All In One DVD Drive?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bob
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B

Bob

I haven't followed all the new DVD standards, but I was was wondering
if you could recommend an all in one DVD drive?

Or maybe you prefer using a couple of drives in combination to get
faster read speeds on one or other features?

Thanks!
 
Of the NEC3540a, Tosh 5372 and Pioneer 110, Tosh 5372 has been the best all
around performer. Pioneer 2nd.
 
I haven't followed all the new DVD standards, but I was was wondering
if you could recommend an all in one DVD drive?

Or maybe you prefer using a couple of drives in combination to get
faster read speeds on one or other features?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

A lot of people like this one.

BenQ DW1640
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=14268

I have this one below and it is good for me, and quiet too.

Samsung SH-W162
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=14776
 
fj - I was just looking at comments at newegg.com and more recent ones
are saying they can't get good dvd burns above 4x. That might not be a
big deal for my uses but maybe it is a sign of more trouble.
 
fj- I meant to say the 4x purn problem was for the Toshiba 5372.

The NEC 3540a, or the 3550a has a lot of top reviews at newegg, and is
on sale now for only $40.
 
fj - I was just looking at comments at newegg.com and more recent ones
are saying they can't get good dvd burns above 4x. That might not be a
big deal for my uses but maybe it is a sign of more trouble.
Click to expand...

Not really, it's an indication of working out the bugs in a relatively
new product. None of the Super-Multi drives have exhibited any
burning quality problems, it's just the speed on some media that some
people are complaining about.

I think you're talking about the "Super-Multi" drives. They're the
ones that burn DVD-R, DVD-R DL, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD+RW, CDR,
CDRW, *AND* adds DVD-RAM into the mix.

Until recently, all of the "Super-Multi" drives were based on the
Hitachi head technology, and most (if not all) of those were made by
LG. They've been making them a while now, so they're pretty robust.

The recent development is that other companies have started coming out
with their own drives based on the Super-Multi standard. However, so
far, the firmwares used by NEC, and Pioneer for these drives have been
more conservative in their burn speeds than their earlier drives.
That will probably change as they update the firmwares to include more
media tags at higher speeds.

If DVD-RAM isn't a big deal for you, just buy one of the older
generation drives. You won't be able to burn DVD-RAM, but the older
drives had firmwares allowed for higher speeds on more brands of
media.

If DVD-RAM capability is something you need now, and you don't want to
wait for NEC and Pioneer to release a new firmware, buy an LG.

The only issue so far is the speed, not the quality. It's not so much
that they "can't get good burns above 4x" but that on some media, they
can't get burns above 4x. The burning software just won't give them
that option, because the media ID isn't recognized. The burn quality
of those discs is actually quite good, but people are complaining
because they upgraded from older generation drives that burned these
same discs at a much higher speed.

The drive hardware itself can definitely go faster, with good results,
because the Pioneer 110 and NEC 4550 can burn supported media at full
speed, and there are modded firmwares out with better media tables.
 
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