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Need opinion on which DVD burner to buy

DVD-R/W, DVD+R/RW, DVD-RAM

Need opinion on which DVD burner to buy

Postby slimeballzz on Tue Feb 08, 2005 5:36 pm

Right now I have a few in my mind:

Plextor PX-716a
NEC 3520
Pioneer DVR-109

Just wondering which one would be the best overall to purchase? Or any drives you guys can think of that would be even better than what I've listed?

I don't want to wait for something better as something else even better will come out after that, unless something better is coming out SOON :D!

I plan to mainly burn movies to watch on my home dvd player or to play on my PS2.

Don't know if this would help but I'm going to be using Taiyo Yuden 8x DVD-Rs for the new burner.
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Postby Gen-An on Tue Feb 08, 2005 5:57 pm

My vote goes for the PX-716A. Like the 712A, it's a really nice drive to play with given its overspeeding ability and all the things you can do with PlexTools. Plus, with the release of firmware 1.04 it is a very good burner.
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Thay all look Good

Postby 21st Hermit on Tue Feb 08, 2005 6:36 pm

slimeballzz wrote:Plextor PX-716a
NEC 3520
Pioneer DVR-109

I'd be happy to own any of those, beat my BTC by a mile.
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Postby CowboySlim on Wed Feb 09, 2005 2:25 am

Whichever machine you choose, I suggest TY 8X DVD+Rs. They burn @ 16X in my NEC ND-3500, should be the same for the Plextor drive.

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Postby 21st Hermit on Wed Feb 09, 2005 7:04 am

CowboySlim wrote:Whichever machine you choose, I suggest TY 8X DVD+Rs. They burn @ 16X in my NEC ND-3500, should be the same for the Plextor drive.


Slim,

How do you label the TY's, don't they have a glossy finish?
:-?
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Postby ETP on Wed Feb 09, 2005 8:18 am

Got my vote! Those all are fine burners. If I was rich I would get the 716, if not, go with the NEC 3520 or NU rebaged BQ. Slim is right on! TY +R 8X MIJ is your best media. FUGI +R MIJ is the same item.

Buy two and give us a report! You know you need two. :P

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Postby Gen-An on Wed Feb 09, 2005 11:48 am

21st Hermit wrote:
CowboySlim wrote:Whichever machine you choose, I suggest TY 8X DVD+Rs. They burn @ 16X in my NEC ND-3500, should be the same for the Plextor drive.


Slim,

How do you label the TY's, don't they have a glossy finish?
:-?


You can buy white inkjet printable TY discs. But even the shiny silver laquer discs you can write on with a Sharpie.
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Postby CowboySlim on Wed Feb 09, 2005 11:50 am

Yeah, Sharpie or if I put them in a jewel case, a yellow semi-sticky.

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Postby Scour on Wed Feb 09, 2005 1:32 pm

Hello!

My vote goes for the Plextor, with FW 1.04 it seems to be a fine burner. The NEC isn´t bad, but I heard that NEC´s FW-support is not good.

If Pioneer bring a good FW, maybe then the 109 is to recommend, but this time it seems not to be real good.
Benq DW 1640 and 1650 , Plextor PX-755, Pioneer BDR-208 and 209D, LG GH24NSC0, LG BH16NS40 and 16NS55, Liteon ihas 124F and 324F, Pioneer DVR-215 and S21, Samsung SH-224DB and 224GB, and some more

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Postby TCAS on Thu Feb 10, 2005 12:12 am

Go for NEC either ND-3500 or ND-3520, the best in the market for your buck
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Postby slimeballzz on Thu Feb 10, 2005 2:42 am

ETP wrote:Got my vote! Those all are fine burners. If I was rich I would get the 716, if not, go with the NEC 3520 or NU rebaged BQ. Slim is right on! TY +R 8X MIJ is your best media. FUGI +R MIJ is the same item.

Buy two and give us a report! You know you need two. :P


Does the 716 have any edge over the Nec 3520?

Haha I'm getting -R's!

Buy two? lol only if I :D was rich!
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Postby slimeballzz on Thu Feb 10, 2005 2:46 am

Scour wrote:Hello!

My vote goes for the Plextor, with FW 1.04 it seems to be a fine burner. The NEC isn´t bad, but I heard that NEC´s FW-support is not good.

If Pioneer bring a good FW, maybe then the 109 is to recommend, but this time it seems not to be real good.


