DVD Burner Replacement - Brand?

I need to replace my (IDE) CD / DVD burner.

I currently have a LITEON 18X model number LH -18A1P186C. It is only 2
yrs old and has about 200 burns on it. I paid $50.00 for this damn
thing that has already stopped working. (will do everything but burn)

So, I'm looking to buy a new one from Newegg, question is which brand
is better, between Sony, LG and Samsung?

I plan on staying below the $25.00 price range so this is the page I'm
looking at. http://tinyurl.com/dmltbr

Any suggestions?

Thanks, Ron

Ron wrote:
I need to replace my (IDE) CD / DVD burner.

I currently have a LITEON 18X model number LH -18A1P186C. It is only 2
yrs old and has about 200 burns on it. I paid $50.00 for this damn
thing that has already stopped working. (will do everything but burn)

So, I'm looking to buy a new one from Newegg, question is which brand
is better, between Sony, LG and Samsung?

I plan on staying below the $25.00 price range so this is the page I'm
looking at. http://tinyurl.com/dmltbr

Any suggestions?

Check out Lightscribe. I was slow to adopt, but I love it now -- even
given that the blanks are a little more expensive.

"Ron" wrote in message
...
I need to replace my (IDE) CD / DVD burner.

I currently have a LITEON 18X model number LH -18A1P186C. It is only 2
yrs old and has about 200 burns on it. I paid $50.00 for this damn
thing that has already stopped working. (will do everything but burn)

So, I'm looking to buy a new one from Newegg, question is which brand
is better, between Sony, LG and Samsung?

I plan on staying below the $25.00 price range so this is the page I'm
looking at. http://tinyurl.com/dmltbr

Any suggestions?

Thanks, Ron

Ignore most reviews of CD/DVD burners as usually they just rate the fastest
as the best and yet the most important thing is the quality of the burn
which most reviews never mention. Burn quality depends mainly on choosing
firstly good media but also on selecting a burner that uses that media
optimally. After dissecting numerous quality scans over on the CDFreaks
site, I settled on a Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7200S as a great all-rounder. It's
a very good CD & DVD reader as well. I have 2 of them, a friend has 2 and
no problems so far in about 5 months. There's hacked firmware around too
that let you do bitsetting and multi-region code stuff, the drive has no
riplock to slow down movie DVD backups either.

It has a NEC chipset and NEC hardware, not all Optiarc models have, some
have Lite-On bits inside. Other manufacturers also don't always use their
own make components, so a bit of research helps there if you're set on a
particular make.

On Apr 28, 8:19*am, Joel wrote:
Ron wrote:
So, I'm looking to buy a new one from Newegg, question is which brand
is better, between Sony, LG and Samsung?

Any suggestions?

* * * * I would suggest to read the end users' feedbacks then ask for some
specific question. *IOW, not many users are DVD burner experted to be able
to give you more information than Hate, Love, and Price.

* * * * I guess you bought the one you hate either because you didn't read the
feedbacks, didn't trust the ones who told you not to buy it, or for whatever
reason.

* * * * So, you can point your browser towww.newegg.comorwww.videohelp.comto
read as much end users' feedbacks as you can. *IOW, many actual owners have
already posted their opinions year(s) ago waiting for us to read.

* * * * Me? between CD/DVD I have burned more than 10-15K, and I am on my 3rd
burner now. *Each burned thousands of DVDs, and some older one I installed
on other systems, and install a faster one on the main system.

I bought the LITEON because it was the only thing that my local
computer store carried. They now carry Samsung and LG only.

On Apr 28, 4:30*pm, Joel wrote:
Ron wrote:
On Apr 28, 8:19*am, Joel wrote:
Ron wrote:
So, I'm looking to buy a new one from Newegg, question is which brand
is better, between Sony, LG and Samsung?

Any suggestions?

I would suggest to read the end users' feedbacks then ask for some
specific question. *IOW, not many users are DVD burner experted to be able
to give you more information than Hate, Love, and Price.

I guess you bought the one you hate either because you didn't read the
feedbacks, didn't trust the ones who told you not to buy it, or for whatever
reason.

So, you can point your browser towww.newegg.comorwww.videohelp.comto
read as much end users' feedbacks as you can. *IOW, many actual owners have
already posted their opinions year(s) ago waiting for us to read.

Me? between CD/DVD I have burned more than 10-15K, and I am on my 3rd
burner now. *Each burned thousands of DVDs, and some older one I installed
on other systems, and install a faster one on the main system.

I bought the LITEON because it was the only thing that my local
computer store carried. They now carry Samsung and LG only.

You can always check with the web pages I gave you (the one you quoted)
and you can always order online which is usually cheaper too.

*If you have no other choice then I don't know what to suggest but buy
whatever the local store carries and hoping you will have more luck with the
next one. *IOW, if you can't or don't want to order online then local is
your only option.

