Topic: External DVD-RW drive recs?

[C.Clark]

i have a sony dru-700a dual layer dvd+/-rw drive and it hasnt burned one dvd coaster yet, but has burned
one cdr coaster, just b/c i was trying to do way much shit while i was writing it and i got a ridiculous buffer
underrun, if you can get that, its proven to be very reliable, ive probably burned over 50 dvd's and hundreds
of audio cd's with it
-chris

[dnsacks]

I have the nec drive initially mentioned in the thread -- picked it up from newegg for $70 shipped.  So far, VERY happy with it.  No coasters yet and it is MUCH quieter than the cd burner it replaced.

Dwonk -- worst case if the sony external box you have doesn't work is that you'd need to pick up a new $2x.xx box from newegg/etc.

[kskreider]

I, too, have the NEC ND-2500A.  I have only had it for one day, but I plugged the sucker in and ripped a data CD-R in 2:30.  Gotta love plug-n-play! 

I cruised over to Best Buy, picked up 2-50 packs of the Fuji 8x DVD-R's for $19.99 each.  I came home and began clearing off the hard drive faster than expected.  The NEC records to the 8x DVD-R's at 12x w/o any repercussions.  Very, very pleased with it so far.  I can burn 4.7 GB of data in the same amount of time that my old Plextor would make an audio CD.  !!!

So late last night and early this a.m. I followed the Wavelab DVD-A tutorial for a show I did at 24/48 (in the Archival section)  I began renderding it as I was leaving for work.  I sit hear dying slowly wondering if A) It will record OK without gaps, and B) Will my older Pioneer DV-525 player play the DVD-A's ok. 

...Kk

[shaggy]

I got the Pioneer DVR-108 from NewEgg (took two days to get here).  Slapped it into the old SONY box.  It still acts a bit strange like sometimes it doesn't read discs....I have to try again (reinsert into the tray, but it always works in the end).  Still have some issues with reading some DVD-R discs (cheapy ones).  DVD shrink and DVD Decrypter work fine (those are some amazing freeware....god bless the hackers).  Also, I noticed I get better results from one firewire port rather than the other (two in the back of the box).  I suspect the Pioneer DVD-RW to fine as I just bot it.  Can the firewire controller in the SONY external box be fucked up?

ANDY

[todd e]

I got the Pioneer 108 drive and love it.  I grabbed an external enclosure too and it was less than $120 with shipping, ground.  Once I upgraded the firmware I was able to burn 16X for DVD, which I could only do at 8x before the firmware update.  Pretty sweet and I'm running it vertical.  Anyone know if that is a problem or not, it said not, but anyone know from experience?

+T for everyone for getting me going the right direction.

[F.O.Bean]

i just got an Iomega external super dvd writer, its usb2.0 and has been ROCK SOLID the last 2 weeks ive had it

just got a 2.0 card for my desktop and couldnt be happier, instead of it taking an hr+, it takes 10 mins

the iomega was pricey, but it ws a gift and the best staples had, plus i got a 30 dollar mail in rebate, so i got a 3-year warranty too

[kindms]

I just ordered a Plextor 716SA I should have it on wenesday. I can finally start burning all of my 24 Bit Masters of the HDDs

edited to say

The above is an internal DVD drive I need to pay attention more

[seedee_oner]

I just ordered a Plextor 716SA I should have it on wenesday. I can finally start burning all of my 24 Bit Masters of the HDDs

edited to say

The above is an internal DVD drive I need to pay attention more

I bought one of those about a month ago and it crapped out in the first week on me.  the drive totally stopped recognizing any discs.  I returned it and bought a nec 3500.  couldn't be happier.

plextor even delayed the european release of that model.  you can do some more reading about the drive here:
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=117475
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=118703


just a heads up

[kindms]

Thanks for the info. I typo'd my model number I got the 712SA but it seems to have some of the issues that are described in these posts.I hope I get one of the later HW versions they discuss.

I really am not all that concerned about 16X burning but It is what it is supposed to do and I paid for so..... But I really just want it to burn good copies speed is nice But I still burn CDs at no higher than 8x. I just hope it doesn't die on me quick but I can always RMA it if I have to. I got it from Newegg.com and they are usually pretty easy to deal with


Thanks for the links of worry though

[seedee_oner]

cool, the 712 has all the kinks ironed out of it for the most part.  I've seen it higly recommended plenty of times.  don't fret about your choice  

just wanted to give you a heads up if it was the 716 that you bought, as my experiences with it were horrible.  it really sucked to have it go bad within a week of use.  newegg has given me great customer service in the past also, highly reputable folks.