Hey folks, Now that I've got my DVD authoring and encoding issues all sorted out I'm about to go and buy my first DVD burner. Does anyone have any suggestions? Something in a mid range model that can handle 4.7gb and the 8+ gb discs would be great but something that is reliable and works with most applications. Oh hell just fire off what ya'll think would be good and I'll begin crunching the data.
well, i can list off what i have personally that has worked for ME, take it with a grain of salt... i have: 1. Sony dru-710a : very solid burner, actually a rebadged lite-on, same make and model of another burner i have...has lasted well over a year and still going strong. 2. Pioneer dvr-109 : fastest of ALL my burners, i use modified firmware to enable bitsetting, most pioneers ARE NOT ABLE to bitset (make dvd+r media to dvd-rom format), so that might be something to consider if that is an option you want with regular official firmware)...but, very dependable, solid burner...rips fast too. 3. Nec 3520A : yes, this is my trusty burner on my 2nd computer...use official firmware from NEC, just because it works well...very inexpensive (there is a newer one now 3540, but, i have the older one) 4. Liteon 1633S : this is the same make and model as my Sony burner, using software, you can easily make your drive bitset capable, thereby offering you MORE compatibility w/ your stand alone players being able to play the dvd+r to dvd-rom format~ very dependable as well. well, those are all the ones i have for desktops, i have laptop burners too, but, this thread is about what to choose for YOUR desktop. Plextors are regarded as the best/king of the burners, but, i have NO experience with them, but i am SURE they are all they are regarded to be...with a higher price tag, based on WHO you ask, it is worth the price... i basically purchased the above burners when they 1st came out, so, naturally, i paid a premium for each of them...$70-$110 AT THE TIME, now, you can get a quality burner for $40-$60 range from newegg. i also have heard VERY good things about Benq burners, again, i never owned one, so, no personal experience...i can comment about the ones i listed above, if you want more info, but, that should be a good start based on MY opinion ONLY...others will agree or disagree with my choices. i am very pleased with ALL my burners. word of advice, do NOT get an Optorite burner, had 2 of them LONG TIME ago when i first started...died within 6 months...horrible build quality. good luck
Kivory666, You put my benq 1620s towards the bottom of that list! Near perfect compatability using the plus format booktyped to dvd-rom!Not all burners can do that. Dual format/Dual layer plus format/ And the ability to booktype the plus format to dvd-rom.My first one performed so well,I had to add a second benq 1620 to my spare pc. Stay away from khpermedia,hp,and I/O Magic. I/O Magic outsources their burners so you have to watch out for them. Overkills, stick with the ones kivory666 posted,beware of the rest.
BenQ 1640 is their latest drive. Very good burner. You can get it from www.newegg.com for 39.99 plus 4.00 shipping. Mine works fine along with my NEC 2500A which I am now useing as a backup burner. The BenQ is fast and will burn just about any brand of media along with dual layer. Will not burn light scribe media but it is too expensive anyway to use until the price comes down. They do have a burner that will burn light scribe if you want it. You can't beat gthe BenQ 1640 which has so many features at such affordable price. Go to google and search for BenQ 1640 and check it out or better still go to www.benq.com
I must say that this thread was not as inundated with suggestions as I had imagined it would be. Nutshell: for topnotch media; ie Taiyo Yuden, Verbatim; there is no better writer right out of the box than the Pioneer. For feature packed drives, LiteOn can't be beat for all of the options at their price point. I started with the Pioneer, but after I started to become more interested in the intricacies of quality/judging media, I added a LiteOn to my setup. It confirmed what I knew all along: Pioneers and TY are a damn good combo!!! (The LiteOn produces excellent results as well...) All of the mentioned drives are great if you stick with quality media...
Thanks for all the info guys, I too am about to buy my 1st standalone burner (have a superdrive in my G5). This was very helpful, as I'm completey overwhelmed by all the choices. And I love how you guys give actual model numbers as opposed to just brands. Didn't see any opinions on LaCie -- any thoughts? Also, some have told me to buy an internal and an enclosure, and build one myself, as it's cheaper than getting an external. I'm worried that I don't have the technical skills to do this though. Hard to do? Have also heard that while Lightscribe is in theory a cool concept, it takes too long and the media is expensive. Leaning towards getting an Epson R200 or R300 that will allow me to print directly onto DVDs/CDs. Only negative I've heard is that no matter how long after burning this happens, if any water at all gets on the ink, it'll run -- even a year later! Oh and that the ink is expensive, but at least they're seperate carts. I won't use mine for anything but DVD/CD printing to save ink.
Making the external drive is very simple. Just slot it in and away you go. Just make sure you get a 5.5 inch bay not 3.5. Also go for dual Firewire and USB interface rather tahn just USB, it may be a few more pounds but worth it for the speed increase. My only dealings with Lacie was an external HDD, it was very quiet, and although about 4 years old is still going strong with the guy I gave it to. As for the R200/300 they print very well and I can definately recommend them, just get some fixative spray to cover the ink, it will then never run no matter what you do to it here is a link to what I use. http://www.blankdiscshop.co.uk/acatalog/fixatives.html
Hey kivory666, should I get a Pioneer or Nec 3520A, my hp 200i dvd burner it out of it's burning days :,(. I saw both on newegg.com, which would you perfer?
Invasian, check out the BenQ DW1640 on newegg. I have it and simply love it. It is DL capable and according to newegg the NEC model you stated does not show to be dual layer compatable. Tom
Hi all, I'm about to upgrade my SONY DVD RW DRU-510A to a PIONEER DVR- 110. This is an OEM drive ,so there will be no "bits and bobs " supplied with it - just the bare drive.This is my first try at installing something like this,what I need to know is Do I need to get any wires or other stuff ? I'm not exactly a genius, but I would think that all I need to do is take the SONY drive out and replace it with the PIONEER. Am I right? Is it easy to do? Thanking you all in advance for any help and advice you can give me. COLSKI
Since you are just swapping out drives: Turn off the power to pc and unplug the modem phone line or cable. Make sure you ground yourself before touching anything inside the pc. Static electricity is bad.Use the same IDE ribbon/power plug/and the sound cable if it is on the sony.Try not to damage these cables,some can be difficult to remove. Make sure your pins are jumpered on the pioneer drive to where your sony drive was set-on the back of the drives: Master/slave/or cable select.I'm not sure how your pc is configured. It's pretty easy,just be cautious.
@saugmon hehe...the only reason i put ur Benq at the end of my post was because i have YET to ever own one..but, if you see, i DID IN FACT mention that it will probably be the NEXT one on my list of burners to purchase i have a friend that owns 2 benqs...he's had his for over 3 years now (an older model naturally) and it is STILL going strong...i believe in the high quality of their builds, i have just YET to try them out yet personally, but will definitely DO SO once my others die... @invasian sorry for my late response, but it seems we have 2 BENQ admirers in here...but, if you were to choose from those 2, i would go with the pioneer dvr-109 personally~ it is MY fastest and preferred dvd burner, that is just MY opinion... don't get me wrong, the nec is a GREAT drive, very solid, good firmware updates (along w/ modified firmware to unlock it's MANY capabilities)...but, my pioneer is MUCH faster... anyways, to all the rest, i just mentioned the drives i currently use and own, later on i will try the BENQ drives and the Plextors...don't worry saugmon, you have convinced me to get the Benq next~ good day to you all~
