CDRLabs.com

So until about 2, 3 days ago I was ignorant to any and all things dvd-burner. I do want one though, and have been doing my homework. My eyes have been bleeding from reading reviews and I figured I'd get some solid advice. I have a price range of anything up to 130 or 140. What is the best bang for my buck. I've checked benq's (which looks nice, but the lack of a black faceplate annoys me), the new plextor, sony's entry... any and everything I can read almost. There always seems to be some glaring problem though...

My priorities are burn quality, software quality, and only then do I care about speed... Any suggestions?

You can get BenQ's drives in black. Otherwise check out the NEC ND-3500 or ND-3500A or the Pioneer 108/A08.

I don't know where you live but Newegg.com has a great selection and price. As Ian said, "it's hard to buy a bad DVD burner these days". NEC/Pioneer/LG/Samsung/BQ etc. get a cheap one that burns 16x for + and - media. The next 30 days will see a lot of new burners out there, so wait about 15 days if you can or buy a cheap one now and get a second new one later. You know you need two don't you.

PS/ I was a Sony/liteon man but have learned to love the NECs and Pioneers these days. Necs can be had for $62.

get a rebadged I/O MAGIC 16x burner from Circuit City that is on sale right now $59.99 after mail in rebates which is a rebadged BENQ 1620 drive. Just make sure on the box of the specs of the drive says, "2.4x DVD+R DL burning", because if says "4x DVD+R DL burning then it's a rebadged BTC drive which is crappy.

or get a NU DDW-163 drive $62.00 from newegg.com which is a rebadged BENQ 1620 as well. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 024&depa=1

Newegg has been out of the Pioneer DVR-108 for a couple days now. I bet they're done stocking it until the 109 arrives. A few other sites I follow are OOS too.

Pioneer USA told me that the A09 should be available this week.
Let's see if that statement was accurate

About these new dvd drives comin out, which ones look most promising? I've heard a lot of talk about the pioneer, but like I said, I'm still pretty ignorant in the area...

Wesociety wrote:Pioneer USA told me that the A09 should be available this week.
Let's see if that statement was accurate

I'll believe it when I see it. As far as I know, they're not even out in Japan yet.

either NEC or Pioneer can't go wrong, that is if you need the drive right now

if not just wait for the new ones

Wow !!!! All this talk about a 109 and 3530 is geeting me primed for a 5th burner.

Ian wrote:

Wesociety wrote:Pioneer USA told me that the A09 should be available this week.
Let's see if that statement was accurate

I'll believe it when I see it. As far as I know, they're not even out in Japan yet.

LOL, me too!
I thought he was being a little optomistic