[QUOTE=ozar;2459078]Thank again for the additional info. I ordered one of the iHAS324-08 models, but the drive that they sent was the -09 version, so I guess that’s pretty much the equivalent of the -08, and I won’t complain to the seller about it. 
[/QUOTE]
You can check to see whether the drive is MediaTek or NEC by doing a quality test with CDSpeed. Be sure to enable jitter under the advanced settings button. The MediaTek drive should be able to show jitter, but the NEC will not.
[QUOTE=SirZoltan;2458988]So, if you were burning irreplaceable photos to a DVD - which drive would you choose?[/QUOTE]
AD-7240S.
[QUOTE=negritude;2459101]You can check to see whether the drive is MediaTek or NEC by doing a quality test with CDSpeed. Be sure to enable jitter under the advanced settings button. The MediaTek drive should be able to show jitter, but the NEC will not.[/QUOTE]
I plan to install the drive tomorrow, along with a new AD-7240S. The problem with running CDSpeed is that I run Linux only, and don’t use WINE, so I might have to try to find a replacement for CDSpeed, or open the drive up to look at it, which I’d rather not do. There is a Linux app called CDCK, but I’m not sure how much detail it will give me regarding the drives, if any.
Thanks again for your help.
Thanks Negritude, appreciate the quick and courteous response.
I thought based on what I had read in this thread that the 7240 was the better
-burner-.
I assume the 7240 can still rip and do quality scans, just not as well as the Lite On [mediatek] drives?
Thanks,
Chad
[QUOTE=SirZoltan;2459119]I assume the 7240 can still rip and do quality scans, just not as well as the Lite On [mediatek] drives?[/QUOTE]
NEC-chipset drives are not the best readers or rippers. They work, like any drive, they just can’t do the tough jobs that other drives can.
The drive can do quality scanning, but the results aren’t easily comparable to the results people get with Lite-On or BenQ drives. Also, no jitter testing.
The drive can do quality scanning, but the results aren’t easily comparable to the results people get with Lite-On or BenQ drives.
i pretty much agree with this statement from my own little testing with disc quality scans with my Liteon 1673S drive (from the year 2005) with Kprobe (which is what i use and trust) vs the 7240S using Nero’s CDSpeed as the 7240S claims the discs are MUCH worse than the Liteon says they are. because the PIE/PIF are quite a bit worse on the 7240S scans vs the Liteon 1673S scans when i burn the Verbatim DVD-R 16x certified disc @ 20x on the 7240S drive.
so based on that i pretty don’t even bother to scan a burned DVD disc with the 7240S vs my Liteon which seems more accurate.
so at the end of the day… stick with Liteon for disc scanning 
Optiarc AD-7240S (OEM) - $27.99 Now - Free Shipping - NewEgg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030
Is there a way that I can use this drive on a IDE mother board? Any IDE to SATA converter would work?
[QUOTE=audio newbie;2461118]Is there a way that I can use this drive on a IDE mother board? Any IDE to SATA converter would work?[/QUOTE]
Which drive, the Lite-On or the Optiarc? I’m not sure that a converter would work. There are IDE versions of the Lite-Ons, and if you’re looking at the Optiarc, you could try to find the AD-7200A on eBay (the AD-7200A is a PATA/IDE drive that is closely related to the AD-7240S). There are some new boxed ones that are sold as the Sony DRU-V204A.
Hi negritude,
I’m talking about the Optiarc drive (AD-7240S). I have this one and it works so well on cheap DL disks. I was hoping that it would work with the IDE mother board. I went ahead and order one just in case the one that I’m using goes under. I will search for the AD-7200A on Ebay.
One quick last question, can the Sony DRU-V204A flash with Dee’s NEC firmware?
Thanks,
[QUOTE=gruggs;2460943]Optiarc AD-7240S (OEM) - $27.99 Now - Free Shipping - NewEgg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030[/QUOTE]
Thanks gruggs, I picked up another last night.
budzos
[QUOTE=audio newbie;2461291]
One quick last question, can the Sony DRU-V204A flash with Dee’s NEC firmware?
Thanks,[/QUOTE]
Liggy’s got bitsetting/RPC1 versions of the V204A firmware, and I’m pretty sure you can also crossflash with the NEC versions. It’s all at http://liggydee.cdfreaks.com/page/en/Optiarc-AD-7200A/.
[QUOTE=budzos;2461326]Thanks gruggs, I picked up another last night.
budzos[/QUOTE]
You’re welcome. I would buy one but I need PATA. My 7200A is dead and I miss it.
[QUOTE=gruggs;2461580]I would buy one but I need PATA. My 7200A is dead and I miss it.[/QUOTE]
As I said before, look for the Sony DRU-V204A. It’s the same drive as the Optiarc AD-7200A. I’ve seen them on eBay, brand new in the box, for $35 with free shipping.
Yeah I thought about grabbing this one myself, sealed box and user has 100% good feedback.
[QUOTE=negritude;2461937]As I said before, look for the Sony DRU-V204A. It’s the same drive as the Optiarc AD-7200A. I’ve seen them on eBay, brand new in the box, for $35 with free shipping.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=negritude;2456263]iHAS324-08 = Mediatek
iHAS324-98 = NEC[/QUOTE]
For what it’s worth, I picked up a LITE-ON iHAS124-04 (OEM) from newegg.com a few weeks ago and it appears to also use a NEC chipset. All I know for sure at this point is that when I do a quality scan of a burned test CD using Opti Drive Control v1.44 there is no information about jitter.
Also the ODC FE/TE test returns “Function not supported” (or such). 
My understanding is that this function is supposed to be supported by Mediatek drives.
Below is an excerpt from the ODC “Drive Info” report for this drive. (I think that Jan 2009 was the date of manufacturer, but I don’t want to pull the drive right now to double check.)
Vendor ATAPI
Product iHAS124 Y
Firmware version BL0W
Buffer length 2 MB
Serial number Y1199======
Extra information Jan07,2009
It’s not an exact match to a 7240S though since ImgBurn reports a slightly different set of functions enabled at burn time. (It shows something like “Smartburn On” for the Lite-On, but not for my 7240S.)
-irrational john
Yeah, if it’s a “Y” drive then it’s NEC. If it’s an “A” drive then it’s Mediatek.
Well, I guess this means you don’t know what you’ll get when buying a Lite-On anymore, or rather, you should just assume it will be NEC for now.