Help deciphering Samsung DVD-rom model numbers

[TheOverClocker]

what are the differences between
SD-616F
SD-616T
SD-616Q
They seem to boast the same features and such but there are subtle diffences in the prices and sometimes the letter to follow eg(SD-616FEP and SD-616T EPB)

TIA for any information pertaining to this

[Robotnik]

what are the differences between
SD-616F
SD-616T
SD-616Q
They seem to boast the same features and such but there are subtle diffences in the prices and sometimes the letter to follow eg(SD-616FEP and SD-616T EPB)

TIA for any information pertaining to this

They all use different firmware, so I would say they have different controller chips in them. Probably something happened similar to what went on with the Liteon LTD 165H and LTD-166S. Where they moved from a 5 series chip, to a 6 series, because the '5 part was being phased out.

[GGF]

I also have wondered about the 616T, 616F, and 616Q. If the firmware and/or controller chips are different, fine. But which is the right one to buy?

TIA

[GGF]

I wrote an email to Samsung tech support about this issue. They responded that the difference between the F,T,Q, and B versions is only the region code. The "B" version is for region 1 (US/Canada). They didn't say which region the other versions support. I would guess that if you only care about playing movies from one region, then it doesn't matter which you buy, as you will be able to change the region after purchase? I wonder if there are other firmware differences as well. Certainly the Samsung website gives firm-ware updates per region, so who knows (unfortunately, the most recent firmware upgrade for the SD-616 created December 2002 does not seem to have a Region-1 version).

I am not sure about the other letters in the model number, but I believe they may refer to the packaging of the drive. For example, "RP" versions seem to be in the retail box with cables and SW, while "E***" versions seem to be OEM bare drive packages.

Hope this helps.