Benq DW822A-OC2: My impressions so far (got it 4/12)

[wbresson]

Reading the +RW yields a smooth curve up to 8.36x (cav) with 4.36g of data. random access 100ms, 1/3 117, Full 172ms, CPU 1x 8%, 2x 15%, 4x 29%, 8x 55% (2.4 P4 non-HT'd). Max read is supposed to be 12x but I suppose it slows down for the +RW ?

Edit: Dual Layer DVD-Video read also a smooth curve peaks out at 8x in the center

Edit2: Found a single layer 3.8g factory dvd-video, smooth curve up to 11.87x, random access 101ms, 1/3 109ms, Full 164ms, CPU 1x 7%, 2x 15%, 4x 28%, 8x 55%

[VEFF]

I burned my 2nd disc (Almost full: 4.34 GB out of 4.37 GB max).
It took 8:34. Right about the same as the PX-708A.
And my hard drive on this PC is fragmented!!

I'll try again tomorrow after defragging before going to bed tonight...

[Vanderlow]

Also Newegg is carrying this drive now for $99 + $4 shipping.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 622&depa=1

[Kennyshin]

Got the drive?

Just interested in what firmware it comes shipped with as I have a pre-release sample for review here ( the drive do not even have a sticker on it - just plain grey with a sample sticker telling it has serialnumber "6" and is model 822A with fw B3BC).

It was delivered today I will play with it when I get home...

Too bad the rest of my weekend wasn't as good, but that's another story.

Congratulations.

[VEFF]

Got the drive?

Just interested in what firmware it comes shipped with as I have a pre-release sample for review here ( the drive do not even have a sticker on it - just plain grey with a sample sticker telling it has serialnumber "6" and is model 822A with fw B3BC).

It was delivered today I will play with it when I get home...

Too bad the rest of my weekend wasn't as good, but that's another story.

Congratulations.

Thanks a lot Kennyshin! If only things with my car had gone better; long story.

I must say that I am very impressed with the Benq so far.
I didn't have a chance to check disc quality last night, but it burned Ricoh 4X +R at 8X.
The discs play back flawlessly in my Pioneer DV-563A DVD player.
It even uses the same type of black tray design as Plextor.

The only noticeable difference so far, if you're checking for it, is that tray closing is not as quiet as the Plextor; it isn't bad though.

I am looking forward to the release of the 16X 1600A in a couple of months.

[hrbngr]

I just purchased a Benq 822 from newegg. I also have a dvr-105, and 2 x 2500a. I had to return the lite-on 411 that i was using for Kprobe, but i would love to do some more tests if I could only find a good price on another lite-on for testing. does anyone have an idea of where to find a great price on a drive that would only be used for testing?

[Vanderlow]

Pricewatch has the lowest price at $77. Ebay has a couple of cheap 401s coming up. Sometimes you can catch something at slickdeals.net. NewEgg has refurbished 401s for $67.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.a ... 14&order=1

[VEFF]

Newegg is a great place and I highly recommend them.
I have used them once and had a great RMA experience with defective Optodisc media (not newegg's fault). My brother has ordered from them extensively and had great experiences; I think he did have to RMA a mobo once, and all went well.

However, be careful ordering "refurbs" from newegg; quite a few people have said they are often more like used products and that they have received "refurb" products with defects.

[Ian]

These days most of the refurbs are returns. I've ordered a bunch of refurb stuff in the past and have had good luck.

[VEFF]

These days most of the refurbs are returns. I've ordered a bunch of refurb stuff in the past and have had good luck.

That's good to know!
They have such a good reputation that I was surprised when I first heard the stories about refurbs; it was indeed a little while ago.

[Kennyshin]

Pricewatch has the lowest price at $77. Ebay has a couple of cheap 401s coming up. Sometimes you can catch something at slickdeals.net. NewEgg has refurbished 401s for $67.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.a ... 14&order=1

That seems cheap even if for used LDW-401S.

