anyone running a Lite-On DVD Burner?

[RRS2002]

I need to know if this is a worthwhile purchase.

Interested in the 1673S or the 1693S (newer) versions, both come with Nero and are about $45-50.

Big question: some of these lower priced ones are incompatible with certain blank DVD makes. Which ones work or not - Sony, Memorex, TDK, Maxell, Ritek, Fuji. Which is better +R or -R.

Thanks. If you can say good things about other makers in the same price range, please do - Benq, Sony, Toshiba, NEC.

 

[BNB]

lite-on is one of the bigger burner manufacturers. Alot of companys rebrand their drives. They are good.

 

[RRS2002]

yes, googling about it turns out that none other than SONY rebrands Lite-on .. and don't even provide support for their own product! I am sort of sold on LiteOn but have also read about media fussiness ie, lots of coasters on some brands. Also some issues with firmware and having to upgrade Nero if you are sunning SP2 XP (but SP1 XP is ok).

answered my own question - media

 

[BNB]

www.meritline.com/dvd-r-blank-media-1.html

Ritek G05 are supposed to be some of the best media. This is a very reputible company that I have ordered from also.
I couldn't remember if it was sony or not that rebranded lite-on. I have an external sony that I have no prob using anything I have tried. Right now I have been using Philips, maxell dvds. I usually go with what is on sale at office depot or where ever unless I remember to order ahead of time online. I have burned about 350 dvd's and haven't had any problems with any brand in peticular.

 

[RRS2002]

thx BNB, Ritek is recommended as a good brand. That one with the funny name Taiya Yano is outstanding but expensive ..,

 

[BNB]

I used to pay about that much for blank dvd's and cd's when I first got my burners. My first cd burner was $300 and I waited longer for the dvd burner so it was only $200.

 

[RRS2002]

thanks for the link, real good prices for hq brands. Great to see the price drops.. DVD blanks used to be about $5 each IIRC just recently, now dropping to $0.30 for the low end.

 

[LosIllini]

I had a Liteon cd burner before upgrading to a plextor dvd burner. Was a great burner for the price.

Here's a review- and a good site for burners--

The Link

 

[dustin_c1]

Pretty much any burner will work fine. They'll all be able to burn just about any brand or type of blank you can throw at it.

The real difference in quality isn't in the burner but in the blanks.

I know that Memorex, TDK and Fuji all use generic blanks. By generic, I mean that you will never know who makes your blank. If you buy two packs of Fujis, you may get blanks made from different manufacturers. On pack may work well while the other pack seems to have about a 20% burn failure rate.

Get Taiyo Yuden blanks. They are the undisputed champs right now. If you search for sales, you can find Taiyo Yuden 100 packs for about $30.

As far as +R and -R are concerned, it doesn't really matter. People speculated that it would be a VHS/Betamax war a couple of years ago, but that's just not the case. Almost all DVD burners and DVD players recognize both +R and -R discs. Both formats are compatible with well above 95% of the DVD players around today. Heck it may even be near 100% now.

 

[Rusk]

I have a Lite-on CD burner, not DVD, but I've had no problems with it.

It's a bit loud when spinning at full speed and when burning, but other than that it has been great.

 

[Horn_Spanker]

I went for the NEC 16x DVD burner which is about $48 now. I have not burned a coaster with any media I've thrown at it. So I now use the cheap Fry's GQ DVD -Rs with no problems!

 

[Hornin NYC]

I always use lite-on drives in the PCs i build because they never break.