Ehh... should I regret bying a Plextor PX-708A?

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

Well, after reading all of the incredible enthusuastic reviews on the net about the Plextor PX-708A, saying how incredibly fast it was, how error-proof, blahdey blah I then find this forum and decide to have a look-see how people are faring with theirs. Lo and behold I see a mass of people claiming defective drives, scratched media, slow burn speeds etc etc, and not only that but that it’s a common thing among Plextor PX-708A drives!

After paying £113 for mine which has yet to arrive, i’m seriously considering getting a refund and buying another drive in the hope of avoiding these troubles.

Now, i’ve been into computers for a long time and know there’s a chance that ANY part or manufacturer can produce defective parts, and I know support forums are usually only populated by people with problems, not praise, but what i’ve been rading here has seruiously put me off.

Should I get refund and get a cheaper 8x drive? If so, which one should I get, and which one is known for good write speeds and importantly no problems?

Thanks in advance, and sorry for the rather long post. :wink:

Rich.

#2

yes! return it! i’ve been playing with computers for around 13 years now, and this is single handedly the worst piece of hardware i’ve ever bought (aside from one crappy ass via motherboard)! return it and get a pioneer 107 or a nec 2500. i’m going to ebay mine, and probably getting a pioneer, as i need excellent cd-r performance as well.

#3

Should of bought a NEC 2500 Dude!!, well i got both and the plex is just a ripper for me, i use mostly Ricoh dvd+R and they will not playback correctly say last 25% just freeze and sputter along, was hoping 1.06 would of fixed this but it was worthless, didnt really fix anything, i guess i cant expect to much as this media isnt really rated for 8x just 4x certified, my nec burns it at 6x fine.

#4

A lot of the problems people here report can be traced back to media. People often buy cheap media and expect the drive to be able to write the discs without problems. This is not the case with the Plextor DVD recorder. It requires quality media in order for it to make a quality back-up. There have, of course, also been problems with hardware malfunction but this happens with every brand. I’m personally using a Plextor PX-708A, first revision, and it has never let me down so far. I tend to use quality DVD media such as Taiyo Yuden, Ricoh, Ritek and Samsung. I don’t think you should return your drive. It’s best to try it and see if it fits your needs. If not then you can always return it.

#5

I also have a first rev 708-A. I am not having any of the problems described by other users.
Burning DVD’s at 8x and watching in various stand alone players hasn’t been a problem. I’ve burned 100+ VCD/SVCDs since I got the drive and haven’t had any problems there either. The only thing I haven’t tried is Xbox or PS back ups.

I think you should try it out, if it is a “defective” one send it back.

#6

I have tried Xbox back-ups and, for the record, they work just fine :wink:

#7

The most you’ll hear about hardware in general is complaining users even though it may be a great piece of hardware. I have one myself and it works fine, no issues at all. I would although consider buying a PX-712, not for the sake of speed but for the features.
//Danne

#8

Yeah, I am thinking of getting the 12 too. I remember reading somewhere that the 708-A was having trouble with Xbox back ups at 8x… Can you burn a working X-BOX back up at 8x Gamefreak?

Also, I noticed it says True Blue Aussie under my name. What is that all about?

#9

I generally burn my Xbox back-ups at 4x because I often use DVD-R media. My Xbox console is quite picky when it comes to playing DVD-R and DVD+R media as it has a Philips DVD-ROM drive installed. I have tried some Ritek 8x DVD+R (certified) DVD-Video discs burned at 8x and they worked just fine.

Originally posted by ntloser
Also, I noticed it says True Blue Aussie under my name. What is that all about?
Aaah the aussie assimilation!

#10

i own a first rev px-708a,i guess i was the first to get the drive here…it never let me down so far,i burnt alot of DVD’s but most of them were at 4X and a little at 8X.
i guess that i’m also going to buy the px-712a as soon as its out. most speed problems with users are DMA related problems and if its a deffective unit then you can always replace it and it can happen with any manufacturer.

#11

RETURN IT!

Look at this way. There are a lot of good posts about it and a lot of bad posts. Do you want to take a chance?

Get the 712 instead.

#12

Hmm some interesting replies here, and more negative than positive regarding the drive it seems. IF I were to send it back and get a replacement, what 8x Multi-format drive would you reccommend as being basically bullet-proof, reliable, at good writing speeds with most media?

#13

:iagree:

Richdog,

I decided to purchase mine locally. That way I could bring it right back if there were problems. I am not sure I would have purchased it if mail order was the only option.

#14

the claims that you have to use “good” media is horseshit, for i only used TY, ritek, and ricoh. and i don’t like to burn faster than 2x anyway. the drive was terrible. i wasted probably $100 in media.

if dvd media were cheaper, i would say get it & try it for yourself, but it’s too expensive to do the wait & see approach.

get the pioneer 107. it goes for about $120 in the US and has garnered excellent reviews across the board.

