My thread ran dry on other forums and my search led me here but I reckon, looking around here, I can see some of the same ppl! lol. Wonder if I get anything from here?

Got these three drives to consider after doing my research on them. zebadee kindly informed me I could go for the dvr 215 (although he has all three, in some form anyway) and more all working for him differently so I went with his idea of the 215 being good allround.

New situation though, I original thought for some reason the the pio and nec were available localy and knew I would have to order the samsung. However I have found out the only one available locally is the NEC and I would have to have to buy online if I choose any of the other two.

Coming here I read the reviews on here and find that the the samsung and pio only have minor differences they are both equally great. But then I read the nec review and that doesn't seem to be all bad either. But this is all on testing terms. How about everyday use? What I am trying to justify, by tonight, is whether it is worth waiting for the samsung or pio or shall I just pop in to the store and buy the nec?

Pricewise the NEC is about £16 and looks like its OEM. The best deal on the Pio was £21 OEM. Both with no additional software. The samsung I can get for £18 with Nero.

I know it doesn't seem like a dilema but I just want some expert justification on whether its worth buying the NEC to save time or which of the other has the edge in terms of quality.

Thanx.

If I was to recommend a setup that included just one drive, today it would be the Samsung SH-S203B (don't use LightScribe).  I own several drives, but the Samsung would be my suggestion for a single drive PC.  I've heard good things about the NEC Optiarcs, but never purchased one.  I do have a Pioneer DVR-212, but have not been intersted in the never drive that seems to offer faster burn speeds.  I never burn faster than 16x.

(in reply to vik11)

Thanx for your reply Sith.

However, sorry to be a pain and a butt head here, but can I ask you to give me a bit of reasoning as to why the sh-s203 would have the edge over the pioneer . I am assuming its not because of the speed as you say you said you:

quote:

have not been intersted in the never drive that seems to offer faster burn speeds. I never burn faster than 16x.

quote:

ORIGINAL: SithTracy

And from the reviews it seems it is mostly hailed for its speed. I do apologise, I have tried to do my own homework but its not setting in, plus all the bad choices I keep making I want to be quite clear in this for the purchase but also from general interest.

(in reply to SithTracy)

Let me ask you... what is the most important reason for getting the burner?  To burn? to rip? to do CD-R burning?  DAE?  I'm suggesting the Samsung because it does all those things at least pretty good and in some cases very good.  My Pioneer DVR-212 is a better ripper for the rare occasion I rip a DVD move, but the Samsung is better at DAE (though I have a Plextor for that).  The Samsung can bitset DVD+R media... sometimes it is important, though not as much with todays set-top players... The Pioneer can't... well, not without a firmware hack (which voids your warranty).  I can't offer any suggestions on the Optiarc.  I hear they are decent performers and often suggested for the one drive setup.

Truth be told, I burn fewer discs these days after doing some scans of DVD+R and -R media just a year later and seeing how many more errors the disc had in storage (jewel cases in a normal home kept between 68 - 74 degrees farenheit year round.  I had been backing up my MP3's, movies, and more important digital photgraphs to them... Not so much anymore.  Got hard drives and Zenfolio and Flickr for photo backup.  It's worth the subscriptions to those services.

Now, CD-R scans seem pretty good... got some old Mitsui and RICOH media that is in some damn good shape.  Overall, I am pretty disapointed in the lack of true quality in DVD recordable media.  My stuff was pretty much kept on quality Verbatim media.... well, I thought it was... My older 8x Taiyo Yuden DVD recordable media did not fair much better.

(in reply to vik11)

Hi
OK.
As I see it the Samsung is a great drive.
Very fast & (in my experience) reliable.
If you want limited scanning functions & audio ripping.
The 203 or newer 223 will not disapoint.
However if the burn quality is important.
With backing up DVD movies & games your priority.
Then the Pioneer 215, is the standout performer.
Consider the NEC?
The latest 72** series drive are a step in the right direction.
However the Pioneer is based on the NEC chipset.
Although they lag one series of chipset behind, as NEC use them first.
But despite this the Pioneer tweaking means that they get better performance out of said chipset.
So in my opinion the 215 is better than the 72** series drives.
The 216 will be using the same chip as the 72** series.
I fully expect the Pioneer to continue in out performing the NEC.

(in reply to SithTracy)

Thanx for you reply guys.

Ok so lets get things straight, ripping as I understand from what zebadee has told me elsewhere is basically backing up cds/dvds which is something not so important to me. In fact I've never done this as I don't have much to back up. Audio ripping is a thing I do sometimes when I want to make my own mixes from the cds I have. But mostly whats important for me is burning home photos/clips/videos or other such things to vcds/dvds to watch on the tv screen.

You both certainly have different views. Can I ask at this point what bitsetting is? And when you mention scanning, am I right in assuming it means reading? just out of interest? or even direct me to somewhere with this info. If not already done perhaps there should be a sticky with a glossary or something for ppl like me.

So my options lie now with the samsung and Pioneer. As Zebadee has mentioned, the Pioneer in his opinion has the better burn quality. I assume this includes burning stuff extracted from my camera/phone etc as well as you mention backing up dvds and games only. On the other hand seth you give the samsung a thumbs up as an all rounder. I think what I'll end up doing tonight is pick one from the hat! I'll try and weigh things up in terms of my needs and take it from there.

(in reply to vik11)

Hi
I don't think that SithTracy & I are all that different in terms of which drive does what best etc.
Looking at your last post.
The Samsung is likely to be the better choice for you.
Although the Pioneer is a better DVD burner.
The Samsung is a better reader/ripper/CDR burner.
This is true for audio too.
While the quality of the DVD burns it produces are still very good.
Scanning is where you use CD/DVDSpeed to check DiscQuality after burning.
www.cdspeed2000.com
Bitsetting: - At the beginning of a DVD there is a 4 bit code.
This tells the player the media type.
DVD+ media had some compatability issues with early standalone players.
So Bitsetting was introduced.
This rewrites the 4 bits of information, the result being that the player is fooled into thinking that the media inserted is DVD-ROM.
The same as commercial pressed discs.
This compatability issue is almost never present with newr standalone players.  

(in reply to vik11)

Yep, there is a reason a lot of us have multiple drives... there is no perfect drive and some of us have many needs.  I will probably pick up a Pioneer DVR-216 when it is available stateside.  There was just no reason to move from a perfectly fine DVR-212.  You can't go wrong with a Pioneer or a Samsung.

(in reply to Zebadee)

Ok guys thanx alot for your help. I know I'm a pain in the butt to you but youv'e really given me some great info and got me some what interested in knowing that bit more about cd/dvd burners.

I'll go with the samsung as you both seem to think its a good all rounder and actualy I was still going crazy, see last year I had my mind set on the dvr 212 but never got round to getting it hence this search for a burner a year later. So I just keep throwing these things in my head about the samsung seeming to be a fave at the mo and pio having the good history along with what you've said. So before I read the last posts you made I did end up picking out from my cap one og the names of the drives and it came out with samsung and it goes with your final posts.

I suppose as I just need a good reliable genaral drive but of decent quality, as I would go mad if I had to mess around too much, which is why I wanted to be absoloutly sure.

Thanx again much apreciated.Respect to ya both.

(in reply to vik11)