DVD burners ?

[stix]

I need another DVD burner. there are 2 that I wondered if anyone could comment on, on sale right now thru July 10th.

LITE-ON DVD Burner SATA Model iHAS124-14 - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106393&leaderboard=1

or

SAMSUNG DVD Burner SATA Model SH-224DB/RSBS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151269&leaderboard=1

For general purpose reading and writing, CDs and DVDs, does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on either of these drives, or if you prefer suggest another option.
I already have an Asus DRW-24B1ST which I'm not too thrilled with, so I want to try something else as long as I need another one.
Also have the Sony Optiarc AD-7260S and AD7240S sitting on a shelf, neither of which I liked very much.
Any advice is appreciated.

[Ian]

Both drives have been around forever. If there were ever any real issues, they were probably fixed via firmware long ago.

Isn't that ASUS a rebadged Lite-On?

[stix]

Isn't that ASUS a rebadged Lite-On?

Thanks for your thoughts, Ian.
I don't know who makes the Asus DRW-24B1ST. How would you tell?

[Ian]

You can kinda tell by looking at the chassis. Does the ASUS look like this?

lite-on_ihas124.jpg (116.67 KiB) Viewed 26952 times

Either way, I'm pretty sure that they are based on the same, if not similar, design. If you're looking for something different, than the Samsung might be what you're looking for.

Have you looked at any of the newer LG's? It's been ages since I've looked at any of their DVD writers but they were always decent.

[stix]

Yes, that's exactly what the Asus looks like.
Haven't looked at the LG DVD burners yet, but I appreciate the suggestion.
Was leaning toward trying the Samsung, but will have to wait now 'till it goes on sale again.

Do people still cross-flash these drives? That is, any advantage to cross-flashing the Asus to a LiteOn firmware if it is possible? Is the tool still available? How would you know which LiteOn's firmware to use? Or is all that just silly at this point and it would be better to just get a LiteOn if you want a LiteOn?

Thanks again for your thoughts and answers to questions.

[Ian]

Do people still cross-flash these drives? That is, any advantage to cross-flashing the Asus to a LiteOn firmware if it is possible? Is the tool still available? How would you know which LiteOn's firmware to use? Or is all that just silly at this point and it would be better to just get a LiteOn if you want a LiteOn?

If its possible, the folks over at Myce.com would know. If it was me though, I'd just buy a new one. They're dirt cheap these days.

[Dartman]

I'd just get a BD burner and be done, they can burn DVD's and things too and are getting pretty cheap for a 16x one. I've still got 6 burners in here from back when I had the money and was always trying to find the latest and best one. One of them is the LG GGW-H20l that reads or burns just about everything that was out when it was made.

[stix]

Thanks for your thoughts, Dartman and Ian. I appreciate the input on this topic.