Dvd CDr CDrw All in One Combo Burner?

Lavandran R. asks:

" Dear Dennis,

I've heard about combo drives which include DVD and CD-R/RW all-in-one. Does this mean I burn DVDs and CD-R/RW with the same unit? I'm confused! "

My Response:

There are DVD burners which can burn DVDs, but they are very expensive since it's new technology. I'm not aware of any DVD burner / CD-R/RW combo units on the market at this time.

Unless it is specifically stated that the drive is a DVD-Burner, it probably is not. Most likely the drive you're looking at is a combo DVD reader and CD-R/RW burner. I've had a combo drive like this in the past and it only lasted about 6 months until it bit the dust (Ricoh).

The combo drive was still under an extended warranty which boasted "on the spot replacement" with another unit of the same feature ... but they didn't have another combo drive to replace it and I ended up having to get two separate drives to replace the one combo unit.