What Is A Good DVD-Burner

[DrPino]

personally i'd go with the Plextor 740 and crossflash it to BenQ 1640 firmware, but that's just me...

i don't really keep up with NEC, but the 3550 can be crossflashed to a 4550 (enabling DVD-RAM support)...

this thread goes into the some of the pros and cons of the NEC 4550/3550 versus the BenQ 1640/Plex 740:
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=157727

1640 is a better error scanner, has better software utilities (QSuite), and does a little better on a wider range of media...

[pointreyes]

So what is the HP 740i? A rebadged BenQ or LG? I could not tell by the label on the drive. I mainly wanted Lightscribe, I have my external Plextor for the faster burning through the firewire instead of the IDE on the HP for important burns. Is that an ok way to go? The only burner tools I use are Nero 7, TMPGenc's DVD Author, and Avid 7 Pro.

BTW: I purchased the drive locally which is why I went with HP instead of ordering the BenQ because if the drive was a no go then cost and time of RMA can easily compensate for the difference in prices. What I do find strange is that my HP is quiet and yet some of the reviews I have read claims the drive is loud. My Plex's enclosure fan is considerably louder - guess it's just luck of the draw?

[DrPino]

i believe the HP 740i is a rebadged LG: http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread....highlight=740i

the interface through which you burn (FW, USB2, IDE, SATA) shouldn't really affect burn quality unless there is something wrong elsewhere in the SW/HW setup (e.g. DMA off, SATA chipset compatibility, buggy USB2 controller, etc.)...

i haven't tried Nero 7 yet and probably won't for a while based on what i've read...seems like a more bloated version of Nero 6 with plenty of early version bugs...

TMPGenc and Avid don't really have much to do with the burner per se since neither incorporates a burning engine AFAIK...

i prefer retail drives to OEM and also prefer buying at B&Ms (with good return/exchange policies) than online...

Plextors external enclosure is a bit noisy...at least i find my PX-708UF one is (believe it's the same enclosure - NEC chipset for USB2 and Epson chipset for IEEE1394)...so i definitely don't keep it on 24/7 like my fanless external Maxtor HDD...

[pointreyes]

Thanks for the quick reply DrPino.
I noticed in the bios bootstrap that the HP is only 33Meg/sec instead of 66Meg/sec. Therefore, I sometimes wonder if using firewire would be better. Then again the HP is the only device on the IDE controller in the system. Everything else is SCSI and SATA.

Nero 7 is definitely bloatware, I mainly use NeoShowtime more than any other feature of Nero. I'm not quite sure how Avid 7 Pro interacts with the DVD but I thought it was through their software. They are not fully clear on that aspect of it:

Feature

Integrated DVD authoring


Function
Author interactive DVDs from the timeline.

Benefit
No going back and forth between applications; create interactive DVDs with custom menus and preview from the editing timeline; update DVDs or re-edit and check changes from the DVD preview feature

From: http://www.avid.com/products/liquidPro/features.asp

[RubberDuck]

I have a queation What exatally is DVD-RAM support ???? Does that mean it will play DVD's ??? If you don't have DVD -Ram you cant play DVD's ???

[DrPino]

no prob PR

majority of DVD burners are UDMA2 only (having peak transfer rates ~22-24MB/s) which is right where 16x is (~22MB/s)...there are some that operate at UDMA4 like the Plextor PX-716 and Pioneer A09/109 (and i assume the subsequent models from those mfgrs) having peak transfers ~42-44MB/s which isn't really necessary given contemporary read/write speeds of CD/DVD optical media (don't know much about transfer rates of HDDVD and BR at the moment)...

