Time for a new burner - Pioneer DVR-108?

[RichTJ99]

Hi all,

I currently have a Pioneer DVR-106d. My wife needs a DVD burner for herself so I figure this is a good excuse to upgrade mine.

Anyway, I was pretty happy with the DVR-106 aside from it burned slow at 2x (most of the media when I bought it was 2x) & 4x is still kinda slow. I mostly use DVD-R (or did at that point).

Anyway, how is the DVR-108? The specs look great (same as the 106D but 16X instead of 4X).

Thanks,
RIch

[bazooka]

MaximumPC gave it a seven rating out of ten.

In their review, software errors ruined 2 double layer discs.

[RichTJ99]

So that sounds like its not the best overall burner.

I guess I want dual format & dual layer as well.

Plus 16X for +R & -R

[Red96TA]

I have a 108 and it's been great. I upgraded the firmware to the hacked version but didn't really plan on using it too much. One day, I accidentally burned a Ritek G04 at 16x. When it was done, I checked for burn errors and such and everything burned just fine!

[kiki]

The pioneer 108 and the nec3500 seem to be at
the top of the heap. I have friends that have them
and they both rave at how good they are. I myself
have a nec 2500 which works great, but, like all
electronics is rapidly becoming dated.
Hope this helps

Happy New Year
kiki

[chas0039]

You cannot go wrong with either the 108 or the 3500. It is unlikely that you will be doing a lot of DL burning as the prices are still out of line, but both these drives are significantly improved over the 106 and the 2500. They are not just the same thing but faster. I had a 107 for a while and it was no where near the quality burner of either the 108 or the 3500, nor was the 2500. All my SL burns are much better.

[Heff]

Go withthe BenQ DW1620 it got CDFreaks.com editor's choice award and another site's ECA. It does PI/PIF/error reporting something the other two don't do. It also does bitsetting for maximum compatibility and has the best support in the way of official firmware upgrades from the company.

[budz]

Go withthe BenQ DW1620 it got CDFreaks.com editor's choice award and another site's ECA. It does PI/PIF/error reporting something the other two don't do. It also does bitsetting for maximum compatibility and has the best support in the way of official firmware upgrades from the company.

Yup BENQ 1620 all the way! bitsetting is done automatically....no hacked firmware to use.

[DRP]

I have a 108 and it's been great! The hacked 1.14 firmware is easy to apply and works a treat. I voided the warranty on mine within an hour of getting it as flashing it was the very first thing I did after checking it had power and basically worked.

Had not one hint of a bad burn or any other indication that anything is wrong. The *only* negative about it is that overburning is not supported - not with CD or DVD. If you're into overburning (as I am) then you'll be needing to keep your CD-RW drive as well, because the 108 just flat out refuses to overburn even 1 second of extra data on anything. 90min CD-R are definitely out if this is you're only burner.

On the plus side however its laser is nice and strong in that it has resurrected quite a few of my old scratched and marked CD-RW discs back to reliable SVCD use again. One burn with the Pioneer and they're clean as a whistle again

[chas0039]

OK, I will add the BenQ 1620 to the list of choices with the 108 and 3500. All will burn equally well based on scans I have seen. To argue that one burns better than another would be pointless. If you burn -R or your players all read +R then bitsetting is of no value. If you use a ROM for ripping or you remove riplock with firmware then speed is not significant. If you have a lot of damaged discs then the BenQ has the edge. Look at the forums and read the facts. I have an NEC but as I have said before; if I had a 108 or a 1620, I would not spend anything to trade.

[JohnnyCNote]

I have a 108 and am very pleased.....

[Gregg]

There are two brands of burners: Pioneer and others.
Enjoy

[Quantum]

If you flash the Pioneer to the Piodata firmware (another Pioneer line) than you have automatic bitsetting on DVD+R SL and DL. It also appears to remove the rip lock on the OEM Pioneer drives too. My Nero verifications get all the way to 11.9x.

