Quick Q: Which DVD Writer is best for sub. £40??

[GFiSH]

I'd say NEC!! I put a 3540 in my Dad's rig and looking at a 4550 for myself

[wannabgeek]

NEC 3500 has been 'Bril'l for me!

[Xaar]

cant really go wrong with an NEC.. + great 3rd party support

[ca-uk]

its just so much effort to go to google, but ok.. found it

[psychy]

Great stuff guys. Just ordered a NEC 4550....thanks!!

[nightic]

Benq DW1640 seems to the 'enthusiast' choice at the moment.

[ca-uk]

what's the benefit of the different firmware?

anyone care to let me know to save me the google effort?

[Cronus]

One reason to get different firmware is to make the drive multiregion.

Also occasionally it can give you faster burn speeds

[amjedm]

Can anyone please comment on noise levels of the NEC 4550?

Review on ebuyer states the drive is noisy and has problems with some media type - could be sorted by a firmware update.

Deciding between the NEC and Pioneer 110.

Thanks.

[Fablanta]

I don't think that there is there really that much difference between DVD-RW drives nowadays. The only variation you tend to get is DVD-RAM. To me they all seem to be DL x8, x16 write, x8 rewrite, CD-R x48, CD-RW x32 in plus and minus formats for DVD media.


The only brand that used to stand out was Plexor and I don't know if that still holds true anymore. So as far as I am concerned it's like debating which floppy drive is best.

Another consideration is that top end media is either unobtainable or prohibitively expensive. I'm willing to bet that the majority of users have never even burnt a dual layer disk (I haven’t although my flat is littered empty with 25 cap. cake boxes) never mind had their hands on an x8 DL media. Most wise people will not burn above x8 on a regular basis (I myself don't usually go above x6 on x16 media if I can help it) so for day-to-day use my older x8 NEC 2520 is just as good as my NEC 3520.

DkA

[Smudger]

PC Pro magazine had the Plextor drive as their 'A' list choice, but I couldn't get hold of one, so went for their 'best value' one, which was the incredibly cheap LiteOn1693 at £34

This link might help:

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/133/dvd-...roduction.html

[Alistair]

Another vote for NEC. Have had liteon in the past & found them noisey and not as reliable with burns as NEC. NEC has lots of custom firmwares (as mentioned previously) & you can use DVD Info Pro to check the quality of your burns.

Have a look here:

http://liggydee.cdfreaks.com/page/

http://www.micheldeboer.nl/firmware/

[eldren]

In my opinion, a good site for DVD drives, media, etc., is CD Freaks. In particular, they held a forum vote for the best brand of DVD drive in May, in which BenQ came out top by far. The first post also contains a summary of the features and support offered in several manufacturers' drives, and outlines what the differences are between each brand.