BenQ 1620 versus Pioneer DVR-108

[Ma_Jie]

Hi guys. What are the major differences between these drives?

I know they're both excellent, and that the BenQ offers bit-setting out-of-box,. but is there any other major difference? Does anyone know if both will play BenQ 8X media? I think the media code = SONY08D1.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!

MJ

[budz]

the sony media code you've posted others have used them....check out the BENQ FORUM at cdfreaks.com.....in my opinion the sony media isn't the greatest as far as quality....you want quality then use TAIYO YUDEN or MAXELL media......bitsetting is out of the box and there is a firmware upgrade to enable the drive to burn 4x DUAL LAYER media.....BENQ has great support for their drives with frequent firmware upgrades for better compatibility with different dvd media......in my opinion DUAL LAYER media is still too expensive and compatibility according to lordsmurf is not the greatest.....both pioneer 108 and benq 1620 are both good drives...i own 2 I/O MAGIC dvd burners that are rebadged BENQ 1620's, a PIONEER 107d, PLEXTOR 708a & a LITEON 411@811. I haven't had problems with any of them as far as compatibility with different brands of standalone dvd players.

[Ma_Jie]

Hi budz. Thanks for replying. I might just go w/ thre TY then: they're a little more, here, than twice as expensive, but if they're the best, i's probably worth it. Are TYG02 media good? Is there a way to tell if it's fake? Because I buy a 100 for $70 CDN + tax.

Thanks,

Ma Jie

EDIT: It's the Silver TY...not printable or w/ a label/logo on it.

[budz]

where are you ordering your TYG02 from in canada? www.rima.com ships to canada. they are a reputable online store that i've purchased TY media from before. with TY media there is a serial number embedded in the hub of the disc. i've heard too many horror stories about other online retailers that supposedly sell TY media. www.rima.com is the bomb when it comes to TAIYO YUDEN media.

[Ma_Jie]

Hi. I'm buying from blankmedia.ca .... I read that they're reputable over in the Media forum. One fellow, Rick the Red, said:

Service is very good
Packaging is very good
DVD media are as expected.

Sounds good enough for me; they're only 2 hours from my house, maybe less actually, and I think it's free shipping, so it looks OK.

- Ma Jie

[budz]

Hi. I'm buying from blankmedia.ca .... I read that they're reputable over in the Media forum. One fellow, Rick the Red, said:

Service is very good
Packaging is very good
DVD media are as expected.

Sounds good enough for me; they're only 2 hours from my house, maybe less actually, and I think it's free shipping, so it looks OK.

- Ma Jie

good to hear it is close to your home....for me i have to pay high shipping costs cuz i'm on a island.....Honolulu, Hawaii..................

[Ma_Jie]

H again budz. I just checked rima...at an exchange rate of roughly 21%, the media are about $10 cheaper CDN; but I imagine any savings would evaporate after shipping. If it was a 1:1 exchange, I'd definitely buy through RIMA: it's $21 cheaper than blankmedia.ca

- MJ

[Phantom Of The Opera]

Hi guys. What are the major differences between these drives?

I know they're both excellent, and that the BenQ offers bit-setting out-of-box,. but is there any other major difference? Does anyone know if both will play BenQ 8X media? I think the media code = SONY08D1.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!

MJ

The Pioneer works with DVD-RAM, BenQ doesn't.

[lordsmurf]

Read this thread:
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=250021

[HatchetMan]

BenQ and Plextor, love 'em or hate 'em. NEC and Pioneer, pretty hard to say a bad thing about 'em.

[Ma_Jie]

Hi guys! Thank you all very much for your replies! What I've decided to do is test each burner: I will buy one of each, try it for 5 days, then return the one that doesn't perform as well. Would testing them using Maxell +R be a good choice? They're apparently made in Japan, and while I would prefer to get the TY media, they're too expensive (they actually charge shipping @ blankmedia.ca!! >.< )

Thanks again,

JSM

[mikesbytes]

Hi guys! Thank you all very much for your replies! What I've decided to do is test each burner: I will buy one of each, try it for 5 days, then return the one that doesn't perform as well. Would testing them using Maxell +R be a good choice? They're apparently made in Japan, and while I would prefer to get the TY media, they're too expensive (they actually charge shipping @ blankmedia.ca!! >.< )

Thanks again,

JSM

Hi Ma_Jie, can you post the outcome of your test when you are done.

[Ma_Jie]

Will do mate. I'll probably go with the Maxell -R. From what I've been told, the Pioneer DVR-108 works best with -R while BenQ, with a fitmware update, works fine with -R, so it seems like a solid choice. The price is also somewhat cheaper than the TYs (roughly $20-22 cheaper per 100 spindle).

