Is there I DVD burner priced around $20 that is better than Lite-On?

Newbie Forum
#1

I never sure where to post, so if this is in the wrong section please move it.

Is there I DVD burner priced around $20 that is better than Lite-On?

In the past two years I’ve burned through (pardon the pun) six (6) Lite-On iHAS… model DVDR burners that I’ve purchased from Newegg. The last two were returned within 30 days for replacement. So I’m now using #7 and #8.

I’m thinking that maybe I should switch brands. Or is it just that $20 DVDR burners are not expected to perform any better?

I thought the first four just wore out (about 500 burns/per) but what do I know.

Of the last two, one didn’t work from the get go and the other started doing unrecoverable writes within thirty days of installation. Actually with 38 days, but good ole’ Newegg granted an exception to their 30 day refund policy and is giving me a free replacement.

Any suggestions?

PS Lite-On won’t even consider a warranted replacement unless you can run Nero diagnostics. I use ImgBurn. I’ll not comment on Nero.

#2

I never had much luck with Lite-on drives either, but I gave up on them many years ago, back when dvd writers were brand new.

Most of the answers you’ll get with a question like this will be anecdotal, with everyone relating their own personal experiences. Get a few thousand of those compiled and you might start to see some trends develop.

The price of dvd drives has dropped to the throw-away level. So, the build quality has also suffered. But that holds true across brands.

The only things we can point out for you are the quality of the burns from the newer drives and their ability to burn various types and grades of media. Longevity is not something we can test with any degree of certainty.

My advice? Try a Samsung 24x (if you can find one) or Optiarc 24x drive this time.

#3

Thanks for your advice.

Newegg has a bunch of both brands except the Samsung are shown as 22X, not 24X. Is that significant?

I set my burn rate at 8X, based on a suggestion I read on this forum, even though the Lite-On drives are rated at 24X .

#4

I’ve noticed that the 24x Samsung’s are getting harder to find. They were significantly better than the 22x versions, though the 22x Samsung drives got better as newer firmware was released.

For mediocre level media 8x is usually a safe bet. If you are burning higher quality stuff, like real Verbatim 16x, or Taiyo Yuden, you can burn at 8x or 12x and get very similar results.

#5

All of the SATA drives on newegg for less than $25.00 with 10% off through tomorrow 11/03/2010

Here is a couple that might be just what you are looking for

Sony Optiarc Black 24X AD-7260S-0B $19.99 -10%=$18.00 with free shipping

LG Black 24X GH24LS50 $20.99 -10%=$18.90 + $2.99 shipping

#6

I’m almost always burning TDK 16X and I get about 1% “coasters” Now how long the DVDR will be playable is another question, but I think most will outlive me. :slight_smile: I’m 73.

Thanks for your quick reply.

Happy Thanksgiving

My book offer is still open. :wink:

#7

[QUOTE=secretcodebreaker;2554371]Newegg has a bunch of both brands except the Samsung are shown as 22X, not 24X. Is that significant?[/QUOTE]Yes. The 24x series seems to be much better.

Michael

#8

Thanks getit29 and mciahel.

Appreciate your replies.