So is everything about the FW now? I mean Plextor has been bringing new FW's for the 716 and the burner just got better and better..

Is waiting for new FW the best way to go now? :-?
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Postby slimeballzz on Thu Feb 10, 2005 2:47 am

CowboySlim wrote:Whichever machine you choose, I suggest TY 8X DVD+Rs. They burn @ 16X in my NEC ND-3500, should be the same for the Plextor drive.

Slim


But I thought the DVD-Rs are the actual DVD standard and are more compatible with standalone dvd players?

You can't burn TY 8x DVD-Rs at 16x?
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Postby DVD_ADDICT on Thu Feb 10, 2005 4:01 am

You can't burn TY 8x DVD-Rs at 16x?


Nope.... :wink:
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Postby ETP on Thu Feb 10, 2005 6:14 am

This will answer your question! At $79 after coupon and rebate I took the plunge. Its time to get rid of my 52x Sony and now have two 3500s one 716 and one 2510 in my two towers.

85661027 take $10 OFF the purchase of $75: valid in All Stores (Limit: one digital coupon per person. Coupon cannot be replaced if lost or deleted. Only valid to customers who have received the e-mail, not compatible with Affiliate program)
1 -10 ($10.00)
10385554 Plextor 16x8x16x Double Layer Internal DVD±RW - PX-716A/SW

Click here for the $30 Mail in Rebate!!!
1 119.99 $119.99
If you have any questions about your order, please visit our Help Center.

Please print this page for your records.


Subtotal $109.99
Shipping & Handling
(Budget: 7 to 9 business days) $0.00
Tax $0.00
Total $109.99
-30 REBATE=$79

http://enews.buy.com/cgi-bin5/DM/y/ebzV ... YU0Bkex0Gq

$10 COUPON

BOY! My first Plexor! Wow! You may need to search the web for a coupon=apex?
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Last edited by ETP on Sat Feb 12, 2005 8:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Postby ETP on Thu Feb 10, 2005 6:33 am

To answer your question! If you are on a tight budget, go to newegg.com and get a burner shipped for $60. NU,BQ,NEC, maybe AOPEN.
For the extra $19 I think the PLEX is worth it. But not double the price! The 3520 will meet your needs with new firmware from cdfreaks. The 3540 will be out this Spring! But you know you need one now! :lol: :lol: :lol:
Then buy the new NEC in the Spring. I have Pioneer, Necs, Optorite,Sony, and Now Plex. They all work perfect except the SONY CDRW! If you burn good media at 8X, I do not see how you could buy a bad burner.
The 3520 and 3500 are consistant 16X+R burners with TY media. The recent Plex test BY CDRLABS of the 716 was outstanding.
+R media works in everything I shove it in! :lol:

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?s ... =2073&sp=1

http://www.gotapex.com/deals/external/f ... p?id=16706

http://www.gotapex.com/coupon-codes/a.phtml
Last edited by ETP on Sat Feb 12, 2005 8:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

BQ 1640 BSOB
NEC 4550 1.6T
Plextor 716a 1.09
Pioneer 109/A09 158
Pioneer 110/A10 1.39
Liteon 5005
Sony 875P & 333ES
Liteon 5005
HK7200
Hitachi 61SDX
Two Dell 8400s & 9100 with SATA HDs
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Postby teoleo on Thu Feb 10, 2005 1:47 pm

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Postby slimeballzz on Thu Feb 10, 2005 9:06 pm

ETP wrote:To answer your question! If you are on a tight budget, go to newegg.com and get a burner shipped for $60. NU,BQ,NEC, maybe AOPEN.
For the extra $19 I think the PLEX is worth it. But not double the price! The 3520 will meet your needs with new firmware from cdfreaks. The 3540 will be out this Spring! But you know you need one now! :lol: :lol: :lol:
Then buy the new NEC in the Spring. I have Pioneer, Necs, Optorite,Sony, and Now Plex. They all work perfect except the SONY CDRW! If you burn good media at 8X, I do not see how you could buy a bad burner.
The 3520 and 3500 are consistant 16X+R burners with TY media. The recent Plex test BY CDRLABS of the 216 was outstanding.
+R media works in everything I shove it in! :lol:

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?s ... =2073&sp=1

http://www.gotapex.com/deals/external/f ... p?id=16706

http://www.gotapex.com/coupon-codes/a.phtml


Darn if I only lived in the US. I live in Canada so for me finding a drive at that price is practically impossible :( EVEN after a $30 MIR I still pay about $120US in local stores near me :(
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Postby cfitz on Thu Feb 10, 2005 10:10 pm

slimeballzz wrote:Darn if I only lived in the US. I live in Canada so for me finding a drive at that price is practically impossible :( EVEN after a $30 MIR I still pay about $120US in local stores near me :(

Try NCIX.com

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Postby CowboySlim on Fri Feb 11, 2005 1:22 am

From slimeballz:
But I thought the DVD-Rs are the actual DVD standard and are more compatible with standalone dvd players?

