(Book typing/bit setting) burner suggestions.

I've been doing some research in the forums and discovered that my Sony DRU-800A is incapable of Book typing/bit setting, which is a function I'd love to have. I wanted to get anybodys opinion on what they feel is the best burner with the book typing capability. I looked in DVD Decryter and saw the drive manufacturers it supports: LITE-ON, BenQ, NEC, Plextor, Nu Tech, LG, and RICOH. I guess I would prefere a manufacturer that Decrypter supports because it is a program I use quite often. (I also use Nero, Alcohol 120%, and Disc Juggler)

Any suggestions are much appreciated, and thanks in advance.

P.S. How is this drive? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106019

 

I have a Lite-on, BenQ and Plextor burner, all booktype and all work well no problems with any on of them. Plextor is a pricey drive, so if you don't want to spend the money then get one of the other two. BenQ has a good track record and if you want lightscribe capability the 1655 is a good burner. My Lite-on 1633 has many good burns to its credit, and I still use it and it is over 2 years old. I also have a NEC which is older and still puts out great burns after 3+ years, however, NEC does not booktype out of the box as the others do, for that you will need to use modified fw.

 

Well if you're looking for a reliable and good quality burner to buy,i would recommend you the Benq DW-1650.It's been recommended by a lot of highly experienced members here in AD.Plus it's not that kind of expensive.If you look well,you can get it for around 45 bucks.It makes pretty good burns and scans(unlike my pioneer i'm using right now,same as you,impossible to booktype and gives the worst disc scans),it supports the booktype feature too,you're right looking for a burner which can bbooktype,really a great plus.If you're a lightscribe guy,then the 1655 will be fine for you(just as arniebear mentioned),exactly same as the 1650 but with only the lightscribe capability as difference.

Have a look at this link,this will give you some more hints on the Benq 1650,

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/360803

Now if spending some more bucks doesn't bother you and want the best of the best,then you can go with the Plextor,excellent plex models are the famous but unfortunately end of life 716.You have the newest one too,the PX-760A,which i also owned.

But definitely the top three burners on the market are the Plex,the Benq and the Lite-on.Better not get outside of this.


Vincent.

 

I work at Best Buy and found the Plextor 750A, Its not the 760A you were talking about but the price is right. ($65 with discount)
It also has the added bonus of burning DVD-RAM.

From the sounds of it, a lot of people really like BenQ. I researched them and found out that some of their drives are manufactured in China which people were claiming is a problem becasue the Japanese BenQs perform much better. Can anyone confirm this, or is it just hear say?

Sorry if I seem to particular about this situation, but it seems like any time I buy something that I think is good it turns out to be crap. Like my Sony DRU-800A and I used to swear by TDK media until I saw all the threads on these boards that say TDK is crap, and then I saw the CMC code in Decrypter for my own eyes. So now I've been hunting for Taiyo Yuden VDs and CDs and the best drive for the best price that supports book typing and has really good reviews.

So again sorry if I seem too serious about the situation.
I guess I'll just have to Weigh the positive VS. the negative betweeen BenQ and Plextor and find out which one is best for me.

 

Here is a review on the Plex 750A, kind of comes in at mediocre.

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=15843&PageId=0

I think if you read through some of the forums you will find that most people are satisfied with the BenQ's especially those with 1640's and 1650's.

 

OK looks like I'm really leaning toward Benq especially since newegg has it for only $36 which is just an insane price.

arniebear: I really appreciate your help, that review site you linkied me was very informative and literally covers anything that anyone would want to know about a burner. Their review on the BenQ 1655 was a few stars better than that of the Plex drive I was looking at and its half the price of the Plex. Again thanks for your help.

I noticed a different BenQ model that is similar to the 1655 but with the addition of burning DVD-RAM blank media. Is there an advantage to burning on DVD-RAM? Is it more compatable with hardware than other blank media formats?

