Should I buy a Philips PDV-1660K for quality tests?

by **MediumRare** on Thu Nov 02, 2006 11:11 am

I don't really need another burner- I'm happy with my LiteOn 165P6S and all the toys available for it. However, the new diagnostics that CD-Speed offers for drives with the Nexperia chipset (BenQ etc.) are rather enticing.

Unfortunately, precisely these drives seem to be dying out- so it's now or never. BenQ has left the European ODD market and their drives are pretty well gone from store shelves (other than the occasional 1670). But the Philips PDV-1660K (or G) is still available, and a local store has piles of them for 40 Euros.

AFAIK, this is based on the BenQ DW-1650. Does it support the CD-Speed advanced quality tests? Or would I have to crossflash it with BenQ firmware? How does Philips firmware compare with BenQ? Are there advantages or disadvantages to a Philips drive in comparison to the corresponding BenQ?

G

by **dolphinius_rex** on Thu Nov 02, 2006 11:15 am

I think the Philips equivilant of the BenQ DW1640 is still available in Europe in some places... I would suggest going for that one personally. I like it much better as a tester then the DW1650.

by **MediumRare** on Thu Nov 02, 2006 5:08 pm

dolphinius_rex wrote:I think the Philips equivilant of the BenQ DW1640 is still available in Europe in some places...

That would be the 1628/1648 ? I haven't seen those around in stores or online shops for a while.
I found a BenQ 1640 (white) for 55 Euros in one shop, but I don't think it's worth that much to me. Just what is so special about the 1640 as a diagnostic tool? Is it a pickier reader?

G

by **MediumRare** on Fri Nov 03, 2006 2:53 pm

Well. I just picked one up. But it'll stay in the box until I've finished a few other things (like my tax return :evil:

). More questions later.

D_R: I still want to know why you prefer a 1640 (the one I mentioned yesterday was gone this morning BTW).

G

by **dolphinius_rex** on Fri Nov 03, 2006 4:59 pm

MediumRare wrote:Well. I just picked one up. But it'll stay in the box until I've finished a few other things (like my tax return ). More questions later.

D_R: I still want to know why you prefer a 1640 (the one I mentioned yesterday was gone this morning BTW).

G

Well, I've found the DW1640 is a much better burner in general, and the quality testing results tend to be more inline with the performance of the discs tested.

This is based on having 2 DW1640s and 1 DW1655 and 1 DW1650.

I think Philips still supports the DW1640 with a cassette tape backup solution or something. RJW told me about it, but since I have no need for it, and it's not available in my market even, the fine details have slippped away from me.