NEC vs. BenQ vs. Lite-On?

mrmagoo_83

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I am in desperate need of some quick opinions. I am looking for a Dual Layer DVD Burner with CD burning support (most do).

I want a good burner, under $50. I have tried reading reviews, but a lot of them aren't too helpful about which is better, so can someone give me some tips on a better model/brand?
 
The NEC is ROCK solid, and cheap as hell. I believe the 3550 has the best media/speed support, but I could be wrong. Personally I'd highly recommend the NEC over anything nowadays. The folks doing unofficial firmware especially have taken advantage of NEC drives :) (i.e. I have a ND-2500 which I unofficially UPGRADED successfully to burn on dual layer, and burn 4x media up to 8x if I so happened to want to do so, not to mention the riplock removal and DVD+R bitsetting!)
 
Either NEC 3540 or the Benq 1655 will fit the bill. Lite-On these days aren't as good as the NEC or Benqs for DVD writing.
 
NEC 3450A is solid (no coasters from either machine in over 100 DVDs). I do dislike how loud it is when it starts to spin up...hairdryer.
 
Lite-on for me!
but then again i go by what cdfreaks.com say.
and a lot of the lite-on drives seem to burn media much better with a wider range of discs than any other drives (then again, this was about 6 months ago, things could have changed a bit)
 
They have, a bit. Lite-On used to be top of the line (I think they still make great readers), however as of recently they have been lacking. Overall, NECs make the best drives. But again it's all subjective :)
 
NEC has been the crowd favorite for a whlie now with the most flexibility (all kinds of 3rd party firmware, including region free stuff) and features. BenQ's been gaining ground lots lately, especially with their 1655, which is the most feature-filled drive with Lightscribe. LiteOn hasn't been too aggressive with their line, but continues to be the only manufacturer whose hardware supports C1/C2 and PI/PO disc error checking, if you're super anal about data integrity and disc performance.
 
Neurofreeze said:
LiteOn hasn't been too aggressive with their line, but continues to be the only manufacturer whose hardware supports C1/C2 and PI/PO disc error checking, if you're super anal about data integrity and disc performance.

Yeah, a lot of the CDFreaks people use the NECs or Benqs to burn, then use a Lite-On drive along with KProbe to do burn quality scans. ;)
 
I vote for BenQ 1655 for the burn quality. YMMV of course given the media you choose.
 
BillLeeLee said:
Yeah, a lot of the CDFreaks people use the NECs or Benqs to burn, then use a Lite-On drive along with KProbe to do burn quality scans. ;)

I've pretty much stopped scanning each of my disks. It takes too long on top of the Lightscribe burn. I tend to do a lot of full-sized elaborate disc label graphics that take half an hour to burn, plus many of them I burn twice to get that richer contrast. After an hour I just don't feel like scanning anymore.

Which is good because I don't want to buy another drive just to scan (I currently use the BenQ 1655).
 
I have 2 lite-ons
a 1673s flashed to 1693
a 1693s

both flawless with over 300 disks burned between them,,

only use Taiyo blanks tho/

not a single coaster......
 
flynlr said:
I have 2 lite-ons
a 1673s flashed to 1693
a 1693s

both flawless with over 300 disks burned between them,,

only use Taiyo blanks tho/

not a single coaster......

Just because a DVD or CD isn't a coaster doesn't mean it's a good disc. There are minute errors that can add up to slow the disc's performance, corrupt files, or even hasten the degredation process. It's rather difficult to burn a perfect disk. C1/C2 and PI/PO scanning detects errors that you won't see on normal scans.
 
Alrighty, I think I will be picking up an NEC 3550 this week, or as soon as my next check clears :)

Thanks for all the help. And specifics on DVDs? I usually use Memorex CDRs, are their DVDs ok?
 
Memorex media is probably CMC - can be decent, can be bad. Some burners seem to have troubles writing to them at full speed. Overall, average media.

I still recommend using stuff like Taiyo Yuden (it's made in japan), Mitsubishi Chemical (Verbatim discs are most likely made by MCC these days), Maxell (Maxell makes their own discs in Japan). There are other good ones, but these are my preferred.

