DVD Writer out with the old, in with the>?

[sterankin]

OK

So I go to my local dvd-R selling shop, "give me 25 of your finest RiDisc G04 x4 DVD-Rs please" - says I

"No problem" - says he.

Shock horror, they are not G04 but G05!

What else, they dont work in my SONY DRU-500A, even after upgrading the firmware to 2.1a, the newest one.

"Bollox" - says I.

I took them back and swapped for some Yellow topped Datawrites x4.
No joy again, RITEK G05 dye again. Same problem (power calibration error - tried nero and dvddecryptor to burn)


So what am I left with, apart from 20 odd dvd-rs I cant use. Time to buy another burner???

So answers on a postcard please... what should I get? I see the new Pioneer 108 can be bought for £60, as can the NEC 3500a. Are these any good - reviews are hard to find.

But then again, do I need a x16 burner? x8 would suffice surely?
Dual-layer? Hmmmph, not too worried about that yet.

Any advice??

[ViRaL1]

How much less would you spend on an 8x burner to make it NOT worth the upgrade? Do you think you'll EVER want 16x or DL? Or would you hold off on those just to have something to look forward to later?

[sterankin]

good points, the new 16x burners are not much more expensive than the 8x burners.

So I might as well get a newer drive.

Which leave the obvious question of which one?

The pioneer 108 or nec 3500a?

is there much difference between these 2?

[neomaine]

sterankin,

I haven't used anything else for DVDR, but from the research I had done at the time my 105 was, and still is, one of the best components I've bought.

Like you, I'm still happy with 4x writing. If I had to do it right now my thinking would be along the lines of:

...dual layer drives are at a pretty good price...the media is still (comparitively) expensive though...and hasn't been out very long. I think think it needs to mature a bit.

...with 4x, I can burn a full disk in just under 15 minutes. Good enough for me. Hmmm, 8x will get me to 7 minutes or so. Media is at a good price point.

...Do I really need 16x so I can burn in 4 minutes??? I'm not even sure of the availability of 16x media...

Yup, I'd go with the Pioneer 107 and save a few bucks, know the media is cheap AND can get it now.

You may have something similar, but here's a link to Pricewatch that is used for comparisons: \\www.pricewatch.com

[sterankin]

Well, looking about

you can get the 107 for £50
you can get the 108 for £60 (plus a good deal on 8x media)
you can get the 3500 for £60 (plus a good deal on 8x media)


So for the extra £10 it might be worthwhile buying a dual layer faster writer, I mean, I could still write at x4, but at least I have the option to go faster if media get cheaper?

right?

So with that in mind, can people provide info on which is the better drive and why? The Pioneer 108 or the NEC 3500?

Thanks

[SneakyD]

sterankin, I ran across this review : http://www.flashman.dsl.pipex.com/Pioneer-NEC.htm
It compares the two drives.

[iooi]

As you have obviously looked online for the burners why not get your media online too. SVP still do G04 as do loads of other UK online retailers.
Go for the 108 its a nice burner. More than happy with mine and your G05 media should run at 12x with any luck...

[sterankin]

cheers iooi

Tho I am ahead of you, I already ordered some Ritek GO4 from SVP yesterday. I usually order from them, but since a local shop did them I bought from there instead as I save on postage. Couldn't believe it when I had a look at bigpockets.co.uk, £15 to deliver a few discs to Northern Ireland, they need to sort their act out, prob losing a lot of business by that. SVP do royal mail for £2.99 ffs.

I think i might just go ahead and order the 108 from SVP also, along with that special offer they have on the datawrite grey x8 discs.

Thanks all.