New dvd burner with best write quality

[inlin3]

I need a new dvd burner. I need write quality over speed, so what is the best drive in write quality available in a reasonable price?

thx

[pepst]

[QUOTE=inlin3;2074791]I need a new dvd burner. I need write quality over speed, so what is the best drive in write quality available in a reasonable price?

thx[/QUOTE]

Hello inlin3,
I recommend an Optiarc AD-7200S or 7201/3 A/S

[inlin3]

Is it better than the Smasung SH203?, or the pionner DVR215?

[pepst]

[QUOTE=inlin3;2074854]Is it better than the Smasung SH203?, or the pionner DVR215?[/QUOTE]
Every drive has its own advantages, Samsung its a better reader and quality scanner and Pioneer is a better DL media burner, but I would definitely choose an Optiarc.

[zebadee]

Hi
Welcome on board inlin3.
If you are going to use Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden SL media.
Then the Optiarcs are very good for burning.
I have a 7203S myself.
If wishing to burn a wider range of SL media, or DL media. Then the Pioneer 215 is a much better choice.
IMHO.
I have a 215D too.
The Samsung 203 is now in affect being replaced by the 223F.
Not necessarily better, just quicker (in theory).
Speed of reading/ripping/random access are all quicker with either the Pioneer or Samsung over the Optiarc range (just my experience here).
Samsung is the best CD writer of the three.
Just happens to be the best with audio too.

[ArivaldH]

Hello,

My questions are related to this topic so I though I’ll post them here. But first some background.

I have slim type drive: HL-DT-SD DVDRAM GSA-T20N (WC05) and half-size (desktop) drive: Toshiba CD/DVDW SDR5372V (TU15).

As far as I know GSA-T20N is a fairly good SL media burner (http://club.cdfreaks.com/f91/how-good-bad-lg-gsa-t20n-227890/index2.html) however no scans for DL media is present.
SDR5372V is old drive and I hadn’t found any scans for it. Also it gives me some problems during writing at x8 even with excellent quality media (Verbatim) (these write attempts aren’t finished).
Armed with this information I’m just not certain if my DVDs will last So most important question to be answered is number 1.

Some assumptions:

1. Only quality media will be used (TDK (TDK003), Verbatim (MCC003)).
2. There can be one drive that will be the answer for more than one question.

So here my questions:

1. What is the most reliable optical drive for Quality Scans (perhaps even Advanced quality scans in Nero DiscSpeed)? I want to achieve consistent results across few quality checks during the same day (who would want a drive which gives ~20 000 PIE once and then on the same media with the same test speed gives ~30 000) that will give me some statistical data on the quality of burned media. Reliability with Transfer Speed Test is also a good plus here.

2. What is the best optical drive for burning DVD+R SL? (best quality of burned DVD)

I assume from previous post that Optiarc 7203S is the answer for this question, however I think that other people might have different opinions here and I would like to hear them all

3. What is the best optical drive for burning DVD+R DL? (best quality of burned DVD)

As in question before I can understand that Pioneer 215D is the smartest choice here. However you have also mentioned Samsung 203P or 203N, and I don’t know what you wanted to say about it.

4. What is the drive with best error correction mechanism?

This drive will serve its purpose if the media is somehow damaged, either for scanning/fixing with dvdisaster of extracting audio from problematic Audio-CD. There are many reviews about this problem, and it’s just very hard to choose

[zebadee]

Hi
Welcome on board ArivaldH.
Firstly I believe I am correct when I say that the Advanced Disc Quality is a (Genuine) BenQ thing.
Secondly of the 203 range the 203B & 203N appear better in construction albeit marginal.
As for the rest of your post (reading between the lines).
I think you already know that no one drive will meet all the criteria set down.
The Samsung/Lite-On range of drives are very good readers/rippers.
They also scan reasonably well.
For CDR’s & audio the Samsung has the edge here.
But the NEC & Pioneer are both competent in all except scanning.
As burners, if looking at quality/consistency.
In my experience the NEC(latest generation 72** series) & Pioneer are the ones to look at.
Personally the Pioneer shaves it for me.
It does good to excellent wit SL media (both +/-).
Is the front runner with DVD+R DL too.
NEC gives Pioneer a run for its money with SL, but loses a little with DL.
NEC is also slightly slower (read/rip/write) in factory form than the Pioneer in my setup at any rate.

BTW Your LG is certainly capable are very good burns across most formats.

[ArivaldH]

So for Audio-CD best would be a Samsung.
For quality scans LiteOn or Samsumg (BenQ for Advanced Quality Tests)

However I still don’t know what drive to choose for Quality Tests. I do understand that quality test results vary from drive to drive and from firmware to firmware, however I do not know how different results they can give.
Also have you seen any article that desribes differences between consumer grade PI/PO checks and industrial grade checks? Also I would be interested if there is any correlation between these results (because if there isn’t any it doesn’t make sense to make quality tests using consumer grade equipment).
Also I have seen some topics (http://club.cdfreaks.com/f33/very-bad-results-verbatim-branded-t03-scans-new-packaging-238882/) that seem to contradict that quality tests have any meaning (quality test gives > 22000 POF, and yet it is still readable) and I wouldn’t like to experience such an event myself.

[zebadee]

Hi
Personally I do not take CD/DVDSpeed Disc Quality scans as gospel.
I have had many discs that should have been unplayable, that played.
Even some that were near on perfect & didn’t play.
TRT along with Scan Disc are more consistent, if less picturesque.
In which case you can have any DVDRW of your choice.