You can get TYs pretty cheaply online too, at places like rima.com - should be around $30-35 for 100 pack.
 
A rule of thumb seems to be to look where it was manufactured. If you see on the label that it's made in Taiwan, dump it. If it's made in Japan, buy it. That isn't always the case as some Taiwanese discs are good (and vice versa), but it tends to be true. It's hard to recommend specific brands sometimes as the biggest brand names use multiple manufacturers and simply rebadge the discs. Both Verbatim and Memorex do this, which is why you'll see some manufactured in Taiwan and others in Japan.

If you see something odd like "Made in Mexico" or some European country... throw it at the nearest Best Buy employee's face and wash your hands. (Yes, "Made in Mexico" really does exist.)
 
That is why I order my discs online. Nothing like 400 blank DVD-Rs sitting around.

Here are some good media brands if you're going to buy in a brick and mortar store.

Fujifilm (made in Japan) - make sure they're made in Japan - these are Taiyo Yudens. Most likely will come in DVD+R flavor, a cakebox of 50, and of course, the label will say Made in Japan. Most common place to find these, it seems, is Best Buy.

Maxell - AFAIK all Maxell discs are manufactured in Japan by Maxell themselves - Staples usually has them.

Sony (made in Japan) - again, same with MIJ Fujifilm, check the label for Made in Japan. DVD-R discs are manufactured by Sony themselves, whereas DVD+R are typically Taiyo Yuden. The ones made in Taiwan are made by a third party that Sony outsources media production to.

Various other brands might have MIJ media, but the above seem to be the most common. I'll add one more to Neurofreeze's list - avoid "Made in Hong Kong." :D
 
So where is the cheapest place to get these good DVDs online?

I have a $25 GC to BestBuy, so I can pick up a few there when I get the DVD Player in.
 
Well, like I said previously, there's http://www.rima.com/ - you can find all sorts of media there. A 100 pack of 8x TY DVD-R discs for $32, DVD+R discs for $40. In this case I'd just pick the cheapest, TY's good no matter what format it comes in.

Lately I've been buying a lot of the 'Value' Taiyo Yuden discs from www.shop4tech.com thanks to 10% and 15% off coupons - see this thread from HotDeals

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=901734

The value discs are supposed to be 4x discs, but you can actually get 4x, 8x, or even 16x discs - it's all pot luck, but every time I've ordered I've received 8x discs which is good. :D
 
Right, I already was looking at that first link, I was just wondering if there were other places.

Thanks for all your help guys. One last question...

DVD+R goes in certain DVD players, and DVD-R goes in others, so how can I find out what type my home DVD players take without trial and error and wasting DVDs?
 
How old's your DVD player? If it's fairly recent (say 2002 - current) it should play either just fine. DVD-R is the older standard, so to date it's still more compatible, but DVD+R is closing the gap. The problem is just with the older players, especially those that predate the release of DVD+R.

Otherwise, you can look on videohelp.com
 
BillLeeLee said:
That is why I order my discs online. Nothing like 400 blank DVD-Rs sitting around.

Here are some good media brands if you're going to buy in a brick and mortar store.

Fujifilm (made in Japan) - make sure they're made in Japan - these are Taiyo Yudens. Most likely will come in DVD+R flavor, a cakebox of 50, and of course, the label will say Made in Japan. Most common place to find these, it seems, is Best Buy.

Maxell - AFAIK all Maxell discs are manufactured in Japan by Maxell themselves - Staples usually has them.

Sony (made in Japan) - again, same with MIJ Fujifilm, check the label for Made in Japan. DVD-R discs are manufactured by Sony themselves, whereas DVD+R are typically Taiyo Yuden. The ones made in Taiwan are made by a third party that Sony outsources media production to.

Various other brands might have MIJ media, but the above seem to be the most common. I'll add one more to Neurofreeze's list - avoid "Made in Hong Kong." :D
Maxell had some supply problems, so their recent 8X -R discs were MIT, MID = RitekG05. Crappy++. They're reverting to their own MIJ discs now though.

Sony in Taiwan is Daxon (Benq). Very good discs
 
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