Good DVD ROM

[happie23]

Which DVD ROM should I buy? I keep hearing names like Lite On and Pioneer.

Is there really any difference between slot and tray load?

Thanks

 

[ojai00]

Welcome to the forums happie! I have the Pioneer slot-loading DVD-ROM and I love it. There really is no difference between slot and tray loading drives, just that the slot loading drives look at lot cooler! Lite-On has been making some pretty quality drives, but I've had no experience with those DVD drives, so I can't help you there. With the prices of Pionner slot loading drives rising, I think the Lite-On might be a good choice for you. You can find one for about $50 from the Hot Deals forum. Although it's tray loading, it should be able to do everything that you need a DVD drive to do. Hope this helps.

 

[LXi]

It's hard to find a perfect DVD-ROM, you have to weigh your needs and look for the one that best suit you.

Pioneer
Pros:
Slot load
Fast CD-ROM reader
Fast DVD-ROM reader
Not too loud
Cons:
CD audio ripping locked at 16x
DVD movie playback/ripping only ~8x average
Not the best for CloneCD

Lite-On
Pros:
Fastest overall CD-ROM performance
Fastest overall DVD-ROM performance
Very good ripping speeds in CD and DVD
Cheap
Cons:
Reads CD-RWs rather slow
Doesn't handle ill-maintained CDs too well
Somwhat loud

Toshiba
Pros:
Very good CD and DVD reader
Reads CD-RWs extremely well
CloneCD's favorite
Not too loud
Cons:
DVD movie playback/ripping locked at 2-4x
No headphone jack and volunm control on the bezel

I've also heard good things about AOpen(w/ Pioneer's tech), and Hitachi. And I dont think it makes too much sense to consider any brands other than these.

 

[John]

Nice list LXi.

 

[happie23]

thanks all.

Lxi, isn't the lite on and pioneer drives 10x read for DVD anyways? Isn't 8x pretty good for the pioneer? Does the speed of the dvd rom truly matter at that speed for playing dvd movies?

 

[LXi]

<<Lxi, isn't the lite on and pioneer drives 10x read for DVD anyways?>>

They're both rated 16x max. The Pioneer is a 40x rated CD-ROM, while the Lite-On and Toshiba are both 48x, so they naturally will have the edge in CD-ROM performance over Pioneer.


<<Isn't 8x pretty good for the pioneer? Does the speed of the dvd rom truly matter at that speed for playing dvd movies?>>

The Pioneer is 4.94x min, 11.41x max, and 8.6x average. That's rather midiocre if you compare it to Lite-On's 6.72x min, 15.5x max, and 11.67x avg. And the fact that Pioneer comes far short of the claimed 16x max somewhat bothers me. You're absolutely right though, you only need 1x to watch DVD movies, but the playback speed comes into play when you want to encode(rip) DVD movies, so Lite-On would be the best for that task, and Toshiba will be the worst. If ripping DVD isn't important at to you at all, then Toshiba will easily be your best option.

 

[Oyeve]

Just stay away from CL and youll be OK.

 

[GreenLantern]

What about Sony or Panasonic?

 

[dakata24]

check out the Lite-On 16x DVD-ROM - $54 (plus tax) shipped; $46.71 (plus tax) if you have a 15% off coupon thread in the Hot Deals Forum.. i just got one. it's a JVC. Great price on a retail 16x Dvd drive

 

[mztykal]

I had a Pioneer 116 16x dvd and it was LOUD as hell during spin-up and for the duration.

Now I have a 16x Lite-On and it's semi-loud, but not as loud as the Pioneer.

 

[bacillus]

had a pioneer before but now I'm much happier with my liteon drive!

 

[gandalf361]

I am quite happy with my Pioneer DVD 106S Slot Loading @ 16X. It is load some of the time, but this can be solved by tapeing a piece of paper of the drive's slot.

 

[HeinekinMan]

I just installed a LiteOn LTD-163 (DOM: January 2002, f/w: GH5E). I must have gotten lucky because the only noise that I hear is when I open and close the tray (slight gear noise, normal). This thing is EXTREMELY quiet when playing CDROMs or DVDROMs or ripping audio, on-the-fly, to my Plextor CDRW drive. Haven't done any benchmarks but I don't care! This thing is just as quiet as my Kenwood 72x CDROM drive and, so far, is reading everything that I feed it.

I had read some reviewers mention "jet engine" like noise or "rushing of air" noise under full spin up but I do not hear any of this!!! And it's fast enough to allow me to burn at 8x, on-the-fly. And it works perfectly with my ATI All-in-Wonder Radeon DVD s/w.

I wholeheartedly recommend this drive!

 

[vortix]

Anyone know if any of these (or other) DVD drives will allow 24x audio CD ripping? Then I could copy my audio CD's at 24x with my new 24x burner

 

[Prototype]

I'm still trying to decide between the Toshiba 16x and the Lite-On 16x.
I think the deciding factor is that for every 5 good comments about the Lite-On, there is 1 person who says they hate it (loud etc.). Yet for Toshiba, I've heard nothing but positivity.

 

[bacillus]

<< Anyone know if any of these (or other) DVD drives will allow 24x audio CD ripping? Then I could copy my audio CD's at 24x with my new 24x burner >>


I copy on the fly at x24 with my liteon, no problem!

 

[Prototype]

<< What about Sony or Panasonic? >>



I was wondering that as well.
Nobody seems to talk about the Sony, so I can't tell if they're good or not.

 

[usas]

I too would like to hear something about Sony's DVD-ROM drives.

 

[Jen]

Pioneer dvdrom is what i have here no complaints



Jen

 

[Mustanggt]

I have read alot of good reviews on Pioneer models.

 

[NesuD]

just installed a 16x liteon today. that drive is amazingly fast. dae @+40x omfg

 

[wasamicron]

I have a 16x Toshiba. It is a very quiet drive with what seems to be very smooth tray mechanism. I would definitely recommend Toshiba.

 

[BuckNaked]

I swear by Toshiba's, the only down side seems to be slow DAE...

Dave

 

[usas]

Does anyone have a Sony DVD drive in here?

 

[Dre]

would someone mind doing me a favor? Can you run CDSpeed and benchmark the Burst Rate and tell me what you get? I'm getting only 1-2MB/s with my new Lite-ON DVD-ROM on Data and Music CD's. I'd like to know if my drive is defective.