plextor 708A Vs NEC 2500

[dat]

My NEC 1100A just died 2 days ago. I am going to buy a new drive, single layer. Don't want to buy a dual layer which does not have dual layer media yet and cannot wait (wife wants to copy some movies right now). Which drive is better, Plextor 708 or NEC 2500? I tried Pioneer A07 with firmware 1.10 and 1.13 but does not work right for me with dvdxcopy express nor +RW format. Please give your opinion if you owned either plextor or NEC. If you don't have either drive, please do not reply. Thank you.

[HAMP]

Not sure where to start. I love my Plex's, I have the 708A and the 712A.

The quality and speed of these drives are the best, I have a friend who does use the Pioneer A07, but he loves how the 708A can burn @ 8X with 4X media, me I am loving doing it with 8X media @ 12x speed or the 8X with 4x media

[budz]

I own a Plextor 708A drive and have never had any problems with it. The main complaints about the drive is it doesn't burn "CHEAP" media well. If you're going to use cheap media then buy the NEC or whatever other drive you would want. NEC has bitsetting capability vs Plextor doesn't. To enable bitsetting on the NEC drive you have to use a hacked firmware. The plextor has better writing quality in my opinion.

Use the "RECOMMENDED" brands of DVD MEDIA with the Plextor drive. From the "RECOMMENDED" brands I use only MAXELL DVD-R 4x, FUJI (TAIYO YUDEN) DVD-R 4x, TDK DVD-R, VERBATIM DVD-R & IMATION (RICOH) DVD+R 4x that can be burned@8x. Also I use from the "COMPATIBLE" brands I use RITEK DVD-R 4x orange tops and COMPUSA DVD-R 1x "PRINCO" that burns 2x. Like I said if you wanna use cheap media then go for the NEC. I'm very satisfied with my Plextor drive. Only burnt "ONE" coaster using a MEMOREX DVD+R media which I found through dvdinfo pro to be manufactured by CMC which we know is CRAPPY MEDIA. Now's the time to buy the PLEXTOR 708A since the 712A is out. There's a $30 mail in rebate for the 708A. Lastly remember there are so many variables involved when backing up dvds such as how the drive is set up in your pc to the software you use and the brands of dvd media.

P.S. using DVDXCOPY EXPRESS isn't the best software to use to back up dvd movies. Read this link regarding DVDXCOPY EXPRESS USING PLEXTOR 708A DRIVE.
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?threadid=77126

[bdgriff]

This is where I totally disagree! IMHO, I bought a NEC 2500 for 89$ to replace my old sony dru 500 about 3 months ago. I also have a Lite on cd rw. I absolutely love my NEC for several reasons. Now truthfully, NEC (the company) is VERY slow about f/w but I used Herrie's 107beta4 f/w available at cdfreaks forums. Since then I have burned memorex 4X @ 8x, Ritek R03 @ 8, Prodisc 4X@6, and even some older TDK 2.4 @ 8X...So, I just love it. For your own satisfaction, go to the above forums and read about both drives....Good Luck.

p.s There is even hinting of hacked firwmare by Herrie to allow the drive to write to dual layer media...

[code65536]

hinting of hacked firwmare by Herrie to allow the drive to write to dual layer media...

"hinting"? *chuckles* what an understatement.

My personal order of preference...

1) LiteOn
2) NEC
3) Pioneer
4) BenQ
5) Plextor

[dat]

Thank everybody for the advice.
Budz, Thanks a lot for the link to dvdxcopy express issue. It saved me a lot of troubles.
Dat

[bdgriff]

So DAT, what did you decide to do? Just curious, Robert

[dmagic1]

I seriously would not suggest going with the Plextor. I had one, key word "HAD". Of the two, go with the NEC.

[westlaw]

I have a Plextor 708a. I love the drive! I've had mine since Oct 03. Since I've purchased it, I've been burning an average of 200 dvds each month.

To be honest with you, I'm surprised it still works. I've burned up to 50 DVDs at one sitting , one after another, nonstop... the Plextor burned all of the DVDs without any problems or writing errors.

I thought for sure the drive would stop functioning by now due to my heavy usage. It hasn't.

I don't even care for the Plextor brand per sae. But I admit, I'm happy with the 708a.

As far as DVD media, I've haven't tried the really cheap stuff like princos. I typically use Arita DVD+R or Ridata DVD-R.

[dat]

I bought a Plextor ($179) at bestbuy because I believe in "you get what you pay", tried out one day but did not like the drive. I tested the plextor with some iso files (movies) in my harddrive which previously burned without any problem with NEC ND1100A. First, the plextor burned slower than my old NEC ND1100A (compare to the same +R 4X media burned with NEC with Dvddecryter). The Plextor burned at exactly 4.0 and my NEC burned at 4.1. The plextor also has some playback problems with my Sony and Panasonics player which the NEC burned did not have a problem. I returned the Plextor and ordered NEC ND2500A at ebuyer ($75).

