Lite-On SOHW-832S vs. NEC 2510A

[imero]

I'm undecided as to which 8x dual layer dvd burner I should get. I've narrowed down my choices to the Lite-On SOHW-832S or NEC 2510A.

Any advice as to which one I should purchase and why?

Many thanks.

[TerminalVeloCD]

I personally would vote for the NEC ND-2510A, because it is a reliable and well constructed drive that works great "out of the box", unlike most LiteONs, that may require firmware tweaking (read: voiding your warranty) to perform to work properly with some media types. The NEC works great with all but the lowest of low quality media, and does as good with CD media as it does with DVD media.

If I were you I would read the CDRInfo reviews (http://www.cdrinfo.com) of both drives to familiarise myself with the strengths and weaknesses of both drives before deciding.

Regards,
TerminalVeloCD

[Cobra]

I have never had problems with NEC drives. I have had a LiteOn drive and it did need a firmware update in order to use Packard Bell DVD+RW media.

Either would be a good choice, the LiteOn works perfectly after a firmware update and NECs seem to work anyway.

Cobra

[XoMartel]

i can't recommend nec 2510a.
why?
i had many problems with it. first it has 50/50 chance of reading real dvd.
second, i tried to burn my music vids and test it on my pioneer dv-434 player and it froze in middle of playback.
third, some of my friends dvd -r didn't get recognized or freeze in middle play (like no dvd inside the drive), but the same dvds works fine on my stand alone pioneer dvd player & tdk 4x dvd+r.

i sent it back to newegg for refund and still looking for other brand to replace. hopefully the nec dvd i bought is defective, but if it's not.... it's not worth the money.
moreover, there are some discussions how poor nec dvd reading abilities is. i know writing and reading is completely different subject, but if you can't read how can you write better? and most people don't want to invest on stand alone reader (can't afford it)

just my take on nec 2510a... oh ya, i use Ritek Ridata Branded Media.

i'm currently looking at lite on and pioneer, although pioneer has some problems too (according to some people)

Xo Martel

[TerminalVeloCD]

That's very unusual, I do believe that you did have a defective unit, because the NEC is well known for it's oustanding write quality. With the latest firmware, the NEC should be able to burn almost anything with very low PI/PO error rates and make the discs easily readable - leading to straight CAV curves when the discs are read on DVD-ROMs.

Regards,
TerminalVeloCD