

It's absolutely AMAZING!!!

I have never had a TDK burner and wasn't sure what to expect. I had previously gone with Sony for all my CD burning needs and wasn't too impressed with the quality. The TDK DVD burner blew me away. It makes perfect copies.....EVERYTIME. Even my first attempt was a success :)

I've had perfect results using Memorex DVD+R & DVD+RW media with this burner :)

I give it a 10.


Comments posted by Josue R from Other, June 29, 2003. Rated this writer 10 of 10.





I hope this post is helpful... I purchased this DVD+R from Staples after a $50 rebate and $30 coupon (net cost $170). I have to say that I am very pleased with the drive. The primary function was to take video from my TiVO and burn it onto DVDs. I accomplished this by purchasing the Canopus ADVC-100 and a simple firewire card. The Canopus device was 100% compatible with the DVD's software, specifically the Pinnicle Studio 8. It recognized the capture device in the software's "CAPTURE" mode and has the ability to capture directly to MPG instead of AVI, which means I can write a DVD with little problems. Using the "EDIT" feature, I cut out the commercials, and then rebuilt the MPG to include only the TV shows themselves. Once I had a few episodes edited, I imported them back into the software, and burned them to the DVD at 4x speed.
So far, the drive worked great with the TDK 4x DVDs (like the one included) plus the Memorex 4x DVDs which are easy to find at target or eMemorex.com
The drive itself installed real easy. Just opened my dell, screwed the drive into the bay (4 little screws), hooked up the data and power cable, and closed up the case. When I booted into XP, the drive auto installed, and then I put in the software, also no problems. All the included software recognizes the drives 4x speed but may require you to put in a blank disk before it shows you a speed faster than 2.4 (I think this may be because the hardware only allows 2.4x for the DVD+RW, so the software won't show 4x unless the DVD+R is in the drive).
Highly recommended. Rebate from Staples good till end of July, 2003. $30 off $150 coupons can usually be found if you subscribe to Staples' email. I get one almost every other week!


Comments posted by Scott from Other, June 28, 2003. Rated this writer 9 of 10.





Got a pack of 10 Verbatim Datalife Plus DVD+RW from Sam's Club... writer doesn't even recognize media! Hope I can return them!


Comments posted by BGspoonz from Other, June 26, 2003. Rated this writer No rating.





Is anybody running this drive on WIN98?


Comments posted by BGspoonz from Other, June 22, 2003. Rated this writer No rating.





Very Good burner,but i'd like to share few comments :
be careful with firmware upgrade ! - i almost killed my drive,flasing utility had report flash error......everything went O.K after third flash (!!!!!) - never power down your computer while it happens ! - i just pressed ctr+alt+del and had repeat flashing procedure after reboot.
Anyway it has newest firmware,burns DVD-R's,DVD-RW and CD-R's without any problem.Backuped movies runs great at stand alone DVD player,so i've decided to rank it at 9........but this flashing problem.......
Also tray mechanism works very loud...


Comments posted by pit from Other, June 08, 2003. Rated this writer 9 of 10.





I have had this drive for about a month now (circuit city $219 after rebates) & have yet to make a coaster (except for one disk that I brain farted on & ripped the files to a VIDEO_TS within a VIDEO_TS folder). That was it though.
I had to re-install my old nero because nero express doesn't let you choose UDF 1.02 (unless there's a setting i can't find)My stand alone is a pioneer dv250 & a philips 711, & all discs work great. I have been using dvd decrypter (had started off with smart ripper, but that stopped working after a while) then I use DVD shrink (although - I don't have to use that often since most of the discs I backed up are DVD-5's anyway)
Drive was very easy to install with XP, all drivers & software practically loaded themselves.
I still am working on making discs from captured files (I can't seem to get Pinnacle Studio to NOT re-encode my DVD ready files, so if anyone can help on that?)
Have used TDK's own brand (2.4 & 4x) as well as Memorex (2.4 & 4x)
without any problems. (also good prices on both these brands at Target & wal-mart)
So far I am not dissapointed in this drive.


Comments posted by Jacob from Other, May 25, 2003. Rated this writer 10 of 10.




36 comments, Showing 1 to 25 comments
 -  Next ->

1 DVD Writer hits, Showing 1 to 1 DVD Writers
 - 
Column Explanation:

Click on this for more technical information.

New comments= New comments since your last visit.
New Writer = New DVD Writer since your last vist.

OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer.


Chipset

The manufacturer of the main chipset the DVD writer/recorder is based on.


Write support / Read support
DVD-R
= Works
DVD-R = Is not supported
DVD-R? = Not tested


Single Layer(4.7GB) write speeds
1x (CLV) = about 58 minutes
2x (CLV) = about 29 minutes
2.4x (CLV) = about 24 minutes
4x (CLV) = about 14.5 minutes
6x (CLV/ZCLV) = about 10-12 minutes
8x (PCAV/ZCLV) = about 8-10 minutes
12x (PCAV/ZCLV) = about 6.5-7.5 minutes
16x (CAV/ZCLV) = about 6-7 minutes

Dual/Double Layer(8.5GB) write speeds
1x CLV = about 105 minutes
2.4x CLV = about 44 minutes
4x CLV = about 27 minutes

Single Layer (4.7GB) read speeds
1x read speed is 1.321MB/s = ~56 minutes
6x CAV (avg. ~4x) read speed is max 7.93MB/s = ~14 minutes
8x CAV (avg. ~6x) read speed is max 10.57MB/s = ~10 minutes
12x CAV (avg. ~8x) read speed is max 15.85MB/s = ~7 minutes
16x CAV (avg. ~12x) read speed is max 21.13MB/s = ~5 minutes


DVD Write types
CAV = Constant Angular Velocity, the DVD is written at a constantly increasing speed.
CLV = Constant Linear Velocity, the DVD is written at a constant speed.
ZCLV = Zone Constant Linear Velocity, the DVD is divided into zones. After each zone the write speed is increased.
PCAV = Partial Constant Angular Velocity, the DVD is being written at an increasing speed until a certain speed. After this speed it will not increase anymore.


Connection
Desktop = Standalone desktop DVD Recorder
EIDE = Computer DVD Writer with EIDE/IDE connection
SCSI = Computer DVD Writer with SCSI connection
USB = Computer desktop DVD Writer with USB 2.0 or/and 1.1 connection
FireWire = Computer desktop DVD Writer with IEEE 1394/FireWire/i.Link connection (some standalone desktop dvd recorder supports this also but then it is usually to connect your DV camera to the recorder)


Rating
The first rating is based on a weighted rank (the true Bayesian), it requires at least 5 votes to get a weighted rating.
The second rating between the ( ) is a normal average rating.


Visit our sponsors! Try DVDFab and backup Blu-rays!
Search   Contact us   Privacy Policy   About   Advertise   Forum   RSS Feeds   Statistics   Software   

Site layout: Default Classic Blue

Affiliates: free-codecs.com

©1999-2024 videohelp.com