I read somewhere that the Sony 820A=Benq1670, which is strange since the 1670 isnt even out yet. Does anyone know more about this?
A Sony DRU-820A review .. http://www.cdfreaks.com/article/260 A BenQ DW1670 review .... http://www.cdfreaks.com/article/257 ... and I suppose the fact that the DW1670 is not yet available while the Sony 820 is, makes about as much sense at the BenQ DW1640 no longer being available, while the Plextor PX740 (a 1640 clone) selling like crazy ...
Hi, Depending on where you are the 1670 is out. Yes both the 1670 & 820 have the same chipset. Yes are the same drive. Only the faceplates & f/w seperate these two. Departure from Philips chips, is this a trend? Who knows. But no SolidBurn etc for sure.
i'll wait for the 1670 to come out, since benq drives usually are cheaper than sony. But yeah looks like the chip is the same in the 1670 and 820.
The Philips chipset doesn't support DVD-RAM recording so BenQ has resorted to using the Panasonic chipset ... This isn't the first time that BenQ has gone away from the Philips chipset .. The DQ60 (another POS RAM burner) is basically a Teac rebadge ...
Hi, Thanks catfreak, I was aware of these differences. RAM! I'd rather have SolidBurn etc. For those curious the 1670 & 820 can be crossflashed. Why you would want to though is beyond me. Both these drives are better than the DQ60 (which itself has improved with a f/w upgrade). My 1640/1650/1655's whether retail or oem take these Panasonic chip based drives to the cleaners.
