Which DVD Burner should I Buy ?

[waheed]

I've never had any problem with my Pioneer 109!

Neither have I. I got the 109XLC version recently and no problems so far.

[Poppa_Meth]

I haven't had any problems with it either other than the 16x CAV media. I've had it happen using Taiyo Yuden TYG03s and there are posts on CDfreaks about it with Verbatim 16x Media as well. My NEC 3520A burns the same media fine. Now the Pioneer will burn it but about 1 out of 5 times it'll lock up in leadout. Pioneer has been entirely unhelpful about it. Any other media seems to be fine. Its just pure CAV media that has issues.

[waheed]

Well, Im using Taiyo yuden TYG02 8X media, so cant comment on the 16X media. I will get some 16X media to test out and see if I have the problem with CAV media.

[lordsmurf]

MCC03RG20 16x burn lock-ups tend to be software related. And even then, the disc is usually fine. But the reboot sucks. So far, I've only seen the lock on RecordNow Max, not Nero 6 or DVD Decrypter. Go figure.

[Poppa_Meth]

I've had it happen with DVD Decrypter, 3 different versions of Nero, Prassi Ones, and TMPGEnc DVD Author's burning engine. I've messed around with the ASPI quite a bit too. I really don't think it's software related.

[normcar]

See, everyone is saying that NEC and Pioneer are better than the Benq. But now we already have a post about Pioneers having a problem.

[zoobie]

The NEC ND-3520A is the highest rated here. I just got one from Newegg for $44 delivered. Whichever you decide on, try ordering from a discount site in England or Germany.

[Poppa_Meth]

I also have an NEC3520a and it burns fairly well. The Pioneer gets me better quality scans on -R media when it works correctly. The NEC works better on +R with DVD-ROM booktype. the 3520a has several reports of issues with CD-R media though. I haven't run into it myself.

[AjnabiZ]

Now guys,

this has become difficult for me to decide.

so many models and each of them has some kind of problem.

[zoobie]

More often than not, it's the cheap media used in the burners that's the problem. Better stick with the best.

[AjnabiZ]

Then ill go with either NEC or Pioneer

[dcsos]

http://www.usb-ware.com/dvd-burners.htm

these guys will ship you a PIONEER 109 no problem to
United Arab Emirates
http://www.usb-ware.com/international_shipping.htm

[lacywest]

Pioneer 109 works well with a Bytecc USB 2 external enclosure and I use it at work connected to my Dell 5150 Laptop.

also connected at same time is a CompUSA $40 dollar USB external enclosure ... with a 160 GB Western Digital Hard drive .... with it

I rip DVD movies and burn them while I'm there working the Grave Yard Shift.

The media I use ... TDK ... DVD-R made in Japan ... I bought a bunch of 50 packs for $18 a pack.

[Gregg]

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

Enjoy!

[zzyzzx]

As you can read from this thread, ask a dozen people which dvd writer is best, you get a dozen different answers

Except that you might learn that Sony sucks.

Anyway, how about Plextor?

[craiggus365]

Just my 2 cents....NEC - NEC - NEC. I have 3 3520's and love them!!! ? The price and quality are top rate. Hope you have luck finding a source, I don't have any suggestions unfortunatly

[Denvers Dawgs]

Still going with my benq1620 no playback/burning problems after 100 or so burns.

[jabloomf1230]

I'd also go with the Pioneer 109. Besides you can also crossflash it to the Pioneer A09 and eliminate the riplock. The 109 is nice, inexpensive drive. It makes great burns at either DL 4x or SL 16x, as long as you don't use crap media.

[TBoneit]

Like my old Sony DRU-500a & DRU-510A the Pioneer 109 (509) has produced rock solid reliable burns every time. I never had bad burns with the Sony's unless I did something stupid like try to close Nero mid burn or hit the eject button by mistake. So far the Pioneer has been good too. Only problem it burns Memorex +R 16X at 12X. But good burns there too.

Cheers

[budz]

Still going with my benq1620 no playback/burning problems after 100 or so burns.

I with Denver Dawgs that the BENQ 1620 has no playback/burning problems. I've burned over 100 discs off one of my 1620's with no probs.
Check out the BENQ FORUM at Cdfreaks.com.

[blackmagic]

My Benq broke after a few months, my lg is fantastic. Pinoneer is good if you only care about quality of +-r media. not good for rw or dl. only porblem with lg is no -rdl but then again the compatibility of that is terrible. My recommendation is lg hands down.

[lordsmurf]

See, everyone is saying that NEC and Pioneer are better than the Benq. But now we already have a post about Pioneers having a problem.

BenQ has a whole list of problems. The biggest pain is they barf on some of the best media, like Maxell. There are also some other issues, don't remember them off hand, do a forum search, they've been discussed before. I think another major one was issues with either DVD-RW or DVD+RW.

