what 8x dvd writer to buy?

pingu666 · Post by **pingu666** » Sun Dec 28, 2003 8:59 am

ive pretty much decided to get a dvd writer, a 8x speed one

ive got a budget of 100quid or so.
question is which one to get?
plus anything else i should know?
ta

PretzelB · Post by **PretzelB** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 11:41 am

I have a 4x DVD burner and I've been pretty happy with Teac. I got a CDRW from Teac a while ago and didn't have problems so when it came time to get the DVD burner I went with them again. Some things to look out for are:

1) The 8x drives are new so being the first may cost you. The 4x ones are a steal right now so you might want to get one of them in case there are bugs with the 8x ones.

2) Software makes a difference when getting a retail drive. My Teac came with Roxio software which isn't that great. I think Nero is the best out there now so you may want to give points to any manufacturer who will include Nero with the drive.

Zyzzyx · Post by **Zyzzyx** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 1:31 pm

Always seems like this can turn into a Ford vs Chevy, Mac vs PC type of 'discussion'.

To that point, I'll add my bit that I've not heard bad of any Plextor optical drives. I've got Plextor CDRW and the only coasters I've burned have been by user error. My parents just picked up a Plextor DVD burner and haven't had any problems with it.

PretzelB · Post by **PretzelB** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 2:10 pm

Oh yea, I won't argue there. Plextor has an excellent reputation. If you have the cash I don't think you can go wrong with Plextor.

blinky · Post by **blinky** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 5:00 pm

I've just ordered a NEC 2500 8x drive so I'll stick up a mini review when I've had a chance to try it out, twas under £100 methinks, unlike the new Plextor.

munichkid · Post by **munichkid** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 5:08 pm

I do not know what the US $ equivalant for 100Pounds is but if it is close to $175 save for the Plextor PX-708A. I LOVE MINE. Burns 4.435GB of data in 10:21 INCLUDING lead in and lead out. BEST purchase I have made in a long time

blinky · Post by **blinky** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 8:01 am

Hehe, while £100 probably is close to $175 in direct conversion, you'll never find the Plextor for that price over here. Best I've seen is around £160 inc VAT.

wgragg · Post by **wgragg** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 1:44 pm

I just installed a TDK, partially based on my good experience with TDK in other areas. I have not had a chance to really test the drive out, but I did have an almost disastrous experience installing the bundled Roxio software. Apparently, it interferes with Norton's digital rights management and essentially stops Norton Antivirus in some systems. ( I almost didn't buy Norton because I despise product activation schemes) It also caused enough other problems, that I ended up having to restore my system drive.

To make a long story short, I would go with a product that uses Nero.

Wendell

mormakil · Post by **mormakil** » Sat Jan 17, 2004 12:27 pm

BUMP

What happened with that NEC-2500 mini review blinky? I would like to know about how much noise it makes.

Thanks.

blinky · Post by **blinky** » Sat Jan 17, 2004 9:08 pm

Just installed the drive, seems pretty good so far, give me the weekend to properly try it out and I'll let you know

bigred · Post by **bigred** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 1:00 am

I agree with the Plextor argument. I've always bought Plextor burners. But now that I am thinking about getting a DVD burner, I like the Plextor, but I also like the Pioneer A06.

When it comes to CD burners Plextor is the best, and if you can afford it you will appreciate the superior quality. But I have heard some negative things about their latest DVD burner... None the less I am a big Plextor fan, so I may get it anyways and hope the problems are fixed with firmware updates.

haysdb · Post by **haysdb** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 1:17 am

I absolutely swear by Plextor drives. I've had four, still have three of them, and all have been quiet, fast, and reliable.

David

Joe DeFuria · Post by **Joe DeFuria** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 6:08 am

I recently purchased a Lite-On burnder. (811s).

The main reason, was that it is the only burner with 8X +R speed at the moment that allows you to change the "book-type" of the DVD+R. I've always bought plextor CD burners in the past, but at thie time the Plextor drive doesn't allow changing the book-type.

That feature was a requirement for me, since my X-Box will read a movies on DVD+R with the DVD-ROM book-type, but not a "standard" DVD+R.

I would seriously consider the Lite-On 811s, if you are planning on distributing copies of videos to friends or family. A DVD+R with the DVD-ROm book-type set is likely to be the most compatible with all kinds of players.

If burning is mostly for your own use, this feature may not be of any concern, as long as your own DVD players read the discs fine.

mormakil · Post by **mormakil** » Fri Jan 23, 2004 4:43 am

Joe, How is the LiteOn 811 noise wise?

SebRad · Post by **SebRad** » Fri Jan 23, 2004 4:04 pm

Hi mormakil I recently bought a Lite-On 811s, haven't used it very much yet, nor tried 8x DVD burning at all. So far I'm very pleased but previously I had a 4x CDRW so it doesn't have much to live up to! Burning a CD in 3 instead of 20 minutes is great. Noise wise it's not too bad, 40x CD is never going to be quiet but the nature of the sound is mostly "whoosh" with little whine from the motor, more of a “pink noise” than a “white noise” (hope I've got those terms right). It adjusts its read speed according to demand, i.e. will rip a DVD movie at full (up to 8x) speed but when playing a movie it slows down to a relatively quiet level.
Seb

blinky · Post by **blinky** » Mon Jan 26, 2004 11:15 am

NEC ND-2500A mini-review

Basically it's quiet enough for me, thumbs up

lightforce · Post by **lightforce** » Mon Jan 26, 2004 3:56 pm

there's really not much to go for when picking a quiet dvdrecorder is it? i mean it's not like there's a lot of reviews and tests and recommended burners.
i honestly don't know if any model is more quiet than another...