Best Writer to Buy?

[Happy_2008]

Hi guys i wanna order a dvd writer today, i was intending to buy a liteon drive as they have always worked well and never had a problem but ive been told that the pioneer 107 or something similar is the best one around in the market atm???

Which one shall i go for?

[gitreel]

The best writer is whatever you can afford, as the different burners are at different price points. Everybody is going to tell you something different, as this is very subjective. Personally I use an Emprex +- 8x internal burner and it works great.

[andyp1]

Not a good question to ask if you are going to order one today , Every answer will be different.
I have a pioneer 106 and think it is fantastic.

[miksu]

Only positive experiences on Nec ND-2500A
Silent, fast and mfg. was one of first to support both -/+R.

High-speed ripping and region free firmware already available.

[Hardcoreruss]

Pioneer 107 for me, love it

[tmaxwell2435]

I have the 107D and I am not real happy with it. But as was said you will get lots of different opinions.

I also have a Sony burner that I am very happy with.

[Hardcoreruss]

may I ask why you are not satisfied.

[tmaxwell2435]

Well the Sony drive will burn everything I put in it and the 107 will not.

[Hardcoreruss]

Are you using a hacked firmware ?, I am (unsure of the exact one but can find out), burns everything and 4X and 8X, can't go wrong.

[tmaxwell2435]

No, I am using stock 1.13. I have heard both good and bad things about the hacked 1.10 firmware.

[BobK]

I use a LiteOn 811s. I tried a Pioneer 106 a few months ago- I burned 3 disks with it and they would only play on one of the 3 stand-alones I tried.

[rgtaa]

rough time to buy since the dual layer ones are coming out ... if you have one that works ... I would keep useing it and maybe buy a dual layer in the summer.
If you don't have a burner that works ... Pioneer a07 seems to be pretty popular on this board... and for most people is reliable and uses cheap media ...and has nice hacks.
I have a06 that I bought in dec ... and no problems ... use retik G4's and nero... 15 minutes a burn is not bad ...and for some things ... I burn at 2x just to give me peace of mind for file intensive stuff (10,000 files).

[code65536]

I got a LiteOn 451 (overclocked to 851)... I love it.

I've also heard good things about other drives, like NEC & Pioneer. It all depends on what you want out of your drive. IMHO, the LiteOn is a very strong drive, overall. It kicks NEC's and Pioneer's butts when it comes to CD burning, copy protections, and reading. Where the LiteOn has its weakness is that it's picky about media. If you feel it poor-quality media (which there is a lot of floating around), it will spit out a coaster while the NEC/Pioneer won't be as likely to coaster it. This has never been a concern for me because I never use the really cheap media (like Princos... eww) that you buy from shady online places. There are people who swear by Princo because they are so cheap (and because they want to keep using them, and because the LiteOn doesn't like them, they give the LiteOn very bad reviews), but considering that Princos have been known to degrade faster, and having a disc that goes bad (even if it was properly burned) a few years after you burn it isn't worth the low price. This also applies to other cheap media. Decent media that works nicely can be found for around USD $1/each.

Aaaaaaanyway, it depends on what you want. If you want the absolute best write quality over a wide range of media, get the NEC or Pioneer (though the 107 isn't as good in the cheap-media dept as the older 106). If you want an overall well-rounded drive that sacrifices cheap-media bunr quality for other performance gains, get a LiteOn.

(As a regular in the CD Freaks LiteOn forum, I see that there are more people singing praises of the LiteOn and those cursing it. The praise-to-curse ratio isn't as good as for the NEC/Pioneer drives, but virtually all of the anti-LiteOn-ism comes from people who want it to burn cheap media--the kind of media that even if it burned well, I wouldn't want because of its low longevity)

(Also, as a firmware patcher who hacks & tweaks LiteOn firmwares for fun, my views may be a wee bit biased towards them )

[Vanderlow]

Get a BenQ DW822A it will be dual layer upgradeable - the only one out on market back up by the manufacturer to do so. Newegg has it for $99.

Two magazines that did CATS scans (a six figure machine that 's highly more accurate then Kprobes) rated its predecessor the DW800A with very good marks in one and best in class in another. The Lite-ons got mixed reviews. the only caveat is if you really want to burn 8x - media (it only does 4x -, but does 8x +) then you might go with the NEC-2500A or LG. Reviews with CATS linked below. Also cdrinfo.com gave the DW800A high marks to in reading and ripping and quality. It did a review of the Lite-on 812 and gave it a somewhat mixed review with it being picky about media.

Two CATS review (big table in middle of thread 100= best, other review close to bottom of thread):
http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=13405&start=0

CDR info hardware reviews.
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Hardware/All.asp

Thread with someone doing a DW822A vs NEC ND-2500A Kprobe comparison. Highest Pi is a 12.

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=93588

[tag]

Get a BenQ DW822A it will be dual layer upgradeable - the only one out on market back up by the manufacturer to do so. Newegg has it for $99.

I ordered from CompuVest. They, apparently, have stock on both the retail and bulk packages ($106.94 and $102.27, respectively, plus shipping).

I tried Newegg but they're showing an ETA of 4/22 (yesterday the ETA was 4/20).

[bdgriff]

Kinda depends on numerous situations. Do you want it for cdr's also? Do you want to rip with it? Etc...You get the idea. Anyway, I have had the sony dru500 since day 1, and never had a problem at all. I have recently (3 wks ago) purchased the NEC2500A from Newegg for 97.00, and using Herries' hacked firmware have burned 4x media at 6X or 8X, and Riteks at 6X, no problems. Some have had a few probs...But, I am very happy for the next 6 months, until a solid 16X comes round...

