[DEAL DEAD Online, OOS, Maybe B&M??]Cendyne 24X CD-RW $54.99 after MIR, coupon, your tax at officemax

[aldamon]

<< dont forget to remove the jumper on the Aopen for udma 33 mode. >>



Is this really necessary for the AOpen? I left the jumper on and Windows XP detects it as UDMA-33 (something DWORD).

 

[peroxide]

Ann Arbor, MI OfficeMax on Ann Arbor-Saline Road has 3 left. All are Lite-On with the Smart-Burn tag on the lower right hand corner of the white label on the back of the box. They accepted the $25 coupon too.

Thanks a bunch Ziptar!

 

[RogerL]

Some of the minor problems they mention in the review (such as difficulty reading scratched disks) are problems that can be corrected with firmware revisions. If they tested a drive with firmware version 0.95 and the drives are now shipping with version 2.XX (like Aldamon pointed out) there is a good chance that these problems have been corrected. Also, the software compatibility issue with programs like cdr-win on a newly released cd-rw drive like this are normally just temporary until the next software version is released with an expanded drive database.

It sounds like a lot of people are going through a fair amount of effort to exchange their AOpen for a Lite-On. IMO the only substantial benefit the Lite-On offers is SD2 copy support. I'd guess that 90% of the people who are exchanging theirs for that reason don't know what SD2 is and will probably never need the ability to copy disks that use it.

Lite-On has a proven track record because their drives have been on the market longer and they've built up some customer loyalty so I can understand why people prefer them over AOpen, but I suspect that in 6 months or more there will also be a lot of AOpen user will feel the same way.

 

[GooberedUp]

<< Another difference I noticed on the boxes between the Lite-On and the Aopen. The Lite-On box had the red, white & blue ribbon in the top right corner, the Aopen had the PCWorld Top 10 CDRW sticker in the top right. That was the difference I noticed on the two I had. I received the Aopen from the OM.com and returned it last night using the receipt from the Lite-On I bought on Sunday. >>



Odd. My Aopen had the PC World Top 10 sticker on the top right as well. However, on the Liteon I had a serrated edge rounded silver sticker on the top left side (indicating that a Verbatim 24x CD-R Media was included--oooohhhhh). Obviously key is the Smart-Burn label.

Also, the serial number on the Aopen is about 21 digits long and the Liteon is about 12.

 

[GooberedUp]

<< It sounds like a lot of people are going through a fair amount of effort to exchange their AOpen for a Lite-On. IMO the only substantial benefit the Lite-On offers is SD2 copy support. I'd guess that 90% of the people who are exchanging theirs for that reason don't know what SD2 is and will probably never need the ability to copy disks that use it.

Lite-On has a proven track record because their drives have been on the market longer and they've built up some customer loyalty so I can understand why people prefer them over AOpen, but I suspect that in 6 months or more there will also be a lot of AOpen user will feel the same way. >>



AOpen has been making CDRWs for awhile. In fact, the 20/10/?? can be overclocked with the new firmware to be 24X. Likewise, the 16X can be overclocked to 20X. In addition, the things have gotten pretty favorable reviews. Apparently most of the newer dives are Ricoh mechanisms.

For myself, I need the software support now. Aopen 24x came out only late last year I believe, and so you are right, the software will catch up.

SD2 is important though. If you have kids like mine that have a tendency of shattering CDs (bye, bye Reader Rabbit Toddler) and DVDs (poor poor 3:4 Shrek--RIP), making backups is essential. Even when they get old enough to play SD2 protected games, they'll be rough on them.

But, I agree. If you absolutely don't need SD2, the AOpens are very good drives.

 

[vk8]

Mine just arrived and I anxiously opened it - had the pc world top 10 sticker on front and smart-burn on back - Lite-on LTR-24102B - since I use SD2 a lot this is a great! Thanks again for this deal.

 

[Tacoma99]

I got my Lite-on installed and running great. I can't find a single new game that it won't burn! And the burn times are incredible. Glad I waited, I almost spent about $150 two weeks ago on the new Plextor! Anyone have any info. on using the included Nero program on other burners?

