Are all Philips = BenQ?

[spiffy]

Hi everyone,

I need to purchase a burner for a PC I am building for my mother. It's going to be put in an AMD (Athlon 1400?) system, with 512 MB RAM (I can add another 512 MB if necessary.)

It's mainly going to just be a system for surfing and some light office work. But I still want to put in a decent burner in there IN CASE she needs it. I've been reading that BenQ is probably the drive to get if I can still find it; and seems like a lot of Philips drives mentioned here are actually BenQ drives...

My question is, how can I tell? Are all Philips = BenQ drives?

There's one Philips 16X burner for sale at my local Fry's. But I can't tell from the web site exactly which model it may be.

My other choices, if it's too difficult to tell, would probably be either a Pioneer 111D or NEC 3550 or 4570.

Any suggestions? I'd appreciate any input.

Thanks in advance!

Spiffy

[budz]

Check out the BENQ FORUM at Cdfreaks.com for more info on PHILIPS drives. Compusa has rebadged BENQ 1650 drives under the brand name CONNECT COMPUTERS & NORWOOD MICRO.

The PIONEER 710 drive at Fry's is the retail drive 111D which is also a good choice.

[INFRATOM]

Lots of drives out there have Phillips inside, BenQ is one of them. If you check Q&A even in this forum BenQ has the least complaint and is one of the cheapest. I never had one myself but from my observation it would be my next choice.

[lordsmurf]

I would absolutely avoid Philips drives. Most of them are BenQ, yes, a drive that is far from perfect with its various quirks and flaws.

Pioneer, NEC, LG and LiteOn would be 4 better choices.

[CrayonEater]

One thing to keep in mind is if you are going to be burning video DVDs, get a drive that bitsets or which has a hacked firmware capable of bitsetting, like the 3550A using a Liggy's and Dee's firmware. The reason I mention this is because I've only recently begun to appreciate how many standalone devices, some of which are still being sold, which won't accept burned discs reporting themselves as DVD+R, but which will accept discs bitset to appear as DVD-ROMs. It's one of those problems you'd think would be done and gone, but it's not.

[OneSickPup]

This info came from TDB site (The Dangerous Brothers):
PHILIPS DVD8601 = BENQ DW1600
PHILIPS DVD8631 = BENQ DW1620
PHILIPS DVDR1640P/PBDV1640P = BENQ DW1620
PHILIPS DVDR16LS/PBDV16LSP = BENQ DW1625
PHILIPS DVDR1628P = BENQ DW1640
PHILIPS DVDR1648P = BENQ DW1640

As Budz and others stated - check out CDFreaks.com for more info on rebadges. The Pioneer 111D is a very good choice and probably much easier to locate. I prefer my 111 to my Benq 1650 but it really boils down to what your specific needs are and what is most important. Good luck!

[budz]

This info came from TDB site (The Dangerous Brothers):
PHILIPS DVD8601 = BENQ DW1600
PHILIPS DVD8631 = BENQ DW1620
PHILIPS DVDR1640P/PBDV1640P = BENQ DW1620
PHILIPS DVDR16LS/PBDV16LSP = BENQ DW1625
PHILIPS DVDR1628P = BENQ DW1640
PHILIPS DVDR1648P = BENQ DW1640

As Budz and others stated - check out CDFreaks.com for more info on rebadges. The Pioneer 111D is a very good choice and probably much easier to locate. I prefer my 111 to my Benq 1650 but it really boils down to what your specific needs are and what is most important. Good luck!

Good advice OneSickPup!

To smurfy stop with the bashing of the BENQ drives because it's getting a bit tired with the same old song and dance from you!!!! :P

[spiffy]

Thanks for the info everyone. If I add that I only use TY -R in my burnings, and since this is going to be a system for my mother, I probably won't be using hacked firmware for her drive. Does that narrow down my best choice to be BenQ/Philips still?

Thanks again in advance,

Spiffy

[MOVIEGEEK]

I would absolutely avoid Philips drives. Most of them are BenQ, yes, a drive that is far from perfect with its various quirks and flaws.

