Does anyone still make a slot load DVD drive?

[OdiN]

Or slot load DVD-RW or CD-RW/DVD drive?

Would like to get a new slot load drive. I have one currently, but it's getting pretty old, and would like something a bit more up to date.

 

[zagood]

Google for it. There's a ton out there.

-z

 

[Slugbait]

Originally posted by: zagood
Google for it. There's a ton out there.

-z

I just spent the last ten minutes googling for a slot-load DVD burner. Instead of a ton, I found one...the Plextor PX-716AL. I passed on it a couple of years ago when building a machine due to poor performance and lack of reliability. Of course, it was discontinued quite awhile ago.

Could you please drop the URL for your google return in the thread? That would be a big help, thanks.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: Slugbait

Originally posted by: zagood
Google for it. There's a ton out there.

-z

I just spent the last ten minutes googling for a slot-load DVD burner. Instead of a ton, I found one...the Plextor PX-716AL. I passed on it a couple of years ago when building a machine due to poor performance and lack of reliability. Of course, it was discontinued quite awhile ago.

Could you please drop the URL for your google return in the thread? That would be a big help, thanks.

Poor performance and lack of reliability....in a Plextor? Very odd.

I found that one but nobody carries it anymore.

 

[elmer92413]

That's odd. You'd think that slot-load drives would have a pretty great appeal with people and thus would be easier to find.
I will now join the hunt and see if I can't find some tonight!

 

[Old Hippie]

I just spent the last ten minutes googling for a slot-load DVD burner. Instead of a ton, I found one...the Plextor PX-716AL. I passed on it a couple of years ago when building a machine due to poor performance and lack of reliability. Of course, it was discontinued quite awhile ago

Yep. We musta been looking at the same time. I've never tried it, but can a laptop DVD drive (slot loading) be converted to a desktop unit?

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: Old Hippie

I just spent the last ten minutes googling for a slot-load DVD burner. Instead of a ton, I found one...the Plextor PX-716AL. I passed on it a couple of years ago when building a machine due to poor performance and lack of reliability. Of course, it was discontinued quite awhile ago

Yep. We musta been looking at the same time. I've never tried it, but can a laptop DVD drive (slot loading) be converted to a desktop unit?

They do make conversion kits, but those drives aren't as nice as regular PC stuff.

But yeah I love my current one, just want to replace it and have it as a backup or something...it's just really nice to be able to just toss a disc in without waiting for a tray to open.

 

[corkyg]

Somebody must make slot drives. I have two active, and a couple on the shelf (Pioneer.) But, they are players, not burners. Every 0player in a car is a slot drive - someone makes them.

For a player, I wouldn't have any thing but a slotter -especially with a door on the main case. A tray accidentally opening with the door shut is not cool.

This Samsung unit looks decent. It says it can handle 8 cm disks in addition to the normal 12 cm.

Slot

 

[OdiN]

Yeah I don't mind if it's just a regular DVD reader and not writer, as I have a Lightscribe drive and it does burning.

Just want something that can read CD/DVD. If it also burns, that wouldn't be a bad thing.

 

[Slugbait]

Originally posted by: OdiN

Poor performance and lack of reliability....in a Plextor? Very odd.

Not really. The 716 series was found by some to be very finicky about media (legend has it the 712 could burn data to a piece of cardboard). Several noted the 716 slot load drive dies soon after the warranty expires.

I'm pretty sure the 716 series were true Plexy, but the company has been known to occasionally outsource and then rebadge other drives as "Plextor". As of late, ALL of their drives are rebadged. Even their Blu-ray drive is a rebadged Panasonic.

My old 708A is in my HTPC, and plays fine...but I haven't used it as a ripper or burner in about two years, tho'. But when it was in my main machine, it was definitely a quality drive.

 

[Bluefront]

I'm using a Pioneer Slot DVD-RW in my DIY case. It's mounted in a Scythe Kama-Panel.....the bottom four fan controllers come out, and the lap-top optical drive fits right in. The Scythe also comes with a little adapter that allows you to connect the drive to a regular IDE cable.

The Pioneer works ok......it's a little noisy for my tastes.

An easier solution.....forget an internal drive. A external USB drive works just fine.

 

[Zap]

I have a slot loading notebook drive on a shelf in my garage (aborted case mod). My wife's Acer notebook came with one.

