BenQ DW1655 vs. Lite-On SHM-165H6S

CD, DVD and (Ultra HD) Blu-ray Writers
#1

BenQ Black (LightScribe) Model DW1655 (retail):

Lite-On Black (LightScribe) Model SHM-165H6S (retail):

I know both are outstanding drives based on user comments and reviews, but does either of them have an advantage over the other which places one slightly higher than the other? Here are my basic needs:

  1. I don’t care about lightscribe
  2. I primarily use DVD-R (TY only), DVD-RW discs (Ritek), occasionally DVD+RW for archiving, and never DVD+R for anything
  3. I burn at least 200 CD-R’s a month, using retail Memorex CD-R’s.
  4. I need to be able to burn CD+G (karaoke) discs from .bin files.

#4 is primarily the reason I’m purchasing a new drive. My current NEC ND-3500AG doesn’t support DAO/96 (disc-at-once) method, which is used to burn karaoke text data and other stuff such as CD-TEXT. Some posts on this forum mention that it does support RAW DAO, which is supposedly the same as DAO/96, but NERO has never successfully recognized this for the NEC ND-3500AG. CDRWIN doesn’t recognize my NEC’s DAO/96 either. Alcohol 120% does recognize RAW DAO, but the CD+G burns are corrupted (jumbled text).

Can anyone offically confirm if DAO/96 does appear as a selectable burn method in Nero? Currently, I’m just assuming the BenQ or Lite-On will support DAO/96 in Nero or CDRWIN.

I need to make a purchase soon. Thanks.

#2

I just ordered the SHM-165H6S but it’s not here yet. I will say that all LiteON drives I’ve ever had (about 6 of them) will do DAO96.

For Karaoke, however, isn’t Plextor what you want? It’s the only drive that is truly CD+G capable as far as I know. For many years, this has been the one feature that set Plextor apart from the rest: CD+G.

Before buying a Plextor, I’d check the feature set at the Plextor site. Plextor has made many changes to their drives since the days when they said they would only make SCSI drives (and not IDE). I would check the chosen model to be sure that CD+G is one specs for a model you might think of buying.

DAO96 is a “trick.” CD+G is the “real thing.”

#3

videojockey2002, thanks for putting Plextor on my radar. I’m going to do further research on their drives.