Firewire and USB2 have sustained transfer rates in the ballpark of 30MB/s which, again, is sufficient for 16x transfer speeds (although there are plenty of FW/USB2 chipsets that don't seem able to reach max throughput due to compatibility with the optical drives themselves - another very long story in that dept that i'd rather not get into ATM)...

the only time when IDE channels may get saturated is when you have both a Master and Slave device on a single channel and are attempting to do multiple simultaneous burns/transfers...on-the-fly copying (generally not recommended) and burning the same (or diff) images/ISOs/etc. to two different drives are the most common situations where throughput might be bottlenecked...

most likely the Avid interaction with the "DVD" is via files on your HDDs and not directly on the disc (though DVD-VR - direct manipulation - on DVD+-RWs is possible with some software suites incl. Nero IIRC) since it is MUCH faster working from HDDs...

@RubberDuck, DVD-RAM is another format of DVD based optical media...it has different characteristics than DVD+R and DVD-R (dash-R) and the discs can be caddyless or in a caddy...DVD-RAM is most commonly found in stand-alone DVD Recorders but mfgrs like LG have had compatibility for a while...

some consider DVD-RAM the best "recording" format...and others consider it the most "robust" for data security...both viewpoints are debated very often and one should choose format based on specific needs/goals as opposed to what everyone else thinks...

here's some more basic info on DVD tech: http://www.videohelp.com/dvd

[RotorHead]

Great info guys

Got you stick-a-fied

[Timber Jockey]

thx guys for all the replys. IT has helped me pick a great DVD burner and also what to look for

THX

[traveler]

[snip]

@traveler, BenQ 1655 seems to be readily available in EU but not so much here in N.America... looks like a nice drive but i think its main attraction is lightscribe which i've got no interest in whatsoever - long live the Sharpie!!

[snip]

again, some of this may seem a little daunting (i definitely thought it was at first) but i'm happy to answer any questions you guys may have if i can

Thanks DrPino.

I just found a place that says the BenQ 1655 will be available for sale on Dec 20.

[spookyload]

I was just at Walmart and they had a Lite-on with black bevel and beige bevel included for $59. It was a 16x DVD+R, 16x DVD-R, and it does 4x DVD-DL as well as many other formats. I have a plextor, but I am suprised how cheap these have gotten.

[traveler]

I was just at Walmart and they had a Lite-on with black bevel and beige bevel included for $59. It was a 16x DVD+R, 16x DVD-R, and it does 4x DVD-DL as well as many other formats. I have a plextor, but I am suprised how cheap these have gotten.

That's nothing. They're in the upper thirties now.

Check NewEgg. NEC 3550 for 38.99 which includes shipping.

[RubberDuck]

That's nothing. They're in the upper thirties now.

Check NewEgg. NEC 3550 for 38.99 which includes shipping.

Is that good or bad ??? Is that one a great DVD burner

[cracked]

I haven't heard of "delay stuff" considering the PX-760SA.
No mail from my contact at Plextor also.
I've located it here, and there are some units for sale

Mind sharing? I can't find it for sale anywhere. It's not even listed on the product list on Plextor's own web site.

[DrPino]

here's the most in-depth english language review of the Plextor 760A to date (there are several japanese sites/users who've posted extensive details and test results but i haven't bothered to try and understand them):
http://cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/...rticleId=16587

the 760A is slated for April release in N.America...currently, no retailers (or etailers) have available (and if they say they do, they're lying)...expect middle of April before you can actually get it...i'm keeping an eye on my local Best Buy for it...

http://www.plextor.com/english/news/press/760A_pr.htm

Pricing and Availability
The Plextor PX-760A drive will ship to distributors in North and South America in April 2006 with a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $119.00 USD. All retail packages include one-year full warranty and unlimited toll-free technical support.

[OpTicaL]

I had the Plextor 760A for almost 2 weeks now and I can say with high experience of Plextor drives (760 is my 5th Plextor) that this drive "should" be very solid compared to the previous flaky drives (716 & 708) The writing quality is excellent when scanned under PlexTools Pro and the colouration of the disc after burning is very close to uniform colour unlike the 716 which looked like a zebra after a burn.