Optical drives!

Hello
How many of you are considering a new optical drive?
If so is the old DVDRW going to be replaced by a BD/DVDRW.

I ordered an LG CH08LS10... Thought I might need a BD reader... not interested in writing to Blu-ray yet.

Since my Sammy 203N seems to be dying, I am considering another ODD. Will be a plain ol' DVDRW though - a decent reader is needed, so perhaps another Sammy (though I seem to have Sammies coming out of my ears at the moment), or a LiteOn.

Arachne wrote:Since my Sammy 203N seems to be dying, I am considering another ODD. Will be a plain ol' DVDRW though - a decent reader is needed, so perhaps another Sammy (though I seem to have Sammies coming out of my ears at the moment), or a LiteOn.

I've never been a big fan of LITE-ON DVD burners, that said, I do own a iHAS324-08A and am pretty happy with it.

SithTracy wrote:

I've never been a big fan of LITE-ON DVD burners, that said, I do own a iHAS324-08A and am pretty happy with it.

As burners, neither am I - and even the Sammies I have seem to be better readers (well, more tolerant of disc errors, that is!). But I thought I might take a chance on a recent Litey if I see one.

Good to hear your iHAS324 seems OK, don't know which model I'll find, if any.

Some iHASx24 drives are LITE-ON made (08-09A series), others are Sony Optiarc 7240 designs (I think they have other letters "32/98Y"). No scanning/no bitsetting with those.

My LG CH08LS10 arrived today... Have not done anything with it beyond the install and read... will burn a DVD and scan one a little later.

The LG CH08LS10 is exactly what I expected, nothing more and nothing less. Exceptional DVD burns on MCC-004 Verbatim DVD+R. Low PIE and low PIF. Only thing I noticed when burning with ImgBurn, the device buffer meter does not fill up. I have to imagine it is working though... Wonder if anyone else has the drive and has noticed that... It's a slow ripper, but LG always has been... I will have to see if ala42's MCSE can disable rip-lock on it... Ripped one BD-ROM.. took a little more than an hour. Very nice drive.

Being a shameless LG fangirl, nice to hear an opinion on a newer LG drive, they seem a bit overlooked IMO, LG.

Interesting stuff about the iHASx24 drives...guess in some cases it pays to take note of the entire model number

LG would have been my drive of choice to replace the aforementioned 203N, but I already have my very trusty external GSA-E10N hooked up to that machine for all burning duties.

Arachne wrote:LG would have been my drive of choice to replace the aforementioned 203N, but I already have my very trusty external GSA-E10N hooked up to that machine for all burning duties.

The LG replaced my working Sammy SH-S203B... I've had that drive for years and loved it... not like BenQ DW1640 or Plextor PX-7xx love, but it was an excellent drive.

Truth is I rarely burn discs anymore... Matroska files from my rips... Movies take less space on hard drives than in many clam shell cases!

My next drive will probably see me getting into an LG Blu-Ray Burner.
I have owned almost every LG DVD burner since the 4160 and loved them all, some for pure burn speed and some for quality burns if you beleive in the scans...

For probably close to 4 years or so the Sammies have been about the fastest readers. The nec Optiaric lines have been very good and fast readers also. As for burners they have proven to be just alright imo. As for DVD burning I do not do alot of it anymore. Probably about 5 disc's a month nowdays.

I've owned my fair share of LG drives too (both Renesas and Panasonic based) and loved them all... My only complaint with them has been firmware support... BenQ spoiled me with the support they gave the DW16xx line... Still have a 1620 and 1640 but they see very little action. But if you are like me and use the same mids (Verbs and TY), the LG will not disappoint... in fact, I get it now... LG recommends very few brands... Budget shoppers looking at Ritek and CMC media should look for another burner (Pioneer or LITE-ON I would imagine)... The choices are dwindling... signs of a tough economy and what I think is the beginning of the end for optical storage (don't worry... there is at least 10 good years left for the disc... Heck I got 700 audio CD's and about 150 DVD's that hopes it sticks around a bit).