[firefoxx]

Originally, I was satisfied with my Plextor 708A. It wrote CDRs well, and could write on approved media well. However, after trying various (more than 10) brands of non-approved media, and getting only 1 (and not that cheap) to actually work (by this, I mean that they write successfully, but cannot playback correctly -even on the plextor itself-, as opposed to approved media), I'm not so satisfied.

If I were in the US of A, where all stuff is cheap, competition is high, and the selection is varied, I wouldn't be worried. But I, like many other people in this forum, am a resident of the ROTW (rest of the world), where this stuff is expensive, hard to find, and practically never on sale. And where the level of income is nowhere near US "middle class" standard. So, cheap media compatibility is quite a big concern for me.

I, like "dat", had expected to get what I paid (I did have the choice of getting a much cheaper liteon, but it's too late to change now, but I told my friend to get the NEC, and he's happier than I am). However, in the real world, this isn't always true. What I got was an overpriced drive that can write CDRs well but isn't very compatible with DVDRs. My perspective is that the liteon and NEC drives can do pretty much everything the Plextor can, and more, for less.

Disclaimer: My experiences/feelings/opinions/ramblings are my own, and not representative of others.

[budz]

My perspective is that the liteon and NEC drives can do pretty much everything the Plextor can, and more, for less

lol I don't know what software you're using or brands of media or what firmware you're using the drive. But my Plextor 708A has no problems at all. I've had the drive since November 2003. As for the Liteon drives I can say my experience with it is not that great. In my opinion the Plextor 708A writing quality on dvds is so much better than Liteon. I can burn the same movie with both drives and the Liteon burned disc will have more problems in playing back correctly in my standalone dvd players as well as in Panasonic & Toshiba dvd players. I use the same software in each of the drives and the Plextor one always works in any dvd player compared to the Liteon drive. If you're using cheap media with the Plextor 708A expect problems. Anyway as I've said my experience with Plextor is great.

The Plextor burned at exactly 4.0 and my NEC burned at 4.1. The plextor also has some playback problems with my Sony and Panasonics player which the NEC burned did not have a problem. I returned the Plextor and ordered NEC ND2500A at ebuyer

To dat: I have the 708A and all the discs I burn playback fine on Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Apex, Lenoxx, Initial & Rca standalone dvd players. I can burn them as ISO images and it still plays back on those brands of dvd players. Too bad you didn't keep the 708A drive and post the problems you were having when you had it. As far as your post of the Plextor burned @4.0 and Nec burned@ 4.1 isn't a big difference in my eyes. You don't mention what firmware your Plextor was using, what software you used and what brand of dvd media you used. Well, I guess it doesn't matter now since you have a Nec drive.

[firefoxx]

Budz, you're entitled to your opinion. You're even entitled to laughing at other people's opinions. But you can't seem to get the fact that there are those who aren't having a field day with their Plextor drives like you are. You can keep repeating that your experience is great, but that means squat to someone who buys the drive and gets less than what he paid for.

FYI, I've used Nero 5 (various versions) and Nero 6 (various versions), tmpgenc dvd author, the factory firmware (1.04 I think, from Dec of last year), the yanked 1.05 firmware, and the 1.06 firmware. All with the same results. So... about 30 different brands of DVD media, 3 different versions of firmware, tons of proven authoring software, and 3 different firmwares. Care to tell me what's wrong with my drive? Why it only writes well on approved media?

If the liteon is, as you say from your experience, not that great, what about the NEC? Why in the world would anyone buy the Plextor over the NEC?

[budz]

firefoxx wrote the following:

FYI, I've used Nero 5 (various versions) and Nero 6 (various versions), tmpgenc dvd author, the factory firmware (1.04 I think, from Dec of last year), the yanked 1.05 firmware, and the 1.06 firmware. All with the same results. So... about 30 different brands of DVD media, 3 different versions of firmware, tons of proven authoring software, and 3 different firmwares. Care to tell me what's wrong with my drive? Why it only writes well on approved media?

If the liteon is, as you say from your experience, not that great, what about the NEC? Why in the world would anyone buy the Plextor over the NEC?

Originally, I was satisfied with my Plextor 708A. It wrote CDRs well, and could write on approved media well. However, after trying various (more than 10) brands of non-approved media, and getting only 1 (and not that cheap) to actually work (by this, I mean that they write successfully, but cannot playback correctly -even on the plextor itself-, as opposed to approved media), I'm not so satisfied.

