Help With DVD/CD Burner

[Ky_Lake]

My cd burner is about gone. I have used it for 4 or 5 years i am guessing. It started making coasters and i thought it was the cdr's but i know it is my burner. It makes some with noises, messes up and stops alot. So i would like to know what dvd/cd burner should i buy? I have never burned dvd's but i have always burned alot of cd's.

The software i am use to, is easy cd creator but i read that Nero is great. I want an easy way to create labels. Is this LightScribe good? I understand it is sort of slow to make labels this way and does it use ink from your printer? How does that work? Do Verbatim Datafileplus or Taiyo Yuden have a lightscribe cd as i am guessing i need to use a special type cd to be able to use that for labels. My computer is a Dell and around 4 or 5 years old, so i am not sure what cd burner is in it but i looked at some liteon's and it looked like that in black.

I have read reviews untill i can hardly read anymore. I thought i would get a dvd/cd burner and get into the dvd's as well. Some of the burners i have read about and seemed nice was LG-GSA-4176B, LG H22L, Benq Dw1655, Plextor 740a and 760a. If you mention what burner i should get, let me know what brand cd's and dvd's i should get for it. I have some white sticky cd labels but it would sure be nice to be able to do away with those and make labels right from the drive.

Thanks for any help and this is sure a great forum and great site. I enjoy reading in here.

[dodecahedron]

hi Ky_Lake, welcome to CDRLabs !

LightScribe is monochrome, not color.
some say it's not very nice. i've never seen any so can't help there.
yes, you do need special media for LightScribe and it's more expensive than regular media.

LG GSA-4167B is non-LightScribe and is rather old.
LG GSA-H22L is a LightScribe drive, it's pretty good.
BenQ DW1655 is already out of production and will be hard to get a hold of.
as far as i know the Plextor drives aren't LightScribe capable. the 760A is a good drive but Plextors are expensive.

CD/DVD Labels are a very big NO NO!!!

check out this thread too:
http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=22661

[Ky_Lake]

Thanks for the reply. I will probably try that LG H22L. I did not know dvd/cd burners had got this cheap but this is a good thing. It would be hard getting the older Benq or 4176b LG and also i am guessing it would be older and somewhat outdated, comparred to these new drives. I did not see any Benq's available. Did they make another to replace the 1655?

Does Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden make lightscribe discs? I see where alot on here like those two brands and type media.

[dodecahedron]

yes, Verbatim does make LightScribe media. the best LightScribe media.

[Ky_Lake]

What do you think about the Nec ND-4551a? I think maybe this is an older burner also but what i have read in some reviews it seems to be a very nice one. It uses LabelFlash and can burn labels to both sides. Maybe Labelflash never caught on and it looked like only one company made labelflash disc. It also seems like the company makes only dvd labelflash disc and no cd r labelflash. The actual labels i viewed looked good to me. The burner itself seemed impressive.

I can't find a review of the LG H22L and it looks like Lightscribe is much more popular and alot of media companies carrying lightscribe disc of dvd and cdr. So i am guessing Labelflash never caught on. If you know of any review on the H22L, please let me know.

[Ky_Lake]

dodecahedron, i was thinking of getting the Benq 1655 but it seems like LG GSA-H22 is what most are really liking now. I went over to Newegg and most seemed to really like this drive. I know the h22L has lightscribe but the only people i see selling it this way are dealers out of Canada.

So i take it LG made it different for Canada or with added software, in lightscribe. Can i buy a H22N from Newegg and does it come with software or Nero thru Newegg, then order lightscribe software with Nero and make the H22 into L?

I have read alot of reviews and it seems a cd label kit some like is called Surething labeler and this comes equipped to work with lightscribe. Some say Nero sux on the layout of labels and this Surething is alot nicer and alot more choices.

If i can make the N into L, i think i'll gran one from Newegg and if you see a place in the USA that sells the 22L model let me know.

[Ian]

You can get the GSA-H22L at Best Buy. I saw a pile of them there today.

As far as a crossflash goes, LG has not released any updates for either drive so its unknown as to whether or not its possible. They both use the same hardware so I wouldn't be surprised if it was.

[Ky_Lake]

Thanks Ian. I went over at BestBuy site and noticed them. I also just located this site that has them and Pioneer 111.

http://www.us.ncix.com/products/index.p ... catid=1015

Look at the reviews of those people that like the Pioneer and even over here it is so many.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Custratin ... 6827129001

On the H22 at Newegg they like it also.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Custratin ... 6827136103

Is the LG alot newer and no one has had time to review it yet? It is mso many reviews on alot of these that stuff finally starts runniung together. I noticed one site that thought the Pioneer 111 was right at the top, where another review gave it some bad marks but said it was a good burner. By looking at the people review they love that Pioneer.