Both of you are spot on IMO

Ahh, LG and firmware. That would be my only complaint as well. Although, being an external model, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of firmware revisions that my E10N got (a good two or three since I got it I think, which compared to the H62N was pretty damn good LOL!).

Indeed they're the pickiest drives I own, regarding media quality, too. So it's definitely true that you're safe with an LG as long as you use Verb/TY.

I still love them, though

I have Sony-Nec, LG and Philips, none have let me down. Incidentally the LG started of life as an external drive that died. For a trial and on a whim I took the LG drive out of its external carrige and put it inside mu computer, lo and behold it worked perfectly and is still working perfectly. I pose a question which do you think best SATA or IDE.

Hi
The question of SATA vs IDE is almost an academic one.
As newer boards go for the SATA ports.
Though you could use a PCI IDE controller card to get round this.
Currently there is little to no difference.
Most SATA optical drives have a IDE > SATA internal bridge.
So could be seen as IDE anyway.
The only benefit might come from f/w as manufacturers also show a preference for SATA.

I still have 6 old drives out in the garage I could fit to my PC.....though don't think I would get very far on the DVD backup's with old CDRW's

I have been toying with the idea of getting a BD-Rom for the PC but will wait and see what happens with the prices over the next month or two.

Don't know about anyone else but I have noticed that the cost of BD discs in the UK have fallen often to below what would be the retail cost of a regular DVD in Asda, Tesco & Play.com - which to the consumer like us is never a bad thing

We bought "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" for the kids in a BD+DVD Combo pack for five dollars (U.S.) cheaper than the DVD only option. Hope that is a trend that continues... We have the LG BD390 in the living room and the wife and kids got me an early birthday present of a PS3 Slim in the bedroom (of course with EA Sports NHL 2010!!!). I never thought I would care about BD, but if the prices continue to come down I might. I know with some releases, I am content with DVD quality at a cheaper price, but if the price is not cheaper, BD it is.

Sorry Guys,
but i can be a total nuff when it comes to a lot of the terms'
Sith, what's BD ?
I run a couple of Pioneer 212's on our good computer. They can be fussy buggers with discs. No coasters with the Vertbats'.
My old computer in the garage has been running on a Pioneer for nearly 10 years. Starting to show it's age but does it's job.
What do you recomend ?
Lite On
LG
or something else

Al

BD is Blu-Ray Discs/Drives.

I have a couple of Pioneer drives myself and never had any problems with them (even the older DVR-109).

If it is just a standard DVD Writer you are looking for then LG or Samsung seem to be the brands that most swear by these days.

Personally speaking here , feel out of love with the software and burning side of things. Sort of been there and done that feeling had set in.
So have not bought or considered buying another unit since my new build. So easily over a year old my current drives. Anyone who knows me , thats not normal for me.

I have had 11 drives in a tower at one time. At least 6+. Now the 3 do me as burning for me is a thing of the past with the hard drive media systems we all now use. They up-convert the media slightly too.

If i were to buy another unit , it would probably be a Pioneer as these just rock for me.

I may look at a BD-ROM at some stage also. But no real hunger to chase this.

McT

I have a BD writer and a BD reader in my PC. If I want to copy a BD, I use AnyDVD HD to make iso, and ImgBurn to burn back to a blank BD-R.

Don't know if I can get Pioneer any more.
If not I suppose LiteOn or LG...
std DVD not BD.

Alby wrote:Don't know if I can get Pioneer any more.
If not I suppose LiteOn or LG...
std DVD not BD.

Hi
Personally I'd get either a Pioneer (1st choice).
If not, then LG.
Would not get a Lite-On.
Just my experience.

Ta.

My babies are still going well (touch wood !!)
But I get the feeling the 'old-timer' is about due.

I would suggest LG or Samsung and I would stay away from the lite-on's!!!