Hello there,

as I mentioned in my other post for SATA DVD-RW drives, LiteOn has released a SATA DVD-RW drive.   The model is SHM-165S6S-11C. 

Would it be possible for the administrators to let us know if / when CDR-Info might get a hold of this drive, in order to test it and offer us a review?

And if so, when will it be available?

Thanks in advance & take care,

Dimitris

I'm still not sold on LITE-ON's DVD burner quality... I thought that is why they bought BenQ...

Anyway, I saw a thread at cdfreaks.com about a SATA drive from LG... the GSA-H30N.  I currently have a GSA-H10N and love it...

The only negative I will say about LG, firmware updates seem to be few and far between and instead of developping an existing drive, they seem to just put out a new model.  I guess I was spoiled by BenQ's commitment to their product line... that is something I will really miss, but it makes sense why they struggled in the ODD industry.

While I am still not sold on SATA at the moment, I would like to see more ODD reviews from CDRinfo.com... Summers over guys, back to work!!!

(in reply to Dimitris32)

Hi SithTracy,

quote:

ORIGINAL: SithTracy

I'm still not sold on LITE-ON's DVD burner quality... I thought that is why they bought BenQ...

so, BenQ no longer produces drives and belongs to LiteOn now?  I was not aware of that...

quote:

Anyway, I saw a thread at cdfreaks.com about a SATA drive from LG... the GSA-H30N.  I currently have a GSA-H10N and love it...

Is that an ATA drive?

quote:

The only negative I will say about LG, firmware updates seem to be few and far between and instead of developping an existing drive, they seem to just put out a new model.  I guess I was spoiled by BenQ's commitment to their product line... that is something I will really miss, but it makes sense why they struggled in the ODD industry.

While I am still not sold on SATA at the moment, I would like to see more ODD reviews from CDRinfo.com... Summers over guys, back to work!!!

Yep, I would agree to that... he, he... :)  :)

(in reply to SithTracy)

The GSA-H10N is ATAPI/IDE, but I get excellent burns out of it.  I doubt I will see any firmware updates to it because LG just put out the GSA-H12N which does 18x burns, but I am aware that a firmware hack can make my H10N a H12N, but I probably won't do that.

LG does make a fine burner, but it lacks the ability to scan.  They also come in two flavors; a Panasonic chipset, and Renesas chipset....

But here we go, drifting off topic.  You are looking for information on SATA drives.  To date, Plextor, Samsung, LG, and now LITE-ON have them and I think I have only seen a couple of reviews on the Plextor (always see Plex's reviewed) and the Samsung (Mediatek chipset likely similar to the LITE-ON).  You may be able to use that review as a base-line.

MP3Mogul has a SATA Plextor and he just got an LG GSA-22L (Panasonic chipset) and so far has had nothing but great things to say about it.  Perhaps he can provide some commentary here.  My opinion, stick with ATAPI/IDE for now... Let ODD mature on SATA... it will.

(in reply to Dimitris32)

Something I find strange is that I cannot see this SATA drive on LiteOn's website...

Why can this be?

(in reply to SithTracy)

Perhaps it is OEM only and will not be released in the retail market.  No idea, really... just a guess.  And I think it is a sign to steer you away from SATA for a while longer.

Post your system specs and reasons for wanting SATA.  I know, probably to keep things cool with more manageable cables... or your strapped for connectivity on the IDE bus...  Me, I say bring back SCSI ODD!!!

(in reply to Dimitris32)

Hi there SithTracy,

Still no review for this drive yet???

It's very strange, I cannot find a single review anywhere on the internet...

Basically my reasons for wanting to migrate to an all SATA-pc have to do with tidiness, manageability and better air circulation...

As long, of course, this SATA drive works properly without any SATA-related bugs and incompatilities.... (someone mentioned that the drive produced coasters at exactly the same stage of recording, even though he was using different DVD brands, etc.  Eventually, though, the problem dissappeared somehow)

I wish I could get some more info before I go to buy it... :C

(in reply to SithTracy)

Hello Dimitris32... almost 2 months have past and I still have not changed my mind on SATA ODD drives... People claim the technology has matured for ODD, but I still hear about issues.  That said, no one has really had any with the mother board I use (Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe) so long as the ODD drives go on the nVidia SATA controller.