On here have you heard any bad stuff that the Pioneer won't record or do right when it is put to the test? I did read where you could flash Pioneer and i think use Labelflash but good luck on finding media for labelflash. Looks like it could be flashed to lightscribe.

[Justin42]

I think the LG H10L is probably the best Lightscribe drive out now in my experience. The H22L seems to vary in quality wildly and at least in my experience, I never have gotten my H22L to write at the quality I expected from the H22N reviews. (also I seriously doubt you'll get an H22N to go Lightscribe as if I am reading correctly, the Lightscribe portion requires an additional sensor on the head which has not been present on any non-Lightscribe model) The H10L's burn quality is pretty spectacular. (I did some Verbatim dual-layer burns over the weekend and had lower PIF errors than I do for many single layer DVDs, even with twice the data!)

The Pioneer 111 is an awesome drive as well but good luck getting media for Labelflash in the US.

SureThing is a cool labeller. Much better than Nero's label app. I bought it online for $12 from their site but kinda wish I had bought the full version for $24 with more sample templates. The $12 one is functional but it does feel like it's "missing" a lot.

[bicomputational]

I burn a lot more cd's on my burners than dvd's so cd quality is
important to me.Since you mentioned that your cd burner has died, I assume
that cd burning is important to you. My LG and Pioneer produce excellent
cd burns (dvd burns too). Not all great dvd burners do - my Benq 1650 for
example makes great dvds, lousy cd's (all ty media). I've never had an
NEC that made great cd's.

[Ky_Lake]

Thanks for the information. Could i go this route and would this work, i have a cd/dvd reader in my top drive, works great. It had no burner. Can i buy a Pioneer 111 and put in one drive and buy a Benq1655 where my cd burner was? My puter is a Dell, about 4 or 5 years old, has two bays or slots and both being used. I would take the one that is starting to get bad out, put burner in, take the other reader out and put the other burner in.

If i can do this, i think i would like this and would use the 1655 for burning dvd's and would enjoy the lightscribe, on the Pioneer 111 i would burn more cd music.

You are right, i do burn alot of music cd's and enjoy this. This is why i want to make sure to get a good cd burner and it sounds like people love the Pioneer. If this will work, i am going to order a 1655 and a 111. What media used labelflash? What companies so far? I think it is only dvd media and no cd's is what i hear. That sort of sux.

[Ky_Lake]

Justin, if you was me and if i can put two red/writes in, would you get the Benq1655 and Pioneer 111, or should i get the 111 and LG H10L? I do like the lightscribe capabilities but i hear so much good on the 1655. I know with the Pioneer i would not have lightscribe but would have a good burner.

I'll order both tonight if i can put both these drives in at the same time and i see no reason i couldn't.

[bicomputational]

My exact setup in one computer is a 111d and 1650 (the non-lightscribe
model). It's a great combo. The 111 gives both great cd and dvd burns,
the 1650 gives great dvd burns and can be used to do quality scans on
both the cd and dvd discs. And this is all in a Dell Dimension 4400 - 4+ years old.

[Ky_Lake]

It is a Dimension 4600. It either says 4600 or 4800. It looks like 4600. Down on the bottom front panel it has a usb port or two and i have a sandisk 12-in1 plugged in now to read jpgs off camera mem stick. I have a 120gb internal hd on drive f where i keep all music and family pics, etc on. I have about 28gb free. I think i have 11 or 12 thousand mp3's. I keep them broke down in folders. The hd that came with this was 60 or 80 and i am not using alot of it. I am wanting a 300gb one touch external Maxtor at some point to just keep everything on for storage.

Dell xp home edition. I am thinking this Dell is 4 years old or so. Time flies and maybe it is 3 years old. I have burned alot of cd's with this drive and i am surprised it has lasted this long but now it will make 7 coasters out of 10 and it use to be almost perfect. It has two bays with my dvd/cd reader on top, middle bay has the cd burner. I opted not to get a dvd burner at that time, they was pretty high and the media was high. It says on front intel inside Pentium 4. I like your setup and this is sort of what i wanted to go for. I can get a Pioneer 111 and a rebaged 1655. I can't find the LG 10L or i forget the correct number. The 22 LG's i see alot.

