Is a DVD writer with ability to "read" DVDs the same as a DVD player?
490301
YES!  A DVD writer that can read DVD's is in essence a DVD player.  The difference comes into play where a DVD player does not have the ability to record (write) onto a DVD. A DVD writer can do both.  Have fun!
139687
not on a dvd drive, it has to be a dvd (re)writer. dvd writers can handle both, CDs and DVDs.
1174942
Use Nero or Easy CD-DVD writer
612618
yes, but it wont work in some players, if your DVD player will read a picture CD then yes, i make them all the time with HP Photo and Imaging.
53037
what do you mean by DVD Decoder? do you want to rip your DVDs to videos? if yes then you can try DVDx. Be warned though that ripping a DVD is illegal unless you own them (could be illegal even if you do own them, I am not a legal expert).
1000498
You need a drive that reads DVDs, and once you have that you may need a codex (Windows driver) to read specific kinds of DVDs.  It's a bit of a pain, so it's a lot easier to get a machine that is already set up to watch DVDs.
433427
If its like it was right out of the box, then no.  It only comes with a CD-RW, and doesnt even burn DVDs much less re-write them.  Youll need to go to a store like Best Buy, Circuit City, or Compusa to get a DVD-RW drive.  they can range from 50 to 125 dollars or so.
588291
First of all you need a DVD writer and then some software that can convert your files to DVD format. All should get the software along with your DVD writer.
329010
try Nero DVD Plus Writter...
862646
no difference except maybe if you mean dvd rewriter...
201907
First of all your CD/DVD drive must support writing on the media and second you need a software like NERO to do that. If you have Windows XP with latest fixpack, even this will do the job for you!
135271
The DVD Player\nDVD Fact\nThe Sony PlayStation 2 was the first video game system able to play DVDs.\nA DVD player is very similar to a CD player. It has a laser assembly that shines the laser beam onto the surface of the disc to read the pattern of bumps (see How CDs Work for details). The DVD player decodes the MPEG-2 encoded movie, turning it into a standard composite video signal (see How Television Works for details). The player also decodes the audio stream and sends it to a Dolby decoder, where it is amplified and sent to the speakers.\n\nThe DVD player has the job of finding and reading the data stored as bumps on the DVD. Considering how small the bumps are, the DVD player has to be an exceptionally precise piece of equipment. The drive consists of three fundamental components:\n\n    * A drive motor to spin the disc - The drive motor is precisely controlled to rotate between 200 and 500 rpm, depending on which track is being read.\n\n    * A laser and a lens system to focus in on the bumps and read them - The light from this laser has a smaller wavelength (640 nanometers) than the light from the laser in a CD player (780 nanometers), which allows the DVD laser to focus on the smaller DVD pits.\n\n    * A tracking mechanism that can move the laser assembly so the laser beam can follow the spiral track - The tracking system has to be able to move the laser at micron resolutions. \n\nInside the DVD player, there is a good bit of computer technology involved in forming the data into understandable data blocks, and sending them either to the DAC, in the case of audio or video data, or directly to another component in digital format, in the case of digital video or data.\n\nThe fundamental job of the DVD player is to focus the laser on the track of bumps. The laser can focus either on the semi-transparent reflective material behind the closest layer, or, in the case of a double-layer disc, through this layer and onto the reflective material behind the inner layer. The laser beam passes through the polycarbonate layer, bounces off the reflective layer behind it and hits an opto-electronic device, which detects changes in light. The bumps reflect light differently than the "lands," the flat areas of the disc, and the opto-electronic sensor detects that change in reflectivity. The electronics in the drive interpret the changes in reflectivity in order to read the bits that make up the bytes.\n\nThe hardest part of reading a DVD is keeping the laser beam centered on the data track. This centering is the job of the tracking system. As the DVD is played, the tracking system has to move the laser continually outward. As the laser moves outward from the center of the disc, the bumps move past the laser at an increasing speed. This happens because the linear, or tangential, speed of the bumps is equal to the radius times the speed at which the disc is revolving. So, as the laser moves outward, the spindle motor must slow the spinning of the DVD so that the bumps travel past the laser at a constant speed, and the data comes off the disc at a constant rate.\n\nAn interesting thing to note is that if a DVD has a second layer, the start of that layer's data track can be at the outside of the disc instead of the inside. This allows the player to transition quickly from one layer to the next, without a delay in data output, because it doesn't have to move the laser back to the center of the disc to read the next layer.
371509
not possible, a dvd burner is hardware, you have to buy them
1025873
Yes, you need a drive that can write cd's if you want to put information on them. A regular CD/DVD-rom drive won't do that.
88682
You need to import the video then write the DVDs.  Having an interface like Dazzle gives you the ability to import video,  Having something like Nero allows you to handle the rest.
516875
There is absolutely no reason why you cannot use a DVD writer on this PC. Changing the drive can be a bit tricky on these Pavilions. As most retail DVD writers come with software you should be able to record both CDs and DVDs.
1136150
They're the same physically but the difference is how they get written.\n\nSome more information here\nhttp://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/777\n\nAlso you can buy DVD's online...from say... http://www.w2w.com\n\nnm4887...Please tell me where DVD-RW is even mentioned in the question? geez!\n\nAND NO IT DOESN'T MEAN ITS REWRITABLE.\nYOU ARE TALKING ABOUT DVD+RW/DVD-RW!\n(to the guy below me)