Raise Hand if your dvd burner is 5 years or older

[jsmithepa]

Looking for a long lasting dvd burner, I don't need speed, I don't need no fancy stuff, I just need it to LAST - LAST - LAST. $ no object.

So, what's ur Brand and Model?

[DarrellS]

I have two Liteons that I've had for about 5 years. Both still running strong.

Liteon SOHW-1673S and Liteon SOHW-1693S

I'll probably buy a new burner before too much longer and it will probably be a Liteon also since my case is a light beige. A black Pioneer or Samsung would just not look right.

[PuzZLeR]

Why would this help?

If you're looking for a burner that lasts that long, and more, it's not available any more, or would be used (and abused by now) and would be old tech anyway today. A very old one that has lasted this long wouldn't do later stuff anyway (higher speeds, dual layer, etc).

If money is no object, then who cares? Just buy any decent one today and keep replacing it with the latest tech, such as blu-ray burners and other, more advanced formats, which will be coming more and more in the future. Why hang on to one item when it will get old soon anyway?

Burners have never been cheaper. It's irrelevant today IMO.

Having said that, if you need to know, I have an LG 4040, which I've bought in 2003 as an internal to replace a bad OEM model on an older PC.

Since this PC isn't used for my main stuff, only dedicated for side projects, it is subject to lots of abuse since I don't care for it any more. This includes lots of burning projects.

After all these years this burner is still going strong. I would recommend LG then after this. But 5 years is a long time - who knows if they have the same reliability with their latest wares?

But, like I said, this burner is probably not available anymore, can't do DL discs anyway (since it came before them) or the higher speeds of today. If this was one of my "important PCs" I would have replaced this burner by now for it regardless.

[Noahtuck]

Okay... i don't understand your problem....

If money is no problem then just buy a new current, up to date modern burner every year for $35.00.

I feel a tard attack coming on!!!!!!!

[hech54]

I have an LG 4040, which I've bought in 2003 as an internal to replace a bad OEM model on an older PC

Same here....I have the exact same burner....bought for the exact same reason.
It is still going strong in an old computer.

I have two more LG's in this computer....4167B and an H58N.
All work perfectly....just like the old 4040B

LG for me please....but I'll pass on the Lightscribe shit.
Never had Lightscribe....never will.

[jimmalenko]

I've got some Pioneer Burners that would be classified as "old" - DVR-106 and 107 I think.

[Epicurus8a]

I still have a 105. It's a darn good reader!

[guns1inger]

I still have an NEC 2500a that burns well (at 4X).

However you are far better off buying a new burner from a reputable brand such as Pioneer, than buying something that is well past it's day.

[jsmithepa]

Okay... i don't understand your problem....

I understand. The burner in question is in an industrial custom rig and it's a PITA to get to. But true, I wouldn't want to buy anything used.

Just opened up the old one, a LiteOn 165H6s, kronged after 3 years, tinny wimpy motor.

But thanks guys, keep the the recommendations coming.

[lordsmurf]

I have a Pioneer 103 in a drawer, but it still works fine.

[MOVIEGEEK]

I have a Sony DRU-500 that still works,I can't believe I paid $300 for that thing.I also have a BenQ 800 that still works in an external enclosure,my trusty BenQ 1640 is used every week.Unfortunately BenQ went out of business.

[neomaine]

I still have a 105. It's a darn good reader!

And mine still burns as good as it did on day one...

[redwudz]

I got rid of my computers with older optical drives, so mine are now about two years old, at the oldest. None have failed. The old computers that I sold off probably still have the optical drives working, but I don't know how much they are used. At least three of them have optical drives that would be 5 years old by now.

I have LG, Pioneer, Sony, Samsung, Lite-on, and probably a few others. The ones I bought years ago aren't available any more, so it doesn't matter much how long they lasted. And the newer ones from the same companies may not last half that time.

But try the Pioneers or the Samsungs. They seem to work fairly well and they are easily replaced if they do fail. I use SATA optical drives now. They probably don't last any longer than the PATA drives, but the cabling and no jumpers makes them easier to install.

[jsmithepa]

Pioneer makes their own drives then?

I thought about going with a "big" brand, then I find out HP drives are just LiteOn re-badged

[MOVIEGEEK]

AFAIK there are only four manufacturers now:LG,Samsung,Plextor and Lite-On.Everything else is a rebadge.

[Gregg]

I have a Sony DRU500A /those days it costed me $370/. Also a Pioneer DVR108.
Both have +2000 discs each and still running without problems.

[Number Six]

I have older NEC drives - love them, but newer NEC drives are a joint venture by Sony NEC Optiarc - if they even still exist. I have been buying Samsung drives for my newer computers and when I install a drive for others.

[classfour]

Panasonic LFD-321. OLD OLD OLD. Only burns -RAM! @ 1X

Next in line Panasonic LFD-521, Burns RAM, -R (@ 2X).

Both in external enclosures, I keep them around as readers.

[budz]

AFAIK there are only four manufacturers now:LG,Samsung,Plextor and Lite-On.Everything else is a rebadge.

Plextor doesn't manufacture their own drives anymore. I think they're rebadged LITEON's or SAMSUNG's.

