External Burner

[MMM]

I'm finally going upgrade to a new burner and am so excited. I love buying new electronics!!!

I've been reading many of the posts and didn't want to steal anyone's thread, so I thought I'd make a new one.

I was wondering if someone could help me decide which DVD burner to get. It'll just be for making my DVD backups. I want a really good quality one, but economical as I don't have too much money to spend. I need an external DVD writer to use instead of my Vaio laptop's one, which has a Sony DVD RW DW-Q58A DVD drive(rebadged Lite-On) so it will be connected through a 2.0 USB port. My computer has no firewire port.

Can anyone advise me on what specific brand and model I should get! I wanted to try a Plextor, but it is just a bit too expensive(~$100) for me at the moment. My budget is less than $70. I was considering a Lite-On or BenQ but don't know what model to purchase. I've been using VERb and TY media for a while, but I can't get the burn quality to test as well as others have posted around here. I'm thinking a better burner will help. Oh, and I'll be using AnyDVD, DVDShrink, and Nero7 for my backups along with the burner. And TY and Verb DVD-R media.

Thanks!!!

[G-Omaha]

I'm finally going upgrade to a new burner and am so excited. I love buying new electronics!!!

I've been reading many of the posts and didn't want to steal anyone's thread, so I thought I'd make a new one.

I was wondering if someone could tell me which DVD burner to get. It'll just be for making my DVD backups. I want a really good quality one, but economical as I don't have too much money to spend. I need an external DVD writer to use instead of my Vaio laptop's one, which has a Sony DVD RW DW-Q58A DVD drive(rebadged Lite-On) so it will be connected through a 2.0 USB port.

Can anyone advise me on what specific brand and model I should get! I wanted to try a Plextor, but it is just a bit too expensive(~$100). My budget is less than $70.

I was thinking about a Lite-On or BenQ but don't know what model to purchase.

Oh, and I'll be using AnyDVD, DVDShrink, and Nero7 for my backups along with the burner. And TY and Verb DVD-R media.

Thanks!!!


Take a look here: http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?SubCategory=420&name=External-CD-DVD-Drives

I would recommend that you review the Reviews for the $69,99 drives and then either look for some others or order one. The LG's, in my experience can be either very good or very bad. The Liteon's appear to be OK, and I don't have personal experience with the other brands listed.

Happy shopping.....and......... Google is your friend..

[customshopkv1]

I had a LG GSA-E30L and it would take 7 minutes longer to burn the same movie as my Samsung SH-S184M (both externals). Just a little info for you.

[oldjoe]

The best internals on Newegg for $70 are the Lite-On..LG (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCompare.asp?Category=10&N=2000100420+4026&Submit=ENE&Nty=1&SubCategory=420&CompareItemList=N82E16827106056%2CN82E16827136098)
Both are $69.99 w/free shipping.
My personal preference for external burners....buy and internal DVDRW and an external housing for it. Good internal DVDRW's go for about $30 to $35 OEM.
External enclosures run about the same. You can always use the burner as an internal in the future and the enclosure will also accept hard drives.

[Cromagnum]

Right now I would stay away from
Lite-on drives.
I just bought a Lite-On 16W1P dvdrw drive and it isn't compatable with AnyDVD. I checked the Forums and other people are having problems with Lite-On and Lite-On rebadges with AnyDVD

[customshopkv1]

I thought I read somewhere that asus drives are rebadged benq drives. But I think Lite-on bought benq, so there my be problems in the future.

[MMM]

The best internals on Newegg for $70 are the Lite-On..LG (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCompare.asp?Category=10&N=2000100420+4026&Submit=ENE&Nty=1&SubCategory=420&CompareItemList=N82E16827106056%2CN82E16827136098)
Both are $69.99 w/free shipping.
My personal preference for external burners....buy and internal DVDRW and an external housing for it. Good internal DVDRW's go for about $30 to $35 OEM.
External enclosures run about the same. You can always use the burner as an internal in the future and the enclosure will also accept hard drives.

Never knew you could do that. Cool! I'll be considering that. And that LG has a lot of good reviews and is looking good.

Anybody happen to have it (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCompare.asp?Category=10&N=2000100420+4026&Submit=ENE&Nty=1&SubCategory=420&CompareItemList=N82E16827106056%2CN82E16827136098) ?

[oldjoe]

I thought I read somewhere that asus drives are rebadged benq drives. But I think Lite-on bought benq, so there my be problems in the future.

I am not aware of Lite-On purchasing BenQ but I do know that Lite-On makes drives for them as well as several other majoe brand name companies. Plextor even sold some rebadged Lite-Ons a couple of years ago. I only saw those in the Box stores (Best-Buy..Circuit City etc.)

[customshopkv1]

I was considering an Asus DRW-1608P2S-D or a Plextor PX-755uf, but not if either one is really a Lite-On

[oldjoe]

I was considering an Asus DRW-1608P2S-D or a Plextor PX-755uf, but not if either one is really a Lite-On

Plextor does not, that I am aware of, sell any other units with their name on them anymore. There has been talk of Plextor quitting the manufacturing of optical units.

[trussme]

I'm finally going upgrade to a new burner and am so excited. I love buying new electronics!!!



I was wondering if someone could help me decide which DVD burner to get. It'll just be for making my DVD backups. I want a really good quality one, but economical as I don't have too much money to spend. I need an external DVD writer to use instead of my Vaio laptop's one, which has a Sony DVD RW DW-Q58A DVD drive(rebadged Lite-On) so it will be connected through a 2.0 USB port. My computer has no firewire port.