Here's one for sale.

I haven't seen a slot load optical drive that was a regular 5¼" size since my beige SCSI Pioneer DVDROM died.

 

[Byte]

I'm selling a Pioneer Slot loading DVD drive. 80 pin SCSI though. Anyone know of SATA ones appeared?

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: Bluefront An easier solution.....forget an internal drive. A external USB drive works just fine.

Sort of like this?

Slot

BTW - don't some current MacBooks have slot loaders? They must get 'em somewhere.

 

[bloodugly]

Only ones I have seen are the slim ones, and you'd have to use an adapter to mount them in a standard 5.25" bay. And as Bluefront said, there is always the option of just doing it external. At least you could take it places with you if you wanted.

 

[fatpat268]

Newegg used to have a couple slot loading notebook drives (I know because I bought one there), but they were fairly high priced...$70. I toyed around with the idea of buying one of those conversion brackets for my desktop computer, but in the end it would've been too expensive. $70 for the drive, $20 for the bracket, and the best the drive can do is 8x? Meh.

I used to have it bookmarked, but this website used to sell brackets where you could put two laptop dvd drives in the space that it would take one desktop dvd drive. Cool idea if you need to maximize the amount of drives.

If you're really deadset on getting a slot loading drive, check ebay, specifically in the Apple components section. There are a lot of replacement drives, and while most wont have the bezel included... some do.

 

[Zap]

Wow, almost 2 year thread necro.

There seems to be a decent selection of slot load DVDRW slim line drives these days, with Silverstone (probably rebranded from something) as the noob. Sony and Panasonic are the other two. Other companies like Lite On doesn't seem to make theirs anymore. Sony makes a Blu Ray reader while Panasonic makes a Blu Ray burner. Most seem available in EIDE and SATA versions. I'd recommend the SATA version because the adapter cable is pretty cheap and available at Newegg. The EIDE version needs an adapter to convert to desktop EIDE or SATA, and they (especially SATA adapters) aren't always easily available.

Besides notebooks, there are also a few desktop systems with slot load drives. I think the now discontinued HP Blackbird/Firebird used them. Dell's Studio Hybrid uses them. BFG's Phobos uses them. Silverstone used to have bundle deals at Newegg for purchasing the slot load slimline along with their mini ITX case.

 

[RebateMonger]

Zap,

Do you think slot-loaders are as reliable as tray-loaders? I've never owned one, but I know I don't really trust my slot-loading car stereo to "do the right thing".

 

[fatpat268]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
Zap,

Do you think slot-loaders are as reliable as tray-loaders? I've never owned one, but I know I don't really trust my slot-loading car stereo to "do the right thing".

I don't trust them. When I first got my Macbook Pro, I had a dvd get stuck in the drive twice. Luckily it eventually came out.

Most of the time they work just fine. But they don't have the emergency eject like tray based drives do. Do something stupid? Jam a paperclip in.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
Zap,

Do you think slot-loaders are as reliable as tray-loaders? I've never owned one, but I know I don't really trust my slot-loading car stereo to "do the right thing".

Good question. They seem to have more moving parts, so that might not be good for longetivity, however I don't have any hard evidence either way.

 

[corkyg]

I've had slot loaders in my desktop (still do!) and in cars for almost a decade. Have never had a functional problem. They are very tough and reliable or they wouldn't be in cars. And, if they were flaky, MacBooks would not use them.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: corkyg
And, if they were flaky, MacBooks would not use them.

MacBooks don't use exploding batteries and overheating Nvidia chipsets either. Oh wait, nevermind!

I've actually owned a Pioneer slot load DVD drive that died so I know they can fail. I also currently have a dead Lite On tray DVDRW drive in my garage, so those can fail too.

 

[sprockkets]

Finally, the Pioneer SATA slot loading drive appeared, and at a reasonable price.

http://www.directron.com/dvrts08.html

Newegg has them now too.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: sprockkets
Finally, the Pioneer SATA slot loading drive appeared, and at a reasonable price.

I got excited for a moment, but these are slim-line drives and not normal desktop drives.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: sprockkets
Finally, the Pioneer SATA slot loading drive appeared, and at a reasonable price.

I got excited for a moment, but these are slim-line drives and not normal desktop drives.

I had those normal sized Pioneer slot load DVD drives in the past. They were pretty neat.