- Ma Jie

[budz]

the BENQ 1620 tends to burn DVD+R media better which is a known fact just as LITEON drives burn DVD+R media better...in my own tests DVD-R media burned well on the BENQ.

as for lordsmurf's comment about BENQ 1620 as being crap.....that's his opinion.... i'm not dissing you lordsmurf but the BENQ 1620 drive is a great drive....i don't know what bad or junk experience your friend had with it but in this case you may not be correct....you mentioned in the other thread, "Editor's choice awards are meaningless. Very often reviews for hardware are also based on the freebie software that comes with it, or how many seconds faster it is. How stupid. I see this all the time. Those people should have their writing privileges revoked.".

i've seen on cdrfeaks.com reviews on Pioneer drives which have rave reviews and awards....so then those awards for Pioneer are meaningless just as you have said about BENQ 1620......


many others have posted good comments on the BENQ drive maybe not in this forum site but in others such as cdrlabs.com and at the BENQ forum at cdfreaks.com. don't let others judge a drives ability when they don't even own one let alone test out the drive for themselves.....i read for months about the BENQ 1620 being a excellent dvd burner and reader before I decided to take the plunge to purchase the drive myself....whoas! i was surprised to see how well the drive worked.....they say Pioneer's drives are the best readers but in my experience the dvds that couldn't rip from my toshiba dvdroms and pioneer 107 burner could be read in the BENQ 1620.....again this is my experience.....

[Ma_Jie]

Hi budz. I'm going to buy the BenQ 1620 on Thursday. It's cheaper than the Pio108 too. And it'll work w/ Maxell DVD-R's right? Or should I just get +R?

Thanks,

MJ

[mikesbytes]

There seems to be 2 versions of the 1620, a standard and a pro

http://www.benq.com.au/HomeProductList.asp?bc=23

[budz]

Hi budz. I'm going to buy the BenQ 1620 on Thursday. It's cheaper than the Pio108 too. And it'll work w/ Maxell DVD-R's right? Or should I just get +R?

the pioneer 108 tends to like burning DVD-R media than DVD+R.....the BENQ 1620 tends to like DVD+R media.....i've used DVD-R media maxell, fuji (TY) on my 1620 drives and had no problems with them....again this is my experience....do check out the BENQ 1620 forum.....

[Ma_Jie]

Hi budz. I bought the Maxell DVD-Rs, so hopefully they'll work w/ the BenQ. And if they don't, I'll pick up a Pio and see if they work better w/ that drive. Oh, and if anyone is thinking of buying a PIO108, and lives in Toronto, STAY AWAY from PC4Canada on Spadina. (THey're $3-4 vheaper, though, then the next cheapest place.) They do not allow returns on OEM components, so that makes one wonder exactly how reputable they are. Every other place I talked to, in the Spadina/College area, is 7 Days.

Apparently, SmartBuy and Pio works well together, and they're pretty cheap.

- MJ

EDIT: Budz: An OEM BenQ 1620 is the same as the retail one, right? B/c for some reason, where I live, the BenQ retail is more than 2x the OEM.

[mikesbytes]

Generally speaking the difference between OEM and Retail is that Retail comes in a nice box and may have more software bundled with it, where OEM comes in a plastic bag.

[tekkieman]

EDIT: Budz: An OEM BenQ 1620 is the same as the retail one, right? B/c for some reason, where I live, the BenQ retail is more than 2x the OEM.

An OEM BenQ can sometimes show as ATAPI instead of BenQ, and the firmware usually starts with a "G" instead of "B". They can be reflashed to show as BenQ, and use retail firmware ("B" version). This is what I did with mine.

[mikesbytes]

The BenQ drives seem a little hard to get in Sydney. Does anyone know any rebadged ones that are actually BenQ drives?

[oldfart13]

HP 630i might or might not be BenQ depending on what HP bought that week. Check the lists of DVD burners. I just bought one for a friend for $90CAD and no rebate...

[budz]

mikesbytes wrote

Does anyone know any rebadged ones that are actually BenQ drives?