HUH?
My BenQ DW1640 burns flawlessly.
Lite-On bought BenQ recently and BenQ will be phased out.
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=192082

[hech54]

My BenQ is also pretty crappy.
I have a 1620Pro that simply refuses to burn TY -R media at the media's rated 8x speed.
+R media with my 1620Pro is OK....no problems.
The BenQ drive also does not recognize 800mb(and above) CD-R media.

Both of my LG's burn anything and do it perfectly....an old LG 4040B and a newer 4167B...awesome drives.

[budz]

My BenQ is also pretty crappy.
I have a 1620Pro that simply refuses to burn TY -R media at the media's rated 8x speed.
+R media with my 1620Pro is OK....no problems.
The BenQ drive also does not recognize 800mb(and above) CD-R media.

Both of my LG's burn anything and do it perfectly....an old LG 4040B and a newer 4167B...awesome drives.

What firmware are you using for your 1620 pro drive? I know with my 1620 drives using the latest firmware B7W9 it tends to burn dvd-r better than the older firmwares. The 1620 BENQ drive like some older LITEON drives prefer DVD+R media rather than DVD-R media. With the BENQ 1640, 1650 & 1655 models burning DVD-R media got much better. If I had to choose between all my dvd burners it would be the BENQ 1640 model.

[xycer]

I would absolutely avoid Philips drives. Most of them are BenQ, yes, a drive that is far from perfect with its various quirks and flaws.

Pioneer, NEC, LG and LiteOn would be 4 better choices.

the BenQ DW series that use the Philips Nexperia chipset (the DW1670 is really the only drive that uses a different chipset [Panasonic]), are considered one of the best (and THE best all around DVD writers) by many experts and knowledgeable people. just look at all the professional reviews of BenQ drives... they always get the editor's choice award. and look at the messageboards at cdfreaks or cdrlabs; they are easily one of the more popular drives. i personally own a BenQ DW1640 and DW1650, and they are both EXCELLENT drives. i guess everyone has their own opinion, though...

i admit, while previous BenQ drives (the DW1620 and older) were still good, they were VERY troublesome drives, and had an above average failure rate. however, since the DW1640, they are just as reliable as the names you mentioned.

BenQ drives have the HIGHEST media compatibility, are EXCELLENT scanners, fast readers, generally good write quality because it has such great compatibility with media (and thanks to SolidBurn) are VERY feature rich and are very affordable (although, most DVD writers are generally priced the same, with the exception of Plextor).

previous NEC and LG drives were pretty good. however, their latest offerings are pretty mediocre imho. pioneer drives are very good too (especially the DVR-111D) but the DVR-110D was not very good at all. as for lite-on, they did make good CD-writers, but their earlier DVD writers were not very good. they seem to be getting better, though. this is all, of course, my opinion.

to the OP, it is true, most BenQ drives use a Philips chipset. it's not Philips drives are BenQ drives, it's the other way around, really. The Philips Nexperia chipset is what really makes their drives great.

if you're scared away from these BenQ haters, the Pioneer DVR-111D is also an excellent drive.

[hech54]

My BenQ is also pretty crappy.
I have a 1620Pro that simply refuses to burn TY -R media at the media's rated 8x speed.
+R media with my 1620Pro is OK....no problems.
The BenQ drive also does not recognize 800mb(and above) CD-R media.

Both of my LG's burn anything and do it perfectly....an old LG 4040B and a newer 4167B...awesome drives.

What firmware are you using for your 1620 pro drive? I know with my 1620 drives using the latest firmware B7W9 it tends to burn dvd-r better than the older firmwares. The 1620 BENQ drive like some older LITEON drives prefer DVD+R media rather than DVD-R media. With the BENQ 1640, 1650 & 1655 models burning DVD-R media got much better. If I had to choose between all my dvd burners it would be the BENQ 1640 model.

Mine says B7W9 according to DVDDecrypter.
It's(the 1620Pro) not a complete waste of time to use but I just prefer
a more "all-round" model. I usually do burn +R's more than -R's
BUT....the best TY's(in my opinon) are the -R's and they are expensive
here and I do NOT want to waste them.

