DVD Burner

[Stanj]

I would like a recommendation for a DVD Burner Drive to be installed in my Mini Tower case.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Benq 1640/1620 and NEC 3540/3520 are popular.

 

[HDTVMan]

Add Pioneer to that list. They have the best corrective laser system out there. They can read data off a rock.

Many a bad CD/DVD recovered by a pioneers ability to read a messy disc.

 

[Zepper]

And Plextor 16x DVD burners should be on every optical drive shopper's short list. All the 16x models are shorter length (.5 to .75" shorter than the PX-712) chassis for better fit to the smaller case.

.bh.

 

[Hurricane Andrew]

BenQ DW 1640. Problem is, to get in the US, you have to search pretty hard. Rumors have it available at some Circuit City's, but I got mine from NCIX for $57 shipped from Canada to Delaware.

The drive is flat out awesome.

 

[jmarkos]

Plextor my vote

 

[imported_rod]

Pioneer DVR-109 (unless they have a new version).

Mine is awesome, and has never burnt a coaster. Ever. It's also damn fast - i cant actually afford blank DVD's fast enough to max out my drive.

RoD

 

[DaFOBulous1]

How about them Samsung?

 

[HDTVMan]

Originally posted by: rod
Pioneer DVR-109 (unless they have a new version).

Mine is awesome, and has never burnt a coaster. Ever. It's also damn fast - i cant actually afford blank DVD's fast enough to max out my drive.

RoD

Pioneer DVR-110 just saw the links today.

 

[imported_rod]

Originally posted by: HDTVMan

Originally posted by: rod
Pioneer DVR-109 (unless they have a new version).

Mine is awesome, and has never burnt a coaster. Ever. It's also damn fast - i cant actually afford blank DVD's fast enough to max out my drive.

RoD

Pioneer DVR-110 just saw the links today.

Of course. Nothing in computing stays top of the line for long. Oh Well.

RoD

 

[corkyg]

Plextor gets my vote - and also, it must be external, preferably Firewire.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

NEC 3520 because ive used it and like it. Make sure u upgrade ur firmware though or your gonna have some problems burning

 

[n7]

BenQ DW1640

For those of you recommending Plextor...seriously, why?
Overpriced & underperforming.

Plextors latest DVD burner is actually made by BenQ :laugh:

 

[silverbuyer]

Lite-On all the way!! Stay away from that other CARP!

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: n7
BenQ DW1640

For those of you recommending Plextor...seriously, why?
Overpriced & underperforming.

Plextors latest DVD burner is actually made by BenQ :laugh:

That's nice. As long is it is external, I really don't care much, but I have used Plex's since 1995 and have had very good results with them - reliable. As for price - I pay little attention to price when I want something.

 

[Zepper]

"plextor's latest is made by Benq..."

No, it has the same chipset as BenQ (Phillips). The first time in forever that Plextor went with something other than Sanyo technology.

.bh.

 

[msmith]

Lite-On 16X Model# is SOHW-1693S, dual layer

 

[IeraseU]

I have both the Pioneer DVR-109 and the NEC 3520. Out of those I personally prefer the 3520. Mostly due to third party firmware which is more mature imo and supports such features as bitsetting and 'overspeeding' (burning, for example, 4x rated media at 12x). The Pioneer wants to burn at the rated speed all the time. It is also much harder to use bitsetting on the Pioneer, but still possible if you crossflash to the 'Buffalo' firmware. Using DVDinfopro to scan results, I also get better burns from the NEC on cheaper media. On high end media both do a good job.

If price is no object, the Plextor 716 model is a good choice. It has a lot of little features and software to play with. They cost almost 3x as much as other drives and IMO the price is not worth it, although I do think they are a very good drive. Beware of the SATA version, that has a lot of compatibility problems at this point. Check the Plextor website and make sure your motherboard is compatible before buying.

 

[McPudd]

http://www.plextor.com/english/products/716AL.htm

 

[Doh!]

How about LG GSA-4163B?

 

[chipy]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Plextor gets my vote - and also, it must be external, preferably Firewire.

i'm thinking about getting the Plextor PX-740UF - an external version. do you suggest Firewire over eide/atapi/ata becuase of greater transfer speed? i think that's the reason but i'm not 100% sure. i guess the other reason would be that you can plug it into any computer... but that's not a priority for me.

also, does anyone know if the PX-740UF is excatly the same as the PX-740A, except that it's external (e.g. has same chip, features, etc.)?

chipy

 

[orangat]

I have the Benq 1640:-
Pros:
Good burn quality
Excellent error correction
Does not have riplocks
Current RPC1 firmware available
Cons:-
Noisy when reading/playing (spin up noise, also spin up more frequently)
Crashes Nero recode
Incompatible on primary IDE channel (possible k8t800pro problem)

 

[pkme2]

LG GSA-4167B is the second DVD Burner that I've gotten.
The numerous formats that this LG can do and playback were the determining factors. I have burned a lot of different brands and this burner has never turned them into coasters. I've used the cheapest to the premium and got excellent results. This unit is in my vldeo rig and the other LG GSA-4163B is used with my laptop.

 

[WackyDan]

Ok..... I'm about to buy a new one myself...

What about the off the shelf Sony's or TSK's??? Keep in mind that my DVD burning needs are fairly generic.

Also, I generally use the buring software that comes with the units.... What manufacturer has the best blend of drive and bundled app(s)???

 

[pkme2]

I have an older Sony DVD burner and it was OK for its time but with the faster DVD disks, 16X made it worthwhile due to its faster burning time. You'll be spoiled by the short waits.
Nero DVD Burning Software comes with the LGs and it does about all the different types and formats. I call 1-Stop creating because it doesn't take a rocket scientist to make VCDs, CDRs, DVD-Rs, DVD+Rs, DVD-RAMs etc.
We need all the help we can get.
Get the LG GSA-4167B and the Nero Startsmart bundled software.