I/O MAGIC 16x dvd burners some of them are rebadged BENQ 1620 drives .....on the outside of the box you need to look at the specifications of the drive.....if it says 4X DUAL LAYER burning then the drive IS NOT A BENQ 1620, it is a BTC DRIVE......from what i've read I/O MAGIC is now using BTC drives....if the outside of the box says 2.4x DUAL LAYER burning then it is a rebadged BENQ drive.....as already pointed out some of the rebadged BENQ has firmware "G" which just means it's a OEM version of the drive....firmware "B" is the retail version of the drive....i had one of each which i just recently crossflashed the "G" firmware one to the "B" firmware....technically both the "G" & "B" firmwares are exactly the same....I/O MAGIC usually comes out with their latest firmwares long after BENQ releases their newest firmwares.

[Phantom Of The Opera]

Hi Budz,

How did your cross-flashing go?

I have a G7C9 which I want to take to B7T9. I've downloaded the required files from BenQ's support site, but not done the actual work yet. Do you have any hints/tips for me, pitfalls to avoid, etc.?

Based on my reading of posts at CDRlabs, I have to go first from G7C9 to B5G9 (take it from an OEM 1620 to a genuine BenQ 1600) and from there I can ugrade to any newer version of BenQ firmware (B7T9, for instance). The other route I can go is directly from G7C9 to G7P9 and stay in the OEM camp. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

[tekkieman]

I cross flashed mine from the OEM G to the BenQ 1600 to BenQ 1620 B7P9, and it went flawlessly. If I recall, the instructions stated you may not need to reboot after each flash, but I did anyway.

[budz]

Phantom of the Opera wrote

Hi Budz,

How did your cross-flashing go?

I have a G7C9 which I want to take to B7T9. I've downloaded the required files from BenQ's support site, but not done the actual work yet. Do you have any hints/tips for me, pitfalls to avoid, etc.?

Based on my reading of posts at CDRlabs, I have to go first from G7C9 to B5G9 (take it from an OEM 1620 to a genuine BenQ 1600) and from there I can ugrade to any newer version of BenQ firmware (B7T9, for instance). The other route I can go is directly from G7C9 to G7P9 and stay in the OEM camp. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

I flashed my OEM drive without any problems.....I did not go from G7C9 to B5G9.....I went straight from G7C9 to B7P9 by using the unofficial BENQ site....here's the link:
http://dvdpro.club.st/firmware/BENQ_FW.htm

All you do is download the WinDWflash.exe and the B7P9.CVT file. I flashed my OEM drive in SAFE MODE. Make sure you don't run any programs in the background shut them all down before flashing the drive, programs like antivirus. After flashing the drive I did reboot my pc. For more information on flashing your OEM drive check out the BENQ FORUM at cdfreaks.com. Good luck and let us know how it went.

[Phantom Of The Opera]

Thanks much, budz. A few more questions, if I may:

1. What is SAFE mode? Are you just talking about killing all other apps, virus-checkers etc, or is there some special mode command I have to enter somewhere?

2. I notice there are two type of firmware files, the EXEs and the CVTs. Which do I have to use?

Thanks. I don't see this kind of info on the BenQ firmware website.

[lordsmurf]

1.
Something that has existed for 10 years now:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/productdoc/en/default.asp?url=/WINDOWSXP...t_failsafe.asp
Reboot, F5 (or F8, I forget), SAFE MODE.

2.
Readme's and other documentation.
EXE are programs, have existed for 20+ years.
CVT is a data file. I would guess both are needed.
Run EXE, open CVT, maybe.
Or have CVT in same place as EXE when run.

[budz]

2. I notice there are two type of firmware files, the EXEs and the CVTs. Which do I have to use?

Thanks. I don't see this kind of info on the BenQ firmware website.

if you're not comfortable in flashing the drive to the 1620 pro then leave your drive with the "G" firmware.....the "B" firmware is just official firmware from BENQ, the "G" firmware is from OEM drives that are rebadged like the brand I/O MAGIC.

if you're going to crossflash there is no need to download from BENQ site.....just use the link i gave you earlier: http://dvdpro.club.st/firmware/BENQ_FW.htm .....download the winDWflasher.exe file and the B7P9 CVT file.......REMEMBER TO TURN OFF ANY PROGRAMS RUNNING IN THE BACKGROUND BEFORE YOU FLASH THE DRIVE......open up the flasher program by double clicking on it....then find the B7P9 CVT file....then click flash drive.....let it do it's thing and when it's completed then reboot your pc....as suggested please check out the BENQ FORUM at cdfreaks.com for more help if needed.

http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=92

thread on cross flashing your BENQ DRIVE:
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=99418

P.S. it's up to you if you wanna flash the drive in SAFE MODE. you don't have to flash it in SAFE MODE but some suggest it's better.

[Toaster]

Did I miss something? What was the difference between the 1620 and the 1620 PRO ?