what's the point of new Plextor premium

[Guzo]

it support gigarec technology and is not standard
it cost about 180$

if i add a little money i can get DVD-R burner.

I believe that CD-RW will have been out by 6months or a year maximum

[dolphinius_rex]

I ask myself that same question....

[aviationwiz]

People like the Premium because of the higher writing quality and the features that this drive provides that other drives do not.

[Randellx5]

>it cost about 180$<

Whatever it's features, worth it or not, it's not that difficult to buy in the USA for $110 or so.

Take care... Randell

[rdgrimes]

because of the higher writing quality

[rant]
Can you be specific? What write quality, exactly, are you referring to? Higher than what? Because what I see is generally slightly higher C1 error rates on common media, and less tolerance for "average" media. I've seen evidence of some slight improvements in RW quality, probably due to the 32x RW ability. We'll have to wait to compare it to other 32x drives. Other than that, maybe slightly lower error rates at very low speed burning. I see the Plex limiting burn speed on a wide range of media. I also see that Plextor has chosen to limit read-testing to 24x, yet the Plex still shows higher C1 rates than a LiteOn reading at 52x, Granted, the differences are not significant, but they don't support the notion of "higher quality writing"
Sorry, I just get tired of people repeating the same phrases about Plextor "quality" with no clear evidence to support that. So here's your chance to support that statement with some evidence.
[/rant]

[hoxlund]

im all ears, not favortism towards one side or other, just want to hear out this thread

[dodecahedron]

because of the higher writing quality

[rant]
Can you be specific? What write quality, exactly, are you referring to? Higher than what? Because what I see is generally slightly higher C1 error rates on common media, and less tolerance for "average" media. I've seen evidence of some slight improvements in RW quality, probably due to the 32x RW ability. We'll have to wait to compare it to other 32x drives. Other than that, maybe slightly lower error rates at very low speed burning. I see the Plex limiting burn speed on a wide range of media. I also see that Plextor has chosen to limit read-testing to 24x, yet the Plex still shows higher C1 rates than a LiteOn reading at 52x, Granted, the differences are not significant, but they don't support the notion of "higher quality writing"
Sorry, I just get tired of people repeating the same phrases about Plextor "quality" with no clear evidence to support that. So here's your chance to support that statement with some evidence.
[/rant]

correct me if i'm wrong, but you're talking about C1/C2 testing of discs burned on each drive, the test is being done on the same drive it was burned.
IMO this means absolutely nothing.
want to test comparative writing quality - test discs burned in the 2 drives on the same reader.

[aviationwiz]

Do you see Lite-On, or anyone else besides I believe Plextor and Yamaha having write speed controls on thier drives to conserve the quality of the disk?

Awnser: No.

Does any other drive, offer burning up to 1GB on a 700MB disk?

Awnser: Yes, only a Sanyo drive.


Also,

This drive was made for professionals, not your average joe who uses a lite-on because they don't need anything more. It is aimed at the business user.

By the sound of it, you are the type who only needs a standard burner, that's fine. You don't have to go around dissing other drives because they may not like the media that you use, or it is a bit expensive.

[dolphinius_rex]

You don't have to go around dissing other drives because they may not like the media that you use, or it is a bit expensive.

You aren't suggesting the Plextor Premium Drive doesn't like Taiyo Yuden media are you?? I should hope not! I would suggest not trying to argue writing quality with me, unless you actually plan on defending your opinion with some sort of proof?? speaking of which, take a look at the plextor premium review at cdrinfo.com and see if you can notice that the premium drive actually has poorer results for jitter errors then previous plextor models! Actually, read the whole article.

You are right about one thing though, the plextor *IS* aimed at business. Why, because larger businesses don't look for good deals, or even test for quality, they choose what looks (note that, what *LOOKS* and not *IS*) the best, and then buy as many of them as they need, or more. I've known businesses that would go across town to pickup floppy discs for twice the price of the same floppy discs by a different brand that were sold across the street from the same business. What you are basically saying is, Plextor is marketed towards people who don't know or care to know any better...and I *CERTAINLY* agree

and gigarecord does NOT work on a lot of drives, and from what I've heard you can forget using it for audio CD-Rs or SVCDs, which means that if you want that capacity for real, you need to get a hold of 90min or 99min media which is MUCH more compatible. Of course, it took plextor longer then any other manufacturer to get overburning right, so it doesn't surprise me to see them pushing a proprietary format that is much less compatible! (see the same cdrinfo.com article on the premium drive for info on how NOT compatible the gigarecord function is!)

and by the way, the vari-record function, on the plextor 48x24x48x model at least, actually INCREASES jitter errors compared to normal writing at the same speed. The equivalent Yamaha Audio Mastering technique however DOES lower the jitter errors in most cases, the exception being when you write media at 1x, but anyone writing current media at 1x is completely ignorant of how media works these days.

please do a little more research on your topic before replying next. Perhaps some test results that confirm your opinion? or something along those lines.

