URGENT: Need to get DVD Burner Tommorrow, Help me Decide !

[goden99]

I need to get a DVD Burner for the office tomorrow so we can backup all the information we have.

I have no preference and I am a newbie when it comes to DVD burners.

Please point me out to a good DVD burner, preferably one that is DVD-R and DVD+R (DVD-R if only because media is a lot cheaper here)

Please tell me the Top ones to get and the ones to STAY AWAY from.
I am going to go to the distributor with the list and see what he has and pick one no time to order one.

All help and advice is appreciated

Thanks In advance

[tazdevl]

Few choices, Sony 510, Pioneer A06, TEAC DV-W50D.

I'd stay away from NEC and TDK drives, bit pickier about media, though they are much cheaper.

Also, check your PM.

[BoGMan1a]

I have to take a little bit of issue with your condemning the NEC and re-badges of said drive. This drive will be used to back-up critical business files (I assume), and as such, I am sure that they will pay attention to using quality media, and when quality media is present this drive and its derivatives will write to them as well as the other three you mentioned.

[tazdevl]

I have to take a little bit of issue with your condemning the NEC and re-badges of said drive. This drive will be used to back-up critical business files (I assume), and as such, I am sure that they will pay attention to using quality media, and when quality media is present this drive and its derivatives will write to them as well as the other three you mentioned.

Problem is bubba, most people that ask for purchasing advice have a tendency to skimp on media in my experience. NEC and TDK don't do as well as the other drives from a media compatibility standpoint.

Take all the issue you want.

[hoxlund]

i would go for sony, and use some princo 4x dvd-r disks

im a very happy sony dru-510a customer

[Halc]

I have a friend who owns both Sony DRU-500A and Pioneer A06. He's tried a lot of brands including Princo, Verbatim, Apple, Nan-ya, Ritek (various generations), Datasafe, Maxell, TDK, etc.

His opinion is that with the current DVD-R 4x media the Pioneer unit is much more media tolerant and will burn "better burns" (according to LiteOn / KProbe tests) and more discs at 4x, while the Sony wants to burn at 2x.

This also seems apparent when reading on local DVD Media compatibility forum tests. Sony doesn't want to burn many discs at above 2x, while the Pioneer seems to be generally more happy to do it on a variety of media.

I have no experience or information on the DRU-510 unit however. It could be better in this regard.

I'm sure that both burners are fine as long as you take care in finding and selecting a good quality media that is compatible with the drive.

[tazdevl]

Halc, FYI the 510 has some different hardware and I've burnt everything @ 4X. I think that's a good sign that they addressed some of the problems with the 500 series.

[Halc]

Thanks Taz! That's good to know.

I'm probably ordering myself the upcoming Plextor 70A as my first dvd burner without having read a single review. That's stupid and I don't recommend it to anyone, unless you have 30 day money-back quarantee :)

regards,
Halcyon

[tazdevl]

I don't think that's a bad move Halc. Per Ian, Plex has come up with a way to burn 8X to 4X media. They also do make pretty solid products. I would assume there isn't much tech involved and it's more an issue of media quality. Kind of like burning @ 40-48X with 24X discs wiht CDRs.

I might pick one up as well. I'd like to be able to ditch my F1 and just use a DVD ROM and DVD Burner. Performance-wise the 708A is just about on par with my F1. 44X24X40 versus 40X24X40 with the Plex. I can live with 20-30 second slower burns.

BTW the Egg has moved the ETA to 9/8.

[hoxlund]

yes the sony will burn at 4x on all media with the new firmware upgrade on the dru-510a, probably the same thing on the 500 series as well

[goden99]

What about the LG GMA4020BI ??

(they have none in stock i should receive it today but they had the LG in stock) is it good ?

[dodecahedron]

check out Ian's review of the LG GMA-4020B Super-Multi DVD-R/RW/RAM drive.
http://www.cdrlabs.com/reviews/index.php?reviewid=178


FYI, this drive is 2x DVD-R, 1x DVD-RW.
most of the drives mentioned above: Sony DRU-500/510, Pioneer A06, TEAC DV-W50 and others, are 4x drives (some of them dual-format).
meaning they burn 4x -R or +R (or both).

