1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

LITEON SOHW-1633S Firmware Upgrade

Discussion in 'DVD / Blu-ray drives' started by georgen, Oct 27, 2006.

  1. binkie7

    binkie7 Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2005
    Messages:
    17,588
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    116
    Good deal georgen!
    I like success stories :)

    Txs for taking the time to post the instructions on the firmware update. Will help def. help others!

    And you're welcome too :)

     
  2. Mort81

    Mort81 Senior member

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2004
    Messages:
    4,030
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    116
    If you want to improve upon that litey 1633 even more, I would suggest crossflashing it with patched 1653 firmware. Made a much better drive out of my 1633 (before I upgraded to the SHM-165H6S that I am using now) imho. Do this at your own risk. Here's a link to the patched f/w http://codeguys.rpc1.org/firmwares.html Here are the two f/w's that you can choose from:

    • CS0T - patched - crossflashing - fast burn FBD/FBDX (for 1633S, 1653S etc.)
    • CS0T - patched - crossflashing, multi-colored LED (for 1213S, 1613S, 1633S, etc.)

    The 2nd one will revert the led back to the original lite-on way: red burn and green read.
     
  3. georgen

    georgen Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2005
    Messages:
    21
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    11
    Thank you Mort81 for that info. A follow-up question or two...

    (1) In what way did the "patched 1653 firmware upgrade" make your 1633 better? Was it burn speed when using DVD-R, 16x media? Currently, although my 1633 will noww accept this particular media, it will only burn at 8x speed (which was better than before the upgrade when the media was refected as incompatable).

    (2) If this 1653 upgrade fails on my drive, do I understand correctly that the "multi-colored LED" patch will restore the drive to the original LiteOn firmware (BSOH or BSOY, the current one)? Also, forgive the embarrasing question but where is the LED color that you speak of displayed (I don't think I've seen this before in my GUI)?

    Georgen
     
  4. Mort81

    Mort81 Senior member

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2004
    Messages:
    4,030
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    116
    georgen,

    1) Burns better all togather, greater compatability with more media, and increases burn speed for dvd-r to 12x.

    2)I don't understand all of this question but the led is the light on the front of the drive (green). When this model came out Sony and Light-on had just merged and lite-on started using the sony way for their led indicator (green read and flashing green write). Prior to this model, lite-on led indicators were red write and green read (which I liked better). The 1633/1653 are the last model that still used a multi-colored led (green, red, and orange). Any litey after these models only have a single color led (green). The 1633/1653 can be converted back to the old lite-on way (red write, green read) but must be flashed with some patched f/w to do so.

    There is also some patched f/w for multi-color led if you wish to stay with 1633 f/w and not crossflash to 1653 f/w.

    I've not heard of any dead drives as a result of crossflshing from a 1633 to a 1653 with this firmware patch but theres always that very slight chance. This is not official f/w and voids the warranty (warranty period is most likely over by now anyway). You can revert back to 1633 f/w but it is much more involved and difficult. If it did cause a dead drive (which is very doubtful but possible) you would be money ahead to replace it with a new 16x model which can be had for around $35.00.
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2006
  5. georgen

    georgen Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2005
    Messages:
    21
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    11
    Thank you for the detailed reply. Now, after looking at the faceplate of my drive, I understand what you're ssying about the LED colors!

    Based on your confidence level, I'll give the 1653 firmware upgrade a try and let you know of my results (and yes, you are correct, the warranty has long expired on the 1633).

    BTW - what's your recommendation for a 16x LiteOn drive, should I need one after the firmware upgrade?

    Thanks again...
    ~g
     
  6. Mort81

    Mort81 Senior member

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2004
    Messages:
    4,030
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    116
    I like and recommend the litey in my sig. As long as your drive recognizes and burns the media you're using ok, I don't see any reason for an upgrade unless you just want to.
     
  7. larrylje

    larrylje Active member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2005
    Messages:
    12,218
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    96
    @georgen

    I have the same drive as yours and have the BSOY firmware on mine. It works fine with 16x disc.
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2006
  8. georgen

    georgen Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2005
    Messages:
    21
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    11
    Mort81 and Larrylje,

    Per Mort's suggestion, I performed the "1653S-CSOT Firmware upgrade on my LiteOn 1633S. After extracting all files in the RAR package, I used the executable, 1653.CSOT.patched-cf-fbd.exe (NOT the executable, 1653S-CSOT.patched-CF-fbd-mcled.exe, also in the package).

    I then went ahead and burned a Memorex DVD-R, 16x disk. Unfortunately, the maximum burn rate (on this first disk) did not exceed, 8x; the same speed as with the LiteOn Firmware upgrade, BSOY.

