dvd writers - Which one to buy ?

C

I had a Lite-on writer, purchased January 2006.

I started having tray (eject) problems for the past 3-4 months. The Lite-On center says it cannot be fixed.
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Now i have to buy a new wrtier.

My dealer (S'tech in Pune) supplies :

LG - Rs. 1300
Sony - Rs. 1500
Asus - Rs. 1800 (SATA 18x, Lightscribe)

I dont care which one, but i want one that lasts and doesnt create READ problems ..

I read and copy, much more than i write.

The last option is to get Lite-On from somewhere else, which i really dont prefer.

Any suggestions ???

sony one.BTW I have never seen the kinda problem you described with lite-on in my entire life.Must be a standalone defective piece.

get Asus 18X lightscribe. Heard dat its much better than others, but its a bit expensive.

E

hmmmm....
iam having a prob wit my dvd writer...
nero shows its writin at 18x ....
but it takes a hr to fin writing....
i cant seem to rectify it...!!
thanks for ur help in advance...

Yeah aren't ASUS ones based on Pioneer drives? They should beat Sony hands down provided its the right model! Am afraid I don't know much about their models but they sure are the best.

go for sony, tray problems are hardly exists for it

@dd_wingrider
im having sony DVDRW nd i use needle to pull tray every time.

^^^ buddy that used to happen for my samsung drives but since i switched to sony i never faced it again

G

Mostly Sony drives are rebranded Lite-Ons, so if u dont want to buy Lite-On, dont buy Sony either.

C

hmm .. so no one recommends LG, its either SONY or ASUS , right ?

gulgulumaal said:
Mostly Sony drives are rebranded Lite-Ons, so if u dont want to buy Lite-On, dont buy Sony either.

that was true till sometime ago but now SONY jointy manufactures its drives in collaboration with NEC.

C

assasin said:
that was true till sometime ago but now SONY jointy manufactures its drives in collaboration with NEC.

THat shd b really good, coz in all my search comparisons on google, NEC was very good.

ne1 else ?? ne comments ??

bought the Asus DRW-1814BLT dvd writer 2day for 1650 all incl.the Sony AW-G170S was 100bucks less.

G

assasin said:
that was true till sometime ago but now SONY jointy manufactures its drives in collaboration with NEC.

Yeah but still somehow the drives are same as Lite-Ons

Recently I bought a Sony NEC DVDRW (Optiarc DVD RW AD7190A) which in the end turned out to be a rebranded Lite-On!!..forgot the Lite-on model number though

the Asus DRW-1814BLT (SATA) is performing well.its detecting the cds and dvds faster than my Sony dvd writer (PATA).
didnt buy the AW-G170S cuz my vendor said as of late the drive is having a few firmware probs.burn quality is not upto the mark with all dvd media.

which ever brand u buy try going for a sata version

C

does it make that much difference in SATA ?? coz the writer is still going to write at the same speed right ?

K

I am having problem with my Sony DVD writter.It is not recognising CDs though it recognises DVDs. I am using WinVista OS. Is it due to OS.

^^^ try updating firmware

C

CyCo said:
does it make that much difference in SATA ?? coz the writer is still going to write at the same speed right ?

anyone know why ???

a_tif said:
which ever brand u buy try going for a sata version

SATA version's only advantage is thinner cable.

Writers max data bandwidth is 20Mbps and PATA has 100Mbps, SATA has 133Mbps.

writer cannot even utilize full speed of PATA, why should we pay 400-500 bucks extra for that?

C

?

desiibond said:
SATA version's only advantage is thinner cable.

Writers max data bandwidth is 20Mbps and PATA has 100Mbps, SATA has 133Mbps.

writer cannot even utilize full speed of PATA, why should we pay 400-500 bucks extra for that?

exactly what i want to know.

desiibond said:
why should we pay 400-500 bucks extra for that?

now who told u that the diff between a sata and pata dvd writer is 400-500 bucks???? :shock:

pata dvd writer comes for bout 1400 bucks.u can get sata dvd writer for 1500 bucks and lightscribe one for 1600 bucks..
now u tell me why sudnt one buy a sata dvd writer?

