Best DVD Burner

[Bob]

After considerable discussion on the DVD forums, a consensus of sorts
has emerged. Of the major brand DL DVD burners, there are 4 units that
people favor in this order:

NEC 3540
Pioneer DVR-109
LiteOn SOHW-1693S
LG GSA-4163B

The first criterion is that the hardware is substantially sound, which
is the case for the units mentioned above. Features such as bitsetting
are favored. After that, technical support is an important criterion,
in particular the ability to get firmware revisions easily. It would
appear that NEC is well ahead on that one.

What are your comments?


--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"The possession of arms is the distinction
between a free man and a slave."
-- Andrew Fletcher, Discourse on Government (1695)

 

[Jamie]

go with the Plextor PX-716A or the PX-716AL, these will blow away all the
others but it is a bit more expensive. Just look up reviews.

 

[Bob]

go with the Plextor PX-716A or the PX-716AL, these will blow away all the
others but it is a bit more expensive.

Why pay 2.5 times as much ($110 vs $44 NEC ND-3520) as other units of
comparable quality?

And what about tech support and especially the ease in obtaining
firmware updates?

On the other hand here's a quote from a user on the Directron site:

"As for quality and long term use, I've gone through more than a dozen
burners over the years and only Plextor has stood the test of time and
daily abuse. All other brands that I've used have seldom lasted more
than a year while the Plextor drives and burners keep on going."

Is he talking about DVD burners?

Just look up reviews.

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=11810&PageId=8

PlextorPX-716A

The Good

*16X recording speed for both DVD+R and DVD-R media
* Supports most DVD+R DL media at 4X
* Will support 6X DVD±R DL with firmware upgrade
* Supports overburning with CD-R/RW media
* Supports overburning with DVD+R media
* Good DVD-R and DVD+R DL writing quality
* High CD reading speed
* Very fast ripping DVD-Video DL movies
* Fast ripping for protected game discs, especially with Safedisk
protection
* Good CD error correction
* Can be used to measure (scan) DVD±R/RW media with a variety of
tests (PI/PIF/Jitter)
* Can read/rip protected Audio discs (CDS200, Key2Audio)
* Supports bitsetting for DVD+R and DVD+R DL formats

- The Bad

* Cannot backup copy protected games with versions newer than 2.8
of SafeDisc protection
* Doesn't support reading of DVD-RAM media
* Reading performance with 90/99min test media
* Many errors when backup CDS200 protected disc

- Like To be fixed

* Burning quality with specific DVD media
* Lower price to compete with upcoming Pioneer DVR-109, NEC
ND-3520A
* Poor DVD±RW writing quality
* Poor CD recording quality
* Bitsetting option for DVD+RW media to be added
* Low DVD error correction with several test discs
* Autostrategy/Intelligent recording

---

http://www.cdfreaks.com/article/170/10

Plextor PX-716A DVD Recorder

Positive:

* Good overall package: lots of software (although most of them
are demo versions). Comes with an extra black front bezel and 80-wire
IDE cable.
* Two year warranty with on-site collect & return service (for
Europe, the Middle-East and Africa).
* UDMA mode 4 support and 8MB buffer
* Supports high write (16x DVD±R, 4x DVD+R DL), re-write (8x
DVD+RW) and read speeds.
* Supports bitsetting for DVD+R and DVD+R DL media.
* Supports many technologies such as BURN-Proof, PoweRec, VariRec,
GigaRec, SecuRec and Q-Check.
* Supports AutoStrategy technology; drive can learn to improve
write quality.
* "Two Sheep" recorder and support for full SubChannel Data
reading.
* Overburning (99 minute CD-R media) fully supported.
* Future firmware upgrades will add 6x DVD+R DL and 6x DVD-R DL
support!

Negative:

* PoweRec too sensitive; with PoweRec enabled 16x writing is not
possible.
* Media support should be improved; the PX-716A doesn't support
'overspeeding' for a lot of media and 16x media support is poor. Also,
8x DVD+RW media is not supported yet.
* Mount Rainier not supported.
* High price

Conclusion:

Main Positive:

One of the most interesting things about the Plextor PX-716A is
definitely the AutoStrategy technology. Developed in cooperation with
Taiyo Yuden (a high quality media manufacturer) this technology can
improve the write quality of discs that are not supported by the
drive's currently installed firmware. During our review we have found
that this does indeed work but you need to write at least three discs
before the drive perfects the write strategy.