I like Philips stuff for the most part...I just don't like this drive.

[lordsmurf]

BenQ products have always received rave reviews at first, but the positive outlook almost always turns sour as time goes on and more and more flaws are found. Most reviews by "experts" (magazines, newspapers, online review sites, etc) are given a limited number of tests before the drive even hits mass market, so they have limited value.

Time is the best judge, and time has taught us that Pioneer, NEC, LG and LiteOn are better burners that the stuff everybody else puts out. Sure, those other drives have certain uses (BenQ for testing, BTC for reading), but they are a far cry from being the best burners.

[budz]

BenQ products have always received rave reviews at first, but the positive outlook almost always turns sour as time goes on and more and more flaws are found. Most reviews by "experts" (magazines, newspapers, online review sites, etc) are given a limited number of tests before the drive even hits mass market, so they have limited value.

Time is the best judge, and time has taught us that Pioneer, NEC, LG and LiteOn are better burners that the stuff everybody else puts out. Sure, those other drives have certain uses (BenQ for testing, BTC for reading), but they are a far cry from being the best burners.

Don't forget to mention that you never have OWNED a BENQ drive....your comments are taken with a grain of salt as far as I'm concerned....don't give out false information when you haven't even experienced using a BENQ 1620, 1640, 1650 & 1655 drives.....first of all there have been no magazine reviews as you mentioned....how about you go over to the BENQ FORUM at CdFreaks.com and post what you just wrote....i'm sure you'll get lots of comments from those members....oh, but wait your comments there are taken with a grain of salt as well. :P

[lordsmurf]

Budz, I'm sorry, but you lack understanding of how to judge a product. Ownership is a convenience, not a necessity. Personal empirical evidence is also unreliable without additional input from various reliable sources.

I also doubt you've read every single magazine, newspaper or online article there is on the topic. I've actually seen quite a few of them. More than once, the authors later ignored those drives or outright retracted their compliments at a later date.

Your personal attacks get old. Even you have commented numerous times that the Pioneer is a better drive, and in this very forum.

[budz]

Budz, I'm sorry, but you lack understanding of how to judge a product. Ownership is a convenience, not a necessity. Personal empirical evidence is also unreliable without additional input from various reliable sources.

I also doubt you've read every single magazine, newspaper or online article there is on the topic. I've actually seen quite a few of them. More than once, the authors later ignored those drives or outright retracted their compliments at a later date.

Your personal attacks get old. Even you have commented numerous times that the Pioneer is a better drive, and in this very forum.

Oh, I never said the Pioneer drive was better.....I only said if the choice was between BENQ 1650/1655 then take Pioneer....Only because the BENQ 1640 is no longer manufactured... It's no personal attack on you....but with you giving out false information it is quite disturbing.....as I stated before which was ummm last year sometime I offered to help you out with your so called friend having a BENQ drive.....you kindly refused my offer......you lack the knowledge of BENQ drives period because you've never owned one period point made and that's it... your pointless comments that I lack understanding is hilarious.....so go ahead and post your comments at the BENQ FORUM.......btw I do hope my Pioneer 111L drives lasts longer than the old Pioneer 107D, it died after 11 months! :P

[lordsmurf]

as I stated before which was ummm last year sometime I offered to help you out with your so called friend having a BENQ drive.....you kindly refused my offer....

I don't why you keep harping on this. That BenQ drive was returned before your offer, so it's really a non-issue. The drive was crap. In addition to being a BenQ, it had OEM Philips firmware on it, and crossflashing was not possible. That was the worst BenQ drive I've ever seen or heard of, but it's definitely not the only bad one I've come across.

Drives are also subject to burn times and a number of other variables. To say one died in 11 months isn't really saying anything. Cleanliness, how often it was allowed to cool down, how long it was in continuous use, the number of burns ... far more important and exacting that month measurements. These devices have a finite lifespan.

