LiteOn DVD Writer: What to buy

CD, DVD and (Ultra HD) Blu-ray Writers LiteOn / PLDS / Sony Writer
#1

I need some help in deciding which LiteOn DVD to buy. This will be my 1st DVD writer. Here are the ones that I am considering, in no particular order:

Model (OS Requirement)
SHM-165P6S (Pentium 4 1.3 GHz)
SHW-160P6S (Pentium 4 1.3 GHz)
SHW-1635S (Pentium 4 1.3 GHz)
SOHW-1693S (Pentium III 450 MHz)

It will be used mainly for archiving (Data DVD). The specs for the newer LiteOn’s state that you need a P4 1.3GHz, would it work on my system? I don’t need Lightscribe or DVD-RAM.

I have always used TY CDR’s and have never had a coaster. So, I was thinking of getting the TY DVD+R 8X at Rima. Is this a good choice?

Sys Specs:

PC: Dell Dimension 4100
CPU: Intel Pentium III, 1GHz (133 MHz)
MEM: 512 MB (MAX for this system)
VIDEO: RADEON 7200 Series (32 MB)
HDD0: Deskstar 60GXP (40 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100) (FAT32) (boot drive)
HDD1: SAMSUNG SP1213N (120 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133) (NTFS)
HDD2: IOMEGA ZIP 250
CD: LITE-ON LTR-52246S (52x/24x/52x CD-RW)
DVD: SAMSUNG DVD-ROM SD-616 (16x/48x DVD-ROM)
OS: Windows 2000 SP4
Soft: Nero 5.5.9.13 (included with the Lite-On CD-RW)
Browser: Firefox 1.5.0.4 (Main), Internet Explorer 6.0.2800.1106

#2

From what I can tell of your specs, you’d have to get the 1693S. You’ve only got Pentium 3.

#3

Those CPU requirements are for bundled video apps mainly. Your PC will [I]burn [/I]DVD’s just fine (with updated Nero software). Get the 165P6S - even if you’re not interested in DVD-RAM right now, you may be later (especially for data backup / archiving purposes).

#4

SHM-165P6S
and it will work on your system :slight_smile: it works on my old piii 800, and plus it has the ram option, which is very good for backing up data, and finaly TY are always great choise :).

#5

cyntig, welcome to the forum! :slight_smile:

The CPU requirements you state for different drives should be taken with a big grain of salt - they are not based on any real need for that CPU speed, except perhaps if you want to use some bundled video editing/authoring software at a reasonable speed.

All your listed DVD burners are 16x burners, and they will perform at more or less the same speed in the same system, so there’s no need to get the LiteOn 1693S just because the CPU “requirements” are lower for that drive.

All of the drives you list should work fine in your system, although they may not be able to burn at the full 16x speed from your slower 40GB harddrive, but I think there’s a good chance they will burn at 16x from your faster 120GB harddrive. Even if the DVD burner you buy should turn out not to be able to sustain 16x burning on your system, you can just burn at 12x or 8x speed instead, or just let the drive burn at whatever speed it’s capable of.

From your list of DVD burners, I would suggest you skip the 1693S which is two generations old, and get one of the “6S” drives from the newest generation, or get the 1635S that is one generation old if you cannot get one of the 6S drives.

The Taiyo Yuden 8x DVD+R media you mention is some of the best and most widely compatible ever made, so that would be an excellent choice!

#6

Get the SHM-165P6S - really a great drive IMHO.

#7

Oops, sorry for misinformation.

I just bought a 165P6S myself… have to install it yet though, so can’t offer an experienced opinion on it.

#8

Over at newegg.com they have the same price for the OEM Model SHM-165H6S as the do for the OEM SHM-165P6S, the only difference is the added support for Lightscribe isn’t it, the burning and reading performance is the same? I plan on ordering the 165H6S if that is the case since the price is the same.
Whats the version for the latest stock firmware for the LiteOn 165H6S and are there any custom firmware versions available and if so, what features do they add?

#9

Thanks everyone for the great responses. I have ordered the SHM-165P6S from Newegg.

#10

Hi,

Yepp.

the burning and reading performance is the same?
They should. Just read the reviews on CDfreaks.com about these drives.

Whats the version for the latest stock firmware for the LiteOn 165H6S
MS0P
and are there any custom firmware versions available and if so, what features do they add?
Read the threads about the “Test firmwares” and the “tools for Liteon/Sony drives”.

Michael

#11

The latest released firmware for the LiteOn 165H6S I can find is “HS0D”

the “MSOP” firmware I see in a thread but thats listed for the 165P6S model, would that work for the 165H6S as well? Its not listed for it.

#12

No, It is not for your drive, HSOD is the current “official firmware” for this drive. You can also use the test firmware available in another thread. It will activate OHT for this drive but if you use decent media HSOD will be fine.
I would suggest burning at 12X and not 16X as it will only take 30 secs longer and will improve the burn quality.
Enjoy your drive, it is currently the best Liteon has. :iagree:

#13

Thanks for the confirmation nickyboy4 - I didn’t think MSOP was right for the 165H6S model I asked about above. I don’t know why mciahel thought it was.
I wonder if LiteOn will soon release a newer firmware version specific for the 165H6S as well soon since the 165P6S is supposed to be the same without the lightscribe feature.

#14

You won’t regret it: it’s a great drive. It’s my preferred burner over my DW1650 and 4167B. And of course you get all the nice toys (cdspeed, dvdscan, kprobe etc) to play with too. :bigsmile:

#15

I think so, it should be very soon, but you can get the test version in the other thread, the only difference will be that it will enable OHT in the test smartburn utility.

#16

is it normal that my 160P6S churns out Yuden T02 discs with jitter hovering around 14%?

Those were burned with PS0A official fw and DVDscanned with PV9N_HT502 fw. PS0A settings were OS/HT = on.

Discs burned with LG 4120/4167/H20L hover around the 11% mark.