DVD burning

I would like to know people's opinions about dvd burners. I decided to wait to purchase one, since I did not get one with my computer. I am hoping the prices will come down. Are stand along dvd burners easy to add to the over all computer system or is it much better to buy them with the computer. My compaq computer came with a dvd player and a cd burner, but not the dvd burner.

I have also twice rented dvds that turned out to be defective and do not play properly. Blockbuster said, that this does happend from time to time. I also had one crack when the door of the player closed wrong on it. DVD blanks are still so expensive, it makes me think, that the technology still needs to work the bugs out.