Well the tax returns are due in any day now and im in the market for a DVD Burner. Im looking at the Lite-on Dvd SOHW - 1693S. The problem i run into is i cant find it avail for purchase anywhere. So im open to suggestions on a DL Dvd Burner that does +/- r/rw /r9. If you know of one please post a link.
Thanks in advance.

I just picked up a Plextor from Bestbuy. There is a $30 rebate, it costs $101, so the total will be $71. Plextors site has a firmware upgrade that will also increase the speed, its rated pretty high as well. Model PX-716A

I also got the Plextor PX-716-A from Bestbuy works great!!!!!!!! Only problem is several people and myself have not been able to burn a dual layer that will work on the XBOX

I have yet to burn a dual layer on my pioneer burner in my laptop. Never really had any reason to yet. Plus the disks are so expensive right now.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc....-152-040&DEPA=1

that is the one I got, 60 bucks shipped. Great burner, never a coaster.

Hope it helps,

LeP

I would have to agree with the Plextor burner. I have a Plextor (PX-712A) single layer burner, and this thing rocks. I have succesfully backed up my collection over 100 DVD's and just started to burn my Xbox games. I have had no errors or coasters as of yet...Just as I bought my burner they came out with the Dual burner so I will upgrade as soon as prices drop on the dual layer media. I can't see spending almost $6-8 dollars a disk when you can get excellent quality dvd-r's for .27-.50 each.. I just cant justify spending the extra at the moment on DL disks..Hope this helps you out.. I also prefer to use Taiyo Yuden DVD-R's for my DVD movies and XBOX games as well....I would buy the Dual Layer one though its not that much more than a single layer....

i also have that plextor model and it works beautifully, still havent got my rebate though im gonna have to call them fuckers

I concur. The Plextors aren't bad burners but they definitely are overrated (at least thier DVD drives). The NEC will do just as good of a job and costs less.

you guys got me wanting one just looking at it for that beautiful price...

you think its a safe bet that will still be a good burner (lite on) for any dual-layer xbox2 games, as i wouldnt want to buy another burner a year from now.prolly no way of knowing at this point

Yeah, im looking at the lite on particularly because of the /r9 format. I'm a big lite on supporter for various reasons, but the format is the main reason. Dvd-r9 seems to be the new standard in formatting. From new dvd's to xbox/xbox 2/ps2 games. From what i understand, its the only format that you can do a true 1:1 of most any dvd comming out in recent months. Thanx for the feedback, keep it commin.

Lite-Ons ARE NOT GOOD BURNERS!!!!!!!! They are notoriously fussy with media and consistantly have higher error rates on any given media when compared to burns on another burner (ie NEC, Pioneer). There are several people here who have traded in their Lite-Ons for other burners and have noticed a world of difference in the amount of hassle that they go through (or the lack thereof). Tutyet has both a Lite-On 1633S and a Pioneer 108. Just ask him which one he uses the most for burns. He is just one of many examples. IMHO there is absolutely no reason to pick up a Lite-On when an NEC can be had for the same price or less (take a look at Lepper's post). Lite-Ons are good secondary drives but I would never use one as my primary burner.

Cool, im not a lite-on fanboy, i have just had good success with their CD Burners and the fact that they arent fussy about the data i'm trying to burn

So my question remains the same, does anyone know of a good DL dvd burner that supports -/+ r/rw /r9?

/r9 -/+ is my objective here, not promote lite-on as the best in the biz. And as far as plextor, i tend to stay clear of any company that sits in the back pocket of Macrovision.

Yup, that is a common mistake that people make. Lite-On does make some excellent CD-RW drives but their DVD Burners leave something to be desired. Not saying that they are crap, but you certainly can do better for the money. While it is true that the NEC 3520A doesn't directly support writing to D/L DVD-R, it is supposed to be able to support it once they release a firmware upgrade. As I understand it that is how all of the current burners that claim to support D/L DVD-R are setup. The NEC does support D/L DVD+R right out of the box though, and it supports single layer -R/+R and -RW/+RW.

i got a nec-3500a and have no coasters as of yet, plus supports booktype change with a firmware upgrade

Thanx for the heads up. NEC sounds promising but i still need that /r9 support. It the "next thing". Most companies including MS are starting to use this format because of the compressions. (i cant give you any details because im to lazy to look up whitepapers right now.) Do some reading around and you'll see it in everything from press statments to current disk specs for certian titles. (Gran turismo 4 is one. Yeah i know its not xbox but gamers cannot live on bread alone) so ill keep my mouse clickin away trying to find that holy grail.

I have 3 NEC burners never a problem at all. all support booktype change DVD+R to DVD ROM with no external software needed.

