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Topic: What DVD RW to purchase? (Read 13799 times) previous topic - next topic
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What DVD RW to purchase?

Ok, a quick question to all. My friend wants me to buy a DVD RW for his PC, what one should I get and most important criteria is Value for Money and 2nd being good at DAE as he wants to start importing all his songs onto his PC.
So what  I would like to know is which manufacterers to avoid like the plague and ones to look out for when shopping.

much appreaciated
Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace. (Oscar Wilde)

Doktor Lorenz

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #1 –
NEC 3520A or Pioneer DVR-109. They are actually both very good. If you can spend more money, take a look at Plexstor's writers. They suppose to be even better.

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #2 –
Another vote for NEC.  I have the older 2510A which performs flawlessly for DAE and for burning.

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #3 –
BenQ 1620.  Great DAE, great burns (especially with +R), Riplock can be removed. Works with CDSpeed quality tests.  And best of all, it's inexpensive.
"You can fight without ever winning, but never win without a fight."  Neil Peart  'Resist'
 

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #4 –
I would recommend the LG-4163. It's a great drive - nice and quick, does well at DAE and is fairly affordable. There's a really nice test of the current generation of drives with many types of media at anandtech. I suggest you read it (or at least the conclusion).

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #5 –
Quote
NEC 3520A or Pioneer DVR-109. They are actually both very good. If you can spend more money, take a look at Plexstor's writers. They suppose to be even better.
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I actually have both a Premium and a 712 and I love them as it rips any cd nice and quick. Since this is not my money but my mates, I dont think he can afford the extra cost and get a Plextor

Thanks for the quick replies, it does seem NEC has a good reputation at the moment [my other friend uses one and said great things about it]
Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace. (Oscar Wilde)

Doktor Lorenz

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #6 –
Quote
BenQ 1620.  Great DAE, great burns (especially with +R), Riplock can be removed. Works with CDSpeed quality tests.  And best of all, it's inexpensive.
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Sorry for being a 42 karat plonker but what is "Riplock" ?
Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace. (Oscar Wilde)

Doktor Lorenz

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #7 –
Quote
Quote
BenQ 1620.  Great DAE, great burns (especially with +R), Riplock can be removed. Works with CDSpeed quality tests.  And best of all, it's inexpensive.
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Sorry for being a 42 karat plonker but what is "Riplock" ?
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Riplock is a 'feature' that slows down the drive (mostly to 2x or 4x) when ripping DVD-Video ... removal is nice if you rip a lot of video DVD's
The name was Plex The Ripper, not Jack The Ripper

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #8 –
Quote
Riplock is a 'feature' that slows down the drive (mostly to 2x or 4x) when ripping DVD-Video ... removal is nice if you rip a lot of video DVD's
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Ahh that explains why when I upgraded from my old Pioneer 104 to the Plextor why ripping movies was suddenly so much quicker. Thanks for that
Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace. (Oscar Wilde)

Doktor Lorenz

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #9 –
LG or Nec

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #10 –
I would go with the benq 1620 or the NEC.
I myself was in the exact same situation a month or two ago. I went with the NEC 3520A and havent been dissapointed, performes perfectly and was about 50 euros.

Although I think the 3540 has been release in the meantime, I guess they speeded up some of the burning options, I'd probably go with that one if I chose one today.

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #11 –
see http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=92

I recommend the BenQ DW1640, LG 4163 or NEC 3540.  All support C2/PIF checking now, with the new NEC firmware.  Whichever is cheapest is the best among these, really.  BenQ has a utility to check a DVD for tracking/focus errors _before_ burning, which is AFAIK unique.
For a few more bucks get a Pioneer DVR-110.  It's unbelievably quiet.  Pioneer has a utility to change from quiet to fast (ie, adjust your riplock setting) and it's pretty nice.
If you have more dough check out the Plextors, they are excellent for burning and read decently too.  Consistently high quality drives for 2-3x the price.
For ripping DVDs I like the BenQ most.  It's wickedly fast and has great error tolerance.
FYI the new Plextor 740 is just a BenQ DW1640 with a new name.