First of all I based my own opinions on my experiences with the PLEXTOR 708A drive. You mentioned you used 10 NON APPROVED DISCS and only got 1 to work. If you read any of my posts on the PLEXTOR 708A drive I always suggest to people to use the " RECOMMENDED BRANDS OF DVD MEDIA THAT PLEXTOR SUPPORTS". The reason for that is because using the "NON APPROVED DVD MEDIA", as you call it, could result in burning coasters. Not all COMPATIBLE BRANDS OF DVD MEDIA that PLEXTOR supports will work. If people want to use cheap dvd media then the Plextor drive is not the one to purchase. I suggest to others to purchase a NEC, PIONEER & LITEON drives if they want to use cheap media.

FYI I use NERO BURN VERSION 5.5.10.42, firmware 1.04 on my PLEXTOR 708A drive. I've burned only 1 coaster because it was a MEMOREX DVD+R DISC manufactured by CMC which is crap media.
I back up my dvd movie collection & home videos using the "RECOMMENDED BRANDS OF DVD MEDIA THAT PLEXTOR SUPPORTS". I use FUJI (TAIYO YUDEN) DVD-R 4x, MAXELL DVD-R 4x, VERBATIM DVD-R, TDK DVD-R, & IMATION DVD+R 4x that can be burned @8x. I also use from the COMPATIBLE BRANDS that PLEXTOR supports like RITEK DVD-R 4x & COMPUSA (PRINCO) DVD-R 1x that can be burned @2x.

I can't answer why your Plextor drive doesn't work. You only mention you've used different firmwares, different nero burn and other authoring software. What I've learned from this website and others is that there are too many variables in authoring and burning dvds. From how the drive is set up in your pc to the brands of dvd media and what software that is being used. There is no ONE definite answer to why your drive doesn't work as to why my drive will work perfectly. The one common ground people will do is blame the drive when they burn coasters or the burnt disc doesn't playback correctly in their standalone dvd players. Rule of thumb is use good quality dvd media with the Plextor drive. This is based on my own experiences using the PLEXTOR 708A. As with any other brand of dvd burners they all have their pros and cons. Feel free to check out cdfreaks.com they have forums for PLEXTOR, PIONEER, LITEON, NEC & LG.

__________________________________________________ __________

[mob]

i own a NEC 2500a and it is great. I use the hacked firmware and i can burn my ritek g04's at 8X.

Great drive, never any problems.

[dat]

To Budz,
I really appreciate your help. I did not say that the plextor is not great. It may be the greatest drive to you but it is not as great as I expected. The NEC is much cheaper (less than half the price) but has a better media compatibility. It is stupid to me if I have to use approved media. I don't want to pay twice the price to get a drive that limited the media you can use on it. In my opinion, a good drive can burn any media you put in it, not a limited approved media. The media I use to test is Memorex 4X printable which is RICOHJPNR01. I tried to liteon 812s and NEC 2500. Either one is outperformed Plextor 708. Frankly, I like the liteon most because it is officially supported bit setting by liteon. I can't return NEC because I bought online, therefore I will keep both NEC 2500 and lite-on 812s. I paid $75 for NEC and $80 for lite-on which is still less than $179 for Plextor. Beside I have 2 desktops and 2 laptops. I will put the NEC 2500 in the external enclosure to use with the laptops.
For those still search for a new drive, I recommend lite-on 812s. This recommendation is based on Plextor 708A, NEC ND2500A, Pioneer A07, and Lite-on 812s.

[fmctm1sw]

Here we go again with the "Plextor doesn't burn cheap media" thread. I'm not here to promote or bash either one. I'll just say that I've never had a problem burning anything with my Plextor. I've even used "Admeco" and "Super-X" brand media

[budz]

dat wrote:

To Budz,
I really appreciate your help. I did not say that the plextor is not great. It may be the greatest drive to you but it is not as great as I expected.

I don't pay high prices for the RECOMMENDED BRANDS OF MEDIA that PLEXTOR supports. I buy in bulk when these brands are on sale: MAXELL, FUJI (TAIYO YUDEN), VERBATIM (RICOH), IMATION (RICOH) & TDK(as long as it's not CMC). I don't pay high costs for those brands. Paying 93 cents a disc for MAXELL DVD-R 4x for 30 discs is affordable for me. To pay even $1.00 a disc is still affordable to me. I've paid anywhere from 93 cents to $1.15 each disc for those brands of dvd media. I wouldn't trade those cheap prices for cheap media like MEMOREX which some is manufactured by CMC. I think the PLEXTOR drive has better quality writing than the LITEON 411S@811S drive I have.

Whatever works for each individual is all that matters. The Plextor meets my needs and expectations.

__________________________________________________ ___________

on the slow pent 933 pc again

[broadwayrock]

I buy very cheap media for my plextor 708a: bulkpaq & datawrite red v3. I have not problems in burning them or playback on standalone dvd players.

The cheap media problem may have existed on the first few firmware releases but they seemed to be gone now.

