Dvd's don't work after a while.

[FreeDiver]

Haven't posted in a while and haven't been able to find an answer for this problem.
I have an NEC ND 3520AW Dvd writer.
I've had it for a few years and it seems to be running without any problems. In the beginning, I used to use a lot of the Costco TDK media. The burn would be great, the backups would play fine, but after a few months, the backups wouldn't work anymore, epsecially towards the end of the movie.
I went on this forum and alot of people stated that there was a major problem with Costco TDK dvd's so I then switched to Verbatims.
One I switched to Verbatim, everything seemed to be okay, that is until I popped in a movie that I hadn't seen for a few months into my Sony dvd player and it started to freeze and pixelate again and it wouldn't finish at all. I inspected the disc and noted no scratches, blemishes or any imperfections. When I initially backed up these movies, there were no errors at all.
My question is this. Can it be my Dvd writer may be dieing? It's funny because it seems to be going great, no problems at all with this one. I've only started to see problems with the Verbatim (on only one disc so far) but I'm afraid that it's going to ruin an important backup one of these days.
Is there anyway to tell if it's my writer or the media? I would figure that Verbatim is the best stuff to get, that's why I'm thinking it's my writer. Oh yeah, I'm using the firmware from Dee and I never burn above 12 speed even though the DVD's are rated for 16..thanks for any advice...

[cyflyer]

Hmmm, a bit of a dicey one here I'm afraid. Had the same sort of thing lately as well, and could not decide if the writer was dying, or the media was doing undesirable things. I opted for a new writer, as a few years old was/is a bit much, plus the low price nowadays made it more sense. Haven't had any probs yet, so I would say, yes go ahead and get a new burner for the above reasons. The uncertainty is just not worth it.

[FreeDiver]

Okay, I figured it would be most cost productive to do that as well. Really loved my Nec writer, it's been loyal for so long.

I was thinking of the Samsung 18X writer to replace it for a while anyway, so I guess it's off to Ebay!!!

Thanks for the response!

[samijubal]

You can probably get a burner just as cheap or cheaper from Newegg than on ebay, and they give a one year warranty.

[budz]

Okay, I figured it would be most cost productive to do that as well. Really loved my Nec writer, it's been loyal for so long.

I was thinking of the Samsung 18X writer to replace it for a while anyway, so I guess it's off to Ebay!!!

Thanks for the response!

I wouldn't buy a dvd burner from Ebay. Why would you wanna buy one from there? If there's a problem with the drive you'd have to return it to the Ebay seller. Also most people sell their dvd burners on there because it's defective in some way or they flashed the drive wrong.

DVD burners are very inexpensive now if you want a good dvd burner buy the PIONEER 112D or LG H62L from BEST BUY. Although the BEST BUY in Hawaii is doesn't seem to have the LG H62L. Computergeeks.com ships to Hawaii via USPS. They have a SAMSUNG 182 drive as well as the LG42N in stock at the moment.

SAMSUNG 182, $37.99
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=BLK-SH-S182M&cat=DVD

LGH42N, $34.50
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=BLK-GSA-H42N&cat=DVD

PIONEER 1710 RETAIL OF THE PIONEER 112D, $64.99
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8197863&type=product&productCategoryId=p...=1165609038260

PIONEER 112D, NEWEGG.COM, $31.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129007

LG H42N, NEWEGG.COM, $29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136108

[zoobie]

they're called eBay-a-holics and have been programmed to think it's the only place to buy
take the advice and buy newegg
damn...$29? how can you go wrong?

[FreeDiver]

I've ordered many things from both Ebay and NewEgg b4, but the ONLY problem I have with NewEgg is their shipping method. I've even emailed them to ask if they would offer USPS and they never responded to me. Other than that, they are a great company. They will ONLY ship to Hawaii via Fedex or UPS. Alot of times the shipping is as much as the item itself. I only order from Newegg if it's the only place that I can get a particular item or if I'm buying a lot of stuff, then it makes the shipping worthwhile. When I purchase from EBay, I do the research and make sure that I'm buying from dealers who are selling new items. I never buy used or flashed stuff from ebay. Sellers on Ebay utilize Flat rate shipping boxes and this usually saves a lot on shipping here to Hawaii.

Budz, THANKS ALOT for the list of available writers. I've been reading sites for the past 3 hours (burning a hole in my eyes) looking for a good writer.

I will take a look at the ones you listed (I was looking at the pioneer already) and make a decision soon. Thanks for the input.

[FreeDiver]

After looking at Budz's list I've come down to choosing between the following choices. Which ones would be the best choice? I'm replacing my Aopen dvd rom drive cause the tray cracked, so I figured, might as well do it all at once. Here are the choices

1)Pioneer 112D & LG GDR-8164BK (DVD ROM)

2)Samsung 182 & Lite On soho 16P9S

3)LG H42N & Lite On Soho 16P9S

Thanks for any help.....

[budz]

I'd suggest you buy 2 dvd burners since the prices are so inexpensive. Here's my suggestion:

1. PIONEER 112B OEM or the retail version which is the PIONEER 1710 from BEST BUY and a LITEON 18A1P.

2. LGH42N and LITEON 18A1P.

Unfortunately the OEM LITEON 18A1P is out of stock at Newegg.

[FreeDiver]

Thanks Budz. Yeah, the main reason I wanted a DVD Rom is because they rip stuff way faster than a regular burner. My Aopen still works fine, (just a cracked tray..don't ask how it happened) but it rips a movie WAY faster than my riplocked Nec 3520! My main thing is speed and accuracy. I don't have time for my main DVD rom / ripper to be reading a movie at 4X speeds...I would have to shoot my computer if it read that slow! I will definitely look into this budz!

[cyflyer]

How comes the Plextors don't feature in the good stuff list ? I always thought you guys rated them highly/the best, thats why why I got the Plextor 755 lately.

[SingSing]

Freeze and pixelation at the end of a burn DVD movie disc, is typically caused by the paper label on the disc.

Are these discs labeled ?

[FreeDiver]

No, the discs are white topped, printable dvd's where I usually print a cover on. No paper to cause wobbling. Thanks to all for the help. I talked to a person whose an ID tech and a burnaholic, he stated that it doesn't sound like a burner problem but actually a media problem. He mentioned the problems with the DVD+R media from TDK from Costco..he said to get the DVD-R and he stated that since verbatims are pretty reliable, unless I see a larger (so far only one disc) amounts of problems, it was probably just one coaster and not the writer. I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna get a new burner, but I think I'll take his advice and look at some of the other verbatims and see if there's a problem with other discs b4 making the plunge to buy more hardware.

[oldandinthe way]

Should you buy the LG H42N you want to remove the riplock using MCSE

Details on www.cdfreaks.com

MCSE works on other brands of drive as well. the CDfreaks has forums dedicated to each of the major brands of writer.

[obs]

How comes the Plextors don't feature in the good stuff list ? I always thought you guys rated them highly/the best, thats why why I got the Plextor 755 lately.

Probably because of the price/performance ratio. While I love the Plextors for its audio CD abilities, I generally don't recommend them to others.

Some people say Plextors are picky about media, but for the stuff I buy, my 755 burns better than my Pioneer 111, in most cases.

[budz]

Are you sure your PLEXTOR 755 is a genuine PLEXTOR drive? Too bad they will no longer manufacture their own dvd burners. It would be anyones guess what rebadged drives they'll use. My guess would be LITEON. I bought their first generation dvd burner the 708A drive which is based on the SANYO chipset. It works great for discs that are scratched. I stopped buying their drives because of their high prices. :P I could buy more than 2 drives for the price of 1 plextor drive.