The first and oldest dvd burner I have and still works is my trusty ole PLEXTOR 708 drive that burns 4x spd. It sits on the shelf but I occasionally hook it up when I have a dvd disc that can't be read by my other dvd burners. It's a great reader for scratched discs.
IMHO the BENQ 1620, 1640, 1650 & 1655 were great for burning dvd discs. Too bad BENQ sold their optical division to LITEON.

To the OP: I'd have to say the best dvd burners at the moment are PIONEER, LG & SAMSUNG in that order. In this day and age when a dvd burner dies just buy a brand new one. They're so damn cheap these days that you can get one for $22.00 with free shipping on Newegg.com.

[Seeker47]

I've got some Pioneer Burners that would be classified as "old" - DVR-106 and 107 I think.

I replaced my 106 (very reliable, never any problem with it) when the 108 came out. The 108 has been in this computer around three years now, but I'd say it has seen as much burning use as a lot of others would rack up in six years of steady use. Never any problem with this one either, and I'm a bit amazed that it's still going strong.

[disturbed1]

As lordsmurf, my A03 is still working, slowly, but it does still work. Like classfour, my LFD321's are still working, both DVD-R 1x and DVD-RAM 2x. I remember buying the LFD321s. I thought the first 2 were a steal at $240/each, compared to $805 for my A03. The price then dropped to just under $199, and I snagged 2 more. I also have an old Toshiba SD 4x model that no longer burns DVDs, but does burn CDs (12x ) and reads DVDs.

All other burners I've ever purchased have neglected to make it past one year. NEC, and LG have all seemed to completely fail somewhere between 8-12months. With the HP branded LG's being the ones I've had the worse luck with. I've only owned Lite On CD burners, the 4 HP burners I've had were rebadged LG's. My LTR-52$something still burns at 52x, sounds like an airplane taking off though

Microcenter recently had a decent deal on Pioneer SATA burners ($22.99) and Samsung PATA burners ($24.99). I picked up 2 of each.

Given the price of today's optical drive, and the fact most have cheap mass produced components, buy one at a local store that has a decent return policy, and doesn't cost you an arm and a leg. Even Walmart has Lite On burners for under $40.

[gll99]

Hard to remember the age of things,

On my browsing system, my old NEC nd 1300a (5 + years old) is still working altough I thought it died a couple of years ago. The 16x LG 4163B (maybe 3 years old) is very noisy like a jet taking off even with Verbatims. The LG burns best at max speed but still produces the occasional coaster. The LG also chokes reading some discs even some of my original pressed discs which the NEC reads with no problems.

I bought a lower priced sata Liteon iHAS120 for my newer pc last fall and I'm very impressed with it. It lets you bitset DVD/RW unlike the LG which only bitsets the DVD+R. The Liteon doesn't always burn at full speed since it adjusts the burn speed on the fly. This feature is great because it keeps the burn nice and quiet unlike the jet engine LG. No coasters so far using only Verbatim sl and dl discs.

The Liteon will be my choice when it's time to buy another.

[craigarta]

Well I got a NuTech DDW-81 I got back in 2002 or 2003 that still works.
I usually use it for stuff that my Sony DL hates.

Does work good on PS2 discs better than anything else I have tried.
Guess 2.4x works best for it.

[[_chef_]]

Pio 104
Pio s201
Ricoh 5120

to name a few......

[Bulldog57]

I have a Pioneer 110D

Pioneer 111D both still working fine.

[videobread]

There is no reason to keep an older burner when a new Pioneer is $32 delivered. The money you save on an old burner will be lost on coasters over time. Old burners = Old firmware = Coasters! I buy new burners every two years. I don't try to sell them to some sap on ebay. I throw them out.

[Seeker47]

AFAIK there are only four manufacturers now:LG,Samsung,Plextor and Lite-On.Everything else is a rebadge.

Plextor doesn't manufacture their own drives anymore. I think they're rebadged LITEON's or SAMSUNG's.

The first and oldest dvd burner I have and still works is my trusty ole PLEXTOR 708 drive . . .

So, who is making Pioneer burners these days ? And MOVIEGEEK, what about Sony and NEC -- aren't they still making their own optical drives ?

Say, Budz -- what's the word on Samsungs ? Any good ? I never bought one directly, but recently acquired one that got thrown in free with another purchase. Maybe not that recent a model -- it's the SH-183. I also had a Plextor 716 that I bought with certain intentions, but never actually installed. It may yet go into a tower system, provided it's not too out of date. I like to make every burner I deploy region free, with appropriate firmware replacements. That might be outmoded thinking, I don't know -- haven't tried MediaCodeSpeedEdit, if that's an alternative.

[RLT69]

There is no reason to keep an older burner when a new Pioneer is $32 delivered. The money you save on an old burner will be lost on coasters over time. Old burners = Old firmware = Coasters! I buy new burners every two years. I don't try to sell them to some sap on ebay. I throw them out.

You're kidding me right? 50 blank DVDs cost $13. You'd have to go through 150 coasters before the cost of blank media matches the cost of a new burner.

FYI manufacturers provide updates to the firmware.

You're wasting money if you buy a new burner every two years and there's nothing wrong with your current one.

[Number Six]

Hey videobread - Don't throw them out, send them to me

[johns0]

Only reason to replace a burner is when they dont get updated firmware anymore and new types of dvd blanks are being made,plus new features and faster burning start times help.