 

[GooberedUp]

<< Mine just arrived and I anxiously opened it - had the pc world top 10 sticker on front and smart-burn on back - Lite-on LTR-24102B - since I use SD2 a lot this is a great! Thanks again for this deal. >>



Looks like the whole sticker thing is random. Only Smart-burn seems to rule the day here. Serial numbers probably tell part of the story as well.

I think it's BS to tout PC World Top 10 on the box, when the contents could be a pile of dog crap relative to what device was actually tested (the Liteon). Very very shady in my opinion stamping my box with PC World Top 10 and including an Aopen. Thank goodness for FleaBay.

 

[GooberedUp]

<< I got my Lite-on installed and running great. I can't find a single new game that it won't burn! And the burn times are incredible. Glad I waited, I almost spent about $150 two weeks ago on the new Plextor! Anyone have any info. on using the included Nero program on other burners? >>



Read my earlier posting regaridng serial numbers for Nero.

 

[Z80]

My drive arrived today. No indication of Smartburn on the spec label and a very long serial number. Must be an Aopen. Well I'm heading over to my local OfficeMax to see if they have any of the Lite-on's in stock and to see if they will exchange with me. If they don't have any I'll have to stop by Costco's this weekend. I know they had a huge stack of Cendyne's with Smartburn on the spec label last weekend.

 

[dajo]

I don't understand why everybody is so bent out of shape about the drive being an Aopen. I've read the reviews at cdrinfo and cdrlabs and they are both excellent. Has anyone heard anything bad about the Aopen 24x drive? Would you rather it have been a Cendyne?

This drive for less than $62 delivered? It's a great deal.

Wah, wah, wah...

 

[Z80]

<< I don't understand why everybody is so bent out of shape about the drive being an Aopen. I've read the reviews at cdrinfo and cdrlabs and they are both excellent. Has anyone heard anything bad about the Aopen 24x drive? Would you rather it have been a Cendyne? This drive for less than $62 delivered? It's a great deal. Wah, wah, wah... >>



Cendyne doesn't make drives, they just market other manufacturer's drives. I want the drive that PCWorld reviewed and named to their top ten list per the sticker on the Cendyne box! Not some crappy AOpen drive that can't copy all the CD's I own and hiccups if the CD has a fingerprint on it!

 

[aldamon]

<< Not some crappy AOpen drive that can't copy all the CD's I own and hiccups if the CD has a fingerprint on it! >>



Don't be ridiculous. The drive is fine with the LATEST firmware. It's not going to hiccup on any fingerprints. My AOpen burns fine at 24x with 16x Fuji media.

 

[dajo]

<< Cendyne doesn't make drives >>

Yeah, I know that. That was my point. Aopen's an established company which produces some good stuff. So they're new to the CDR field - give 'em a chance.

Guess I'll have to see for myself how the drive performs. If what is being said is based on hardware reviews then I think they must be taken with a grain of salt. I love reading reviews just like everybody, but sometimes the results are a little misleading as they are drawn (usually graphically) out of proportion. One drive comes in .03% ahead and everyone's stampeding to get only that drive when maybe the real world difference could be a matter of something along the order of a few seconds.

Also, the advice to update firmware is probably very important. I recently installed a Digital Research 16x drive (Lite-On 16B) which I got at BestBuy day after Thanksgiving for $29.99 AR. Worked fine until I tried to copy an audio CD. Flashed the firmware. Problem was fixed. Guess I could have said "piece of crap Lite-On...".

But if you guys who are unhappy want to take it back do so - then get the Pacific Digital 24x at OD for $56.49 delivered...

Like I just did

 

[Tedtalker1]

Yeah I just flashed my new Lite-On with the latest firmware.Almost slipped my mind.Before I remembered to check for new firmware,I had already burned about twenty discs and the older firmware did just fine with Easy CD and Data files.Now with the new firmware I am going to test out the CloneCD,Nero,CDR-WIN,etc.