Thanks for your help and do you think the 1655 and 111 is a good combo for me? I do want to get into burning dvd's and i do burn alot of cd's. Also advise me on what media to get if i get those two burners. It looked like Newegg had good prices on media. I am not all that worried about being a speed demon. It is not like i make alot of multiple copies all at once. Mainly me, friends and cousins. I do like speed but i like quality much better and i see where alot in here has said to burn cd's around 16 to 18 if my memory serves me right. I use to burn very fast on mine and when it was going out, i slowed it to the slowest it would go and i used the burner a few months or more like that.

Now it has noise in the cd, alot of coasters. It hated Sony cd's and i have some Memorex left but with the new ones i'll buy Verbatim or whatever is best for the two i get.

[bicomputational]

I got a pm which I tried to reply to but don't know if I succeeded.
If not, I am sorry but some of the reply is relevent here. I think I
overstated things by saying the Benq was a "lousy" cd burner. Its just
not as good as the Lg and Pioneer models. I just did a test of the Benq
and got max c1 of 28, average 3.6, no c2 - these are perfectly good
results. With the others I can get averages of .5 and max below 12 -
that's what I'm looking for if the burn is important but those Benq
results are fine too. Sometimes we get a little too caught up in our
favorites I'm afraid and in this case I did and hope this makes the
actual quality of the drives (IMHO) clearer. In any case, the NECs suck
at cds no doubt about it.
To Ky_Lake, I use Ty for everything important and the LG10, Pioneer 111
and Benq all love 'em. I also use sony cd's for less important stuff
and really get very good burns. I found out I waste more money buying stuff on sale hoping its good quality than I do just spending the money for the Tys.

[Ky_Lake]

Thanks Bicomp, very good information. Can a person still find the LG10 for sale? I take it, this drive was before the 22 and it seems alot of people like this drive. I have it narrowed down to the 111, 1655 rebaged, can't find the L10, and H22. It seems people think maybe the L version of the 22 is not as good and i keep hearing how great the L10 is and for the most part 22 is very good but i have heard some bad(not alot).

I feel i could burn a cd with the Pioneer or LG, then make lightscribe label with 1655. Thanks for the help and i'll order two drives this week. Maybe tomorrow. I will keep in mind about the media you mentioned also. I was reading in one forum where people was burning lightscribe and it would not play in alot of cd players but when they tried Verbatim Color Lightscribe, it seemed to work in all cd players. I'll let you know the two i order in the next day or so. This forum has been a big help.

[dodecahedron]

H22N -> H22L crossflash is not possible.

[Ky_Lake]

I think i'll go ahead and order a Benq 1655 and i am trying to make my mind up between Pioneer 111, LG H10L(in which i can't find), or one of the H22L or N.

I thought i would get the Pioneer and i still might get it but i read one review where they did not like the cd burn's. If you read in most forums and user reviews, they seem to love it.

I'll grab a 1655 tonight and decide on either LG or Pioneer. That LG H10L seems very hard to find.

[dodecahedron]

the H10L is probably considered (by LG) an old drive now.
there's H22L, and i've heard there's a (relatively new - hardly seen yet) H12L.
presumably the H12L is the replacement of the H10L.

[Ky_Lake]

I ordered the Benq 1655 and the Deluxe Edition Surething Labeler. Labeler was high(29.99) and the Benq was sort of higher(49.99) also than the oem models at Newegg.

I'll decide on the Pioneer 111 or H22 oem thru newegg in he next day or so.

When i mount these, my top drive is a dvd/cd player, no burner.

My bottom or middle drive is my cd burner. Which bay should i mount this Benq in? Thanks for everyones help. If the Pioneer or LG comes with software, should i install it or do i have to or use the software that comes with Benq?

I have SonicRecordNow Version 6. This came with puter. I guess i could leave that on here. I have some cd layouts saved in that.

[dodecahedron]

where did you order a BenQ DW1655 ? i thought they weren't available for sale anymore (discontinued).

[SkaarjMaster]

Yep, they're out at meritline now as well.......only the 1670's are available there now. But order from there at your own risk.

[Ky_Lake]

http://www.compusa.com/products/product ... =rv#review

I first called Nashville, TN CompUSA. A lady was very nice and i ask her did she have any Sku # 340022 and she said yes, three on the counter and maybe more in the back but wasn't sure. It is called Connect Computers Lightscribe. I ask her, would she open the box and see if it was double boxed and the other box say Benq W1655 or if it ws not double boxed, if she could see the actual drive, look on the drive and see if it said Benq DW1655 on the drive.

