DVD drive... most reliable?

[bpm2000]

Im not sure if this exactly fits the forum category here, but I will be using this dvd drive to play cds n such occasionally, so here goes.

My DVD drive just crapped out on me today, so I will be needing to replace it soon. I know this is may be a good time to get a DVD burner but I just do not have the funds at the moment to do so.
My criteria is that is plays scratched or unrealiable DVDs (movies) well, and maybe some form of region-restriction flashing removal available. I just need something reliable. My current drive (some samsung) died while I kept trying to get it to read a DVD I have (a region 1 seemingly scratch-free disc). Now it wont read DVDs I know to have worked flawlessly in the past.

thx in advance.

 

[Mr.Radar]

Plextor drives are the best, and you can PlexTools to rip audio CDs with them (PlexTools is suppost to be better than anything, even EAC).

 

[pedxing]

Plextor is not necessarily the best. People have made complaints about some of their older generation of DVD burners. I don't know about their newer stuff. In my opinion, plextor is usually a safe bet.

Be careful. Not all plextor products are designed by plextor themselves (ie: their DVD-ROM drive which might be a rebranded pioneer).

Go read the reviews and forum comments about different DVD-burners:

www.cdrlabs.com
www.cdfreaks.com
www.cdrinfo.com

You can find reviews, performance, and burn/read accuracy at these web sites.

Another popular DVD burner company I recommend is Liteon.

 

[MikoLayer]

afaik, plextor dvdrws are supposed to have really good cd-ripping capabilities, but other than that not so great.

pioneers have been the king in the dvd arena and the newest NEC 2500s give them a run for their money from what i heard. i own a a06 btw

 

[badmonkey]

One word: PIONEER

They are the gods of optical drives. Whether you decide to get a standard DVD drive, or a burner, you want Pioneer.

For a reader, get the Pioneer 106S or similar

For a burner, the Pioneer DVR-107D is bullet proof (8x dual format) but you may want to wait a little while and consider getting a dual-layer burner (I think Pioneer just released their dual layer model, look around for it).

 

[lini]

I've asked Hartmut Gieselmann (fellow editor at c't, but specialized in optical drives) about models with very good read abilities, and he also recommended Pioneer (tray-loading instead of slot-in preferably, due to less operating noise). I hope that's really true, because their older cd-rom-drives were much less than stellar, especially concerning cd-r-compatibility...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

 

[badmonkey]

I have a slot loading version and I love it... I can see why it would be more noisy, but it's perfectly quiet when playing CDs at 1x spin speed...

 

[CingKrab]

I have the LiteOn LTD163 and it's worked well for me, a pretty speedy drive. However, it is pretty noisy, but that's why I have a door on my case

. Here's a roundup that includes the LiteOn:

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Arti...+Vol1&Series=0

 

[halcyon]

lini,

you're an editor at c't magazin? I didn't know that.

Overall, as far as magazine recommendations go, c't magazine optical drive tests are the best there are (and I've read _many_ in several languages).

However, most reliable dvd-rom drive is very difficult to answer. Please everybody read the original question, bpm2000 explicitly stated he has no money to buy a dvd burner at this time. We are talking dvd-rom drives.

I've tested several of these myself from various manufacturers.

My quick summary:

- LiteOns: very noisy
- Samsung: quiet, but some say they have reliability problems year down the road
- LG: quiet and I've had good luck with them
- BTC (and Sony rebadges like DDU1621): the quietest dvd-rom drive ever, but does not have any dvd disc error correction at all (!). Wouldn't get this to spin dvd movies
- Asus new quietrack drives: haven't tested these myself, but apparently they are relatively quiet and work ok
- Toshiba: not the noisiest, not the loudest. Considered by many to be amongst the most reliable


I'd get an Toshiba, LG or Asus myself, but considering the drives cost $30USD, one can't expect miracles in terms of reliability/longevity.

 

[sagrr]

What about Hewlett Packard's. Their price makes them seem like good drives.

 

[halcyon]

HP doesn't make their own drives, they just OEM them from others (like BTC, LiteOn, etc). They can be good or bad, depending on who they happened to OEM it from.

 

[kunwar]

Depending on what your needs are there are two solutions.
If you are watching DVD's then low noise is a definite criteria, if you want to listen to Audio CD's then just rip music to your Hard Drive,

Latly, Computer based products have a very wide zone of performance.
I personally have had problems with every single brand I have used, Pioneer, Liteon, Plextor, HP, you name it...

IMHO, it doesn't matter which one you get, there will be a chance that you will get a faulty drive.
SO find one that works well.

That said Pioneer is perect as far as low noise is concerned.
Liteon for the best after sales support on the web from fellow users.
Plextor for ripping.

 

[kunwar]

Since the last post I have taken out my collection of DVD drives which I have used in the past and forgot to dump.

this ranges from the really early 2X pioneers to the very latest and speedy Liteons and Nutech.
The test CD that I used for quality testing was made on an old CD burner so that reading criteria would be common across the board.
Needless to say the reading perormance did not vary greatly. THis might be because of the fact that the disc was freshly minted and unscratched. I am yet to find a test that can accurately provide reading results from an Audio CD.

Onto the results, well the disc was read perfectly in all my drives , no exception. Here is what I think of each manufacturer.

Pioneer - have outdone even themselves with their latest burner. It works beautifully.

Liteon - The drive with the finest support setup in place. just visit cdfreraks and check out their Liteon forum.

Plextor - the Rolls Royce of drives. well made and solid, as I read somewhere it would take a bullet for you. that said nothing separated it and the Liteons

HP - rebadged BTC which is a decent brand, reportedly unstable at high speeds, would recommend EAC to control ripping speeds for accuracy.

Nu-tech - the surprise packet, first batch had serious problems, pretty much solved now.

There you go, the new generation of drives are pretty damn good. Buy any brand with good reviews and 9/10 you will hit the jackpot.

I have the Liteon 812S currently modded to dual burnign specs of the 832S.
I am set for sometime to come.

 

[ixeo]

i use a 106s, its almost 3 years old now and its still going strong.
avoid creative drives at all costs - worst ever

 

[tortie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by halcyon My quick summary: - LG: quiet and I've had good luck with them

I have an LG DVD drive too, I've had it for a long time and still works ok.