Of course, the AutoStrategy function isn't the only positive thing
about the drive. As we've come to expect from Plextor drives they are
truly feature packed. They support a lot of technologies of which some
are only found in Plextor drives. Together with Plextor's PlexTools
software you have total control over your Plextor drive and can
perform virtually any task (including burning discs, quality checks,
speed tests, digital audio extraction, etc.).

Another positive thing is that Plextor will release firmware upgrades
this year that will improved the drive's DVD+R DL recording speeds
from 4x to 6x while DVD-R DL recording will also become possible.
DVD-R DL discs will first be supported at 2x while later this year
another firmware release will upgrade this recording speed to 6x as
well. For more information on this you can read this news item.

Main Negative:

The thing we dislike about the Plextor PX-716A drive the most is its
too sensitive PoweRec technology. The PoweRec technology is part of
the drive's "Intelligent Recording" system (used together with
"AutoStrategy" and three dimensional laser control) but with this
technology enabled we failed to reach 16x write speeds with every
media we've tried. Once PoweRec is switched off, 16x writing is
possible and the PI/PO scans don't show a problem when writing at this
speed.

We also feel that the Plextor PX-716A could use some better media
support. Some discs it wrote showed problems and even though the
drive's AutoStrategy function might improve this, we don't think that
anyone wants to waste at least two more discs to learn the drive how
to write the media. Another thing that was disappointing was that the
PX-716A couldn't "overspeed" (write media at higher speeds than
certified for) a wide variety of media. Most media we tried could only
be written at their certified speeds and it was difficult to find 16x
media that the Plextor PX-716A could actually write at 16x.

Last but not least we feel that the price of the Plextor PX-716A is
too high. The lowest price for the PX-716A is US $126 while you can
buy a BenQ DW1620 for just under US $60 (checked via PriceGrabber on
January 2nd 2005). The Plextor drive is thus twice as expensive as the
BenQ.

Final Thoughts:

What can we say about the Plextor PX-716A? Well, if we had to describe
the Plextor PX-716A in one word it would be "promising". The drive has
some very interesting technologies on board and it definitely has
potential. It was just too bad that the drive showed poor all round
media support and failed to impress us with its write quality. And
then there's the price of the drive. It's twice as expensive as the
popular BenQ DW1620.

Of course, the Plextor PX-716A's performance can be improved a lot via
firmware upgrades and our tests with the beta firmware on the previous
page already showed that Plextor is working on this. Let's just hope
that Plextor releases new firmware versions soon that address our
negative points...

If you want to read more user experiences with the Plextor PX-716A be
sure to visit our Plextor Forum. Here you will also find the latest
news, general information and tests. If you want to comments on this
review you can react below or post a reply in this forum thread.
Additional test can also be requested there.

--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"The possession of arms is the distinction
between a free man and a slave."
-- Andrew Fletcher, Discourse on Government (1695)

 

[Jamie]

i have the 716A and i have never had a problem

 

[kony]

After considerable discussion on the DVD forums, a consensus of sorts
has emerged. Of the major brand DL DVD burners, there are 4 units that
people favor in this order:

NEC 3540
Pioneer DVR-109
LiteOn SOHW-1693S
LG GSA-4163B

The first criterion is that the hardware is substantially sound, which
is the case for the units mentioned above. Features such as bitsetting
are favored. After that, technical support is an important criterion,
in particular the ability to get firmware revisions easily. It would
appear that NEC is well ahead on that one.

What are your comments?

Disqualify one of them, buy an NEC 3540, then play
eenie-meenie-miny-moe to pick a 2nd burner out of the two
remaining. Some discs read better on one drive than
another, and if/when one fails, of course it will be noticed
WHILE you're trying to use it, which of course is a problem-
a problem lessened greatly if you had a 2nd drive in the
box.

 

[Bob]

Disqualify one of them, buy an NEC 3540, then play
eenie-meenie-miny-moe to pick a 2nd burner out of the two
remaining. Some discs read better on one drive than
another, and if/when one fails, of course it will be noticed
WHILE you're trying to use it, which of course is a problem-
a problem lessened greatly if you had a 2nd drive in the
box.

You used the phrase "some discs read better". Did you mean "some discs
write better"?

I am not concerned that the unit will read discs. I am concerned that
the unit will write discs that can be read by a standalone.