 

[Hybrid180]

One question, does the AOpen come with any burn proof sort of technology? That is the main reason I got this burner, because I thought that it did. I am one of the people that has gotten an AOpen and wanted a Lite-On. I would like to be able to use my computer as I burn CD's.

 

[RogerL]

Hybrid180:
Yes, the AOpen uses technology similar to burn-proof. See the link to the review site earlier in this thread or check out AOpen's website for more information.

Has anyone with the AOpen tried to use CloneCD to make a copy of an SD2 disk? Maybe this limitation was corrected with one of the firmware revisions. It's somewhat of a a shame that the reviews are always done on the early firmware revs. It would be more helpful if they would wait and review drives with the firmware rev that is actually released to the public.

 

[GooberedUp]

<< One question, does the AOpen come with any burn proof sort of technology? That is the main reason I got this burner, because I thought that it did. I am one of the people that has gotten an AOpen and wanted a Lite-On. I would like to be able to use my computer as I burn CD's. >>



Aopen uses Ricoh Justlink for buffer underrun protection and Justburn to ensure high quality burns based on media type (I think this is a great feature). The AOpen is really a very good drive. Again, IF you need to do SD2, and based on previous reviewes, the AOpen isn't for you. Maybe firmware fixed it, maybe it didn't. I tried searching around but could find confirmation. Also, the AOpen site is terrible in telling you what the firmware upgrades fixed. But, they must be significant for the numbers to have changed from .95 to 2.x.

 

[formulav8]

I also got the AOpen. Seems like a very nice drive to me. My firware version is 2.02. The reviews are .95. I'm sure AOpen fixed alot of things the reviews complained about. Someone needs to burn a SD2 disk to see if the latest firmware supports it now.



Jason

 

[GooberedUp]

AOpen DOES SD2 !!

Ahh, found it. I remember awhile back that CloneCD had an "Amplify Weak Sector" feature that enabled CloneCD to do SD2 backups even with drives that weren't technically SD2 compatible. In the US and UK you are not allowed to use the AWS function and it isn't "available" although you can see it (it's greyed out).

But, if you set your Region setting in Windows (yes, it works in XP) for Canada, then pull up CloneCD, you will be able to access the Amplify Weak Sectors box. I've tried this and it does indeed work. Remember, this box only appears when you are writing a CD.

Also, you can do a registry edit to enable the AWS box or you can download CloneAMP to make the changes for you. Not all CD-RWs can use the AWS feature. BUT the Aopen CAN!

Please check out the following links.

For those Aopen people, I wouldn't be disappointed one bit. I just wish I'd thought about looking at this earlier before wasting my time hunting down a frickin' Liteon.

http://www.leech.at/sd2brenner - Tells you which burners are compatible with AWS, in addition to the AOpen.

http://www.cdrsoft.cc/index3.html - Search for "amplify." Find files and Forums discussing SD2, CloneCD and AWS workaround.

http://www.clonecd.net/about.htm - General info on CloneCD.

Modifying your system to do SD2 should take less than five minutes. Now, go forth and SD2.

 

[Tedtalker1]

GooberedUp-Nice followup.Thanks!

 

[GooberedUp]

You're welcome. I hope that people feel at least a little happier about the choice they made, or at least a little less disappointed in being "stuck", with the AOpen. Remember, the biggest gripe was no SD2 capability. Other than that (and some other minor quibbles that firmware upgrades probably have fixed by now), it seems like the drive was very well received by most reviewers.

 

[WaNaNaa]

Thats great news GooberedUp.
Now i don't really mind if i get an Aopen or a Lite-on.
Well, UPS guy came today with a big box and inside was a tiny box of paper clips! (and no cdrw)
:frown:

 

[shootinyou]

Recieved mine tonight. Yes its a Liteon, came with nero software
time to upgrade Phyllips 8x thanks again Ziptar and dsp282.

 

[Auxano]

Thanks GooberedUp

My shipment has been playing UPS hot potato bouncing back and forth between two cities.

It's back in town (again) tonight so we will see tomorrow.