[MOVIEGEEK]

Budz, I'm sorry, but you lack understanding of how to judge a product. Ownership is a convenience, not a necessity. Personal empirical evidence is also unreliable without additional input from various reliable sources.

I also doubt you've read every single magazine, newspaper or online article there is on the topic. I've actually seen quite a few of them. More than once, the authors later ignored those drives or outright retracted their compliments at a later date.

Your personal attacks get old. Even you have commented numerous times that the Pioneer is a better drive, and in this very forum.

Ahh I have to agree with budz,LS making comments on something you don't own or haven't used is wrong.I'm not arguing that other brands might be better but making blanket statements that all BenQ models have flaws is slander.I have read numerous reviews of BenQ writers and none of the authors have recanted their views.
I bet if you ask 10 Lite-On users how their drives perform you will 10 different answers.

[xycer]

lol, i visit the forums at CDFreaks and CDRlabs regularly, and i still see that the BenQ drives are still one of the most popular drives, and to many, it's still their favorite drives. i've very rarely seen people have problems with BenQ drives. i've also heard from a large computer store here in Canada that the RMA rate for BenQ drives is very low (with exception to the DW1620).

also, i have NO clue what you're talking about when you say BenQ drives go sour as time goes on...if anything, their drives improve as firmware updates are released, and BenQ has great firmware support, BTW.

if a professional review is done RIGHT, everything necessary is covered. i admit that sometimes CDFreaks and CDRinfo do try to be the first to release a review (but theyre still usually quite comprehensive), but i know for a fact that CDRLabs.com takes their time with their reviews, enuring they don't miss anything.

i have no idea where you get your information from (as you don't even OWN a BenQ drives lol)... maybe its the same people you got to help you with that horribly biased/incorrect and useless media guide at the DigitalFAQ.

[Oscar wallace]

I bought a couple of Philips DVD burners about 8 months ago read that philips were not very good but they have been trouble free and a pleasure to use, also my Pioneer 107 as been a 100% reliable and neither the Philips/Pioneer have had any problems with different brand media they seem to burn on anything including CDs

[lordsmurf]

Ahh I have to agree with budz,LS making comments on something you don't own or haven't used is wrong.I'm not arguing that other brands might be better but making blanket statements that all BenQ models have flaws is slander.I have read numerous reviews of BenQ writers and none of the authors have recanted their views.

Oh good lord.... for starters, go look up the definition of 'slander' before you start tossing out ridiculous accusations. Fair comment and criticism (i.e., product review) is an exemption, and the term you're looking for is 'libel'.

By reviews, we're not talking user reviews, although many of those have gone the same way. Strong supporters (loud-mouths, Fred Flintstones) of those drives are now sort of tight-lipped, including cdfreaks.com members, among others. All this "BenQ is the best drive ever" crap really sort of died out. It went from best, to good, to good for scanning and burning certain discs.

And again, ownership of an item is not required to have adequate information pertaining to products. While you may give your individual opinion from you own experience, that is not the only way to acquire information on how well something is working. For example, you don't have to actually own those Firestone’s Wilderness AT tires (commonly used on Ford SUVs) to know they were bad. There is plenty of data out there already pertaining to lack of quality.

BenQ drives are known to be finicky on known-good media, there are problems with them dying prematurely, there are issues with reading media as well as other drives, and there are issues with firmware wildly varying from version to version (discs that used to work now do not). Those are the complaints, and they are very common. Feel free to ignore it, but those are the complaints, look around.

LiteOn, NEC and Pioneer helped develop much of the technology used in optical drives, so it's really no surprise they are better than competing companies.

I bet if you ask 10 Lite-On users how their drives perform you will 10 different answers.

If you ask the right questions, it's not hard to eliminate user error and other variables (software, media, hardware conflicts, OS, user error, etc). Then you get down to feedback on the drive. It can take a while, and then probably 2-3 of the 10 people will be idiots, so only 7-8 will turn out any useful data.