[goden99]

What about the Sony DWU10A OEM.
That's the one I ordered If I change my mind i only lose the 10$ deposit.
But it's very cheap (280$CND)

Can't find any reviews on it thou


ps: I heard that the DWU10A is the DRU-510A but OEM. Does that mean I could flash the DWU10A with the DRU-510A firmware ?

[Ian]

ps: I heard that the DWU10A is the DRU-510A but OEM. Does that mean I could flash the DWU10A with the DRU-510A firmware ?

Yep, its true. I haven't done it myself, but I've heard of people flashing it with the 510A firmware.

[goden99]

so is it a good choice ?

what kinda warranty do i get on this OEM product because i am reading some Sonys die with in the first 5 burns... I am kinda worried.

[jsl]

The DW-U10A is an OEM version of DRU-500A. Stupid naming by Sony as many look at the "10A" in the model name and think it is the same as a DRU-510A.
Worth mentioning about the DW-U10A is that there is not even an official 2.4x -> 4x DVD+R firmware update. So by default it is only writing both DVD+R and DVD+RW in 2.4x compared with the 4x speed of the DRU-510A. To get 4x DVD+R you can however flash it with a hacked DRU-500A(X) firmware update but 4x DVD+RW is not possible because you can't flash a DW-U10/12A or DRU-500A(X) to a DW-U14A or DRU-510A.

DW-U10A = OEM DRU-500A
DW-U12A = OEM DRU-500AX
DW-U14A = OEM DRU-510A

[goden99]

So what your saying is I can flash the DW-U10A to a DRU-500AX correct ?
But would that void the warranty ?

What's the difference between
DW-U10A and OEM DRU-500A and DRU-500AX ?
is it just faster +R Burning ?

[Raz0rX]

Sony will not provide any warranty to end-users who purchased an OEM Sony drive (in this case, DW-U10a). As well, Sony will not release firmware directly to end-users. Your only way to download the newest firmware is thru. The Firmware Page (www.rpc1.org) or any other firmware sites (but definitely not from Sony).

So if your Sony dies, then your only choice (in Canada/North America) would be taking the drive back to where you bought from.

[goden99]

Gulp.... not even 30 day warranty ?

for the firmware can't i flash the DW-U10a to DRU-500A and use the firmware for the DRU-500A ?

What about flashing it to 500AX?

[Raz0rX]

There's absolutely no warranty provided by Sony themselves for your OEM Sony product (DW-U10A). DOA and RMA must deal directly from where you bought it from (I assume you're in Canada).

[hoxlund]

whoah, don't speak to soon, if you bought the sony online OEM or any product for that matter, you can go to staples and buy the Product Replacement Plan (Light Blue Pamphlet)

if your sony was $299.99 or less an extra year on top of the manufacturer's warranty would cost $34.99

if its $300 - $349.99 it costs $49.99 for 2 extra years, or $59.99 for 3 extra years on top of the manufacturer's warranty, in this case 2 years 30 days, or 3 years 30 days

all thats required to get this is you have to have at least 30 days left on manufacturer's warranty, in this case, right away

[hoxlund]

what i did with my sony dru-510a, bought it at best buy for $300, went to staples and bought the $49.99 2 year protection plan (purple pamphlet), so now if my sony ever shits out, i go to staples, with broken drive and registered warranty, and they give me on a money card how much the drive is worth when i bought the plan

which in turn i can walk out right away with a new sony, pioneer, tdk, cendyne dvd burner, or whatever else i want to spend that money on

[aviationwiz]

Problem is, is that a lot of people do not have a Staples anywhere near them.

[hoxlund]

go here to find out if you have a staples where you live, or close by:

http://www.staples.com/about/store/find/default.asp

[goden99]

I am in Canada, there is no Staples here

The store has 30 day warranty, I heard that sony only crap out the first 5 burns is that true ? if so i'll get a dvd-rw and burn on it like 50 times.

for the firmware can't i flash the DW-U10a to DRU-500A and use the firmware for the DRU-500A ?

What about flashing it to 500AX?