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cant decide which DVDRW burner to get

PostPosted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:28 am
by huber
hi all!

im confused. i need a good dvdrw and i see so many good models. i narrowed it down to those 4:

SAMSUNG S183L Lightscribe + SATA BLACK

SONY AWG-170SB2 X18 SATA

LITE-ON 20A1H Lightscribe X20 BLACK

PIONEER DVR-212BK SATA BLACK

which one would you take and why?

btw - i need it to have excellent media reading compatibility...

PostPosted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:34 am
by Wesociety
Personally, I would probably grab the Pioneer as the latest models have received a lot of positive reviews and I've seen a lot of good feedback from owners.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:40 am
by Ian
Moving so that you'll get a better reply...

PostPosted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 11:29 am
by dolphinius_rex
I agree with Wesociety, go for the Pioneer. They've been doing a pretty good job with their drives these last few models, and they're a decently dependable company.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 11:47 am
by Grain
Go for the Pioneer, it's a significantly better reader than the Liteon, and an excellent burner.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 1:14 pm
by SithTracy
Another vote for the Pioneer... I've got the 212D and am very happy with it.

PostPosted: Tue Apr 17, 2007 1:05 am
by Bhairav
Another vote for the 212. It seems to be as good as the 111, which I have, and that drive RAWKS!

PostPosted: Wed Apr 18, 2007 7:28 pm
by Scour
I´m also recommend the Pioneer

PostPosted: Sun May 06, 2007 12:38 am
by jayrodathome
SithTracy wrote:Another vote for the Pioneer... I've got the 212D and am very happy with it.



lucky!; i just got mine and it's a dud!

PostPosted: Sun May 06, 2007 9:44 am
by SithTracy
jayrodathome wrote:lucky!; i just got mine and it's a dud!
Exchange it for another or look into the LG GSA-H62L/N... LG's recent announcement at a SATA drive. I guess they have the LightScribe version at Best Buy stores (it was online). As soon as I see the non-lightscribe version (the "N"), I will pick one up.

PostPosted: Sun May 06, 2007 10:27 am
by huber
sata isn't relevant anymore (i found out i don't enough sata port) so i need to choose from those:

LG H42LK

LG H44LK

LG H50NK

LG H55NK

SAMSUNG S182M

PIONEER DVR-112DBK

LITE-ON 20A1H

the pioneer isn't light scribe so i guess he is not a good option. which one will you choose? what is the difference between the 42LK and the 44LK and the 50/55NK?

PostPosted: Sun May 06, 2007 10:54 am
by Scour
Pioneer is my choice No.1. Dunno whether ther 112D have Labelflash, which looks nice in my opionion than Lightscribe

If u want LS for sure, u can go with LG H42/H44. The drives are mostly the same, I guess, but the H44-Software is supported by Vista

PostPosted: Sun May 06, 2007 11:30 am
by SithTracy
The 122D does not support LabelFlash or LightScribe. Those features serve no purpose to me, but if it is what you want, go with an LG.

PostPosted: Sun May 06, 2007 12:54 pm
by Dartman
the 112/212 has the same crossflash as the other drives so if you want Label flash you can add it. Some folks are having problems with a couple of MIDS with the 212 other then that it's sposed to be great. Supposedly the 112 doesn't have the same problems but maybe it's just a few isolated drives.
Tempted to try that LG h62l BB has but I spose I dont really need yet another drive... :^o

PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2007 3:46 am
by huber
let me see if i understood - i can flash tho bios of the label flash model onto the 112 and get the feature? how? did anyone tried it and succeeded?!

btw - i dont see that the 212 has label flash option:

http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/products/45/1 ... index.html

PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2007 4:44 am
by Wischmop
I also thought that the 112/212 have LF, but I don´t find it on Pioneer-page

PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2007 12:29 pm
by Wesociety
huber wrote:let me see if i understood - i can flash tho bios of the label flash model onto the 112 and get the feature? how? did anyone tried it and succeeded?!

btw - i dont see that the 212 has label flash option:

http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/products/45/1 ... index.html


Actually, it is firmware, not bios.

If there was a LabelFlash version of the 212 it would probably be named DVR-212L, but I haven't heard of it myself...

112 can be flashed to 112L using firmware on TheDangerousBros website: http://tdb.rpc1.org/#DVR112L

PostPosted: Mon May 14, 2007 8:10 am
by huber
did anyone tried it?

i bought the pioneer 112 after all :-)

PostPosted: Mon May 14, 2007 1:30 pm
by Wesociety
huber wrote:did anyone tried it?

I've seen successful reports online of various people flashing their 112 to a 112L using TheDangerousBros firmware. So if you want the LabelFlash functionality, go for it!

PostPosted: Mon May 14, 2007 1:41 pm
by DrageMester
Wesociety wrote: I've seen successful reports online of various people flashing their 112 to a 112L using TheDangerousBros firmware. So if you want the Lightscribe functionality, go for it!


That would be Labelflash functionality - not LightScribe.

The two technologies are similar but not identical.

Labelflash media is not marketed in North America, so you can only use the DiscT@2 function in Labelflash to make an image on the data side of DVDs (in the space not used by data). That's a fun thing to try, but not particularly useful.

The reason for flashing to 112L firmware is to enable DVD-RAM writing (unless you have a 112 and not a 112D) and to get BookType bitsetting for DVD+R Single Layer media.

PostPosted: Mon May 14, 2007 1:47 pm
by Wesociety
DrageMester wrote:That would be Labelflash functionality - not LightScribe.

I was a bit too quick on the reply trigger there... thx.
I think I posted a few times this morning without completely waking up. :o

PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2007 4:06 am
by huber
DrageMester wrote:
Wesociety wrote: I've seen successful reports online of various people flashing their 112 to a 112L using TheDangerousBros firmware. So if you want the Lightscribe functionality, go for it!


That would be Labelflash functionality - not LightScribe.

The two technologies are similar but not identical.

Labelflash media is not marketed in North America, so you can only use the DiscT@2 function in Labelflash to make an image on the data side of DVDs (in the space not used by data). That's a fun thing to try, but not particularly useful.

The reason for flashing to 112L firmware is to enable DVD-RAM writing (unless you have a 112 and not a 112D) and to get BookType bitsetting for DVD+R Single Layer media.


1. it seems that in my country you cant get lableflash media - only lightscribe :-?

2. i got the 112 and not the 112d so i allerdy have dvd-ram

3. what is this "BookType bitsetting"?

PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2007 3:13 pm
by Wesociety
huber wrote:3. what is this "BookType bitsetting"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_type

A Book Type of DVD-ROM on DVD+R media is probably the most widely compatible type of recordable DVD that you can burn...