    I guess that's the speed I'll have to accept, at least on DVD-R, 16x media (don't know what the result on DVD+R, 16x media would be).

    Thanks,
    ~g
     
  9. Mort81

    Mort81 Senior member

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2004
    Messages:
    4,030
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    116
    Try some better media, verbatim or taiyo yuden for example. Did the flash take for sure? Is your drive now identified as a SOHW-1653S? Is your led red burn, green read now? I don't recommend burning 16x media over 8x, 12x max.
     
  10. georgen

    georgen Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2005
    Messages:
    21
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    11
    Mort,
    The flash definitely worked and yes, my drive is now identified as 1653S. However, I did not notice the LED colors when burning. I believe the color was only green but I'll be more observant next time.

    Yes, I know that Memorex is not the best media, but that's the only 16x media I currently have (I have Tajyo Yuden but only 8x).

    ~g
     
  11. larrylje

    larrylje Active member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2005
    Messages:
    12,218
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    96
    I agree with MORT you should burn at half the rated speed of the disc anyway. Also better media.
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2006
  12. creaky

    creaky Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2005
    Messages:
    27,900
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    96
    thread teleported to relevant forum
     
  13. Yanek

    Yanek Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2006
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    11
    Hi Every One..
    Have gotten some new Media Verbatims 16x and my Lite-On 1633s does not recognize them at all. Older slower 8x and lower media works fine..
    Tried up dating the Firmware DR16BS0Y from Lite-On but get the following error.


    Error Window

    "No matched drive detected !
    This utility is only for LITE-ON DVDRW SOHW-1633S drive.

    Detected drives :
    4-0-0-0 E:LITE-ON DVDRW SOHW-1633S BGS4"



    I Removed/Unistalled the DVD driver under Device Manager,
    and rebooted it came up the same way.

    Trying the Omni Patcher but the Link is Dead or site Down,
    http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Software/SingleModel.aspx?ProgramId=334


    Any Help Thanks,

    Yanek
     
  14. Mort81

    Mort81 Senior member

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2004
    Messages:
    4,030
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    116
    Yanek,

    That firmware that you have now (BGS4) is not official lite-on firmware. Did your SOHW-1633S come preinstalled in your pc when you got it? It is probably some f/w provided by the pc manufacturer eg. dell, gateway, or emachines. You will need to look at the webpage of whoever makes your pc for a f/w update for your model drive or flash your drive with some patched official lite-on f/w. You should be able to flash it with the same f/w I provided for georgen upgrading it to a SOHW-1653S or you can use this patched f/w BS0Y - patched - crossflashing, multi-colored LED (for 1213S, 1613S, etc.) located here http://codeguys.rpc1.org/firmwares.html

    Omnipatcher should also allow you to crossflash to official lite-on f/w. Here's another link http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=97590
     
    Last edited: Nov 6, 2006
  15. georgen

    georgen Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2005
    Messages:
    21
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    11
    A follow-up to Mort81, Larrylie and others.

    Subject: LiteOn 1633S with BSOY Firmware Upgrade, now a LiteOn 1653S.

    1. Successfully burned three DVD's using Memorex DVD-R, 16x media (not my favorite media but all I had readily available). The maximum burn rate did not exceed 8.1.

    2. Using Nero 6.0 (full edition) in Express Mode, attempted to copy one of the above DVD's. After several uncessfull attempts at creating an image onto the hard drive, it finally created the image. However, upon inserting a blank Memorex DVD-R, 16x disk, it failed on two consecutive attempts, somewhere around the 85% completion point. Of course, the disks had to be discarded.

    3. Today I retried copying a DVD as above. Again, the image burn phase was successful, achieving a maximum burn rate of nearly 11x. However, this time, I inserted a Taiyo Yuden DVD-R, 8X blank disk and as I expected, Nero successfully copied the DVD.

    So, what is there to be learned from this excercise?

    A. Is it that Nero 6.0 will accept 16x media (after a "learn-in" process) but only copy 8x media, NOT 16x media?
    B. Is it that Nero 6.0 doesn't like Memorex DVD-R, 16x and maybe will copy to another brand of 16x (such as Ritek or Taiyo Yuden)?
    C. Or is there a later version of Nero that will eliminate the above annoyances?

    Best regards,
    georgen

     
  16. binkie7

    binkie7 Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2005
    Messages:
    17,588
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    116
    Hi georgen
    The burn speed & recognition of the media is controlled by the drive thru the firmware. The drive utilizes programs that you use like Nero which does a power calibration test for the power needed to burn and smart burn (LiteOn's support this & in Nero is usually enabled by default) which determines the burn speed.
    These are done through out the burn process - reason the burn speed fluxates. Trying to achieve best results.