[lordsmurf]

My Benq broke after a few months, my lg is fantastic. Pinoneer is good if you only care about quality of +-r media. not good for rw or dl. only porblem with lg is no -rdl but then again the compatibility of that is terrible. My recommendation is lg hands down.

I have the Pioneer 109 and use DVD-RW and DVD+RW all the time on it. Never any problems. Got to use good media!

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

Amen!

[Denvers Dawgs]

Haven't had any problems with verbatim or fuji DVD+RW on the 1620, maybe I just got lucky and got great product?

[Jester700]

Part of the issue with distinguishing by brand is that models all differ. Some brands get a model "really right" after a string of mediocre ones, and vice versa. The new Benq (1640) has a couple of glowing reviews out there, so I'm interested even though it's not at newegg yet. In fact, it's partly the same hardware (at least the chipset, maybe more) as the new Plextor model.

[budz]

See, everyone is saying that NEC and Pioneer are better than the Benq. But now we already have a post about Pioneers having a problem.

BenQ has a whole list of problems. The biggest pain is they barf on some of the best media, like Maxell. There are also some other issues, don't remember them off hand, do a forum search, they've been discussed before. I think another major one was issues with either DVD-RW or DVD+RW.

There you go again bashing BENQ 1620. I burned over 350 MAXELL DVD-R/+ with NO PROBLEMS. I have 3 BENQ 1620 burners that have NO PROBLEMS AT ALL! :P With every brand of dvd burners they all have their pros and cons and quality control issues. Just take a look at the PIONEER, PLEXTOR, BENQ, LG, LITEON, SAMSUNG FORUMS at CDFREAKS.COM. You'll see all those brands have issues with their different models of dvd burners. PIONEER 109 has it's own problems as well. I find it hilarious for Lordsmurf to continue to bash the BENQ when he doesn't even own one. :P :P :P AMEN!

[waheed]

Its all down to configuration. The hardware/software you PC consists of and the media/firmware you are using.

Everyone will have different experiences with their burners. Some people may experience a host of problems with a particular burner while another will have no problems with it at all.

[rfielder]

If you don't mind paying a little bit more, Plextor is now shipping a really neat slot load 16X DVD burner. This is an IDE device - Plextor also makes SATA drives, which all use a tray.

Being a slot loading device, it would be great for a consumer application, or a case that mounts the drive sideways.

FWIW - I have a Plextor 12x and a NEC 3500 16X.

Typically, the Plextor is as far or faster than the NEC when burning, if you look at the actual time it took to burn the DVD.

If you look at the time to verify the DVD, the Plextor is much faster - it reads the burned DVD more quickly when verifying.

I have had great luck with BenQ, ASUS, and other burners in the past, for both CD and DVD. I recently purchase a DVD-ROM drive for a purpose built video client, and it is amazing.

However, when I upgrade again, Plextor will be at the very top of my short list. Yes, I could purchase almost four NEC 3540 drives for the price of the one Plextor slot load at today's prices - the slot load drive is the most expensive Plextor listed for sale in my area.

Sometimes a drive just works so well, and keeps doing what it does so well, that the prices seems to be OK. That has been my experience with my Plextor 12X DVD-RW drive, as well as my Plextor SCSI drive, and my 52x Plextor CD-RW drive.

[lenti_75]

If you don't mind paying a little bit more, Plextor is now shipping a really neat slot load 16X DVD burner. This is an IDE device - Plextor also makes SATA drives, which all use a tray.

Being a slot loading device, it would be great for a consumer application, or a case that mounts the drive sideways.

FWIW - I have a Plextor 12x and a NEC 3500 16X.

Typically, the Plextor is as far or faster than the NEC when burning, if you look at the actual time it took to burn the DVD.

If you look at the time to verify the DVD, the Plextor is much faster - it reads the burned DVD more quickly when verifying.

I have had great luck with BenQ, ASUS, and other burners in the past, for both CD and DVD. I recently purchase a DVD-ROM drive for a purpose built video client, and it is amazing.

However, when I upgrade again, Plextor will be at the very top of my short list. Yes, I could purchase almost four NEC 3540 drives for the price of the one Plextor slot load at today's prices - the slot load drive is the most expensive Plextor listed for sale in my area.

Sometimes a drive just works so well, and keeps doing what it does so well, that the prices seems to be OK. That has been my experience with my Plextor 12X DVD-RW drive, as well as my Plextor SCSI drive, and my 52x Plextor CD-RW drive.

I know they are good BUT

obviously you have toooooo much money......I would buy 1 then save the rest for another 3 when the time comes....HD or blue ray

what a waiste of money :P