One comment from a customer at newegg:

"Just received four of these drives [3540] from NewEgg (on time as
usual). They're so new that no firmware update is available yet.
Subsequently, my Ritek 8X DVD+Rs burn only at 8X, whereas my "older"
ND-3520s burn them at 12X with the latest firmware. Perhaps one is on
the horizon or the ND-3540A soon."

At newegg:

NEC ND-3540A 16x Dual Layer DVD Writer for a low $51.99 shipped free.

NEC ND-3520A 16x Dual Layer DVD Writer $42.99, free shipping.

Directron has the 3520 for $44 but I have to pay 8.25% tax which puts
the cost up to $47.63. However, if there's something wrong with it,
RMA is simpler than mail order.

Decisions, decisions...


--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"The possession of arms is the distinction
between a free man and a slave."
-- Andrew Fletcher, Discourse on Government (1695)

 

[Bob]

Disqualify one of them, buy an NEC 3540, then play
eenie-meenie-miny-moe to pick a 2nd burner out of the two
remaining. Some discs read better on one drive than
another, and if/when one fails, of course it will be noticed
WHILE you're trying to use it, which of course is a problem-
a problem lessened greatly if you had a 2nd drive in the
box.

From a review:

"This burner can burn dvds at 16x, under 6 minutes. When using
modified firmware, it can also rip pressed dual layer DVDs (e.g.
hollywood produced dvds, as opposed to dvd+/-r dual layer) at 12x
which is a great improvement from the 3520, which only goes up to 7x
for this type of media. Can also burn dvd-r dl, something that the
3520 cannot do. However, the quality has not been up to par, at least
not the drive I have; others may have better experiences. I've tested
this drive using CD-Speed on TYG02, MXLRG03, MAXELL 002, FUJIFILM03.
So far, it has not provided burns as clean as the ones done on my BENQ
1620 or LG 4163 or NEC 3500. Of course, if you don't care about such
tests, then I'm happy to say that all the movies burned so far seem to
play okay in my standalone dvd player (which is some cheap generic
brand). I'll have to do further testing, but so far, seems like I've
got a pretty substandard one. But, again, there have been people who
are very happy with this drive. So read up on it before making a
decision."


--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"The possession of arms is the distinction
between a free man and a slave."
-- Andrew Fletcher, Discourse on Government (1695)

 

[Grinder]

From a review:

"This burner can burn dvds at 16x, under 6 minutes. When using
modified firmware, it can also rip pressed dual layer DVDs (e.g.
hollywood produced dvds, as opposed to dvd+/-r dual layer) at 12x
which is a great improvement from the 3520, which only goes up to 7x
for this type of media.

Can also burn dvd-r dl, something that the
3520 cannot do.

There's a firmware patch (v3.04) for the ND-3520A that enables that format.

 

[Bob]

As mentioned at the outset, I am not that much interested in DL
because the cost is prohibitive. But it's good to see a company stay
close to the bleeding edge.

There's a firmware patch (v3.04) for the ND-3520A that enables that format.

The wider support for the NEC is a strong plus in its favor. This
reminds me when I went shopping for a NAT router and settled on the
Linksys BEFSR-41, which turned out to be the most widely supported
router of all time.

Man is a herd animal, for good reason. In numbers there is strength.


--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"The possession of arms is the distinction
between a free man and a slave."
-- Andrew Fletcher, Discourse on Government (1695)

 

[kony]

You used the phrase "some discs read better". Did you mean "some discs
write better"?

No, but that too.

Once a disc becomes difficult to read, for whatever reason,
one reader may be able to read it when another can't, but
not always one drive better than the other.

I am not concerned that the unit will read discs. I am concerned that
the unit will write discs that can be read by a standalone.

What about when those discs age some, or aren't written
"perfectly"? IMO, reading and writing are of roughly equal
importance.

One comment from a customer at newegg:

"Just received four of these drives [3540] from NewEgg (on time as
usual). They're so new that no firmware update is available yet.
Subsequently, my Ritek 8X DVD+Rs burn only at 8X, whereas my "older"
ND-3520s burn them at 12X with the latest firmware. Perhaps one is on
the horizon or the ND-3540A soon."

I suppose you'd have to take into account when that review
was written, what firmware that person was using, and which
specific media too.

