Questions about BenQ

[SeanW]

Ever since I joined this forum about a year ago, I noticed that most of the Blank Media crew have BenQ DW 16?? series drives, used for scanning.

It gives them the ability to get things like Jitter and PO Failure reporting in their Quality Scans, seems to open up a new tab "Advanced Disc Quality" for more tests in Nero CD DVD/Disc speed. It makes me slightly jealous.

Now, in my sig, there are details of 3 drives that I currently own. Of these, the Sammy coasters every DVD burn I attempt with it, and putting Verbs in the LG is a recipe for getting PI rates that are about twice what they should be, and dramatically worse than my trusty new NEC 7203A (which makes great burns )

So my question is twofold.

1) As I write this, there are a few BenQ DVD drives up for grabs on Ebay http://search.ebay.ie/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=BenQ+DVD
(I haven't seen them elsewhere in Europe recently). Would any of them (in particular the Dell SATA one) be good for advanced/enthusiast use?

2) I've read on these forums about people crossflashing drives with firmware from not only different models, but in some cases firmware for another drive manufacturer/line altogether.
Would it be possible/sane to crossflash my Sammy (it's burning days are over and I've got very little to lose if anything goes wrong) with some version of BenQ DW 16?? firmware? And where would I find the requisite firmware and flashing software?

[negritude]

[QUOTE=SeanW;2116776]

1. As I write this, there are a few BenQ DVD drives up for grabs on Ebay http://search.ebay.ie/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=BenQ+DVD
   (I haven’t seen them elsewhere in Europe recently). Would any of them (in particular the Dell SATA one) be good for advanced/enthusiast use?

2. I’ve read on these forums about people crossflashing drives with firmware from not only different models, but in some cases firmware for another drive manufacturer/line altogether.
   Would it be possible/sane to crossflash my Sammy (it’s burning days are over and I’ve got very little to lose if anything goes wrong) with some version of BenQ DW 16?? firmware? And where would I find the requisite firmware and flashing software?[/QUOTE]

1. None of the drives in the link you provided look to be actual BenQ drives with Nexperia chipsets, but even if they are, the SATA models do not count, as the BenQs that we talk about were PATA drives only. The only BenQ firmware that is available is for PATA drives, and you can’t cross-flash a SATA drive with PATA firmware.

2. You can’t flash any drive to any drive. You can only flash drives that are rebadged, meaning, it’s the same drive, just with a different label slapped on it. Samsung has nothing to do with Philips or BenQ. You can’t cross-flash one to the other.

3. Read the BenQ FAQ.

[SeanW]

Thanks for clearing that up

[SeanW]

Had another look at this today:
Read the FAQ.

I assume therefore that the best scanners (i.e. providing Jitter and PO Failure results) of the old BenQ range with the Nexperia chips (BenQ DW 1600, 1620, 1640, 1650 and 1655) some Philips drives and an assortment of rebadges.
If I read all the materials correctly, I can also assume that the DW 1670 with Panasonic chips, later models with another chip, are not like the Nexperias and won’t give me those scan details.

Is this a correct view?

[SeanW]

Sorry for being totally nooby about this; last n00b question/post I swear.

If I were to obtain (for example) a PLEXTOR PX-740A, it would behave the same as a BenQ DW 1640, because the biggest factor of a drive is the chip?
Did Plextor ever make any drives of that model with another (non Nexperia) chip?

Thanks in advance

[negritude]

[QUOTE=SeanW;2132039]If I read all the materials correctly, I can also assume that the DW 1670 with Panasonic chips, later models with another chip, are not like the Nexperias and won’t give me those scan details.

Is this a correct view?[/QUOTE]

Yes. The DW1670 can’t scan. TRT, yes. Quality scan, no.

[negritude]

[QUOTE=SeanW;2132300]Sorry for being totally nooby about this; last n00b question/post I swear.

If I were to obtain (for example) a PLEXTOR PX-740A, it would behave the same as a BenQ DW 1640, because the biggest factor of a drive is the chip?
Did Plextor ever make any drives of that model with another (non Nexperia) chip?[/QUOTE]

1. A PX-740A would behave the same as a DW1640 after you cross-flashed it into a DW1640. The biggest factor is the chip AND firmware in combination. The chip alone does not determine the drive’s capabilities.

2. Not sure I understand the question. Plextor never used Nexperia chips. That was a BenQ-only thing. Plextor drives are defined by the use of Sanyo chips. If it doesn’t have a Sanyo chip, it’s not a Plextor. Any drive that has the Plextor name but doesn’t use a Sanyo chip is just a rebadge. Nothing special about it whatsoever (just more expensive when new).

Oh wait, I think I know what you mean, but your question doesn’t make any sense. The PX-740A was always a rebadged DW1640, and nothing else. Manufacturer’s change the model numbers of their drives when they change the internal electronics. They don’t switch things around and keep the same model numbers, except in very rare instances that are self-evident. You’re thinking of companies that put OEM drives in boxes, and constantly change which model they put in the box, but that’s a different animal altogether. Has nothing to do with how the actual drives are labeled and how model numbers are assigned by manufacturers.

[SeanW]

Thanks again When it comes to some of the finer points of optical drive assembly, some details have thus far eluded me. That’s why some of my questions might have been confusing.

I had to ask about the Plextor PX 740A because I had found a retailer on E-Bay who had a stock of 10 (9 now ) and was selling and shipping them to Ireland relatively cheap, so I had to be sure what was “under the hood” so to speak.

Your posts have cleared up a lot.

[SeanW]

Yeeeehaw!

Just got my 740A a couple of days ago, and I just crossflashed it now.

Works perfect @ BenQ DW1640 @ BSLB. For a tech enthusiast it doesn’t get much better than this.

A big thank you to negritude (for answering all my n00by questions) and Quickee (for making BQFlasher, a very useful tool).