How much can you obtain this LITE-ON SATA drive for in your country?  If you buy it, is it something you can return easliy?  Not sure I recall what mother board you have... if the drive is cheap, it might be worth it... I do know LG has a SATA drive and I have come to like their burners as of late... You know me, not going to abandon the old EIDE interface just yet

(in reply to Dimitris32)

Hi there SithTracy,

My system specs are: ASROCK P4V88, P4 2.4GHZ, 512MB DDR400, 3 old IDE hard drives (Samsung 2.1GB, IBM 6.4GB, IBM 30GB) and one Lite-On 32x CD-Writer.. 

Do you think I may have compatibility problems with my motherboard?

The price at my local dealer is about £28, and I think I will be able to return it if I have problems.

LG has a SATA drive?  2 questions:  would you say they are (a) better at writing quality, and (b) better at backing up protected DVD games, etc?  These are my 2 main considerations.  I know that LiteOn has been using Mediatek chipsets, which are relatively good at backing up protected games - but how does this SATA LG drive compare on these 2 aspects?

thanks very much for always trying to help,

Dimitris

(in reply to SithTracy)

Does the mainboard have a SATA controller?  Does it support JBOD option instead of RAID?  If yes to both, sure... give the LITE-ON a whirl.  I'm not much of a gamer and do not back-up games and I have heard the same about LITE-ON's and that aspect.

(in reply to Dimitris32)

Hi there,

the motherboard has VIA 8237 Southbridge, which according to the following link supports JBOD.  But what is JBOD?

http://www.asrock.com/product/P4V88+.htm

And I'm not a gamer myself, just want to have a drive that can back up stuff.

Can you tell me a bit more about the LG SATA drive and compare it to LiteOn with regards to writing quality and ability to back up DVD movies?  Is the chipset that it uses as good as LiteOn's in these respects?

Regards,

Dimitris

(in reply to SithTracy)

Really can't give you a comparison on any SATA drive since I don't own one and actually have not read a review on either.  The only thing I can say is that LG is making damn fine burners (unless you need to do CD+G, which I could care less about).  The only drawback is they don't do quality scans (i.e. with Nero CD/DVD Speed)... but if you use good media you shouldn't need to scan (but keep an old DW series BenQ or LITE-)N around for that just in case).

quote:

But what is JBOD?

Answer:  Just a Bunch Of Disks... yeah, pretty dumb name... basically it is a way to say work like standard old-fashioned IDE/not RAID... you can use each drive like the description says... just a bunch of disks.

(in reply to Dimitris32)

Hi there,

thanks for your reply.  However, even though you don't own a SATA drive, what would say drawing from your experience of other LG models?  Are LG writers supposed to offer significantly better (a) writing quality and (b) ability to back up DVD movies (which is what I'm really interested in)?

These are my 2 main, and possibly only, concerns for buying a drive, writing quality and ability to back up DVD movies.

(in reply to SithTracy)

Well, My LG is not a good ripper, I use my BenQ DW1640 for that... Ripping with the LG is very slow, but the quality of the burns is top notch on Verbatim SL +R media.  Now MP3Mogul uses the LG GSA-H22 series drive (Panasonic chipset) and I think he has reported that ripping is good with it... I really like my GSA-H10N though.

I would have to say LG makes a better drive for your needs than LITE-ON... but I am basing that on the EIDE interface and not SATA.

Also, I do use SATA, but only for HDD.  Just not sold on using optical drives with SATA yet.  Good things come to those who wait!

(in reply to Dimitris32)

I use a Plextor 755SA drive, and it works like a charm.

As far as the LG, The H22 I have is a fantastic writer, as well as a fantastic reader, I haven't experienced any problems with it.

The Plextor is my first SATA optical drive and I kind of reserve writing with it for special projects so it will last.  The LG H22 I picked up was so cheap, I went back and bought 2 more.

(in reply to SithTracy)

Hi there,

would you say the LG is better than the LiteOn on the above 2 areas that I am interested in?  (writing quality and ability to back up DVD movies)

(in reply to MP3Mogul)