BTC DRW1008 Internal Dual Drive 8xDVD+/-R/RW

[Mark Warren]

I am considering purchasing the above dvd rewriter

Has anybody got one and can they give me a brief review of the quality , any problems they have had etc...

[lordsmurf]

I've been VERY happy with my BTC 1004

[ccbadd]

I have been VERY unhappy with my BTC 1004. I would look over this forum before buying the BTC drive: http://forum.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?s=4de2ad501cc4c75ed49ea4b530caa32a&forumid=84

I do think the 1004 will eventually be like the Liteon 411S after a few firmwares were released. Right now, BTC needs to put a lot more work into the firmware to make this drive reliable. Buy the way, I only use name brand media that can be purchased locally (Memorex, Imation, Fugi) and still have problems with this drive. All these work great on my NEC 1300A and Pioneer 105.

[lordsmurf]

Most complaints about most hardware/software are related to three things:

1) Bad computer
2) Bad media
3) User error

Just my thoughts on that. I get that from family and friends all the time. "My stuff won't work. This is trash." I take a look, and five minutes later it's working fine. I'm no miracle worker, I just know what I'm doing.

The BTC "problems" I've seen have been no different.

I'm on 0043 fw, Nero 5.5.10.54 and using RICOHKPN, TDK, RITEK and MXL media on it, only on coaster, relegated to the 0039 fw it came with.

Also, the drive does not like switching between +R and -R in the same sitting. Use all of one or the other. Reboot to switch. Many dual drives are like this, including the NEC, Sony and Pioneer ones.

[ccbadd]

lordsmurf,

I am using this drive on a Dell 4600 that is less that 2 months old with Nero 5.5.10.54 running Windows XP Pro. I have the NEC 1300 as the secondary master and the BTC as the slave. I am using Memorex brand DVD-r's. They are name brand and not bulk junk from the net. I am a programmer and can more that hold my own behind a keyboard. Using the EXACT same media (MID MCCMAG.AF1). This media is even on there official compatability list. The funny thing is the speed graphs are perfect reading it back on the BTC drive which can read just about any dvd (even very scratched ones) but have problems after 3.5gb on any other drive I test them on. This is clearly a problem with this drive as the NEC is also installed on the same machine and works perfectly.

So I think we can say this:

1. Not a bad computer.
2. Not bad media.
3. Not user error.

4. Bad drive!

One thing that I do like about the drive was mentioned above, I reads scratched and damage disk's better than any drive I have ever seen before.

[lordsmurf]

CMC Magnetics (Memorex DVD-R branded) may be on the compatibility list, but that media is crap. It fails to balance in most cases, on any drive. The compat list only means the drive will see the media, it does not mean the media is good.

That's the problem you're having. Media.

You may not want to hear it, but that's the issue.

Put in any top-tier quality media (RITEK, MCC, MXL, PVC, RICOHJPN, TDK, etc), and your BTC will be fine.

http://www.lordsmurf.com/media/dvdmedia.htm

(Note: You put down MCCMAG as the media ID, but that's not an ID that exist. It's CMC MAG for CMC Magnetic, a distributor of media to Memorex. MCC is Mitsubishi Chemicals, found in Apple, older Verbatim, Verbatim inkjet, and a few others).

CMC also makes newer Verbatims, KHypermedia, and a few others, and is complete garbage that should never have been released on the open market. It's worse than PRINCO or LEADDATA, two more notorious makers of usual junk.

[henry_nettles]

Also, the drive does not like switching between +R and -R in the same sitting. Use all of one or the other. Reboot to switch. Many dual drives are like this, including the NEC, Sony and Pioneer ones.

I have never seen this problem. I have a Sony DRU500A, and a Pioneer 106, and I switch all the time between +R and -R media without rebooting. Never a problem.

[ccbadd]

CMC also makes newer Verbatims, KHypermedia, and a few others, and is complete garbage that should never have been released on the open market. It's worse than PRINCO or LEADDATA, two more notorious makers of usual junk.

Yes you are correct, I did mean CMC. Anyway, If the media sucks so bad, why can my other drives write them perfectly? I do believe that the BTC drive could be a great drive, but right now it sucks, period!

And as Henry said, I don't have to reboot my PC just to switch media, + to - , that is just crazy.

[handyguy]

Also, Left Column:
DVD Writers
& recorders feature
& user comments

[lordsmurf]

Dual burners are funny sometimes. Sony seems to be the worst one, NEC not so bad. In terms of reboot before format change. Most people never notice this.

[ccbadd]

lordsmurf,

I just wanted to let you know that I have flashed my BTC 1004 to a BTC 1008 and the CMCMAG.AF1 media works fine now. I have posted my Kprobe results at:

http://forum.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=83788

I have also tested other media and am very pleased with what I have found. I think that this confirms my belief that the firmware for the 1004 is not well maintained. From the thread you will see that I have not tried any 8X + media I just wanted to confirm my belief that the 1004 is not being supported as well as the 1008.

One more thing, I have also confirmed that with this drive, the 1004 not the NEC 1300, that a reboot is indeed needed to switch for - to + reliably. When you stated that I really did not believe it.

[lordsmurf]

Interesting. Did not know they'd worked out a 1008 flash for the 1004.

Can you try a RICOHJPN 4x DVD+R and attempt a 8x burn on it? And then post results?

If they ever manage to flash for 8x DVD-R usage, then I may be tempted to upgrade firmwares. I wonder how well RITEKG04 would take a 8x burn.

[ccbadd]

They only have two types of media supported for 8X + burning and I have never heard of either. I don't even have any + media anyway, I just wanted better support for the media I do use.

[lordsmurf]

They only have two types of media supported for 8X + burning and I have never heard of either. I don't even have any + media anyway, I just wanted better support for the media I do use.

I thought the modern 8x burners allowed an 8x burn on 4x media?