Here is my take on this burner compared to my NEC 2500 with the DL firmware update. The NEC 3500 seems to rip and burn slower then the 2500 (converted to 2501). The 2500 was able to burn BeAll abd Ritek 4X at 8X also. Maybe there is a firmware update to this burner because it is not as fast is the NEC 2500 with the firmware update. I am dissappointed so far. But then again the 2500 was nothing without some new firmware.
yeah i have the same conclusion before my 3500 i had the 2500 and i found faster for ripping and even burning is just rip and burn a movie in 50 min and now its 2 hours i use bulkpaq dvd+r and they burn @2.4x even if there 4x i could burn them @4x with my 2500 thats wierd