Forget the standard. It was just some of the OEMs jumping in first to get an initial competitive edge. Just like Sony with the Beta cartridges for their VCRs.

DVD+R has much better error checking and correction than -R.

Both my $100 Philips and $40 Cyberhome DVD players play my DVD+Rs and DVD+RWs without booktyping/bitsetting. Any current player should do the same.

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Postby cfitz on Fri Feb 11, 2005 1:35 am

CowboySlim wrote:Both my $100 Philips and $40 Cyberhome DVD players play my DVD+Rs and DVD+RWs without booktyping/bitsetting. Any current player should do the same.

My Aspire DVD player (another of the $30-$40 cheap but full-featured players) actually won't play DVD+RW when book-type is falsely set to DVD-ROM to "increase compatibility", but will play DVD+RW just fine when the book-type is left at the DVD+RW setting to properly reflect the true nature of the media. Go figure...

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Postby slimeballzz on Fri Feb 11, 2005 5:05 am

cfitz wrote:
slimeballzz wrote:Darn if I only lived in the US. I live in Canada so for me finding a drive at that price is practically impossible :( EVEN after a $30 MIR I still pay about $120US in local stores near me :(

Try NCIX.com

cfitz


Yeah that was a place I was referring to. It's about a 10min drive away from me. They are selling at $134 after rebate so I would have to pay $134 + 14% in taxes which would bring a final total to about $153 CDN which is equivalent to about $120 USD.
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Postby slimeballzz on Fri Feb 11, 2005 5:12 am

CowboySlim wrote:From slimeballz:
But I thought the DVD-Rs are the actual DVD standard and are more compatible with standalone dvd players?

Forget the standard. It was just some of the OEMs jumping in first to get an initial competitive edge. Just like Sony with the Beta cartridges for their VCRs.

DVD+R has much better error checking and correction than -R.

Both my $100 Philips and $40 Cyberhome DVD players play my DVD+Rs and DVD+RWs without booktyping/bitsetting. Any current player should do the same.

Slim


Really? I think I remember reading a review of the +R vs. -R format and the article said that they each have their differences and just go for the cheaper of two (which would be -Rs).

I'm a noob when it comes to DVD burners/discs but is error checking and correction crucial for blank DVDs? I mean will the quality be substantially better than a -R?
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Postby ETP on Fri Feb 11, 2005 7:20 am

If you are not a speed demon then who cares 4x-8x. But sometimes I need to be in a hurry and the 16x burns allow me to do other things with my time.
Very cheap low grade -R can work well at the correct speed. I was a -R freak but have slipped over to the dark side. (+R) :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Pioneer 109/A09 158
Pioneer 110/A10 1.39
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Postby cfitz on Fri Feb 11, 2005 11:04 am

slimeballzz wrote:Yeah that was a place I was referring to. It's about a 10min drive away from me. They are selling at $134 after rebate so I would have to pay $134 + 14% in taxes which would bring a final total to about $153 CDN which is equivalent to about $120 USD.

Oh, I see. Well, then I think the issue is more the premium you have to pay for the Plextor name rather than Canadation versus American prices. Here in America we also have to pay a lot more for Plextor (although there has been a recent price drop).

Have you considered the BenQ 1620? It tends to favor +R a bit more than -R, but it is still a very good drive and highly recommended. Check out the review your fellow countryman dolphinius_rex gave it. And NICX is selling it for $84.33 Canadian, which works out to $77.39 American after including your 14% tax. That it is pretty competitive with what the Benq goes for in American stores and almost a 40% discount off the price of the Plextor.

If your heart is really set on the Plextor, maybe you should wait a few weeks. The price drops on the Plextor in America are very recent (like within the past week), so they might still be making their way to Canada.

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