[xycer]

very common? where do you hear these complaints, because i haven't seen very many of them... i'd like to know where you're digging up this BS. BenQ drives are known to have the HIGHEST media compatibility out of ANY drive on the market, and thats not even including the fact that they have Solidburn technology, which allows the drive to learn the media (unknown or known), and update the write strategy for the next burn. i personally own a DW1640 (over a year old) and a DW1650 (about 5-6 months old) and i've used YUDEN000T02, TYG02, MXL RG03, MCC 004, MCC 003 which are some of the most popular high quality DVD-/+R's out there, and i've burned all of them with great results.

like i said, i was told by a large computer store here in Canada that the DW1640 and DW1650/55 have a low RMA rate (and it is one of the most popular drives) and i've seen very few complaints in various messageboards. unless you know thousands of people who have had problems with BenQ drives, or you own a store that sells them, i don't see how you can come up with these things.

i'm done here... i guess you have your own opinion, and i'm not going to argue it anymore.

[xxiangg]

I have a BenQ 1640 for about a year. I bought a NEC
3550a a couple of months ago, bacause I heard so many
good recommendations. Well, I was a little dispointed
for the new NEC driver. It is no better than my BenQ.
Although NEC is still a very good driver. On the other
hand, I have to say that BenQ seems do no last very
long if used heavily. I do not burn a lots of disks.
So this is not my concern.

[xycer]

I have a BenQ 1640 for about a year. I bought a NEC
3550a a couple of months ago, bacause I heard so many
good recommendations. Well, I was a little dispointed
for the new NEC driver. It is no better than my BenQ.
Although NEC is still a very good driver. On the other
hand, I have to say that BenQ seems do no last very
long if used heavily. I do not burn a lots of disks.
So this is not my concern.

has a BenQ drive actually failed on you before?

i do burn a lot of DVD's, and i haven't had any problems with both of my BenQ drives.

[hech54]

But my BenQ 1620Pro with the most updated firmware will NOT burn TY -R discs at their rated speed of 8x AND it won't recognize CD media above 700MB....therefor my LG's are clearly the better/more useful/more reliable drives and the BenQ1620 Pro is inferior.

[xycer]

thats odd, it probably is faulty... there should be no problem with TYG02 with the DW1620. but like i said, since the DW1640, they have improved greatly as far as reliability and are far less problematic. thats what i've been saying all along.

[budz]

But my BenQ 1620Pro with the most updated firmware will NOT burn TY -R discs at their rated speed of 8x AND it won't recognize CD media above 700MB....therefor my LG's are clearly the better/more useful/more reliable drives and the BenQ1620 Pro is inferior.

I've never had problems burning TYG02 media at 8x speed in my Benq 1620's. When the 1620 was in it's heyday, Benq favored dvd+r media over dvd-r. I've crossflashed my 1620's from the OEM "G" firmware to the official "B series" firmware by going back as far as firmware B7L9 then flashing it to B7M9 then to the latest firmware which is B7W9. Some have reported by going all the way back to B7L9 it fixes whatever problems the drive may have. I've always used WinDWFlasher & the firmwares that are in CVT file format & flash in safe mode.

[xxiangg]

i do burn a lot of DVD's, and i haven't had any problems with both of my BenQ drives.

I bought my BenQ 1640 a year ago by recommendations
from a friend. But his 1620 broke down several months
later. Then, his 2nd RMAed 1620 broke down again not
long after the warranty expired. Anyway, I do not use
my driver very often. I may have burned 60~70 disks
in a year, and it is still in a very good shape. if
I buy another driver, I will choose BenQ 1640 or 1650.
Except both drivers are now hard to find.

[budz]

i do burn a lot of DVD's, and i haven't had any problems with both of my BenQ drives.

I bought my BenQ 1640 a year ago by recommendations
from a friend. But his 1620 broke down several months
later. Then, his 2nd RMAed 1620 broke down again not
long after the warranty expired. Anyway, I do not use
my driver very often. I may have burned 60~70 disks
in a year, and it is still in a very good shape. if
I buy another driver, I will choose BenQ 1640 or 1650.
Except both drivers are now hard to find.

If you're in the USA they do have rebadged Benq 1650 drives at Compusa under the brand names Norwood Micro and Connect Computers.