What DVD burner would you recommend?

odysea wrote on 5/28/2006, 2:38 PM

Hi,
I've been unlucky with DVD burner that I've bought. First I bought a Pioneer A05, which went for a pretty penny back then ($400.00); well, it lasted for about 1 1/2 year and burned about 200 DVDs before complete failure. VFM I thought was very low I must say.

So I then bought a Pioneer A09, was extremely well rated and I thought the first one might have been a fluke. Well, I only burned about 100 disc with it, and it's starting to malfunction already, even has problem reading commercial DVDs.

Needless to say, the next one won't be from Pioneer. But which ones should I look at? Your experience? Is there such a thing as a reliable DVD burner?

Comments

odysea wrote on 5/28/2006, 9:20 PM

I guess there's no good DVD burner out there...

jrazz wrote on 5/28/2006, 9:27 PM

I think there have been plenty of threads on this same topic- you might want to do a search in the DVDA forum on this topic with a keyword of "burner" or the like. I use a Sony external 16x drive, but I never burn over 4x. It is Double Layer capable and can burn both -/+. It is USB 2.0. I have another Sony drive that is internal basically the same but it only burns at a max of 8. One of them I had to get new .dll files from Sony to support it as it couldn't burn or rip into Vegas as it was not recognized.

Again, do a search and you will find lots of them that are not supported and a lot that are.

j razz

DJPadre wrote on 5/29/2006, 2:35 AM

ive never had ANY issues with ANY pioneers... i still have my AO5 going strong after something like 3000 burns

I know have an a08, and an a09 and am yet to have issues with these either.. i push my machines hard as i do alot of duplicating and data backup services as well, id have to say, combined, ive done about about 10000 burns/reads and the units are still going hard..

farss wrote on 5/29/2006, 2:55 AM

Probably the best drives are made by Plextor, I'm pretty wrapped in their CD burner that I use for mastering audio CDs but then again audio CDs can be a bit trickier than DVDs.

I've an old Sony that just keeps going and a mixed bag of Pioneers, none failed yet despite 1000s of burns.

What do die with amazing ease are DVD readers, worn out several DVD players, basically the lasers go, still play CDs just fine (different laser).

It might pay to check for excessive dust in your environment, quite possibly these drives are not dead, just in need of a good clean.

Bob.

JJKizak wrote on 5/29/2006, 5:09 AM

I still have an AO-5, AO9, and I use the Plextor 716A most of the time. The Plextor does seem to give a superior burn. (My opinion.)
Also burns dual layers no problem. There were several firmware upgrades for the Pioneers.

JJK

craftech wrote on 5/29/2006, 9:42 AM

I would say the NEC ND-3550A which goes for around $36.

John

Dach wrote on 5/29/2006, 10:54 AM

I know that Plextor has been commented to be perhaps the best drive, but you have to pay a premium usually for them. I would think that the blank media that is used influences the end product more than the drive.

I have had good success with Samsung and LiteOn. I have only had a drive problem with a TDK from awhile ago.

Chad

John_Cline wrote on 5/29/2006, 3:52 PM

I agree with John (Craftech), the NEC drives are a tremendous value. I have a bunch of them and they just "keep going and going." I haven't burned a coaster yet.

IMO, Plextor drives are overpriced and somewhat overrated.

John

johnmeyer wrote on 5/29/2006, 4:03 PM

I have the same two drives, the A05 and A09. The A05 had a small problem with DVD-RW which caused me to upgrade to the A09. I've burned hundreds and hundreds of DVDs of all types with each drive. Not to say your problem is unique, but I just don't think you should assume that Pioneer is all bad.

The Plextor always gets the highest ratings, but I don't have personal experience, and both Johns (craftech and Cline) know a lot about this, so perhaps they are overrated. The NEC drives are also often praised. Do a search on this forum, as others have suggested. Also, other sites you should look at include:

videohelp.com/

club cdfreaks

burnworld

afterdawn

the doom9 forums

There are others, but that should keep you busy. The first four specialize in answering exactly the question you are asking.

seanfl wrote on 5/30/2006, 12:03 PM

A friend that follows this stuff way too closely said Benq or NEC. Benq seems to be a little better on firmware updates from what he says. I just bought the Benq dw 1655 and am very pleased.

Review conclusion from cdrinfo

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=16050&PageId=25

Sean

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ken c wrote on 5/30/2006, 12:07 PM

been using a sony external dru 500a for years now, it's worked great, hundreds of dvds burned and no problems...

i am interested in upgrading to a dual layer one though, if and when the media comes down in price

ken