#15

Should you regret?.. i did…biggest waste of $200

#16

Richdog - The number of negative posts I’ve seen here, compared to the hundreds of thousands of units (maybe more) that they must have sold is pretty miniscule. In general, forum posts will be negative (not just this forum), because more people come to a forum to complain or to find help than they do to say “things are great”.

Also, you can pick any drive on the market, and you’ll find someone somewhere who’s had or is having some kind of problem with it - nothing is universally compatible and error free. If one person posts a problem in a forum, you can bet others will hit it too, so problem posts will tend to accumulate.

I don’t doubt that the folks who posted problems here really have them. That said, I love my PX-708A (it’s from when they first came out). When I got it, I kept my Sony DRU500A in the system too, until I was sure I was going to like the Plextor. Last month, I took out the Sony and put it in my son’s system.

I post a lot in the Roxio forums, and I see a lot of posts there from people with the 708A. Some have trouble - a lot of others have none at all. Quite a few of the folks I have electronic contact with have this drive - the ones I know all like it.

Should you return it? That’s up to you. Personally, based on what I’ve seen here and in other forums, I wouldn’t return it without trying it.

#17

Richdog,

I currently own a first revision Px-708A and have not had any problems burning DVDs or CD-Rs. I only use the PX-708A to burn my audio CD mixes, my TDK 52X Velo CD is my utility burner for data CDs and VCDs. My PX-708A in used for burning DVDs and audio CD mixes with Plextools as I mentioned above. I only use approved media with my PX-708A. I use TMPGENC DVD Source Creator, TMPGENC DVD Author and Adobe Encore to create DVDs.

I would suggest keeping the PX-708A unless it has defects.

Multimedia Workstation Specifications.

Soyo P4I865PE Dragon Plus 2 mobo,1024 MB of Crucial PC3200 DDR Ram in Dual Channel mode,TDK 52X Velo CD Burner,Plextor PX-708A,Iomega Zip 100 USB,Asus NVIDIA GeForce 5600 Fx 128 MB of Ram running dual display flat screen 19" Samsung monitors., Hercules Game Theater XP 7.1 sound Card, Real Magic Hollywood Plus DVD Decoder Card, Intel P4 2.8C,Cooler Master Jet 4 Cooler, Cooler Master Aerogate II LCD fan bus controller, Nexus N205 4 channel fan bus controller and finally a Promar V770 Aluminum case.

#18

G@M3FR3@K wrote:

A lot of the problems people here report can be traced back to media. People often buy cheap media and expect the drive to be able to write the discs without problems. This is not the case with the Plextor DVD recorder. It requires quality media in order for it to make a quality back-up. There have, of course, also been problems with hardware malfunction but this happens with every brand. I’m personally using a Plextor PX-708A, first revision, and it has never let me down so far. I tend to use quality DVD media such as Taiyo Yuden, Ricoh, Ritek and Samsung. I don’t think you should return your drive. It’s best to try it and see if it fits your needs. If not then you can always return it.

I agree with G@M3FR3@K. Every brand of dvd burners have their pros and cons. Take a look at Pioneer, Liteon and Nec forums they have their share of problems too. I have a 708A and have had no problems with the drive. I use IMATION (RICOH)4X DVD+R, TDK 2X DVD-R & MAXELL DVD-R 4X. All of those are the recommended media that Plextor supports. I also use RITEK 4X DVD-R that is on Plextor’s compatibility chart. Not all compatible brands that are listed on their site will work with the drive. For example MEMOREX DVD+R some of them are manufactured by CMC which didn’t work with my Plextor drive. I use Nero version 5.5.10.42, DVD SHRINK, DVD DECRYPTER & TMPGE DVD AUTHOR.:slight_smile:

#19

Originally posted by wmcdowel
Richdog - The number of negative posts I’ve seen here, compared to the hundreds of thousands of units (maybe more) that they must have sold is pretty miniscule. In general, forum posts will be negative (not just this forum), because more people come to a forum to complain or to find help than they do to say “things are great”.
Well said!

#20

Well, I got the Plextor today and decided to keep it, if I dont end up liking it ill just sell it on Egay and make barely a loss. On the sticker on the top of the drive it says MARCH 2004 so it’s a very recent one, and it’s a TLC 0206, whatever difference that makes.

Anyway, i’ll keep you posted on it’s performance when I get some DVD’s to burn. It arrived with firmware 1.06 and no probs so far, written some files to CD-RW. I’ve seen there’s a region-free firmware based on 1.06, so how do I update it. Do I have to do it through DOS… or does it have a Windows-based version like my MSI DVD-ROM?

Thanks for all of your replies, been most helpful. :slight_smile:

EDIT - Also, aside from the “official” list of reccommended media to use, does anyone know or have a link to information on what cheaper 4x DVD+R’s work fine with the drive and write at 8x?