I am planning to buy DVD-+ 16X DL for my brother. Can anyone please suggested me which dvd burner is the best and is allow to booktype to dvd-rom? I heard that pioneer is good. Any suggestion???
After reading countless posts on the Benq 1640, I decided to buy it last month from newegg.com. So far it has worked great and it is so fast.
thegood16--I recently purchased a Lite-On DVD Burner and am very happy with it--But, according to many people that are true experts, the Plextor Burners are the absolute best--also the most expensive! Whitfield
Plextor is the top dog among bitsetting dvd-rw drives. They are also using benq to make some of their newer drives!Even the phillips brand name and some others are using benq drives. I've got 2 benq 1620s,and those booktyped backups play in vertually any drive I put them in. The 1620 is harder to find now,but the 1625 with lightscribe and 1640 are the newest benq drives. Pioneer has to have a hacked firmware to be able to booktype.It's called the buffalo firmware. Other good quality drives are: LG Lite-on 16x: They have their own bitsetting utility for booktyping. NEC 3540: Again,a hacked firmware needed for bitsetting. Sony: Some are re-badged lite-ons,so those liteys will booktype with that utility. Check newegg.com for some great prices on these drives. I've also got 3 other burners laying around in boxes.Their overall compatability on my stand alones were very poor,compared to both my benqs.One of them is a brand new HP640 Lightscribe that came bundled with my pc. Another is an I/O Magic 16x that had it's own booktyping utility.That I/O totally sucked a**.It's dash backups way outperformed the booktyped dvd rom plus's that it made.Still well under what I expected out of them.
Does LQ, Lite-On, Sony has program call firmware to upgrade to latest firmware??? Thank for your reply
All manufacturers release firmware updates from time to time ... The newest Plextor, Sony and Philips drives are all rebadged BenQ drives sold at an inflated price ... I've owned Ricoh, Pioneer, Plextor, LiteOn and Samsung drives along with the newest member of my collection .. a BenQ DW1640. The Plextor has a fancier utility package that I've hardly used while the Samsung has been the quietest followed by the speedy Pioneer .. The BenQ has produced the best scans and is the best overall as well as the most bang for the buck!
All dvd drives call for firmware. This firmware instructs the burner as to which format and the speed it is allowed to use. The manufacturers have different media tested and they compile a list of those MID codes from all the newer media that comes out.After a while,they will issue an update for their burners. When you run into a certain media that your dvd-rw drive won't burn,usually updating to the latest firmware update takes care of it. Your better dvd drive brands will have very frequent updates.My first benq has been updated from b7-c9 from november 04 to b7-w9 of september 05. Quite a few updates(20) I missed in 10 months.She still burns sweet at both the old and new firmware. Those hacked firmware: Like booktyping and making drives region free are risky and can void your warranty.A bad update can even wipe out a new drive. My benqs are set to booktype from my software, Nero and dvd decrypter. I believe the newer 1640 has it's own utility,similar to lite-ons booktyping utility. I'm not sure about the others. Dvd decrypter can do the booktyping for plextor,benq,LG,ricoh,and nu-tech.
Personally, I like the LG Multi Format Drives. I really like the NEW GSA-4167BI Retail box drive. It is so quiet you have to look at the LED to be sure it's working. It also has a Quiet tray. Sucker sildes in & out with a whisper. It LOVES Verbatim, Taiyo Yuden, & RITEK made media, among others. In fact, this drive burns a Dual Layer at 6x! With High Quality results too! Haven't tried a BenQ yet. But many people perfer them. I just like the LG Brand. Mine WILL write to DVD RAM, but I have not done it, not till those DVD RAM prices come down some more. DVD RAM can be very useful in some cases.
saugmon, The benq booktype management utility will work with your DW1620 and is very similiar to the way the lite-on booktype utility works with litey drives. I use it with my 1620 and it can be downloaded from the benq website for free. I really like my benq DW1620 and will go with another benq if the need ever arises. Mort
BenQ booktype utility .. http://support.benq.com/front/BenqMain.asp?MenuHead=128&ShowType=program&FileURL=service/driverlist.asp&Dataid=15041&downloadclass=Software&product=3731&langu=null&ops=null&GenMenu=&RootId=undefined
Thanks for the info mort,and the link catfreak. I've got it bookmarked in my favorites. End of the month,my divorce should be final and I am going to get my pc of crap athlon 3000+ pc fixed and get that new 1640 drive at newegg!
I am planning to buy this one do you guy thinks this is good ???http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827101649
Some people have all kinds of trouble with their famous (brand name) dvd burner, while others are ripping and burning successfully without any issues what-so-ever. I'll say get whatever that you're more experience with and works for you.
Yes, that is an excellent one and you're buying it from my favorite vender. Make sure that you update your firmware and download QSuite. Also, update your Nero software that's included. Firmware: http://support.benq.com/front/BenqMain.asp?MenuHead=128&ShowType=program&FileURL=service/driverlist.asp&Dataid=18367&downloadclass=Driver&product=3731&langu=null&ops=null&GenMenu=&RootId=undefined QSuite (including Solid Burn and Booktyping Utility); http://support.benq.com/front/BenqMain.asp?MenuHead=128&ShowType=program&FileURL=service/driverlist.asp&Dataid=18368&downloadclass=Software&product=3731&langu=null&ops=null&GenMenu=&RootId=undefined Choose v2.0 AND .. before you stick that bad boy into your PC, make sure that the jumper is set where you want it (it will most likely come set in the 'slave' position)
I already place an order. They have a lot of firmware to be upgrade in this link which one do i need to download ??? http://support.benq.com/front/BenqM...langu=null&ops=null&GenMenu=&RootId=undefined
I just left mine at the default settings ... http://www.benq.com/products/dvdrw/solidburn.cfm QSuite is an innovative application suite that compliments and enhances the convenience of DVD recording technology. Through the use of four built-in functions: Book Type Management, QScan, Test Write, WOPC enable / disable; you can easily adjust drive settings to gain greater control.
I've used several, toshiba, lite on, memorex, verbatim and now pioneer. they all have their ups and downs..its more on what you perfer. I will say that i've had less trouble with my Pioneer burners than any of the rest. and better compatability with media thats out there. Purchase one, keep the reciept, and if your not happy with it, exchange it..thats my motto. lol