I think PATA phaseout has started. Soon it will be only SATA.If you think you will be using your present computer for the next four or five years you can go for the PATA drive.If you are gonna change your motherboard in the next one or two years go for SATA. its all upto you.The only advantage is that the SATA cables being thin the inside is less cluttered and leaves room for better air circulation

C

Ponmayilal said:
I think PATA phaseout has started. Soon it will be only SATA.If you think you will be using your present computer for the next four or five years you can go for the PATA drive.If you are gonna change your motherboard in the next one or two years go for SATA. its all upto you.The only advantage is that the SATA cables being thin the inside is less cluttered and leaves room for better air circulation

So ur saying that the only reason one should buy a SATA writer is coz of space and the fact everything is SATA ..

It has nothing to do with the speed ??

Ne1 else commenting on brands ??

Otherwise it seems as if i shd go for ASUS DRW-1814BLT NOT AW-G170S

assasin said:
now who told u that the diff between a sata and pata dvd writer is 400-500 bucks????

pata dvd writer comes for bout 1400 bucks.u can get sata dvd writer for 1500 bucks and lightscribe one for 1600 bucks..
now u tell me why sudnt one buy a sata dvd writer?

I bought new dvd writer last weekend.

Sony DRU-190A cost : Rs.1450 (inclusive of taxes)
Sony Sata writer: Rs.1800 (inclusive of taxed)
Location: SP Road, Bangalore.

I like the 190A writer. It's silent operation has surprised me. First time, I was confused whether it's burning or not.

@CyCo i'm returnig the Asus 1814BLT 2day for refund.the drive doesnt detect all types of media easily even aftr firmware update.burn quality is good but found a few probs with dvd detection.

Better go for Sony 190A writer. it's really good (IMHO).

elator said:
hmmmm....
iam having a prob wit my dvd writer...
nero shows its writin at 18x ....
but it takes a hr to fin writing....
i cant seem to rectify it...!!
thanks for ur help in advance...

I think U use Nero 7 bundled with ur Drive ....try other versions & post ur records

I too had the problem but then it was the version of nero which bugged me ...When i used 6 version...it was fine

elator said:
hmmmm....
iam having a prob wit my dvd writer...
nero shows its writin at 18x ....
but it takes a hr to fin writing....
i cant seem to rectify it...!!
thanks for ur help in advance...

This should be because UDMA mode is disabled for your writer.

How to enable DMA mode: *www.onthegosoft.com/dma_setting_nt.htm

C

assasin said:
@CyCo i'm returnig the Asus 1814BLT 2day for refund.the drive doesnt detect all types of media easily even aftr firmware update.burn quality is good but found a few probs with dvd detection.

which 1 would u recommend then ?

desiibond said:
Better go for Sony 190A writer. it's really good (IMHO).

how long have u been using it ??

ne1 else recommend this ?

@CyCo better get a LiteOn drive.they r very good.u'll geta sata lightscribe LiteOn dvd writer for 1600.

C

assasin said:
@CyCo better get a LiteOn drive.they r very good.u'll geta sata lightscribe LiteOn dvd writer for 1600.

the thing is that my liteon is the one that went bad. though that was 1.5 yrs old, pata. but i have been having tray problems for the last 6 months and thats why my vendor has stopped keeping that.

@assasin what u u say abt. sony ?

^^^ sony also produces good drives.i'm using one for 2yrs(its a rebadged LiteOn though).didnt hav any probs as such with the drive.
i'll suggest that wat ever drive u buy,buy it froma reliable dealer who u'll refund u if u hav probs with the drive.

Go for the Liteon Sata DVD writers they r the best..
Sony is also not bad.

C

Thats the problem .. so if i get it frm this very creliable dealer , my options are :

Lg -1400
Sony - 1500
Asus (SATA+LS) - 1800

Cost is not an issue, Asus is the only SATA unfortunately ..

Also, my friend said that LS is good on those cheap silver CD's we get in the market ?

afaik LS cd/dvds dont come cheap and they r not easily available.so ls sudnt be a feature which helps u in deciding a dvd writer.

C

assasin said:
afaik LS cd/dvds dont come cheap and they r not easily available.so ls sudnt be a feature which helps u in deciding a dvd writer.

yup. so is it SOny or ASUS ... hmmmm.

any comments anyone ?? coz im gonna buy tomorrow.

get the Sony.

C

assasin said:
get the Sony.

ANy model no. preference ?

C

CyCo said:
ANy model no. preference ?

i asked for the SONY, but he gave me the ASUS DRW-1814BLT and said that he has not had ne complaints abt. it and will replace if necessary

Thank you all for your help.

A

lg is best for home user

^^^^^^. No difference between LG writer and Grinder in terms of noise and vibration they create.

LG was good couple of years ago, now their writer creates lot of noise and failure rate is high.