[Sam Ontario]

All DVD burners are now available on markets are matured products. Reliable and burn just everything you throw in. So boilt down to personal preference only. Some likes it upgradeable to DL burning, some likes it price cheap.

My preferences based on prices available in Ontario are as follows:

LG 4082B
NEC 2500
LiteOn 812S
Pioneer
.
.
.
.
Plextor 708

[DTSL06]

I have both burners.

The Plex 708a is IDE and the NEC 2500a is USB2

I use the Plex to burn mainly +R media since it can burn Memorex 4x ricohojpn01 at 8x and I get great results from this combo. The Plex will burn -R as long as they are decent quality media (I use ProdiscS03 and Ritek G04). It was my main burner. But still my go to burner for +R media.

The NEC 2500 as stock is just OK but with Herrie's 1.07v2b5 FW, its a great burner, burns the prodiscs03 and Ritek G4 4x -R at 8x and I get great results with this combo. Also Herrie's FW has DL and bit setting along with region free and rip speed limit removed. Starting to use this burner as my main burner now. Mainly for -R media. Ricohjpn01 +R media will now burn at 8x when at stock, only at 6x also.

IMO when stock, I got better results from the Plex 708a, right from the getgo it burned the memorex 4x ricohjpn01 at 8x and produced great results. My NEC with stock OEM FW's (and OEM updates) was not very good (almost sold it since it was so bad on media support). But when the NEC is upgraded with some of the better hack'd FW then its a great burner.

Price wise the NEC wins over the Plex.

[firefoxx]

I really don't want to beat this to death, but let me clarify my statements:
I provided firmware, software, etc information since budz has inferred that any problems that anyone has may be from said sources, and that providing said information would allow him to pinpoint the problem. Done, and no solution.
I have repeatedly stated that for approved DVD+/- media, the Plextor burns fine, reads fine (which should mean that I have a working drive). However, for anything NOT on the list (both + and -, at any speed, with only 1 exception in nearly 20 so far), the burn finishes without a hiccup. But it won't read all the way in ANY of my readers (DVD-ROM, a Pioneer DVD player, a new centrino notebook, and the PLEXTOR ITSELF).
I have also stated pretty often that I do not live in the US of A, which is about the only place you can get approved media at the incredibly low prices budz mentions. Over here, the price difference between cheap and approved media is HUGE. I'm actually lucky if I can get cheap media for the prices that budz pays for approved media.

It might just be MY drive that's funky. Who knows. But I certainly can't return it since it does write on approved media.

With that out of the way, let's view this from an economic/usability perspective: The NEC/Liteon both do 8x on + and - media. They cost about half as much as the Plextor. They both have hacked firmware to do DL. And from what my friend (who has bought the NEC and has used the cheap media available here) says, it writes/reads great on the same media that I can't use.

Seriously, even without the cheap media argument, why would anyone pay double to get less?

I'm not "out" to get Plextor or anything. I hate their tech support (arrogant and useless), but I did like the Plextor CDRW that I replaced. But in this case, it's a matter of being seriously lacking, and I provide my more staid criticism to counter other's gushing enthusiasm.

[budz]

firefoxx wrote:

I have repeatedly stated that for approved DVD+/- media, the Plextor burns fine, reads fine (which should mean that I have a working drive). However, for anything NOT on the list (both + and -, at any speed, with only 1 exception in nearly 20 so far), the burn finishes without a hiccup. But it won't read all the way in ANY of my readers (DVD-ROM, a Pioneer DVD player, a new centrino notebook, and the PLEXTOR ITSELF).

Interesting post but as we all know there are too many variables in dvd burning. What may not work for you may work for others. What software are you using to back up your dvds? All the dvds I've burned with my Plextor 708A playback & read fine in my toshiba dvdroms, liteon burner, the 708A itself, lenoxx, rca, apex, initial, sony, panasonic, toshiba, pioneer & jvc dvd players.

All I can say is I'm happy with the drive because it hasn't disappointed me yet as far as burning and reading dvds. As for your comment about paying double to get less I have to laugh about that. Reason is take a look at the NEC forum at cdfreaks.com, cdrlabs.com forum & the firmware page forum. You will see that NEC has just as much problems with brands of media as any other brand including Plextor.

[firefoxx]

budz, I think I'll just let this lie, since you don't actually read what I say. Case in point: You STILL ask what software I've used (after I've actually stated it, and referred to it, in this very post, and YOU have quoted it). You've told another person to state only firmware, software, and media brand, and that will provide an answer, and now you say that there are too many variables. Yes, I'll just let this lie, since you can't remember what anyone says, or what even you yourself say, so carrying on any discussion with you is like "50 first dates".

As for problems with the NEC, you say just as many problems as the Plextor eh? Then, for people buying the Plextor, you STILL get a drive that has just as many problems, does less, for twice the price. Brand loyalty can be blinding, often making a person skip obvious facts.