 

More reading for you, it is easier than try to explain. DVD Ram is useful if you have the player that will play it, but it is slow to work with because of the fact that it verifies the data that is written to it. Ram media can be written to many more times than RW media, and it longevity is supposed to be like 30 years. They are also expensive to buy.

http://www.afterdawn.com/glossary/terms/dvd-ram.cfm

My Panasonic DVD Recorder has the DVD Ram capability, but it also has a 30g HDD in it, so I have never really used DVD Ram, plus I just usually record to disk and then edit in my PC, as my burners do not have DVD Ram capability.

 

shhh...arniebear & TY4ever, i'm still on my vacation, but i was browsing around here in the dvd drive forum, so i thought i'd help Joshewah out a bit

ok buddy, your Sony dru-800a is in fact a rebadged Liteon SOHW-1693S, which i happen to own, nice drive, very solid...good overall burns and it WILL and DOES booktype~

i don't know who told u it's incapable of booktyping, but it most certainly DOES...reason i've been on "vacation" is because of SO MANY inaccuracies lately by so many people, i just got sick and tired of correcting them then i get flamed for doing so...not worth my time...

you could use Kprobe, dvd decrypter, or dvdinfopro to booktype your dvd+r/dvd+r DL media~ under dvd decrypter, which i'm sure you have, when prompted which brand of drive, choose "Liteon" and proceed to change the dvd+r to dvd-rom and also for the dvd+r DL tab too~

dvdinfopro is much the same way...either will work~ but since dvd decrypter is so widely used by so many members, i figure you would already have a copy installed on your comp...

anyways, if you have your eyes set on a new dvd burner, you will not go wrong with any of the suggestions by arniebear and TY4ever, i also own the Liteon SOHW-1633S that arniebear recommended, along with the Benq 1650 that TY4ever mentioned, i don't own a Plextor at this time, but they are the "cadillacs" of dvd-burners in many people's eyes...certain models that is...namely, the 716A + 760A, the whole "dvd-ram" capable thing is overhyped...at least with Benqs, the Dq60 which has the dvd-ram is a very poor drive, my close friend has one and it quite frankly, SUCKS ASS LOL

if getting a Benq, def. consider the 1650 or 1655 (lightscribe) if that's your thing, but def. do NOT get the DQ60 w/ dvd-ram capabilities, even with the new firmware updates, still mediocre drive based on MANY burns by my friend who i trust when it comes to opinions...i've gone thru at least a dozen drives in my journey of dvd burning, so GENERALLY speaking i can tell you first hand how certain drives perform (ie. Benq, Liteon, NEC, Sony, even my piece of crap Optorite) i am not familiar with Plextors but most of my trusted collegues have nothing but rave reviews about them, i'm more about "quantity + quality" over that of price~ (i'd rather have 3 excellent burners -benq- for the price over 1 top of the line Plextor...but that's just MY outlook on burners and purchases, i'm excessive with media and optical drives)

good day to you, ill be going back to my vacation now...

docTY

 

@doc

Glad you took a short sabbatical from your vacation, been wondering where you been. So now go back and rest up, we all need some chill time

 

Wow!Was it Doc who was here earlier?
I don't know if you will read this thread but glad to hear from you.Everyone's missing the Doc's tips over here in AD.But try to fully enjoy your vacation,just forget about everything for a while,stress at job,stress and overheating at AD too by these so many "inaccuracies" like you say.We all know you like to help others but sometimes you need not to forget yourself So go back there and get some very good times(before you're on again)!

@Joshewah

If you wanted some very good advices,then you just got the pro advice from our dear Doc,who has specially dropped in to assist you.
Follow these advices,there's nothing but true things and facts in what he says.So do what arniebear says too.

One thing,are you aware that the plex 750 is not really made by Plextor itself but instead is a rebadged Benq/Teac drive?But the 716 and 760 are real Plextor drives.I'm not saying the 750 is fake but if you're looking for a particular brand,i guess you would like to get THAT brand and not any other brands under.

Concerning the DVD-Ram you were saying,don't get too tempted by drives which offer this capability(read/write).One thing you should not forget is what are the most current operations you will run on the drive you're considering to buy,will you really use the DVD-Ram or you're just tempted to buy a drive which offers more features like the RAM.Because if most of the time you're gonna use normal DVD±Rs or DLs,then you better go with drives that are well known to be very good in doing these tasks and that are strongly suggested by users who make heavy use of such discs.