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #12 –
Also, is Bitsetting important to you?  Not all drives support this, and some only thru hacked firmware.
"You can fight without ever winning, but never win without a fight."  Neil Peart  'Resist'

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #13 –
Quote
Also, is Bitsetting important to you?  Not all drives support this, and some only thru hacked firmware.
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I don't know what you mean by bitsetting, so I know it's not importtant but I'd like to know what you mean by that so I know for later on like.
Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace. (Oscar Wilde)

Doktor Lorenz

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #14 –
Bitsetting allows you set the booktype of + media.  You set it to DVD-ROM even though it's recordable for better compatiblity.
"You can fight without ever winning, but never win without a fight."  Neil Peart  'Resist'

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #15 –
Quote
see http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=92

I recommend the AOpen DUW1608, BenQ DW1620, LG 4163 and NEC 3520.  All support C2/PIF checking now, with the new NEC firmware.  Whichever is cheapest is the best among these, really.  BenQ has a utility to check a DVD for tracking/focus errors _before_ burning, which is AFAIK unique.
For a few more bucks get a Pioneer DVR-109.  It's my personal favourite, and unbelievably quiet.  Pioneer has a utility to change from quiet to fast (ie, no riplock) and it's pretty nice.
If you have more dough check out the Plextors, they are excellent for burning and read decently too.  Consistently high quality drives for 2-3x the price.
For ripping DVDs I like the BenQ most.  It's wickedly fast and has great error tolerance.
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As I said in a previous post, I have 2 Plextors but as far my my mate is concerned he doesnt have the money for them and even if he did, his PC  would probably want a few things upgrading to keep up.
As I've said in previous posts I have two plextors [premium and a px-712, yes i'm very happy with them and I do have the money to spend on my PC if and when I want to  ]

It seems now that 3 manufacterers feature more thn most LG, NEC and BenQ, i personally never heard of BenQ but that won't stop me from pruchasing one. Beleive me i'm grateful to everyone that has suggested options to me and whats clear is that I have to pick from 3 companies now. I do truly thank you all for putting the effort in and making your posts, it is really appreciated and i can never say this enough about HA.org that this is a great forum to participate in , even with my limited posts and all.
Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace. (Oscar Wilde)

Doktor Lorenz

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #16 –
Quote
Bitsetting allows you set the booktype of + media.  You set it to DVD-ROM even though it's recordable for better compatiblity.
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sorry didnt see you reply in time as i was busy trying to make my reply up lol
Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace. (Oscar Wilde)

Doktor Lorenz

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #17 –
I'd also say BenQ 1620 or NEC 3520, and burn at 8x (not 16x) for better quality.

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #18 –
The real issue is how deep the support in the user community is and how good are the unauthorized firmware updates from enthusiasts.  Though BenQ might outrate in reviews of product straight from the box, the community and firmware upgrades by Messrs. Liggy and Dee described at http://www.cdrinfo.com/Forum/tt.asp?forumid=88 make the NEC 3520A the choice I'm glad I made.

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #19 –
There's plenty of support for the 1620 if you read cdfreaks.
"You can fight without ever winning, but never win without a fight."  Neil Peart  'Resist'

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #20 –
Lg doesn't support c2/pif with dvd discs but it does bitsetting out of the box.

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #21 –
Very strange. I have NEC ND-3520A drive and have serious problem with DAE. After quite long time of extraction (2-3 CDs), drive goes mad and just cannot read tracks. It reports errors, reduces speed to minimal and still reports errors. This happens with shiny new CDs, clean and perfect to rip. I even made test with known good tracks: I just re-ripped the same 3 tracks on a CD using Test & Copy mode 5 times. On the 5-th try to read 3-rd track drive started to report errors. I returned drive and they gave me back new one, same model. It has the same bug. So, I guess, NEC ND-3520 is the worst buy for those who is interested in audio extraction.

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #22 –
Quote
Very strange. I have NEC ND-3520A drive and have serious problem with DAE. After quite long time of extraction (2-3 CDs), drive goes mad and just cannot read tracks. It reports errors, reduces speed to minimal and still reports errors. This happens with shiny new CDs, clean and perfect to rip. I even made test with known good tracks: I just re-ripped the same 3 tracks on a CD using Test & Copy mode 5 times. On the 5-th try to read 3-rd track drive started to report errors. I returned drive and they gave me back new one, same model. It has the same bug. So, I guess, NEC ND-3520 is the worst buy for those who is interested in audio extraction.
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I guess you've got problems with your OS, IDE-plugs, whatever. Probably, not with the drive. It was designed not to perform in this way (mine never failed like this). Check everything carefully before blaming the drive.

What DVD RW to purchase?

Reply #23 –
Quote
I guess you've got problems with your OS, IDE-plugs, whatever. Probably, not with the drive. It was designed not to perform in this way (mine never failed like this). Check everything carefully before blaming the drive.
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Can you tell me, what exactly should I check? I have correct IDE drivers and using installed ASPI 4.60 (1021) interface. I always used this configuration and had no such problem. Anyway, I can't even imagine, how a driver or anything else could make drive to behave like this. And this is a second ND-3520A, which doing this. I even used different firmwares, all with the same result.

But I can install this drive to another computer and check it there. I'll do it right now.