goodbye to LITE ON

[liteonrules]

I went to best buy to get a BUSLINK 48x12X48 $29.99 after rebates and they are not using LITE ON, so i went to OFFICE MAX to get a VERBATIM $19.99 after MIR and they are not using LITE ON , but OFFICE Max was going to let me sub. for a CENDYNE or PACIFIC DIGITAL and guess what! They don't use LITE ON anymore either.
what were in each box:
BUSLINK-----AOPEN
VERBATIM---ACER 4816P
PACIFIC DIGITAL---NOT SURE BUT WASN'T LITE ON
CENDYNE----OPTORITE AND ACER
why are they using JUNK?

[dhc014]

Well, everyone buys up the Lite-ONs and returns the other kinds... Lite-ON really isn't the only kind of drive in the world, someone needs to use the other types... If you want a sure thing about getting a Lite-ON, buy a Memorex drive.

[BuddhaTB]

You can also buy a TDK or Sony drive since they are 100% Lite-On too. Or you can just forget about all that and just pick up a genuine Lite-On drive from www.Newegg.com

[dodecahedron]

Or you can just forget about all that and just pick up a genuine Lite-On drive from www.Newegg.com

everybody keeps saying that.
from this i gather that Lite-On drives are not sold retail, only online.

why is that?
i saw them here in Israel in a computer shop...

[Ian]

I haven't been able to confirm this, but I've heard that the dockworker strike had something to do with this. Companies couldn't get enough Lite-On drives so they turned to some of the other companies like Optorite and AOpen to supply their drives.

[jase]

BUSLINK-----AOPEN
VERBATIM---ACER 4816P
PACIFIC DIGITAL---NOT SURE BUT WASN'T LITE ON
CENDYNE----OPTORITE AND ACER
why are they using JUNK?

Hey come on, don't be so harsh. OK, I'm not fussed on Acer either (although I've only ever owned one Acer drive, a 12x, and that's more than enough for me, even after they tinkered with it ). But Optorite's stuff is reasonable, and will be more so once the new drives come out. And as for Aopen, well in their own way they're as good as LiteOn. I've had several types of disc that burn well on the Aopen that bomb on the LiteOn (and vice-versa in fairness). Aopen not junk.

I've never been a LiteOn disciple anyway. They're well supported, and generally decent writers, but no-one can tell me they're that solid. The buffer underrun protection for a start is absolute bobbins -- all other writers wait for the buffer to fill up again before starting the burn up. LiteOn often just sits there going red-orange-red-orange. And after pulling a failed one apart and noticing all the badly-soldered components (surface-mount devices at awkward angles, capacitors with 5mm of lead dangling off them etc) I am not convinced of the build quality either!

[liteonrules]

i dont't know anything about the 48x speed ACER/benq or AOPEN, i already have the OPTORITE CW4802 and it's ok and i also have a LITE ON and i think it's a great drive.
I just go by what people post.
i went back to OFFICE MAX and settled for a VERBATIM (ACER/BENQ 4816P) and right now i am testing the performance.

[cfitz]

My personal experience with Acer/Benq has been less than satisfactory. I haven't tried an AOpen drive yet, but based on the reports of others, I would give AOpen a go before I went for an Acer/Benq drive.

cfitz

[liteonrules]

audio extraction : using 79:05 music cdr
highest 49.37 average 37.37

writing test using nero cd speed: using imation 48x 80min blank
highest 48.79 average 37.12

actual writing test: using imation 48x blank
76:30 harddrive to writer 2:40
75:29 disc to disc(on the fly) 3:01
but i never use disc to disc for quality purposes

[cfitz]

Could you measure the quality of those burns using CD Doctor or WSES? I would be interested in seeing the results.

cfitz

[Robaire]

Well, I bought a Digital Research rebadged Aopen 40x12x48 that lasted just a few months. Initially it seemed ok, but eventually began to regularly fail with write errors or focus or tracking error. It would start writing with a fair amount of noise and vibration, then get quiet and fail. I'm waiting to see if IOMagic will honor my RMA request. However, I doubt the drive is even worth the cost to ship it back.

I ended up buying one of the Memorex 52x24x52 drives because I knew it would be a LiteOn. So far it works perfectly.

[coolestnitish]

Well, LiteOn's are pretty widely available in retail and OEM (Still as LiteOn) here in Canada. They are really cheap compared to other drivers. But I wonder why LiteOn isn't interested in wide-spread retailing. Why don't Best Buy and other stores have them? LiteOn has other products like power supplies, and keyboards too. I don't get why they don't want to come in the mainstream.

[dhc014]

Well, they would only be competing with themselves since they already have their drives on the shelves as Sonys or TDKs, or others...

[dodecahedron]

maybe so, but presumably they make more money selling drives retail than they do selling to rebadgers?

btw, that computer store where i saw the Lite-Ons, then computer at the cash register had a Lite-On flat LCD monitor. didn't know they made those too!

[dhc014]

They make all kinds of stuff including Automotive Accessories. See www.liteon.com

[liteonrules]

where do i get CD Doctor or WSES? and is it better than the NERO testing?

[cfitz]

where do i get CD Doctor or WSES?

CD Doctor? Right here on this forum (in a sticky thread yet):

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic. ... 5549#45549

and is it better than the NERO testing?

It is more complete (measuring both C1 and C2 errors). Read through the above thread and you should find answers to all your questions.

cfitz

[aviationwiz]

VERBATIM---ACER 4816P

Verbatim also uses Aopen.