[rdgrimes]

By the sound of it, you are the type who only needs a standard burner, that's fine. You don't have to go around dissing other drives because they may not like the media that you use, or it is a bit expensive.

I'm still waiting for some evidence of "higher writing quality", if someone can provide that, I'll buy the Plex with no hesitation, regarless of the price. Saying it does not make it so, and unless one has actually done the testing, one is just parroting what others have said.

[dodecahedron]

I'm still waiting for some evidence of "higher writing quality", if someone can provide that, I'll buy the Plex with no hesitation, regarless of the price. Saying it does not make it so, and unless one has actually done the testing, one is just parroting what others have said.

you are absolutely right!
however, if i may point out, the same argument holds true for the other side too. that is: there is no proof that the writing quality of the Lite-On is better than that of the Plextor...

[rdgrimes]

there is no proof that the writing quality of the Lite-On is better than that of the Plextor

Actually, there is some evidence , but not "proof". The fact that the Plex shows higher C1 rates on it's own burns, while testing at 24x, is evidence. Of course we don't really know if it's reporting the same thing as LiteOn. It could be that it's being more "honest", but given the 24x speed limitation, it's suspicious too. All I'm saying is lets look at the evidence before we say that the Plex is any better at doing it's job. You can buy a Plex for any reason you like, and rave about how great it is. But if you're buying it because you think you're getting better quality burns, you may be mistaken. Given the lack of any credible public testing, (hint Ian), we can only do our own testing. If I get pissed enough, I'm apt to go buy one just to test, but not this month. I'll stick with my "basic" burners, all 6 of them.

Do you see Lite-On, or anyone else besides I believe Plextor and Yamaha having write speed controls on thier drives to conserve the quality of the disk?

Yes, actually they all do.

[aviationwiz]

Do you see Lite-On, or anyone else besides I believe Plextor and Yamaha having write speed controls on thier drives to conserve the quality of the disk?

Yes, actually they all do.

I am not talking about SmartBurn or crap like that. I am talking about monitoring the burn as it is going and adjusting the speed accordingly. As far as I am aware, only the F1 and the Premium offer that.

[dolphinius_rex]

thank you aviationwiz, you've just proven you have no idea what vari record does, and at the same time proven you know nothing about other burners abilities either.

[aviationwiz]

Please explain to me how the he*l you think I have proven that I do not know anything about burners abilities or VariRec? I never said that, now did I?

VariRec reduces Jitter and it allows for the laser power to be adjusted, because if the pits and lands are to pronounced, the disk will not be accurately reproduced.

I also know a sh*t load about burners, just because I am not a Lite-On Fanboy like most of you people on here, doesn't mean I don't know burners well.

[rdgrimes]

I am not talking about SmartBurn or crap like that. I am talking about monitoring the burn as it is going and adjusting the speed accordingly.

Yes, actually they all do this as well. SmartBurn "crap" has been doing this since it was created.

[aviationwiz]

Well, it sure didn't on my LTR-48125W. It just selected the maximum speed total. It didn't monitor the burn and adjust the speed accordingly.

[rdgrimes]

It just selected the maximum speed total. It didn't monitor the burn and adjust the speed accordingly.

Yes, actually, it does and always has. Anyone who has seen that orange light during a burn can attest to this. From the LiteOn support site:

SMART-BURN features :

Buffer Under Run Error Free
Running Optimum Power Calibration
Automatic Writing Strategy & Burning Parameters
Automatically decrease burning speed when Laser power over margin due to poor media quality or high temperature

[Ian]

rdgrimes is right. Stop arguing now.

[rdgrimes]

Can't we PLEASE argue some more Ian? Pretty pleeeeaaaase???

[Ian]

Can't we PLEASE argue some more Ian? Pretty pleeeeaaaase???

As long as you argue about something else just as pointless... like saying the sky is green instead of blue.

[hoxlund]

i would say the sky is more puce green tinted,

[dolphinius_rex]

sky colour is irrelevent, since it more a matter how our eyes percieve the colour. An example of this is people who are colour blind

[hoxlund]

no i think it has to do with how much hair is on a person's arm

[rdgrimes]

The sky is red when you're burning, green when you're reading, and yellow when you're paused. Eveybody knows this, you morons.