She said let me see if i can get in the box and she did and told me yes it says Benq DW1655. That is a 2 hour drive for me and she said if you just order this with this sku number from the main store, it should be the same thing. If you want one and have a Compusa close by, just go look in box and grab one. They are 49.99 and shipping is $5.00 and then they tack on tax. I also bought Surething labeler.


I have an email confirming my order but it doesn't say they have shipped it yet. I will write back and let you know when they say it was shipped and when it gets here if it is the Benq. Mostly what i have read on this drive, people seem to really like and i wanted to get one and then the other one i'll get oem H22 or Pioneer 111.

I looked again in my email, no confirmation on them shipping it but at their website i do have a number to track and it went out Fedx. So i am guessing they will email later today telling me this. I might be mistaken but in differnt forums, i think ones that have ordered this say it is the retail version with software and has a Benq 1 year warranty. Now would Benq honor this? I am not sure. This was posted in another forum...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just bought mine too for the discount price . Its indeed the DW1655 and not rebadged at all, just in a connect box. I only notice that the light stays on even even when the cd or dvd is not playing
They actually have two connect drives on sale. The article nr. of one ends with 24 and when I checked it looked like a LG drive, and one ending in 22 that is the DW1655 in my case. Just to make things more confusing the connect boxes from which I took mine had different product numbers the ones with 24 and 22 where stickered over the old which was printed on the box. Just be safe and let them open the box for you and check the drive before you buy, it should say BenQ DW1655 on the drive.

I was actually quite lucky since they were just putting up the signs for the sale, I didn't even notice them until I came to the register

I want to thank all the people on this forum who provided usefull information about the rebadged BenQ's DW1650 and DW1655. And ofcourse all the info about dvd-rw drives in the review sections
Now its time to see if the DW1655 lives up to its hipe.

So at CompUSA in eastern MA Norwood micro is probably DW1650 or DW1640 (at least that is wat it says above the bar code, however when I opened them it didn't say BenQ on the drive so they are probably totaly rebadged. Connect with lightscripe with product number ending in 22 is DW1655, just check the content of the box (or let them do it) before buying.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The product number (SKU......22) is on the top right corner of the box.

Well the picture on the connect box looks like a BenQ since it says solid burn only the BenQ logo is missing. The box also contains a BenQ warranty card, however I am not sure how they gonna do this since they stopping manufacturing of optical drives (?).
---------------------------------------------------------------

I picked one up at Compusa..it was a March 2006, retail drive/fw..BCGB

The box says solid burn with SKU number in upper right that ends in 22

the other box says super multi drive.
-------------------------------------------

If you're in the USA, COMPUSA has rebadged BENQ 1650/1655 drives under the NORWOOD MICRO, CONNECT COMPUTER & COMPUSA brands. The NORWOOD MICRO boxes will have DW1650 on it. CONNECT COMPUTERS LIGHTSCRIBE drive is rebadged 1655. From reading at Cdfreaks.com the BENQ 1800 series drives are rebadged LITEON drives.
------------------------------------------------

[Ky_Lake]

I have decided to get the Pioneer Dvr-111 from Newegg. This will be good for my cd burns. So with the Benq 1655 Pioneer 111 combo, what dvd and also cdr media should i get? If Newegg has it, i could grab that when i order the 111.

I would not have to get all lightscribe but i would like to get some lightscribe media, so tell me your suggestions on what media that works good for both these and i can get it local, newegg or ebay.

Last at task, getting everything in and installed.

[Justin42]

For Lightscribe, Verbatim is the ONLY way to go for either DVD or CD. Everything else is junk media.

For DVDs, Verbatim again is pretty safe. Not foolproof but pretty good overall. There are batches made by CMC and Prodisc; the CMC discs are considered more reliable overall but both should be pretty good. The DVD+R tend to be better quality although some batches of Verbatim DVD-R I've bought have been spectacular, as well.

Most other brands, unfortunately, tend to run the gamut right now from crap to decent. I am currently having pretty good luck with TDK 16x discs but I know there are a lot of bad batches out there. Some Sony discs are pretty good. If you don't mind buying 8x media (if you can find it-- and burning at 8x!), Sony/TDK 8X media seems to be VERY good.

For CDRs, if you're ordering online, again, Verbatim is the safe choice. If you happen to find some made-in-Japan Fuji CDR discs (Best Buy tends to stock these) they're a pretty good choice as well although some would argue as to their continued quality (they're made by Taiyo Yuden who were pretty much the gold standard of media but of late haven't been as good). I would NOT order Fuji online, though, as you can't inspect the media to determine country of origin, and Fuji's Taiwan discs tend to suck. (Especially DVD)