need new dvd burner, very picky

[slimpickins]

my nec 3520 was great but know it giving me loads of coasters even though i changed the batch of disks

i use verbatim data-life plus 16x (all the time)

can someone point me in the right direction

thanks


p.s searched the forums but couldnt get any specifics

[slimpickins]

been checking out cdr-one and other review sites but there are so many to choose from, making back-ups of dvd's is important to me and other than that there isnt much i need assured

[Denvers Dawgs]

Benq 1650 if your going to be using + media

[classfour]

Have you installed any new software since this was noticed?

Have you updated the firmware on the drive?

Have you tried slowing down the burn? Even with 16X media, I'd actually burn at 8X, no more than 12X - then only if the final dvd scanned above 95 in nero cdspeed.

I had the same issues with a Plextor last year - it wasn't the drive, there were software issues. A clean install of XP Pro on a new machine fixed it.

Since many drives are less than $50 (or $40) now, including some nice BenQs, Pioneers, LiteOns, etc.; I'd go over to the hardware forums and see what everyone has to say about theirs.

I actually have a high opinion about NECs: cheap, quiet, good burns. The only gripe appears to be the longevity, but I have installed a half a dozen >3500 series in the past year or so, and all are doing well. I've probably done 200 burns on the 3520 in my desktop, double that on the PX712SA in the same machine without issues.

If it's a system or software issue, changing the drive may or may not fix the problem.

Good Luck.

[handyguy]

Could be that new batch of media too.