DVD writer

nagysanci

Hello guys,
Some of you might be able to give me a good piece of advice. I just discovered that my DVD writer was dying; not from one day to the other, but I realised that not all my CDs could be read and ripped. I thought first that my written musical CDs went wrong, because they are not original. Later I ralised also that the original CDs sometimes can be ripped, but as time was passig, more and more original CDs could not be ripped. Then I called the technician to reinstall my old CD writer (hardly ever used) which is excellent, I can rip all CDs.
Now I would like to buy a DVD writer, but I don't know which type. I know that it can be SATA, into PC, not laptop, but I don't know the differences between Plextor, Samsung, LG, etc. Which brand would you recommend me to buy?

trentreviso

First, there is just a chance that your DVD burner is fine, but that the laser lens is getting dirty. Before you trash it entirely, you might want to try cleaning the lens first.

hxxp://www.llamma.com/xbox/Repairs/cleaning_your_dvd_drive.htm

{DVD lens cleaning instructions are for an xbox, but they're all the same}

Next, aside from a slight preference that I have for the faster SATA drives, I think that all DVD burner brands are comparable. I would not be a brand bigot - I'd buy whatever is cheapest and would look good in your computer. Also, I'd make sure to get a double-layer (DL) drive, so that you can use the high-density DL disks if the occasion should arise.

raphjd

The places I buy my blank dvds from, always has customer complaints about Pioneer burners not working with the discs. It doesn't matter what brand or type of disc. So I would avoid Pioneer.

Personally, I've had the best experience with NEC which is now Optiarc {join venture with Sony}.

I had a Samsung and it felt cheap and never worked well.

Lite-On did very well for me, but both died within a year.

nagysanci

Thanks. I will buy NEC then. My samsung was OK for 3 years. Since I rip and burn, copy many many CDs, I would like something that would last for another three yeras.

raphjd

NEC doesn't make their own brand of dvd burners anymore, you will have to get Optiarc {NEC/Sony joint venture}.

If you do find an NEC for sale, it will be pretty dated.

nagysanci

Thanks. I found this NEC in a shop near my home:
NEC DVD writer AD-7200S 20x DL OEM SATA
Warrantee: 2 years
Writing Speed:
DVD+R: 20x
DVD-R: 20x
DVD-R DL: 12x
DVD+R9: 8x
DVD+RW: 8x
DVD-RW: 6x
DVD-RAM: 12x
CD-R: 48x
CD-RW: 32x

Reading Speed:
CD-ROM: 48x
DVD-ROM: 16x

Eriting modes: DAO, SAO, TAO with zero gap, variable or fixed packet, multisession

DVD-ROM: 160 ms
CD: 140 ms

Buffer: 2 MB

Interface: S-ATA (1,5 Gbps)

Do you think it would be a good choice to buy?
Beside NEC, they also offer LG, Pioneer, Plextor, and Samsung. Plextor costs the most.

raphjd

That's very modern. I wonder why I can't find any new NECs in the UK.

Yes, I'd grab that one in a heart beat.

nagysanci

Shall I send you one from Hungary?

raphjd

I have 2 Optiarcs right now and they work fine.

Maybe when they break I'll send you a PM.

EDIT: I just checked and my Optiacrs have the same stats as the NEC you are getting, even the model name is the same {AD-7200S}.

nagysanci

I'll buy this NEC one on Friday evening, will get a guy to put it into my computer, and when I use it, I will tell you how satisfied I am. But so far thank you for the advice, I decided to buy NEC!

nagysanci

I've got it, finally. First I bought it but the guy could not put it into the computer because I needed a SATA cable. A week later I bought a SATA cable (have no idea what it means but I bought is). Then a week later the computer guy came, put it into the computer but it did not work. The guy worked on it for 2 hours, because we needed some SATA chipset (I dunno what it is, this language is uncomprehendable for me). He installed it, restarted the computer, and since that time the DVD writer works! Thanks for the advice.

raphjd

Technically it's S-ATA but everyone just uses SATA.

SATA is the new way of connecting components inside a computer. Well, not new exactly, it's already on it's 3rd generation.

Serial ATA {don't know what ATA stands for} is much faster and more stable than PATA or Parallel ATA, which is being phased out.

Another good thing about SATA is that the the cables are much smaller than their PATA counter parts. This helps keep the inside of your computer tidy which increases air flow, so you get an extra bonus there as well.