Pioneer 106d and Media

[ruler]

Hey guys..

I want to get a dvdr for such a long time now, been doing research on the subject for about one year.

Now that prices are way down I decided to go for a pioneer 106d. After quite a lot of reading, it seems to be the best multiformat 4x drive around and it's only $159 now. The plextor PX-708A seems tempting, but it's about $80 more and that's far too much for "just" 8x +r burning. I also heard you can hack the 106d's firmware so it'll be able to rip movies at 16x (can anyone please confirm that?).

Only thing that worries me now is media compatibility, since where I live I don't generally have many options to choose from - retailers in here only carry really crappy media. Can anyone please describe how's the 106d media compatibility?

Also, I plan on buying the drive with 50 or 100 blanks already, so as to avoid having to deal with local retailers for a long while. Can anyone please point me to good, reliable media to use with the 106d - I'll mainly use it to backup important files (i have a home studio). Should i use +r or -r?

And finally, what is a cheap/reliable place to order dvd+-r's from? I went to resellerratings.com and many people seemed to have had problems with meritline(.com)..

Thanks!

[Noua]

Hi there, I just got my A06 2 days ago and I’m pretty satisfied although I haven’t made any real burning yet... My time is limited, at least for now, and I’ve been only doing some +rw burning tests. I can tell you that it burns in 22 to 23 minutes (+rw media) and my Nero has reported that maximum speed achieved was 3x (not bad once +rw is limited to 2.4x)…

Anyway, what you want is someone to help… Before I get my burner I didn’t know witch one to get, and after reading all the good stuff about the Plex 708A I was really into a crazy move and get the Plex.. But here in Portugal the plex is about 300€ and I was able to get my A06 for 220€ (I wanted the 106 but the price was the same so I just grab the A06).

So, for all I’ve read, 106 is the most media friendly burner out there. When it come to rip movies at 16x what I know is that it may go to 12x not to 16x. The A05 can go to 12x with the special firmware…

There was a beta version for a 12x rip speed, RPC-1 and 2x burning speed for 1x media, but it had some problems that are being fixed right now. The last information I have reported that everything was fixed except the 2x@4all issue… It’s supposed to be fixed by the weekend but these things, sometimes takes longer that what we hope…

So this is the information I can give you right now… Hope it can help you on your decision..

[OC-Freak]

To my experience it's THE dvdwriter when it comes media compatibility and write quality.

Also it will never rip at 16X as 12X is its maximum DVD-reding speed.

Today fw 1.07 was released in a modified version which allows 12X ripping, 2X writing on all 1X DVD-R discs and is RPC1.

Found it at the www.rpc1.org forum btw

NOTICE!!! If you use this modified firmware version you void your warranty!!!

[Noua]

So the problem is fixed.. Coll...

By the way, the warranty issue... You can alwas go back to official firmware (1.05, 1.6, 107)

My burner came with the 105 firmware and was manufactured in July... Maybe that's why the price was so good..... Guess I'll have to go to hacked 1.07... :D:D:D.. But first I need to learn how to backup movies ...loool

[ruler]

Great, thanks a lot for the info guys.. I'll just get the drive

What about reliable 4x media to use with it, mostly for backing up important data, what do you guys recommend? And what is a good online store to get it from?

Also, has anyone already updated to firmware 1.07 from rpc1? I wonder if it adds any unexpected issues... And how long does it take to rip a movie at 12x?