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In House Review - Plextor PX-740A 16x DVD±RW

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

In House Review - Plextor PX-740A 16x DVD±RW

Postby Ian on Thu Sep 15, 2005 6:04 pm

Today, CDRLabs brings you an in depth look at Plextor's new 16x DVD±RW, the PX-740A. Designed with the cost conscious consumer user in mind, the PX-740A offers impressive performance without all of the bells and whistles found on the PX-716A. The drive is capable of 16x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW and 6x DVD-R DL writing speeds and has a maximum DVD read speed of 16x. More importantly, it's one of the first drives to feature 8x DVD+R DL writing speeds.

In this review we'll take a look at some of the features found on the PX-740A and see how it compares to some of the 16x DVD±RW drives from the competition. Does the PX-740A have what it takes? Is it the best bang for your buck? You'll have to read the review to find out.

[url=http://www.cdrlabs.com/reviews/index.php?reviewid=272]Image
Plextor PX-740A 16x DVD±RW[/url]

If you have any comments or questions about this review or the Plextor PX-740A, please post them in the forum by clicking the link below.
Last edited by Ian on Thu Oct 06, 2005 12:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Scour on Fri Sep 16, 2005 4:36 pm

Hello!

Nice review, Ian. Good drive with good writing-quality

But I doubt that many people buy the 740, because it´s a Benq 1640 and much more expensive.
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 Ian on Fri Sep 16, 2005 4:44 pm

Scour wrote:But I doubt that many people buy the 740, because it´s a Benq 1640 and much more expensive.


You hit the nail right on the head. Good drive, just too expensive.
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Postby code65536 on Fri Sep 16, 2005 10:16 pm

Scour wrote:But I doubt that many people buy the 740

Hehe. Ah, but don't underestimate the power of the brand name! ;) People will still buy brand name Chlorox bleach over Wal-Mart's generic bleach (bleach is bleach is bleach is bleach; kinda hard to vary the chemical composition of sodium hydroxide :lol: )
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Postby Scour on Sat Sep 17, 2005 10:12 am

code65536 wrote:Hehe. Ah, but don't underestimate the power of the brand name! ;) People will still buy brand name Chlorox bleach over Wal-Mart's generic bleach (bleach is bleach is bleach is bleach; kinda hard to vary the chemical composition of sodium hydroxide :lol: )


That´s possible

It depends on the knowledge of the buyer and the persuasiveness of the seller ;)
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 oslik3 on Sat Sep 17, 2005 11:34 am

From the Review:
Based loosely on the BenQ DW1640...


Just curious, what is meant by "loosely" ? Hardware is the same as Benq, but firmware is written by Plextor ?
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Postby ala42 on Sat Sep 17, 2005 3:48 pm

oslik3 wrote:From the Review:
Based loosely on the BenQ DW1640...


Just curious, what is meant by "loosely" ? Hardware is the same as Benq, but firmware is written by Plextor ?
The firmware is a typical Benq 1640 firmware having some features disabled.
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Postby Ian on Sat Sep 17, 2005 6:38 pm

oslik3 wrote:Just curious, what is meant by "loosely" ? Hardware is the same as Benq, but firmware is written by Plextor ?


Like ala42 said, a few features have been disabled by Plextor to keep it from competing with the PX-716A.
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Postby pchilson on Sat Sep 17, 2005 7:54 pm

Without a doubt, Plextor produces some of the best DVD writers around.

That statement requires the qualifer..."when they rebadge another company's drive"... :wink:
Otherwise I think there is a "doubt".
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Postby Scour on Sat Sep 17, 2005 8:31 pm

pchilson wrote:
Without a doubt, Plextor produces some of the best DVD writers around.



In the past I had a Plextor CD-Writer, it is a great drive, but I sell it to a friend. It´s over 5 years and burn 48x and 52x CD-R in superb-quality.

The newer Plextor-drives don´t seem so good, but they are still good, but expensive.
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 eric93se on Mon Sep 19, 2005 1:10 am

I agree the statement "Based loosely on the BenQ DW1640" doesn't jive, since they are one in the same. :) I would omit the word 'loosely'.
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Postby Ian on Mon Sep 19, 2005 8:06 am

eric93se wrote:I agree the statement "Based loosely on the BenQ DW1640" doesn't jive, since they are one in the same. :) I would omit the word 'loosely'.


I'd agree with you if they were like many other manufacturers and did nothing but toss in an OEM BenQ and maybe change the ID string. They did put in the effort to at least remove some of the drive's better features. :roll:
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