Have a nice day/night to all of you!


Vincent.



Edited because of typing mistakes.

 

Doc you madman! Thank you!

I went into decrypter and messed with most of the supported drive tabs in the book type option because I thought possibly it could have been rebadged. I guess I didn't check all the options (obviously because I didnt even touch LITE-ON) and then I went to a few message boards and webs site when I found a thread specifically dedicated to non-book type drives, and they said all Sonys some panasonic, etc. drives dont have the ability because they don't have a RICOH drive engine in them. Seems I fed myself some BS.

TY4ever, arniebear, and Doc, thank you for your input, This is why I love AD. I should have joined sooner. Gonna go burn some DVDs now


EDIT: I just burned an MIJ Fuji 1-8X DVD+R (TY T02) with Decrypter and it book typed to DVD-ROM. Now I just have to get the "automatic" settings in Nero to actually cange the book type, which it should have been doing all along wihtout my knowledge but hasn't.

One final question why can't I get my 8X media to burn at half speed? When Decrypter is set to 4X it burns my Yudens at 6X or 8X , and the discs are capable of 1X-8X.

 

DOC you made me back from a headache. thanx so much. but there's a problem. when i book type it says succes. but dvd decrypter reads dvd+r. i dont know why?? can you help me in anyway?? i have SONY DVD RW DW-Q28A KYS3 is it making any difference??

 

You can also use dvdinfopro and check what it says about your media,if it's booktyped or not.


Vincent.

 

doesn't even have trial version?? tell me something else please that doesn't have trial version.

i have tried with nero 7 and it book types as dvd+r. does nero change book type if yes how do you do it.

 

you can try DVD Identifier,it's a freeware.But you need to be online when run the check,that's all and it's really very easy to use and understand.


Vincent.

 

To booktype using Nero,try the following link,it's just after the instructions using DVD Decrypter.

http://www.booktypefaq.com/



Vincent.

 

i have used that, i have used nero cd/dvd speed and they all say successful but the book type remains the same! what is happening

 

Unfortunately i don't have any experience with sony burners nor with Liteon ones,btw yours is a rebadged liteon 1693s.Normally Liteon drives can booktype,but now i don'k know if sony uses a different firmware for this model,which makes it can't booktype and maybe need to crossflash firmware with one of the liteon.But do not take my words on that for granted,it's only what i think.Its better to wait and see what other more experienced member/s has/have to say about that.

When you said "i have used that",do you mean you used the DVD Identifier or it's only the Nero you're talking about?If you haven't use the DVD Identifier,you can just give it a try as i said earlier.

Sorry for not being able to help you more about that.


Vincent.

 

i have tried both dvd indentifier and nero. how do cross flash ?? i have upadted the frimware and changed it some time i dont think it's that. it's something more. any very much thanx for reply and trying your best to help me. i really appreiciate it. am waiting for others to post. if there will nothing that can be done i would rather swap the burners i have(i have lg acting as cd drive. i can make it be a dvd drive and sony a cd drive right??) or buy dvd-r. i heard there's a reasonable chance that ps2 might play dvd+r

 

Is your LG actually a dvd burner?If so then better use the sony for CD and the LG for DVD.I do own 2 LG burners myself,the 4163B and the 4167B(which is still brand new).I've never got any problem with the 4163B and it booktypes automatically when i use Nero to burn.About crossflashing,this is a bit complicated and it quite risky,from what i've read,if things don't turn well during the crossflash,the drive can become unusable and voids the warranty.It's not like updating firmware.

Normally people say that when you use DVD+R and booktype it for any movie or game backup,it offers greater compatibility than the DVD-R itself.When you said that there's a reasonable chance that PS2 might play DVD+R,i think it means you need to booktype the DVD+R to DVD-ROM first.But i'm sure you're already aware about that.

Let's hope that some other members can come to your rescue about your Sony problem.But if nothing,you can do as you said,swap drives,LG for DVD and Sony for CD.Quite a good idea here


Vincent.