ASUS DRW-1814BLT

by **Ian** on Thu Jan 04, 2007 3:08 pm

I got the January issue of ASUSWORLD (big catalog full of ASUS products) today. While the DRW-1612BL seems to be their flagship drive, they had some information on the DRW-1814BLT. I'm not sure what design its based on, but it supports 18x DVD±R and 14x DVD-RAM writing speeds.

by **DrageMester** on Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:56 pm

Finally a drive that also increases the DVD reading speed, not just the writing speed, if the specs are to be believed!

by **Gabe** on Fri Jan 05, 2007 9:07 pm

Don´t know another drive with these specs atm. But when it´s Asus own design, which chipset it uses?

by **dolphinius_rex** on Sat Jan 06, 2007 4:33 am

great... 14x DVD-RAM.... I still can't even get 12x DVD-RAM!! :evil:

by **ponch647** on Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:33 pm

Was thinking of buying the Asus DRW-1814BLT but my PC is beige in color, does anyone know if this drive includes a white or beige faceplate in the retail box so the black one could be changed out ? Many Thanks

by **Ian** on Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:37 pm

ponch647 wrote:Was thinking of buying the Asus DRW-1814BLT but my PC is beige in color, does anyone know if this drive includes a white or beige faceplate in the retail box so the black one could be changed out ? Many Thanks

If its like their other drives, it won't. You will need to specifically buy the beige version.

The DRW-1814BLT is finally showing up at places like Newegg (Hey ASUS, where's mine?).

OEM - $40.99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827135145

Retail (Out of Stock) - $46.99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827135146

by **Ian** on Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:25 am

HardwareZone has a review of the drive up. These guys really need to get some newer media. They only use 2.4x DL media and totally ignore the drive's 14x DVD-RAM writing speed.

http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/vi ... id=29&pg=1

by **DrageMester** on Tue Feb 27, 2007 5:45 am

DrageMester wrote:Finally a drive that also increases the DVD reading speed, not just the writing speed, if the specs are to be believed!

Ian wrote:HardwareZone has a review of the drive up. These guys really need to get some newer media. They only use 2.4x DL media and totally ignore the drive's 14x DVD-RAM writing speed.

http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/vi ... id=29&pg=1

It doesn't have increased reading speed (18x) after all! It doesn't even read DVD±R media at 16x - only at 12x, and only 8x reading for DVD±RW media.

I guess the specs weren't to be believed after all.

by **Ian** on Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:39 am

Well, I'm not about to believe their results until I see a screenshot. They say that the drive is rated at 16x with +R/-R media but for all we know, they're using a disc only 3GB in size.

by **Pilgrim** on Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:52 pm

Strange that this is a brand new drive yet in the screenshot for the specs it says: O/S Compatibility: Windows XP/NT/2000. Do you think that since Vista isn't mentioned this drive is actually incompatible with Vista or perhaps the marketing department made a glaring faux pas? hehe

by **Ian** on Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:09 pm

Probably because Vista wasn't out when that was printed.

by **Wesociety** on Wed Feb 28, 2007 10:50 am

I have seen Hardwarezone make some bogus claims in the past in regards to DVD burner performance in their reviews and then refuse to provide evidence or data to back it up.
I have even specifically posted in their review comments forum thread requesting screenshots or additional information and those requests have been repeatedly ignored.
That really ticked me off.

That being said, I don't doubt that Asus could have made a few booboo's when printing the drive specs on the box. We've seen it many times before from various companies.

by **Ian** on Wed Feb 28, 2007 10:53 am

They'll usually respond to me but more of than not they'll say that the drive has already been sent back to the manufacturer and they cannot verify their results.

by **LoneWolf** on Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:35 pm

So, does anyone know whose drive technology this is?

ASUS seems to have a recent trend of using Pioneer tech...if these drives were Pioneer technology, I'd be interested in two of them. (EDIT)But threads on CD-Freaks seem to indicate it uses a MediaTek chipset and follows ASUS' own design. If that's the case, I'd have to wait for an in-depth review here before making a decision.

by **Ian** on Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:48 pm

I'm fairly certain that its their own design.

I'm still waiting for Newegg to get the retail version of the drive in stock.

by **LoneWolf** on Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:59 pm

Ian wrote:I'm fairly certain that its their own design.

I'm still waiting for Newegg to get the retail version of the drive in stock.

If you picked them up, you must have gotten the last one(s). They list as out of stock now.

by **Wesociety** on Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:38 pm

Ian wrote:I'm fairly certain that its their own design.

I'm still waiting for Newegg to get the retail version of the drive in stock.

I guess ASUS must be giving you some problems with sending a review sample then. That's too bad. Come on ASUS! We want a review of this drive here!

by **Ian** on Fri Mar 09, 2007 4:57 pm

Wesociety wrote:I guess ASUS must be giving you some problems with sending a review sample then. That's too bad. Come on ASUS! We want a review of this drive here!

Yes, they promised to send me the 1612 before Xmas. After I received nothing, they promised me the 1612 and 1814 after CES. A month after CES and no response to my many emails, I finally get the 1612. At this point, I'm just going to shell out the cash and buy an 1814. It's not worth my time to hound their PR people.

by **Grain** on Tue Mar 13, 2007 12:12 pm

Any word on if it's any good? Local shop has retail SATA versions for $60C, was wondering if it would be worth picking up.

by **Ian** on Tue Mar 13, 2007 12:25 pm

I haven't seen any reviews yet. I did see this announcement this morning though.

http://www.nero.com/enu/showpress.php?id=1178

Nero 7 Essentials, a "one stop" digital multimedia solution, provides consumers with pre-mastering, recording, packet writing, and photo management applications. In addition, ASUSTeK drive purchasers will be offered a free 30-day trial of SVCD and DVD-Video playback, authoring, and encoding applications via download from www.nero.com.

wtf kind of software bundle is that? Might as well go OEM.

by **Wesociety** on Tue Mar 13, 2007 1:57 pm

LOL! bundled software = coupon for trial software at nero.com
That's funny.

by **Justin42** on Wed Mar 14, 2007 1:34 pm

It sounds like it's full burning and a photo app, but nothing more. You need other software to do any authoring.

Reasonably fair bundle, IMO-- how many of us have 5000 copies of Nero 6/7 OEM laying around? And your average user buying a cheap drive at least gets something to get them going. You can't expect a $100 app free with a $30ish drive.

by **Grain** on Sat Mar 17, 2007 4:01 pm

Looks OK so far, it does only read +/- at 12X though, comes with a cd of Nero Express 6.

by **Grain** on Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:49 pm

Was going to give the Asus branded cd case that came with the drive to the wife last night, opened it up and it had a blank 16X Verb Lightscribe DVD and a Lightscribe CD tucked away in it! Nice little touch.

It also seems to be a capable enough ripper. One new release I tried recently wasn't recognized by my Liteon 20A1S or Benq 1655, but the Asus read it just fine. Have noticed that with about 4 discs and the Liteon(won't recognize a pressed disc).

by **Wesociety** on Wed Apr 04, 2007 7:01 pm

Grain wrote:opened it up and it had a blank 16X Verb Lightscribe DVD and a Lightscribe CD tucked away in it! Nice little touch.

That is a nice little hidden present.

ASUS DRW-1814BLT - 18x DVD±R and 14x DVD-RAM (big pics)

ASUS DRW-1814BLT - 18x DVD±R and 14x DVD-RAM (big pics)

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