Not necessarily true when it comes to drives like this. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. In this case, yes. Go with the NEC.

I just bought the ND-3550A DVD+/-R burner and it's the best drive I've ever had. This is the first drive I've found that flawlessly reads those goddamned DualDiscs, too. I'm actually tempted to buy a second one just to have one as a back up in case this one dies someday - I like it that much.

Oh, and unless you already have CD/DVD burning software, be sure and buy the retail version (you linked to the OEM version which is the drive only, no software.) Here's the retail version: $40 white (or black version for you Dell peoples.)

My suggestion is make sure it's a dual layer DVD burner. Most are at this point, but you want to get the fastest with a dual layer you can find. Dual layer will allow you to burn full movies onto one dual layer disc with less or no copmpression. The discs are still pretty expensive but the prices are coming down. Just IMO

I think the fastest now is a 16x

Here are a few deals:
http://dealmac.com/search.html?search=dvd+burner&x=0&y=0