Also, if reading ability by standalones is most important
(as you mentioned above) you might consider NOT writing
cheap discs at the fastest possible speeds.

However, just like any other technology, there IS something
to be said for buying mature products that have had more
time for mature firmwares/bios/drivers/etc as-applicable.
Goes for burners as well as motherboards, anything subject
to firmware updates- else they'd not have released newer
firmwares at all.

At newegg:

NEC ND-3540A 16x Dual Layer DVD Writer for a low $51.99 shipped free.

NEC ND-3520A 16x Dual Layer DVD Writer $42.99, free shipping.

Directron has the 3520 for $44 but I have to pay 8.25% tax which puts
the cost up to $47.63. However, if there's something wrong with it,
RMA is simpler than mail order.

Decisions, decisions...

Personally I never buy with the idea that (something may be
wrong with it), but even so, try to avoid unknown companys
or those poorly rated on Resellerratings.com

Since you do want to support Directron, buy it there... or
don't... or just wait a while longer and the average drive
pricing will have dropped by that $4.64 difference or even
more... but then there may be another newer model and it's
the same situation as with 3520 vs 3540, with the newest
drive having fewer firmwares released at that point.

Frankly, it's not worth the time to worry about it, just buy
the drive at directron and be done.

 

[Bob]

IMO, reading and writing are of roughly equal importance.

While that may be an existentially correct statement, I wonder if it
is important in the real world. I mean, don't all the burners on my
short list do a good job of reading discs of varying condition? I have
not seen any emphasis in the reviews about this issue.

Also, if reading ability by standalones is most important
(as you mentioned above) you might consider NOT writing
cheap discs at the fastest possible speeds.

That's a separate issue from the one above regarding the ability of
the burner to read discs. Indeed, the ability for standalones to read
copies is paramount.

I like the rule someone articulated on one of the forums:

Burner 16x, media 8x, speed 4x.

I want to believe, however, that with the 3540 and top quailty 8X
blanks like Tayio Yuden (FujiFilm) and Verbatim (Mistubishi) - both
Japanese - that you could get high quality burns with 8X speed.

That's one of the implied criteria in my search for the absolute best
DVD burner ever. If you can do that reliably with slightly less than
perfect quality discs, then all the better.

However, just like any other technology, there IS something
to be said for buying mature products that have had more
time for mature firmwares/bios/drivers/etc as-applicable.
Goes for burners as well as motherboards, anything subject
to firmware updates- else they'd not have released newer
firmwares at all.




Personally I never buy with the idea that (something may be
wrong with it), but even so, try to avoid unknown companys
or those poorly rated on Resellerratings.com

Since you do want to support Directron, buy it there... or
don't... or just wait a while longer and the average drive
pricing will have dropped by that $4.64 difference or even
more... but then there may be another newer model and it's
the same situation as with 3520 vs 3540, with the newest
drive having fewer firmwares released at that point.

Frankly, it's not worth the time to worry about it, just buy
the drive at directron and be done.

--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"The possession of arms is the distinction
between a free man and a slave."
-- Andrew Fletcher, Discourse on Government (1695)

 

[kony]

While that may be an existentially correct statement, I wonder if it
is important in the real world. I mean, don't all the burners on my
short list do a good job of reading discs of varying condition? I have
not seen any emphasis in the reviews about this issue.

If that were true, then what would the significance of
"write quality" matter?

Keep in mind that even if you write a disc fine, the early
lofty claims about 50 year disc life are often untrue.
Discs degrade, get marginal scratches, or dust buildup in a
drive, etc, to the extent that it is not a laboratory
environment with a new drive, perfect media.

I hope it never matters, but past experience tells me that
sooner or later you might find a disc doesn't real well for
whatever-the-reason. Suppose a standalone player can't
read it anymore- perhaps the burner can, and another copy
can be made from it, if it weren't archived elsewhere.

That's a separate issue from the one above regarding the ability of
the burner to read discs. Indeed, the ability for standalones to read
copies is paramount.

I like the rule someone articulated on one of the forums:

Burner 16x, media 8x, speed 4x.

I want to believe, however, that with the 3540 and top quailty 8X
blanks like Tayio Yuden (FujiFilm) and Verbatim (Mistubishi) - both
Japanese - that you could get high quality burns with 8X speed.

