I believe this is a rebagged LiteOn SOWH-1633. It currently has BSG2 firmware. I have noticed that @ 8x DVD burns, my movies end up choppy/freezing. I’m hoping a firmware upgrade can help fix this.
you can take all 1633s and 1653s firmwares. try which one works best for you. i recommend you to run CS09 trough omnipatcher and then flash your drive.
The flashing went well 
I’m burning a DVD right now and I’ll see if it plays without skips.
Thanks for the help !!
Edit: Will I be able to burn @ 16x, with 16x media ? I only have 8x media at this point.
16x burning, even with CS09, is still not the best but you can get some good 12x results with the right media. 
Good to know. Can you recommend some 12x media?
Verbatim 16x MCC004 and Ricoh gold disc RICOHJPNR02@R03. Both burn very well at 12x.
Thanks