DVD Burner DILEMA. HELP, PLEASE

[Chopramo]

Hi
I am shopping for a new DVD burner and its my first one, been looking to buy for a while now, cant seem to make up my mind hope someone can help me out here. i have made some choices if you think there is one better than the ones below do tell. I have included links for every burner. thanks

Mainly I am looking for something that will last for a while but with good features

Benq 1620 : Price 79.99 after MIR and Savings
Future Shop

BenQ DW1625 16X LightScribe : $149.99
Future Shop

LG 4160B : Price $149.99
Future Shop

NEC ND-3520A : Price $79.99
Tiger Direct

Sony DRU-720A: PM from staples comes down to $65.
RFD Forum

[Rehan]

I would pick none of the above.

Choose one of the burners from NCIX's current sale:
http://www2.ncix.com/promo/promosale...bid=supersale2
(scroll down to the list of DVD burners)

It's only $5.99 for shipping, and you won't have to pay any PST.

[Macross_Freek]

A few people have posted that their benq 1620's were crap but I wouldn't know since I dont' have one. I was going to buy it but then I decided to get an NEC. Been working pretty good so far although I don't burn that much.

You should also consider a Pioneer.

[Chopramo]

A few people have posted that their benq 1620's were crap but I wouldn't know since I dont' have one. I was going to buy it but then I decided to get an NEC. Been working pretty good so far although I don't burn that much.

You should also consider a Pioneer.

which pioneer is good?

[webdoctors]

I would choose none of those and buy it from here since U in Toronto:

LG 4163B 16x DVD-R/+R DL Writer White (w/o software) info $65
LG 4163B 16x DVD-R/+R DL Writer Black (w/o software) info $65
Lite-on SOHW-1673S 16x DVD-R/+R 4x DL Writer White (with software) info $69
Lite-on SOHW-1673S 16x DVD-R/+R 4x DL Writer Black (with software) info $69
Pioneer DVR-109 16x DVD-R/+R DL Writer White (w/o software) info $73
Pioneer DVR-109 16x DVD-R/+R DL Writer Black (w/o software) info $73
Plextor PX-716A 16X DVD Writer (with software) info $159
Plextor PX-716SA 16X Serial ATA DVD Writer (with software) info $175

no MIR hassles, I think the LG4163B looks like a great deal, for $65.

[Chopramo]

I went and did some more research and finally came down to LG GSA 4163B and Pioneer DVR 109 and NEC ND 3520 they cost arond the same price.

any thoughts ?? or additional info?


The above are available at NICX and CTY

Thanks to Rehan and Webdoctor for the links

[Macross_Freek]

Well you've pretty much cut the list down to 3 very good burners. My first pick would be the Pioneer then the either the NEC or LG. IMHO, all three are very good burners and you can't go wrong buying any of them. Read the reviews and check to see which features you'll most likely use and other things such as burn tests. cdrinfo.com is a review I use. If you still can't decide just pick one . All three are solid burners.

[The Digital Dolphin]

If you are looking for my opinion on this, I would suggest the following:

Do *NOT* buy *ANY* LiteON or Sony brand drives, under ANY circumstances.

Do *NOT* buy *ANY* LG brand drives, with the exception of the LG 4163B. It's pretty light on the extra features, but pretty user friendly. Stick with 8x recording for best results, as the 12x and 16x recording speeds are a little flawed.

Do *NOT* buy the Pioneer DVR-109... unless you plan on feeding it nothing but Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim brand media. The only pro's to this drive are the 6x DVD±RDL burning speeds, but if you can wait for either the NEC 3540 or the BenQ DW1640, you will probably be much happier. Also, the Pioneer DVR-109 is very weak on extra features.

The BenQ DW1620 is an excellent drive, as long as you don't use Prodisc DVD-Rs (Also sold as Smartbuy). Some Kodak DVD-Rs have issues too, but the media is absolute crap anyways! This drive is VERY feature heavy, and has great user support, and incredible firmware support. More hackable then LiteON, and with more funky tools for testing media, both before and after burning!! (P.S. Don't get the BenQ DW1625 if you don't plan on using Lightscribe... even if you DO plan on using Lightscribe, you probably won't use it very long, and will regret the decision).

The NEC 3520 is a good rounded burner, not too unlike the LG 4163B, but like the LG 4163B it lacks a lot of extra features.

The PX-716a is a great drive, but too expensive for most people. This drive also has a lot of awesome extra features like the BenQ DW1620.