Can anyone advise me on what specific brand and model I should get! I wanted to try a Plextor, but it is just a bit too expensive(~$100) for me at the moment. My budget is less than $70. I was considering a Lite-On or BenQ but don't know what model to purchase. I've been using VERb and TY media for a while, but I can't get the burn quality to test as well as others have posted around here. I'm thinking a better burner will help. Oh, and I'll be using AnyDVD, DVDShrink, and Nero7 for my backups along with the burner. And TY and Verb DVD-R media.

Thanks!!!

Try this one ...it's a very good one & you can put it in a BYTECC USB 2.0 enclosure for about $34 more (also available at meritline)....we've used this one with great success..you can see full specs at this site:
www.meritline.com


Pioneer DVR-112D 18X DVD 10X DL DVD Drive, Black


Meritline Promotional Price
$32.99

[oldjoe]

trussme ............your link just goes to the meritline page. The ByTecc enclosures are a bit flimsy but they are pretty decent if you don't handle them a lot. I looked for the Bytecc's on Newegg but they are out of stock.

[MarkRacer]

I would go with a Lite-On unit. Newegg has a standard return policy of 30 days. Worst case scenario would be paying shipping costs to return unit. I've purchased numerous Lite-On drives (over the years) with a 100% pass rate.

:bowdown: :bowdown: WE'RE NOT WORTHY:bowdown: :bowdown:
SLYSOFT USER FOR LIFE!!!

[oldjoe]

I would go with a Lite-On unit. Newegg has a standard return policy of 30 days. Worst case scenario would be paying shipping costs to return unit. I've purchased numerous Lite-On drives (over the years) with a 100% pass rate.

:bowdown: :bowdown: WE'RE NOT WORTHY:bowdown: :bowdown:
SLYSOFT USER FOR LIFE!!!

I have never had any issues with Lite-On optical drives either. I have installed a lot of them for customers and I've owned about 1/2 dozen myself. However, there have been a lot of problems noted with the newer drives. I couldn't put the blame on Lite-On without seeing the problems first hand.

[trussme]

trussme ............your link just goes to the meritline page. The ByTecc enclosures are a bit flimsy but they are pretty decent if you don't handle them a lot. I looked for the Bytecc's on Newegg but they are out of stock.

I figured I didn't have to tell him to "click on the DVD Burner page tab", to see this. I use Newegg also...BTW, Meritline has a complete externally enclosed Pioneer unit for $54.xx (under the External enclosed DVD burner listings) that will also fit his budget & do a great job........

[G-Omaha]

If you purchase a 16x and faster burner, you might find that the typical external enclosure just might not have a big enough power supply in it to power the burner (Especially the 20x Liteons). Found that out myself about a month ago and experienced "marginal" and unexplained failures of the burner. If the burner does not get enough "jucice" it eventually "craps out". Not the burner's fault; however, may would blame the burner for being faulty...

[oldjoe]

If you purchase a 16x and faster burner, you might find that the typical external enclosure just might not have a big enough power supply in it to power the burner (Especially the 20x Liteons). Found that out myself about a month ago and experienced "marginal" and unexplained failures of the burner. If the burner does not get enough "jucice" it eventually "craps out". Not the burner's fault; however, may would blame the burner for being faulty...

The external enclosures that I have are not equipped with a power supply. They plug into a 115V household outlet and receive power through a a voltage inverter. If yours is the same, perhaps the voltage is unstable.

[customshopkv1]

I have heard a lot of people say that external cases don't have the power ability for todays internal drives. I imagine buying a top of the line enclosure would cure the problem.

[resnick]

I've had good luck with my LG external burner. If I recall, it cost under $100
at Sam's club. Additionally, quality media makes a Huge difference. Good luck and have fun!

[G-Omaha]

I've had good luck with my LG external burner. If I recall, it cost under $100
at Sam's club. Additionally, quality media makes a Huge difference. Good luck and have fun!

If the unit is already a totally contained External Unit or it has a "Power Brick", you should be OK. It's the ones that have an AC connection and the Power Supply is internal that I am talking about.

[customshopkv1]

Try this one. The price is about the same as an internal drive and a good enclosure. I have this drive and it is great IMO. It's on sale this week.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8220098&productCategoryId=pcmcat107700050010&type=product&cmp=++&id=1166236338165

[MMM]

It may be a couple more weeks before I decide. I'm definately considering the two LGs available from Best Buy and NewEgg.com. Thanks for the info about the new Lite-Ons. That's too bad, because it would have made my decision a lot easier. They were/are much less expensive and I guess they used to be quality burners. I'm sure they are not that bad now, but I hope to get a burner that everyone on this forum can agree on. Thanks. So, a couple more weeks or so I can get more info and hopefully I can decide.

[fotoguy]

What a FABULOUS drive this is!!!!
Plugged it into my USB 2 port....self installed.....burned my first DVD w/it 2 minutes later!
Copied Casino Royal ........total R/W time was 27 minutes....unbelievable drive (and software of course).

[cheesie]

I like the Benq's all the scans I've seen have been pretty good
they are getting harder to find though ebay has externals dw1655's at this time for 62.99 plus shipping or ezgoodz.com for 99.99 free shipping it just depends on how bad you want a benq