[hrbngr]

hey,

thanks for all the feedback on where to find a good price on the lite-on drives. I had read a bit on cdfreaks about certain lite-on drives being better than others for running kprobe and getting consistent results. Is the lite-on 401 a good drive for testing? or is the 411/451/811/851 a better option?

[Vanderlow]

I have no idea. If you get a bead on what Lite-on models are more reliable for Kprobes let us know.

[vsekh]

Anyone have an idea about how much Benq will charge for the firmware upgrade to make the drive compatible with dual-layered media?

[Ian]

Anyone have an idea about how much Benq will charge for the firmware upgrade to make the drive compatible with dual-layered media?

I've heard that the dual layer upgrade is going to be free, but then again, that didn't come directly from BenQ.

I know for a fact though that adding DVD-R/RW support to the DW830 won't be free.

[Vanderlow]

I talk to a BenQ optical drive manager who said the firmware is suppose to be free and I believe a manager in their techincal support unit mentioned it to me too, of course that's still unoffficial.

[VEFF]

My box says the upgrade will be available on 09/30/'04.

That is a long time to wait. I will buy one (or two) 1600A drive(s) long before then, so it doesn't matter to me personally.

In any case, DL media will initially cost more than it is worth to me,
so I will burn SL media at 16X instead, once media capable of 16X burning is available, which might also be a long while.

I specifically bought the 822A to tide me over till 16X DVD burners come out. I figured its resale value would be higher than a non
DL-capable or a non DL-upgradeable DVD burner...

[Kennyshin]

My box says the upgrade will be available on 09/30/'04.

That is a long time to wait. I will buy one (or two) 1600A drive(s) long before then, so it doesn't matter to me personally.

In any case, DL media will initially cost more than it is worth to me,
so I will burn SL media at 16X instead, once media capable of 16X burning is available, which might also be a long while.

I specifically bought the 822A to tide me over till 16X DVD burners come out. I figured its resale value would be higher than a non
DL-capable or a non DL-upgradeable DVD burner...

That's the same what DW822A @Akiba says.

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/akiba/ho ... _i_dd.html

13,000 Yen.

[Ian]

My box says the upgrade will be available on 09/30/'04.

Yeah, I'm sure the DW830 will be out long before then.

[MikeTR]

My box says the upgrade will be available on 09/30/'04.

Yeah, I'm sure the DW830 will be out long before then.

That makes sense (in a commercial sort of way at least). BenQ will most likely offer this upgrade only after a full fledged DL-burner has been available for a while (with the -1600/-1640 scheduled to be released in june/july that is).

[Ian]

The DL upgrade is indeed free:

http://www.benq-eu.com/News/index.cfm?year=2004&id=591

[diegus22]

Hello:

I´m from Spain and i see that the benq dw822a is a very good dvd-+rw, but i don´t found any site to buy one. If someone knows where i can get it, please inform me here.

Thank You.

[pedrete]

Hello the BenQ822 can be found at www.umd.es. Tell us how good it is, I'm considering buying one. Saludos desde Burgos

[Fabrian]

As far as newegg.com goes, they rate #1 in my book. I've made tons of purchases from them over probably the past three years. Outstanding.

[Vanderlow]

Someone did a few Kprobes with the BenQ DW822A and NEC-2500 with Herrie latest hacked firmware (beta 7). They were both excellent, if you feel Kprobes are a true measure of burn quality.

Summary:
BenQ 7.5 mins 3.86GB (.5 min faster then the 2500). the 2 BenQs and 1 2500 (may be more on the thread later) Kprobes (media - YUDEN000T01, MCC03) had a max PI of 12 and PO of 11 and highest average was 1.5.

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php ... adid=93588

Admend: he also burned with Prodisc 4x at 8x (65 cents each) and both burned great - BenQ being a 1 min faster Pi max = 6, Po max =4, Po total=52; Nec-2500A - Po total=452.