[RottenFoxBreath]

ive got a piodata 108DX,flashed it to a pioneer 108 with 1.14. firmware,and cant see the fuss over bitsetting,copy a dvd movie on dvd+r SL and it regs as a dvd-rom,plays no problem in most players ive tried,except the few pacifics that dont like +r at all.
pioneer all the way.

[Heff]

I think you should give BenQ the edge, if for only one reason, they're doing the best job of official supporting their product.

[jwedge]

I need a little help here. Got 108 drive recently from Meritline and as I have Win XP installation was a breeze. But you guys are talking about firmware and since my drive came without any installation CD I'm wondering which firmware XP used.

How do I check that? I also got burning speeds up to 12x using either 4x or 8x media.

Thanks for any feedback.

[budz]

I need a little help here. Got 108 drive recently from Meritline and as I have Win XP installation was a breeze. But you guys are talking about firmware and since my drive came without any installation CD I'm wondering which firmware XP used.

How do I check that? I also got burning speeds up to 12x using either 4x or 8x media.

Thanks for any feedback.

download dvdinfo pro or dvd identifier which will show you what firmware your 108 drive came with.....you can download the latest firmware for your drive from the pioneer website.....dvd burners don't come with any installation cd because it's not necessary xp will recognize the drive perfectly fine....make sure your drive is in DMA MODE. use this link on how to enable DMA MODE IN XP:
http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=7625

[jwedge]

Thanks BUDZ. I now understand clearly what to do.

[Capmaster]

jwedge,

I'm glad you got the help you needed, but please, in the future, don't hijack a thread to ask about an issue you have. It's against the rules here.

The considerate thing is to start your own thread in the appropriate forum. Thanks

And ..on the original question, I'll echo Gregg ...there's Pioneer ...and there's the rest of the pack

[RichTJ99]

Hi,

While now its a month later, I see that Newegg.com has the 109 for $86 dollars.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=27-129-161&DEPA=1

Is this a better choice than the 108 because its newer?

Why are they all slowing down CDR burning speeds also? my current 104 pioneer DVD burner does CDs at 32 speed (I think), now they bump it down to 24X?

[RickTheRed]

With my pioneer 108, I prefer to burn cds at 24x.
What, do I loose 1.5minutes, oh my!

And I also recommend the pioneer or NEC.

I would not touch a Benq even if the cdfreaks review is good.
Benq has a tradition of selling cheap garbage.
Is this Benq burner good?
Maybe.

Hey, my fake watch purchased in NY streets still works. Maybe it's a Benq :P

[Ma_Jie]

Go for the BenQ. It's a terrific drive; never have I burned a coaster on DVD-R media -- YES, the myth is shattered -- and it has, as budz as listed, many other great features as well.

- Ma Jie

[erdons]

Burned about 1000 TYg02 or Yudent002discs with my 108 in 2 months, have had 1 coaster, and it was my fault because i was doing alot of other stuff while burning the disc. The Bottom Line is, like others here have said, theres Pioneer, and then theres others.

[blinky88]

I bought a Pioneer 108D last week. I have only made a couple of backups to date and they were flawless. I also have a Yamaha player which plays +RW but it does not play +R. Installed the Piodata F/W with +R automatic bitsetting, the result is DVD ROM and they play in the Yamaha, no problems. Since commercialy produced DVD's are DVD ROM, all my future purchases of blank DVD media will be +R. The reason I have chosen to go that way is DVD ROM is compatable with all DVD players regardless of their age. I also believe, I am less likely to buy fake +R discs , most fake media seem to be in the form of DVD-R.

I could have bought the 109, however, I figured it was better to buy a burner with many good reports at the end of its production line rather than taking a punt on a new line .... the 109.

So far the 108D with the Piodata F/W has produced great results, no coasters.

[offline]

The *only* negative about it is that overburning is not supported - not with CD or DVD. If you're into overburning (as I am) then you'll be needing to keep your CD-RW drive as well, because the 108 just flat out refuses to overburn even 1 second of extra data on anything. 90min CD-R are definitely out if this is you're only burner.

Have you tried writing the oversized image to the hard drive
and using another app like CloneCD to burn the image?

I can overburn to 90 mins with my Pioneer 106 using this method