[Madcatmk2]

If you are looking for my opinion on this, I would suggest the following:

Do *NOT* buy *ANY* LiteON or Sony brand drives, under ANY circumstances.

Do *NOT* buy *ANY* LG brand drives, with the exception of the LG 4163B. It's pretty light on the extra features, but pretty user friendly. Stick with 8x recording for best results, as the 12x and 16x recording speeds are a little flawed.

Do *NOT* buy the Pioneer DVR-109... unless you plan on feeding it nothing but Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim brand media. The only pro's to this drive are the 6x DVD±RDL burning speeds, but if you can wait for either the NEC 3540 or the BenQ DW1640, you will probably be much happier. Also, the Pioneer DVR-109 is very weak on extra features.

The BenQ DW1620 is an excellent drive, as long as you don't use Prodisc DVD-Rs (Also sold as Smartbuy). Some Kodak DVD-Rs have issues too, but the media is absolute crap anyways! This drive is VERY feature heavy, and has great user support, and incredible firmware support. More hackable then LiteON, and with more funky tools for testing media, both before and after burning!! (P.S. Don't get the BenQ DW1625 if you don't plan on using Lightscribe... even if you DO plan on using Lightscribe, you probably won't use it very long, and will regret the decision).

The NEC 3520 is a good rounded burner, not too unlike the LG 4163B, but like the LG 4163B it lacks a lot of extra features.

The PX-716a is a great drive, but too expensive for most people. This drive also has a lot of awesome extra features like the BenQ DW1620.

DD, i need your help. I have zero credibility so here is goes:
Could you please explain to GreenWeenie and mahjongmaniac that Sony has signed a contract with Liteon for all their DVD burners while they are working on Blue-ray. Also the DRU-720A can use Kprobe tools that are designed for Liteon drives. They need some kind of confirmation.....????????
here

[Madcatmk2]

"
The BenQ DW1620 is an excellent drive, as long as you don't use Prodisc DVD-Rs (Also sold as Smartbuy). Some Kodak DVD-Rs have issues too, but the media is absolute crap anyways! This drive is VERY feature heavy, and has great user support, and incredible firmware support. More hackable then LiteON, and with more funky tools for testing media, both before and after burning!! (P.S. Don't get the BenQ DW1625 if you don't plan on using Lightscribe... even if you DO plan on using Lightscribe, you probably won't use it very long, and will regret the decision).

The NEC 3520 is a good rounded burner, not too unlike the LG 4163B, but like the LG 4163B it lacks a lot of extra features.
"

The Nec 3520 is even more hackable then the benq's. Has the best user support you could have. You will also get newer firmware through the nec rebadgers like Iodata and Mad dog that are pushing nec to to his homework.
Has bad hardware support though.

[Warlock]

No issues encountered as of yet with LG GSA-4163B.

[The Digital Dolphin]

DD, i need your help. I have zero credibility so here is goes:
Could you please explain to GreenWeenie and mahjongmaniac that Sony has signed a contract with Liteon for all their DVD burners while they are working on Blue-ray. Also the DRU-720A can use Kprobe tools that are designed for Liteon drives. They need some kind of confirmation.....????????
here

Yup, the DRU720 is a LiteON 1673S with a pretty (girly looking?) face plate. It's possibly one of the worst drives to come out of LiteON, and requires firmware hacking in order to do anything right. The Sony firmware is (I'm told) marginally better then the native LiteON one (which shows you how pathetically lazy LiteON is, since they should be able to design better firmwares easier then Sony!!).

Not a recommended drive by ANY means!

[The Digital Dolphin]

The Nec 3520 is even more hackable then the benq's. Has the best user support you could have. You will also get newer firmware through the nec rebadgers like Iodata and Mad dog that are pushing nec to to his homework.
Has bad hardware support though.

Ok, I *did* forget the existance of firmware hacks for the drive, and a lot of "fan support" so to speak... but saying the NEC 3520 is *MORE* hackable then the BenQ DW1620?

The BenQ DW1620 can have its' firmware ripped apart manually and have any firmware strategy swapped for any other, just like a LiteON, only UNLIKE a LiteON, you don't *NEED* to do it in order to get usable writing quality out of it. I don't think the NEC has that ability at this time (although in all fairness, I am not 100% sure).

Not to say anything bad about Herrie's hacks at all, but the Code Guys always seem to give more flexability with their hacks (like being able to customize a firmware yourself) whereas Herrie's tend to be one shot, take it or leave it, hacks.