[ArivaldH]

I will need to answer my own question:
There is some consistency between Quality Tests made with consumer grade equipment and industrial grade equipment. Results are seen in the article:
http://www.cdfreaks.com/reviews/CATS-vs_-Home-made-scans
and discussion is on the forum:
http://club.cdfreaks.com/f96/cdfreaks-presents-cats-vs-home-made-scans-137566/

Also this article shows that Lite-On are the best readers (however this article is bit old…). Also I must say that I’m going in Lite-On direction then it comes to Quality Testing (also it will give me best reading/error correction on DVD capabilities).

In the future I’ll make quality scans & TFT scans (there was a topic about it also, so both of them have meaning and give other info).

It looks like if I would like to have best of best, I would need to buy:

1. Lite-On drive for Quality Tests, reading and error correction activities.
2. Samsung drive for CD/Audio-CD error correction activities.
3. NEC/Sony/Optiarc drive for SL burning.
4. Pioneer drive for DL burning.

Also point 3 and 4 can be combined and if I’m to burn mostly SL media then Optiarc is enough.
However I’ll welcome any other thought.

[Arachne]

I’ll just throw something in here, as I’m happy with all the drives I have installed, for various reasons.

At the moment, these drives suit all my needs, including TRT testing, quality scanning, CD/Audio CD burning, and SL/DL burning:

Optiarc AD-5170S
LG E10N
Samsung SH-S203N
Samsung SH-S182D
LiteOn LH-20A1H
Pioneer DVR-115D

Obviously there are newer models around from these manufacturers

[zebadee]

Hi
Well I would suggest that the best options I can give you are:-
Samsung for reading/ripping & CDR’s (inc audio).
Lite-On would probably get you by.
Both these drives are MediaTek chipset based so performance is pretty much on a par.
The Lite-On edges it if scanning is required.
Burning & reliability makes the Samsung my favourite though.
If using only quality media like TY & Verbatim the choice between the NEC & Pioneer is almost not worth worrying about.
Unless it is a sole drive.
Then I’d still go with Pioneer.

[ArivaldH]

Arachne - That’s OK. However you hadn’t said which drive you use for what

zebadee - Then I think I will go for Pioneer for point 3 and 4, and for Lite-On when it comes to point 1 and 2. Right now I need to buy Lite-On to compare burns on my old Toshiba and new HL-DT-ST, and in future I think Pioneer is the way to go
If Lite-On will not be sufficient for CD/Audio-CD then I’ll also buy Samsung, however that’s unlikely.

[zebadee]

[quote=ArivaldH;2081773]Arachne - That’s OK. However you hadn’t said which drive you use for what

zebadee - Then I think I will go for Pioneer for point 3 and 4, and for Lite-On when it comes to point 1 and 2. Right now I need to buy Lite-On to compare burns on my old Toshiba and new HL-DT-ST, and in future I think Pioneer is the way to go
If Lite-On will not be sufficient for CD/Audio-CD then I’ll also buy Samsung, however that’s unlikely.[/quote]

Hi
I am fortunate that have many DVDRW’s installed.
So can compare & afford to use each drive for one purpose.
Lite-On LH-20A1P
BenQ DW-1655
These are used mainly for scanning, if required.

Samsung SH-S223F for reading & ripping + ocassional audio/CDR.
Pioneer DVR-215L for DL burning.
NEC AD-7203S for SL burning.
LG GSA-H62N for playback of DVD via PowerDVD (got to give it something to do).
Other drives in use include Plextors 716 & 760, reference backups & audio.

[Arachne]

[QUOTE=ArivaldH;2081773]Arachne - That’s OK. However you hadn’t said which drive you use for what
[/QUOTE]

Oooops, my bad, sorry about that

Here ya go:

Optiarc AD-5170S (TRT tests, SL and CD/audio CD burning)
LG E10N (SL/DL/CD burning)
Samsung SH-S182D (SL/CD/Audio CD burning, and ripping if the Litey chokes on a disc)
LiteOn LH-20A1H (Quality scanning, ripping)
Pioneer DVR-115D (SL/DL/CD burning)

I’ve not kept the Sammy 203N in the list as I’ve hardly used it so far

From stuff I’ve read here (huge long thread on the subject, actually), I wouldn’t use the LiteOn for CD or Audio CD burning. If you’re looking at a Pioneer as well, then I’d use that drive for that purpose

[ArivaldH]

I will probably have some problems with having multiple drives, since I’m laptop user. Right now my old Toshiba is connected using external USB enclosure. I hope that Lite-On that will be bought will work ok from similar USB enclosure…

Arachne - I will not use Lite-On for CD/Audio-CD burning, since I do not plan to burn CDs. However I have some Audio-CD that are not young, and I would need to convert them to high quality MP3 soon, or I’ll lose them…

[Arachne]

The Pioneer 115D I have is in an enclosure. Works just fine, excellent burns, even if I can only squeeze 12x max out of it

Re: The LiteOn - that’s good. It should do the job just fine for ripping the discs (I use my Litey for the same purpose).

Liteys are also pretty tolerant, you shouldn’t have a problem with one in an enclosure.

[ArivaldH]

Then I’ll buy Lite-ON DVD+/-RW DH-20A4H LightScribe and put him in enclosure I’ll see how will it work Next will be Optiarc or Pioneer, however this will happen in a month or two
Thanks for help.