[william123]

Guys its down to personal preferance I love the 107 cause you can use hacked firmware i.e follow the link.

http://www.dvd-recordable.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=Downloads&file=index&req=getit&lid=96

This allows X8 speed burns on all media x1,x2,x4 al with stable results. But at £72.00 Sterling it loose's hands down to the NEC 2500A which is around £63.00 sterling and with a build quality to match the Pioneer 107 you have to give it a go. And with X8 media out well in the UK anyway. £23.00 for 25 disk as OK.

I use these guys

http://www.nexus22.com/en-gb/dept_4.html
http://www.wcwmedia.co.uk
http://scancom.com

[DokSoul]

I just wanted to comment on dual layer burners. It appears from prior releases of hardware and media that once dual burners are released, there will probably be a period where the firmware and media are unreliable. Aren't dual layer disks pretty much vaporware at the moment?Won't there initial costs and burn speeds be a pain? We've seen this with each progression of features on DVD drives. I sat on the sidelines thinking I'd wait for dual layer and finally figured out...why wait. In the interim I can burn to single disks using compression software like dvdshrink etc. In the long term I can use Divx or WMV9 or other mpeg4 based software to load a whole disk to a single layer disk. There are more and more home stereo dvd players that are supporting these new mpeg4 formats and the price is getting cheaper. So as a different philosophy to those awaiting dual layer or blue-ray, I'll stay with the cheaper, real technology of single layer for the moment and use mpeg4 if I want everthing from a dual layer on a single layer disk without discarding anything.
P.S. I bought a NEC2500a ($80, pacific digital, OM) this month and got 50 Prodiscs 4X from meritline.com for $35 including shipping - about 70 cents each. Burned 5 so far, no costers.

[CaseyComb]

Good philosophy DokSoul. I for one never buy a drive unless I can get it for around $100 or less and until the dual layers come down to that price I aint even remotely interested.

[code65536]

Get a BenQ DW822A it will be dual layer upgradeable - the only one out on market back up by the manufacturer to do so. Newegg has it for $99.

If they keep their promise. And even then, it won't be until September.

[joeyjoejnr]

i'm also thinking of buying a dvd writer mainly for PS2 games and DVD movies as i already have a really realible cdrw drive. a couple of mates have said to get it from dabs.com. it recommends the following

- Pioneer DVD+-R/RW Int IDE 8x Bare drive only £75.00 inc VAT

- Plextor DVD+-R/RW 8x Int IDE Retail £109.00 inc VAT

- LG Electronics I.T DVD+-R/RW/RAM 8x Int IDE RP £75.00 inc VAT

- NEC DVD+-R/RW 8x Int IDE OEM £65.99 inc VAT

- Lite-ON DVD+/-R/RW 8x IDE Retail £69.00 inc VAT

i'm thinking of getting the NEC as many of you lot have said its top dog or the pioneer one. which would be the best for PS2 games and DVD films?

[gitreel]

Any one will do the job. I use an Emprex 8x dual format burner. It boils down to your preference, and whatever will work for you.

[indolikaa]

I'd probably go the LG drive. I like the -RAM capability, and the price point isn't too bad.

[Vanderlow]

>>>Good philosophy DokSoul<<<<

Except for one big hole - you can get a dual layer capable burner now for $99 (at NE) it's called the BenQ DW822A. It's older sibling has gotten rave reviews on two german magazines for it's single level performance at 8x (with a CATS scanner). CDRinfo said it has very good reading and ripping capability along with good burning quality, so you're getting a stelar single layer burner and the promise of dual layer for free or even cheaper then same other brands with no promise of DL and less burn quality. So if you have to buy a burner today, you can have a DL burner for under $100! If you can wait 2-3 weeks, BenQ will come out will a true DL and its 2nd generation guidiance system (OPC).

You can also look at the Kprobes (if that means anything to you) on this thread below. The DW822A burn Ritek 4x at 8x and had a Pi max of 19 Po max of 3. It also did 65 cent Prodisc at 8x with a Pi max of 6 and a Po max of 4! TDK Ricoh JPNR01 4x at 8x and Kprobe is: PI max = 5 avg =0.206, Po max = 3 avg = .009!

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=93588&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

[tag]

Except for one big hole - you can get a dual layer capable burner now for $99 (at NE) it's called the BenQ DW822A. It's older sibling has gotten rave reviews on two german magazines for it's single level performance at 8x (with a CATS scanner).

My sentiments exactly. You get a great drive at a decent price and one that's DL-capable NOW.

BTW, the order I placed with CompuVest for the DW822A arrived this afternoon! I ordered it Tuesday night. Fast!!

[handyguy]

The best drive is a Panasonic Authoring drive with Panasonic authoring media. Get this one, youll be really happy. It's only a few thousand dollars.

[lenti_75]

if I would buy a burner now, I would go for BenQ, first, because it's the same price as Pioneer and Nec, and second, because it's DL upgradable.....
who cares if media will be available within next...xxx months, and if there will be any problems regarding compatibility with media, or burning problems.....you gave it a shot....doesn't work, you still can use it as single layer, at the SAME price.....BUT, if it works, and it will, no doubt, you spare the money for another burner.....
but then, probably you will want a faster one......

just do what YOU want to do......