Can you confirm the Mad Dog? Does it in fact support SL bitsetting? If so, why not use that firmware as opposed to NEC or TDK?

(in reply to kogos)

Only three questions left:

1. what is sl? Is it the same as bitsetting?
2. is flashing from nec-nd-3500a to tdk 1616n only downloading the official tdk firmware and flash the 3500a, or is it more difficult? Is it recommended?
3. can I create a backup from the old nec-fw or can I simply change between the two firmwares just by flashing the drive with the original fw?

Thank you very much! For now I would buy the ND-3500a ($ 90) flash it to tdk 1616 (which is not available, but should cost about $ 179). Sounds like a good deal, right?

(in reply to NotesGooRoo)

Typical....I waited ages for this review and yesterday I go and order a Pioneer 108. Im not concerned with speed really just quality of burn. It seems the TDK and NEC look better than the pioneer interms of write quality . Its odd though as other reviews say the opposite. Im gonna be returning my Pioneer 108 anyway. I just want to confirm before I order another DVDRW that the TDK 1616 is EXACTLY the same as the NEC3500?? Please say yes as Ive got to pay a 20% restocking fee for the pioneer (RMA) and dont want to make another mistake
Thanks guys

(in reply to johanneshahn)

[Deleted by Admins]

(in reply to tododo)

All these akronyms... (fw, sl, dl and so on...)

anyways,

quote:

2. you'll need the dos-flasher and the bin file
3. yeap

2. and I get them from tdk hp (another akronym :-)), right? this doesnt mean, that it doesnt work with the windows flashertool, which is availible at tdk homepage?
3. sounds verrrryyy cool!

Thx! I think I will definitively buy the nd-3500a! with your review next week I decide whether to install the tdk fw or to keep the "old" nec fw! it's just a pitty that herrie.org is down at the moment, so that I cannot dl (akronym-alert!) the hacked fw!

(in reply to Deleted User)

quote:

ORIGINAL: eleajar
1. i need to change SL bitsetting whenever i want. Can i do this with official firmware and dvdinfopro?

You need to use MadDog firmware or wait for a newer TDK firmware that may support it...

quote:


2. why use kprobe scans? they are totally messed up. kprobe is still under development and most of the time, the scans cannot represent media quality

Yes we know, this has been changed at upcoming reviews...

quote:


3. can tdk firmware be applied to nec3500 drive?

Of course, your drive would be named then TDK 1616n...

(in reply to eleajar)

[Deleted by Admins]

(in reply to johanneshahn)

the differences between the 1616n and the 3500 you state are only due to the firmware correct.?
and if it were posssible to flash 3500 with tdk firmware you should get the same results as you would with a 1616n drive, correct.

(in reply to Deleted User)

S33k3r i believe so..same hardware, different firmware

(in reply to S33K3R)

@ eleajar/emperor:

The review is really great, but studying the kprobe- and plextool-scans, it is obvious, that they say nothing about the quality in general, only how good the dvd can be read by the 2 drives (LiteOn/Plextor).

The best performing DVD´s in a Plextor-drive are at the same time the worst for liteon ! . Very confusing and nothing to rely on...

(in reply to emperor)

[Deleted by Admins]

(in reply to kubus)

quote:

ORIGINAL: kubus

@ eleajar/emperor:

The review is really great, but studying the kprobe- and plextool-scans, it is obvious, that they say nothing about the quality in general, only how good the dvd can be read by the 2 drives (LiteOn/Plextor).

The best performing DVD´s in a Plextor-drive are at the same time the worst for liteon ! . Very confusing and nothing to rely on...

you are absolutely right... KProbe scans are missleading... With Plextools, you can perform two scans with the same media/drive, and you will get the same results... With KProbe, if you use the same media and the same drive, and run the scan twice, you will see different results... This makes KProbe totally worthless.

(in reply to kubus)

quote:

ORIGINAL: kubus
The review is really great, but studying the kprobe- and plextool-scans, it is obvious, that they say nothing about the quality in general, only how good the dvd can be read by the 2 drives (LiteOn/Plextor).

Kubus you are some correct at this point, this is the best approach we could find from our reasearch, testing with PRO equipement is out of the limits for us, due to high costs

(in reply to kubus)

and maddog? is this a manufacturer of dvd-drives? (or at least a "remanufacturer" who buys nec-oem-drives and puts its own label and fw on it?)

(in reply to emperor)

They are just buying drives from NEC

(in reply to johanneshahn)

and why are "they", let's say "allowed" to make "better" firmwares as nec original?

(in reply to emperor)