Which is the better choice: Pioneer 108 vs Plextor 716a??

[DVGuy]

I have the choice of the pioneer 108 OR plextor 716a drive. Which would you choose between these two and why? Thanks for the input.

[Ian]

Well.. if you're comparing the 108 and the 716A.. the 716A by a long shot.

It's a tougher decision if you're comparing the A09/109 and 716A though.

[mikepraba]

So do you think pioneer 109 is a better value? I heard plexter 716 is the best drive currently available, if pioneer 109 is as good as plextor then buying pioner is worth it. But I heard no booktype setting and slow speed in pioneer official F/W. is it critical to have booktype settting ability this day and age if the dvd players are less than three years old? and how bad is the spped/

[Ian]

As far as speed goes, the Pioneer is on par with the PX-716A.. at least at 16x. At 8x and 12x it falls behind due to its Z-CLV writing method.

What bothers me more is that the Pioneer still doesn't support 8x +RW.. even with the latest firmware. Oh yeah.. and the book type too.

[mikepraba]

so do you think pioneer is a better value compare to Benq 1620 which is only 20 dollars different in price?

[Jim]

Pioneer supplies Buffalo with a bitsetting firmware. You can easily update the Pioneer with the bitsetting firmware since they are the same hardware.

[mikepraba]

In canada computers the price of pioneer 109 is $89 and Benq is $70. considering all the factors (I use only brand name media and i am a quality freak) is Pioneer 109 a clear winner here ?

[steelly]

The Plextor 716A comes with PlexTools, and Plextor
supports its drives with firmware updates. For a few
bucks more get the best; I bought the Plextor 708A,
Plextor 712A, and the Plextor 716A from this online
store. Very good service and fast delivery!
http://www.futurepowerpc.com/scripts/de ... W&REFID=PG

[Jim]

In canada computers the price of pioneer 109 is $89 and Benq is $70. considering all the factors (I use only brand name media and i am a quality freak) is Pioneer 109 a clear winner here ?

I'm a quality freak too. I've been silently watching the forums on the latest burners and the scans with the latest 1.40 Pioneer 109 firmware are great. I don't know if it is real or not, but the BenQ seems to have abnormally high hardware quality control issues being reported at cdfreaks.

The Plextor appears to be a decent burner too, but you have to factor in at least one mail in rebate to get it into the same ball park as Pioneer, BenQ, and NEC.

I just checked NewEgg and they have the Pioneer 109 for $64 (both colors) after shipping. Just flash it with the Buffalo 8.40 firmware and you have an excellent burner.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 160&depa=0

Jim

[mikepraba]

I think I am sold on pioneer 109. Not too concern with DVD-RW 8X speed. it has DVD-/+DL at higher speed (6X) as soon as dvd-RDL available I could try that too. Don't have to spend extra money in few months when DVD-RDL comes out. I will let you know guys how the Pioneer performs for me, as soon as i get it

[Razeus]

The plextor has a way better software suite. Pioneer software is subpar (but hardware good)

[RJW]

Did someone say Benq 1620 vs PX-716.
Hmm it depends.
For dual layer -> Plextor
But for 16x DVD+R and most other +R media benq !!. Just take a look arround which drive is the real 16x burner. (works with most 16x media. Burns really at 16x and doesn't switch back most times to 14x and burns the best quality at 16x !)

[VEFF]

Did someone say Benq 1620 vs PX-716.
Hmm it depends.
For dual layer -> Plextor
But for 16x DVD+R and most other +R media benq !!. Just take a look arround which drive is the real 16x burner. (works with most 16x media. Burns really at 16x and doesn't switch back most times to 14x and burns the best quality at 16x !)

Just saw an article at CD Freaks where OC-Freak compared the two with the latest firmwares.
The Benq did better than the PX-716A, to my disappointment - I just bought two PX-716A drives recently due to a very hot deal that was hard to resist.
Nevertheless I think I will keep them - they are sealed, so I could return them if I wanted to.

I really like the concept Autostrategy (if it works as promised)...

I asked OC Freak (my first post there in ages) if having PoweREC enabled might have helped (PoweREC was disabled on Plexy, yet WOPC was enabled on Benq; the latter since the Benq drive's software made his PC crash if he tried to disable it).