* With many PCs likely to sport a DVD burner soon, compatibility is going to be a burning issue. There are, in fact, five different DVD recording formats: DVD-Ram, DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW and DVD+R and the type your PC uses will depend on what format the manufacturer supports. The solution could be to buy a DVD burner that records in four different recordable formats. This is what Sony’s DRU-500A drive does, it can record on to DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-R and DVD+R discs, giving schools much greater flexibility. The street price is around pound;250 including VAT.

www.sony.co.uk