Feature comparison table between the dc3000, dc4000, and dc5000
Note: The dc5000 installation CD is available for U.S.$9.95 + shipping on www.hp.com and will work with the dc3000/dc4000. You should first uninstall Showbiz and RecordNow using Add/Remove programs before installing dc5000 software. To order the install CD, search on hp.com for 'HP DVD Movie Writer dc5000' and select 'software and drivers'.
| Feature | dc3000 | dc4000 | dc5000 |
| Software | |||
| capture device driver | version 1.0.7.0 (version 1.1.1.0 downloadable) | version 1.1.1.0 (locks on video better) | same as dc4000 |
| Showbiz 2 | version 2.0.0.124 (download available to upgrade to 2.0.0.130) | version 2.1.0.43: New MPEG codec, better audio quality, easier pan and scroll on still images; allows motion on DVD menus. Program loads faster, has better performance. | version 2.2.2.35. Added Dolby Audio support which allows more video per DVD. |
| HP Transfer Wizard | one video clip allowed, 2 hour per DVD max. | Allows multiple clips, prompts for saving .mpg file after DVD transfer, can use wizard with DV camera connected to 1394 port on PC if present. 2.5 hours per DVD max. | same as dc4000 except with Dolby audio, it allows 3.5 hours per disk, 7 hours on double layer DVDs. |
| RecordNow | version 4.56 | version 6.5; new more intuitive user interface | version update |
| PowerDVD | version update | same as dc4000 | |
| Muvee | version update | trial version only | |
| SimpleBackup | version update | not included | |
| Arcsoft Photobase 4.5 | not included | Photobase is included on 2nd disk. It helps in organizing photos and writing photo albums/slide shows to CD/DVD disks. | Arcsoft Greeting Card creator. |
| Hardware | |||
| DVD drive | dvd300c or dvd300n drive writes at 4X max; writes to DVD+R/RW media but not to DVD-R/RW media.. | dvd420n drive writes at 8x max; can write to DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW disks. | dvd640c drive writes at 16x max, can write to double layer DVD+R (8.5GB)media. |
DC3000 speeds:
| Write | Maximum Speed | Read | Maximum Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CD-R | Up to 16x | CD-ROM | Up to 40x | |
| CD-RW | Up to 10x | DVD-ROM | Up to 8x | |
| DVD+R | Up to 4x | |||
| DVD+RW | 2.4x |
DC4000 speeds
| Write | Maximum Speed | Read | Maximum Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CD-R | Up to 24x | CD-ROM | Up to 40x | |
| CD-RW | Up to 10x | DVD-ROM | Up to 8x | |
| DVD+R | Up to 8x | |||
| DVD+RW | 4x |
DC5000 speeds
|
Write |
Maximum speed |
Read |
Maximum speed |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
CD-R |
Up to 40x (P-CLV) |
CD-ROM |
Up to 40x (CAV) |
|
|
CD-RW |
Up to 24x (Z-CLV) |
DVD-ROM |
Up to 16x (CAV) |
|
|
DVD+R |
Up to 16x (Z-CLV) |
|||
|
DVD+RW |
4x (CLV) |
|||
|
DVD+RW DL |
2.4x (CLV) |
|||
|
DVD-R |
Up to 8x (Z-CLV) |
|||
|
DVD-RW |
4x (CLV) |
DC4000 DVD-R/RW Non-HP media compatibility
| DVD-R Media | DVD-RW Media | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Speeds | Manufacturer | Speeds | ||||
| Fuji | 4X | 8X | JVC | 2X | 4X | ||
| Maxell | 4X | Pioneer | 2X | ||||
| Panasonic | 2X | 4X | TDK | 2X | |||
| Ritek | 4X | Verbatim | 2X | 4X | |||
| Sony | 2X | 8X | |||||
| Taiyo Yuden | 2X | 4X | 8X | ||||
| TDK | 4X | ||||||
| Verbatim | 4X | ||||||