I seem to recall that Tayio Yuden makes discs in Japan and
China, the latter not being as good. This was CDRs- DVDs
may also apply... don't know. However, I for one would like
to not be bound to having to carefully select media, rather
buying more on price-points. In the lifetime of a drive the
media costs can add up, it is uncertain if DVD will ever be
practically free-after-rebate as CDRs were. I have a few
thousand blank CDRs still from those FAR deals, but now DVD
makes them less useful.

That's one of the implied criteria in my search for the absolute best
DVD burner ever. If you can do that reliably with slightly less than
perfect quality discs, then all the better.

Best ever sounds like a hope, maybe a realization after more
time has passed. Even so, I'll gladly give up DVDs when
flash memory drops more in price, rises more in density, and
players accomodate it.

I see no reason to believe NEC won't have forwads support
for the 3540 as they did with 3520. It may not be at same
maturity per the firmware, yet, but so it is with any newer
model drive.

 

[Bob]

I seem to recall that Tayio Yuden makes discs in Japan and
China,

I do not believe that the actual location of the manufacturing plant
has any major significance in terms of quality. All makers are capable
of high quality, but many choose to cut corners for economic reasons.
The significant point is that Tayio Yuden is headquartered in Japan,
and that has been a sign of high quality in optical media.

the latter not being as good.

I would like to see the article claiming that.

This was CDRs-

I wonder if FujiFilm CDs apply. That's all I ever use and I do not
have one coaster. Not even that complete piece of shit Mitsumi CD-RW
could mess one up. Now that I am using an LG, CD burns with TY CDs are
a joy.

However, I for one would like
to not be bound to having to carefully select media, rather
buying more on price-points.

So would every one else. But the consensus obtained from posters on
the DVD forums regarding quality of copies overwhelmingly points to
the media as the single most significant cause of problems. They even
go so far as to recommend trying out several brands on your burner and
settling on the one that works best. In fact one vendor, Meritline,
sells a pack with a small number of different brands so you can test
without getting stuck with large quantities of discs that are no good.

In the lifetime of a drive the
media costs can add up, it is uncertain if DVD will ever be
practically free-after-rebate as CDRs were.

It's getting close.

Best ever sounds like a hope, maybe a realization after more
time has passed.

By "best ever" I meant the best of the lot, not absolute perfection.

Even so, I'll gladly give up DVDs when
flash memory drops more in price, rises more in density, and
players accomodate it.

Players will accomodate it when the first two come about.

It's all economy of scale. There's a critical mass in every market,
and once that is achieved, the new technology takes off. We are down
to below $100 per GB, which when you think about the cost odf HDs only
a decade ago, is quite a bargain. I would have liked to have had a 1
GB solid state disc for $75 back then.

I wonder what the break point is for flash memory - $1 per GB? That
would competitive with HDs today. But alas that's 2 orders of
magnitude from what is available now.

I see no reason to believe NEC won't have forwads support
for the 3540 as they did with 3520. It may not be at same
maturity per the firmware, yet, but so it is with any newer
model drive.

Although I have not made up my mind completely - you never do that
until you actually buy something, and even then there is the
possibility of returning it - I am settled on the NEC 3540. However, I
am likely going to wait for a few months until we get past Serial
Number One. I want to see some reviews, bug fixes, mature firmware,
etc. I am not in any hurry to get a new burner - we have one that
works. I am just doing my homework early.

On the other hand the 3520 is being sold very cheap ($44 at
Directron). I suppose I could get that one and not be buying Serial
Number One, and then in 6 months consider the 3540. As I understand it
the 3540 doesn't have all that much new on it, and whatever is new is
not going to impact my use which is to copy movies onto DVD-R.

Would you get the 3520 and be done with it, or wait 6 months for the
3540? How long will the 3520 be supported, or is that an issue now
that it has matured?


--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"The possession of arms is the distinction
between a free man and a slave."
-- Andrew Fletcher, Discourse on Government (1695)

 

[kony]

I do not believe that the actual location of the manufacturing plant
has any major significance in terms of quality. All makers are capable
of high quality, but many choose to cut corners for economic reasons.
The significant point is that Tayio Yuden is headquartered in Japan,
and that has been a sign of high quality in optical media.

At the time there was evidence that those made in China
weren't as good. People were actually looking for the
country of origin on the label for that reason.

I would like to see the article claiming that.