[Spent]

SOHW-1673S 16X DVD-Re-Writeable drive has earned a number of awards and “recommended buy� classifications after a series of rigorous testing and review processes by three of the most respected online publications in the industry. Heavenly hardware.com gave the new dual layer DVD recorder its highest honor by presenting it with its coveted Heavenly Hardware Gold Award. In addition, the SOHW-1673S received the Silver Award from tech-mods.com by scoring a 9 out of a possible 10 in all categories tested. ExtremeMhz.com gave the DVD recorder a “recommended buy� after its review and rated it as �one of the fastest CDR multi-format writers on the market.�

The new DVD recorder is an indispensable archiving tool for digital content enthusiasts who want to transfer and preserve vacation videos, download streaming videos, backup and archive important documents and other multimedia applications with remarkable speed. The DVD recorder also received high marks for combining versatility and performance with an extremely attractive retail price of approximately $62.00 (U.S.).

“Lite-On’s new SOHW-1673S is a great drive for the price and is very versatile,� said Andrew Benicasa, senior review specialist at tech-mods.com. “The 1673S writes quickly and with fine quality, two elements to be expected from Lite-On. Read times are as advertised and error free. It was definitely worthy of our Silver Award of Excellence.�

“The SOHW 1673S could read and write to everything I threw at it – from various manufacturers – flawlessly,� said Frank (Dom) DeJesus at driverheaven.net.
“I’m not quite sure how they do it, but it’s easy to see why Lite-On is number one at what they do,� he added.

“Lite-On is very proud and thankful for the awards our new 1673 dual layer DVD recorder has received from these very highly regarded publications,� said Christine Hsing, Marketing Manager at Lite-On. “Our goal at Lite-On has been to produce the highest quality products at very competitive prices for our customers. The quality of the 1673S is based not only on our R&D and manufacturing capabilities, but the willingness to listen to feedback from our customers and use these helpful comments in our next generation products,� Ms. Hsing concluded.

The SOHW-1673S is an “all-in-one� recording/player device that delivers a variety of high quality capabilities for burning DVDs and CDs. The DVD recorder supports up to 16X DVD+R recording and 4X DVD+R double layer, making it among the fastest on the market. The internal ATAPI/E-IDE interface makes this award winning drive easy to install in a variety of desktop enclosures. The short loader mechanism dissipates heat better than most longer loader models available on the market today and the standard 2MB onboard buffer enhances overall drive performance while minimizing buffer under run conditions. These features, combined with its high performance and extremely affordable pricepoint, certainly make the Lite-On SOHW-1673S a best buy among all re-writeable drives on the market.

The SOHW-1673S drive bundles an impressive assortment of DVD authoring software and recording applets for creation of data, music, and video discs, including Ahead’s Nero Express 6, Nero Vision Express, and PowerDVD from Cyberlink. For sheer simplicity and power, these applications are ideally suited to meet a wide range of consumer requirements for the creation and playback of DVDs, VCDs, and SVCDs.

tech mods

Driver heaven

Extreme Mhz

I also second Rehan's suggestion that you're better off going
with the NCIX's burners than the ones you initially listed


PC World rates internal and external DVD-RW drives

NEC and Lite-On win PC World's "Best Buy" award
In PC World's top 10 rating of internal DVD burners, two of the top three contenders won "Best Buy" accolades. Of the Pioneer model, the kissing cousin of which PC Mag loved (see above), PC World said it had a "poky CD write speed." Well, that's why we bring you these reviews, so you can see these disagreements for yourself.

Memorex 16x Dual Format Double Layer Internal DVD Recorder (Score: 4.0/5.0)
Lite-On SOHW-1633Sa (Best Buy, 4.0)
NEC ND-3500A (Best Buy, 4.0)
Sony DRU-710A (4.0)
LG Electronics Super-Multi GSA-4160B (3.5)
BenQ DW1620 (3.5)
Pioneer DVR-A08XLA (3.5)
TDK Internal IndiDVD 12x+/8x- Multiformat Burner (3.0)
Pacific Digital Mach-16 (3.0)
Teac DVW58G (3.0)

The full review was published in the January 2005 issue of PC World.

[sleepyguy]

Not a single problem with my 1620 yet... 1 bad burn so far but it was my fault (playing games, mp3, 10+ IE pages open). Excellent burning imho.

A few people have posted that their benq 1620's were crap but I wouldn't know since I dont' have one. I was going to buy it but then I decided to get an NEC. Been working pretty good so far although I don't burn that much.

You should also consider a Pioneer.