    So your drive may do well with 16x media just not the ones you are using. Memorex uses different manufacturers so results may vary. Those 16x may have been made by Ritek or a # of other manufacturers.

    Pop a blank in the drive then go to NeroToolKit>CD-DVD Speed>Disc Info tab. You'll see who the actually manufacturer is.

    I'd stick w/ Taiyo or Verbatims.

    If you using 6.0 then update to 6.6.0.18:
    Package 1
    http://httpdl1.usw.nero.com/software/Nero6/Nero-6.6.0.18_no_yt.exe

    Package 2 (recode, vision)
    http://httpdl1.usw.nero.com/software/Nero6/NVE-3.1.0.21_no_yt.exe

    The update probably won't help the Memorex burn though.
     
  17. georgen

    georgen Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2005
    Messages:
    21
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    11
    Hi binkie7 and thank you for your informative follow-up.

    I performed the Nero Speed Disc test and found that my "Memorex DVD-R, 16x" is really a "CMC Magnetics, 8x" media... surprise, surprise!!!

    Furthermore, according to digitalFAQ.com, it is really very poor, 4th rate quality media. DigitalFAQ.com states:

    "4TH CLASS MEDIA:
    Pathetic garbage media, landfill material, about 0-50% success rate. These discs are pretty much only suited for preventing drink cup rings from forming on a table. Most of the time, these are ready-made coasters. If you can actually get a burner to acknowledge the disc, do not expect much. And if the burn actually succeeds, do not be surprised if a DVD-ROM or player chokes on the disc (read/play errors). Cheap prices, cheap junk quality."

    So... I now have about 30 more coasters!!!

    That said, knowing what you know about my firmware upgrade, would you be reasonably confident to say that either Taiyo or Verbatim 16X media would work, i.e., burn at 16X on my LiteOn 1633S, upgraded to 1653S ? As you no doubth know, price differences between 8X and 16X are significant. For your info, here are some prices on Inkjet Printable, DVD-R, 16X and 8X, 100-pack spindle media.

    Taiyo Yuden
    16X: $39 8X: $33

    Verbatim "DataLifePlus" (presume highest quality???)
    16X: $56 8X: $37

    Ritek
    16X: $29 8X: $26

    These are the current prices from Rima.com, an online distributer I'm been using for some time and am quite satisfied with. As you can see, Ritek is significantly cheaper than the other two. Also know that in the past, I've used Ritek 8X without any failure (as well as Taiyo of course). However, now with my dirve upgraded to 16X, it would be nice to burn at the higher rate.

    Your thoughts are very much appreciated.
    georgen


     
  18. larrylje

    larrylje Active member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2005
    Messages:
    12,218
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    96
    @georgen

    Again as suggested to you before and I will suggest it again on the speed of burning. Even tho you have 16x rated DVD's it is best to slow the speed down by half or at least 1 step down from the rated speed the media is.

    If you have 4th class media then yes getting some 1st class media Verbatim/TY's should let you burn at the speed it is rated (Thats if your drive can burn at that speed) But it is recommended that you do not burn at Max speed on your media.

    You could also check prices on the online media store that I go to which I have never had any problems with...

    http://www.supermediastore.com
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2006
  19. Mort81

    Mort81 Senior member

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2004
    Messages:
    4,030
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    116
    georgen,

    And I wonder why you were having problems. Stay far far away from memorex (aka as memosux).

    As a rule of thumb, most recommend burning at 1/2 the rated speed of the media. You can probably get away with burning high quality 8x rated media (verbatim or taiyo yuden) at 8x and high quality 16x rated media at 12x. I'm not saying you can't successfully burn 16x rated media at 16x, but everything needs to be just right and the chance for errors increases dramatically.

    With that older drive I would not recommend burning over 12x (8x prefered). I have two very up to date drives, a 3.4 ghz cpu OC'd to 3.6 and 2 gb of corsair XMS dual channel memory and even I don't burn 16x rated media at 16x. 12x on occassion but usually 8x.

    At least we made progress and your drive (after the crossflash) will now recognize 16x rated media. That's a big plus.

    Some other very respectable online places to buy media are http://www.newegg.com/index.asp?DEPA=0 http://www.meritline.com/ and http://rima.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv Those prices you gave are way to high.
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2006
  20. georgen

    georgen Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2005
    Messages:
    21
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    11
    Thank you Mort81, larrylie and binkie7.

    I NOW get the message... do **NOT** burn at 16X!

    Going forward, I'll pruchase 8X media (either TY or Verbatim), and burn at 8X, or purchase 16X media (TY or Verbatim), and burn at 8X (not even 12X... the difference in time is insignificant).

    You've been most helpful... great having such a team!
    georgen
     

Share This Page