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NEC ND-3540A? Is this the one to get for DVD/CD burning?

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 10:28 am
by SkaarjMaster
I'm helping someone put together a new system for general use. They're not intense into DVD/CD burning/overburning or any of that, but will be doing a little bit of both from time to time. From some of the threads I've read here, it seems the one to get for this is the NEC ND-3540A. This person will be doing some DVD burning as well as burning on CD-Rs, but not a huge amount. Is this NEC a good choice?

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 11:10 am
by hoxlund
my personal choice is the plextor 716, in any kind of connection flavor

or also pioneer dvr108, in my personal experience the pioneer was much better at dvd reading then my nec 3520, especially with dirty or scratched media

Re: NEC ND-3540A? Is this the one to get for DVD/CD burning?

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 11:23 am
by eric93se
SkaarjMaster wrote:I'm helping someone put together a new system for general use. They're not intense into DVD/CD burning/overburning or any of that, but will be doing a little bit of both from time to time. From some of the threads I've read here, it seems the one to get for this is the NEC ND-3540A. This person will be doing some DVD burning as well as burning on CD-Rs, but not a huge amount. Is this NEC a good choice?


the nec 3540 drive is fine for the casual user. A heck of a lot more affordable than the plex. Since BenQ doesn't have any new offerings and the price is now very low, I'd go with the 3540. It does not however overburn any discs (CD or DVD), nor does any other nec drive out there for that matter. You can get modified firmware from liggy and dee on the cdfreaks nec forum.

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 1:10 pm
by SkaarjMaster
So, how does the NEC 3540A compare with the Pioneer DVR108 and Plextor 716 on DVD reading?

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 1:14 pm
by dolphinius_rex
hoxlund wrote:my personal choice is the plextor 716, in any kind of connection flavor


I decided to try one of those out as well... or rather 2 :wink:

The Pioneer DVR-109 with the latest firmwares is an incredible machine too.

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 1:16 pm
by eric93se
SkaarjMaster wrote:So, how does the NEC 3540A compare with the Pioneer DVR108 and Plextor 716 on DVD reading?


first off, the dvr108 is old now, the 109 or a09 is available. If you want to compare what people are saying about both drives, then go to the cdfreaks forums for plextor and nec hardware. If you willing to pay more than twice the price for similar quality then get the plex.

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 2:49 pm
by hoxlund
dvr108 old? please it still has the fastest single layer burning speeds available

and compared to the 3520 at least, the 716 and 108 still read dvds better

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:16 pm
by dolphinius_rex
hoxlund wrote:dvr108 old? please it still has the fastest single layer burning speeds available

and compared to the 3520 at least, the 716 and 108 still read dvds better


What's the fastest single layer burn speed that the drive has produced?

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:44 pm
by SkaarjMaster
OK, the person I'm helping has told me to cut the prices a bit, so Plextor is out of the picture. Looks like it's down to the 3540A and 109 (er, or 108 depending on who you talk to).;)

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 5:08 pm
by alexnoe
The NEC 3540 ist the first drive I see that can read DVD RW media at 13x :) And when looking at the write quality, Plextor should hide behind it, especially considering the price... (see the C'T test in 14/06). I'm currently testing the NEC 3540 on my own, and i'm really impressed. I haven't seen a drive that worked that well with the first firmware version!

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 5:41 pm
by Scour
Hello!

The Pioneer is my favorite for DVD-burning and reading, but the NEC seems to be better with CD-R.

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 6:18 pm
by dolphinius_rex
alexnoe wrote:I haven't seen a drive that worked that well with the first firmware version!


That's an excellent point. Pioneer, Plextor, BenQ, LG, and CERTAINLY LiteON have all failed horribly in this respect (probably less so with BenQ and LG though).

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 8:21 pm
by hoxlund
dolphinius_rex wrote:What's the fastest single layer burn speed that the drive has produced?


meaning it still offers 16x as well as the 109

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 10:21 pm
by SkaarjMaster
"The Pioneer is my favorite for DVD-burning and reading, but the NEC seems to be better with CD-R."

Thanks everyone! That is the key phrase that sways my decision. Like me, this person will be doing more CD-R burning so NEC it is! :D

PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 10:34 pm
by dolphinius_rex
hoxlund wrote:
dolphinius_rex wrote:What's the fastest single layer burn speed that the drive has produced?


meaning it still offers 16x as well as the 109


So the fact that the DVR-108 burning at 16x is about as fast as 8x recording on the LG 4163B doesn't change your opinion on the burn speed of the drive? :wink:

PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 12:54 am
by hoxlund
im just saying it says 16x, for the general public its the same

i don't use my pioneer 108 for burning anymore, its a reader only drive

PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 2:57 am
by dolphinius_rex
hoxlund wrote:im just saying it says 16x, for the general public its the same

i don't use my pioneer 108 for burning anymore, its a reader only drive


Yeah, the general public is easily swayed by propaganda #-o

It drives me crazy sometimes what some companies can get away with... like Artec :o

PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 6:00 am
by Scour
dolphinius_rex wrote:
So the fact that the DVR-108 burning at 16x is about as fast as 8x recording on the LG 4163B doesn't change your opinion on the burn speed of the drive? :wink:


The 108 is a good DVD-writer, but for me it´s a 12x-writer, because the shift to 16x is much to late for a real 16x-writer

PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 4:15 pm
by SkaarjMaster
Ended up ordering the 3520A instead of 3540A because we couldn't find the 3540A in biege (only silver or black). Well, this person did end up getting an NEC anyway; maybe in a few years they can upgrade to a blu-disc NEC 6540A 40X DVD burner.;) Thanks for the advice guys as always. 8)