Sorry but [though I recall it well enough to be certain,]
it's been over a year and I'm apathetic about searching, or
rather, you have same ability to find the info as it was a
clear-cut situation about China vs Japan origin. One
reason I recalled it was I still have a spindle of the Japan
discs, but most of the spindles were generics (of those
free-after-rebate) or 3rd party rebrands.

I wonder if FujiFilm CDs apply. That's all I ever use and I do not
have one coaster. Not even that complete piece of shit Mitsumi CD-RW
could mess one up. Now that I am using an LG, CD burns with TY CDs are
a joy.

Which Mitsumi? For awhile they made some pretty good
burners, that had more features at the time too. This was
back in the ~ 4 X RW days though, when they were over $140
still when on sale.

So would every one else. But the consensus obtained from posters on
the DVD forums regarding quality of copies overwhelmingly points to
the media as the single most significant cause of problems. They even
go so far as to recommend trying out several brands on your burner and
settling on the one that works best. In fact one vendor, Meritline,
sells a pack with a small number of different brands so you can test
without getting stuck with large quantities of discs that are no good.

I agree the media often matters the most, but then again a
drive that works well with them must then be 2nd most
important. I would still suggest NEC 3520 has been among
the best in that area.

It's getting close.

Maybe- but CDRs actually took an upward turn in price for
awhile.

By "best ever" I meant the best of the lot, not absolute perfection.


Players will accomodate it when the first two come about.

Maybe a few, but they still don't universally support WMV or
Divx either, it'll be a high-end feature at first while
players are already down at incredibly low prices in some
cases. I keep wondering if we'll soon see those FAR.

It's all economy of scale. There's a critical mass in every market,
and once that is achieved, the new technology takes off. We are down
to below $100 per GB, which when you think about the cost odf HDs only
a decade ago, is quite a bargain. I would have liked to have had a 1
GB solid state disc for $75 back then.

I wonder what the break point is for flash memory - $1 per GB? That
would competitive with HDs today. But alas that's 2 orders of
magnitude from what is available now.

I'd convert several drives to flash if it were $10/GB, AND
if/when DMA access capable CF becomes standard (standard
as-in, expected to be supported on any randomly-chosen CF
card).

On the other hand the 3520 is being sold very cheap ($44 at
Directron). I suppose I could get that one and not be buying Serial
Number One, and then in 6 months consider the 3540. As I understand it
the 3540 doesn't have all that much new on it, and whatever is new is
not going to impact my use which is to copy movies onto DVD-R.

Would you get the 3520 and be done with it, or wait 6 months for the
3540? How long will the 3520 be supported, or is that an issue now
that it has matured?

I"ve no idea how long it would be supported, probably at
least another year or two of firmware but only if the need
arises- if media identification updates are needed due to
further media manufacturer changes.

I'd just get the 3540, no wait, IF you had need for it now.
Since you don't, just get it when it IS needed or
re-evaluate offerings at that time- when other newer market
entries may also be present.

 

[Bob]

Sorry but [though I recall it well enough to be certain,]
it's been over a year and I'm apathetic about searching, or
rather, you have same ability to find the info as it was a
clear-cut situation about China vs Japan origin.

It's a moot point now anyway. I thought you might have bookmarked the
article.

Which Mitsumi? For awhile they made some pretty good
burners, that had more features at the time too. This was
back in the ~ 4 X RW days though, when they were over $140
still when on sale.

It was August 1999. It was a 4x. It rattled when shaken gently and
whistled at me when the computer booted. I sent it to Mitsumi but they
would not replace it because they could not find anything wrong.
That's when I wrote them off.

I would still suggest NEC 3520 has been among the best in that area.

It would appear that is also the consensus in the thread on the DVD
forums. I am always impressed when there is an active users group.

I'd convert several drives to flash if it were $10/GB, AND
if/when DMA access capable CF becomes standard (standard
as-in, expected to be supported on any randomly-chosen CF
card).

$10/GB flash is coming. The digital camera revolution is fueling it.

I'd just get the 3540, no wait, IF you had need for it now.
Since you don't, just get it when it IS needed or
re-evaluate offerings at that time- when other newer market
entries may also be present.

I can't see another brand making the inroads into the market that NEC
appears to enjoy, especially in terms of the user support groups.

The reason I will wait is I want to let the new 3540 mature a bit.
Maybe in a few months.


--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"The ultimate result of shielding men from the
effects of folly is to fill the world with fools."
-- Herbert Spencer