It does support r9, it's just that ATM it only supports +R9. As mentioned it could support -R9 once the format becomes solidified and as I understand it, all of the current burners that claim to support -R9 will only do so with a firmware upgrade. I agree about GT4. That game is awesome but it is a real bitch to backup ATM for that very reason.

in nero there is an option to check out the specs of your drive, i have the pioneer A09 and plextor 716A and with nero spec sheet, it says they both support burning to dvdr9

Ah, but -R or +R?

I just ordered me a NEC ND-3520A because I want to back up the movies I own to the r9 format, thus preserveing the quality of the video. But, does it matter if it's +r9 or -r9? Also, this is the big question and I hope I don't get flamed for this because I checked the FAQs and it didn't say... Will any of the DVD Xbox readers read the +r9 format for movie watching(mine is a samsung by the way)?

-Dman

Never mind....found the topic for that question. Couldn't edit my last post for some reason...

As long as you can adjust the booktype, then you should be okay with D/L DVD+R. However, as mentioned above, there is a possibility that the NEC 3520A will support D/L DVD-R once a firmware upgrade is released. It's kind of hard to say how any of the drives will perform ATM since D/L DVD-R media isn't out just yet.

Changeing the Bookshelf isn't going to downgrade the video quality of the burnt DVD, right? For instance, if I wanted to do a 1:1 exact clone with no transcodeing?

I see.....

Well, ill keep my nose shoved in every fourm i can find on the subject, from CDFreaks, to GCW. If its commin ill find it

The booktype can't do anything but help you. So no worries. As long as it is a double layer disc then it will be a 1:1 copy (you will just need to run it through some decryption software first, ie DVD Decrypter).

The booktype helps with older DVD players that where made before the Whole +R/-R specs where released. I have one DVD player that wouldn't play my Backup so I replaced it long ago. Since I got my NEC 3500, I burnt a +R with the DVD-Rom Booktype and it play perfect in the old DVD Player.

It plays in the XBox fine but everything plays in my box with no problems.

both drives have the +R9 and R-9 boxes marked when using nero drive specs

whick is why i was weary to buy the A09 cause on some websites it says it supports -R9 but on the box it came in or pioneer site it doesnt say that the drive supports -R9, but i noticed the utility in nero and found both my drives support burning to -R9

Good to know. I understood that they still needed a firmware update before they would work. Now we just need some D/L DVD-R to see how compatible they are. It is just around the corner though.

all this talk about double layer media support, who's going to actually pay for double layer media?? if you really want a 1:1 copy, just go buy another copy. the small extra cost of buying an original pressed dvd is worth much more than relying on the burner/media.

besides, HD and Blu-ray are just around the corner

well im shopping as of now after all the good feedback.

On one last note,

XBox 2/next/360/(insert name here) wont be using HD or blue ray.
Current gen uses /r9
As far as blue-ray/HD as a standard, you wont see it for atleast 5+ years due to the enormous conversion costs. (think gloabally, how long did the DVD format take and thats after we skipped over laserdisc and Divx.) I run a store for a major video rental chain and i can tell you that the next format for the home video market isnt even on the table yet. It would costs our compnay alone millions to convert our stock, and sharing shelf space for DVD, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, and VHS is NOT gonna happen.

Finally, drewstylz,
i hate to call out the obvious on this one, but the DL media is far from my thoughts on price. Dvd standard was almost $15/disk when it first arrived, now its as cheap as CD-r's in most cases. Even so, this isnt about burning games you downloaded off Epron-donkey share 9000 or rented from the store, its about making a 1:1 to keep safe your originals. Im a collector and an enthusiast, not a pirate.You really need to stop looking at porn every once in a while and actually think about things before randomly commenting on them.

Side note: My personal opinion is blu ray is just a gimmick. Think UMD. Don't count too much on this being the standard in home entertainment.

I think that the Pioneer 109's latest firware revision 1.40 enabled -R DL.

You are damn right no burner beats the 3500 with current unofficial firmware.

The 109's already burns -R DL media. No need to flash the firmware unless they wanna improve the burn quality.

Uh, you obviously haven't read about all of the software compatibility issues that the 109s have been having. I would almost say that the V1.40 update is a MUST before using the burner. Fixes SOOO many problems.

Where do you change the bookshelf settings at? I just installed the NEC 3520A DVD multi burner and I can't find that setting in default driver.

Thanks,
-Dman

Ok, so i havent actually bought yet, is the pioneer my best option for +/- DL?
I have been reading on NEC and it seems to be the crowd favorite, but i havent read anything on the inclusion of -/r9, future or otherwise (aside from this fourm).

Im pretty tempted to put this purchase on hold for a while anyhow. It seems that time only causes 2 things to happen: bugs get fixed, and prices come down.

The Pioneer would be my choice now that the V1.40 firmware is out. It fixes the nasty bugs that the drive has been plagued with and it definitely supports D/L DVD-R.