I was in the process of purchasing a barebones kit at the time that I
bought the Liteon. (my old computer had just died and I was computer
shopping)

I went ahead and ordered this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118022

Apparently it is a repackaged LiteOn, but most of the reviews were
good. So, hopefully my current LiteOn was a lemon.

On Apr 28, 1:35*pm, "Steve" wrote:
"Ron" wrote in message

...

I need to replace my (IDE) CD / DVD burner.

I currently have a LITEON 18X model number LH -18A1P186C. It is only 2
yrs old and has about 200 burns on it. I paid $50.00 for this damn
thing that has already stopped working. *(will do everything but burn)

So, I'm looking to buy a new one from Newegg, question is which brand
is better, between Sony, LG and Samsung?

I plan on staying below the $25.00 price range so this is the page I'm
looking at.http://tinyurl.com/dmltbr

Any suggestions?

Thanks, Ron

Ignore most reviews of CD/DVD burners as usually they just rate the fastest
as the best and yet the most important thing is the quality of the burn
which most reviews never mention. *Burn quality depends mainly on choosing
firstly good media but also on selecting a burner that uses that media
optimally. *After dissecting numerous quality scans over on the CDFreaks
site, I settled on a Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7200S as a great all-rounder. *It's
a very good CD & DVD reader as well. *I have 2 of them, a friend has 2 and
no problems so far in about 5 months. *There's hacked firmware around too
that let you do bitsetting and multi-region code stuff, the drive has no
riplock to slow down movie DVD backups either.

It has a NEC chipset and NEC hardware, not all Optiarc models have, some
have Lite-On bits inside. *Other manufacturers also don't always use their
own make components, so a bit of research helps there if you're set on a
particular make.

I went with this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118022

Thanks for the input.

Joel wrote:
Grinder wrote:

Ron wrote:
I need to replace my (IDE) CD / DVD burner.

I currently have a LITEON 18X model number LH -18A1P186C. It is only 2
yrs old and has about 200 burns on it. I paid $50.00 for this damn
thing that has already stopped working. (will do everything but burn)

So, I'm looking to buy a new one from Newegg, question is which brand
is better, between Sony, LG and Samsung?

I plan on staying below the $25.00 price range so this is the page I'm
looking at. http://tinyurl.com/dmltbr

Any suggestions?
Check out Lightscribe. I was slow to adopt, but I love it now -- even
given that the blanks are a little more expensive.

How it compares to direct DVD printer?

Lightscribe only can produce a monochromatic image, and one of inferior
contrast at that. For simple, informational labelling though, it's
cheaper and simpler.

Joel wrote:
Grinder wrote:

Ron wrote:
I need to replace my (IDE) CD / DVD burner.

I currently have a LITEON 18X model number LH -18A1P186C. It is only 2
yrs old and has about 200 burns on it. I paid $50.00 for this damn
thing that has already stopped working. (will do everything but burn)

So, I'm looking to buy a new one from Newegg, question is which brand
is better, between Sony, LG and Samsung?

I plan on staying below the $25.00 price range so this is the page I'm
looking at. http://tinyurl.com/dmltbr

Any suggestions?
Check out Lightscribe. I was slow to adopt, but I love it now -- even
given that the blanks are a little more expensive.

How it compares to direct DVD printer?

I should add that you don't have to pick one over the other. If you get
a Lightscribe capable burner, you can use whichever option you think is
most suitable in a given situation.

Joel wrote:
Grinder wrote:

Ron wrote:
I need to replace my (IDE) CD / DVD burner.

I currently have a LITEON 18X model number LH -18A1P186C. It is only 2
yrs old and has about 200 burns on it. I paid $50.00 for this damn
thing that has already stopped working. (will do everything but burn)

So, I'm looking to buy a new one from Newegg, question is which brand
is better, between Sony, LG and Samsung?

I plan on staying below the $25.00 price range so this is the page I'm
looking at. http://tinyurl.com/dmltbr

Any suggestions?
Check out Lightscribe. I was slow to adopt, but I love it now -- even
given that the blanks are a little more expensive.

How it compares to direct DVD printer?

Ok, I take it back about Lightscribe discs being cheaper than printable.
I was thinking of the labeling systems, but have now noticed the
directly printable discs.

It appears, at least from newegg, that printable discs aren't really
more expansive than a "regular" disc. Lightscribe discs are about 50%
more. You have to have the right printer of course, but on a per disc
basis, printable would be cheaper.

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:51:58 -0700 (PDT), Ron
wrote:


I went ahead and ordered this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118022

Apparently it is a repackaged LiteOn, but most of the reviews were
good. So, hopefully my current LiteOn was a lemon.


Two years is not a bad period for an inexpensive DVD burner,
especially if the environment is a little dusty. If your
system does not have a front panel fan it can reduce dust
buildup some by installing one so the case is pulling in
less air around all the little nooks and crannies.