I'm looking at buying one of these drives for the 4x DVD+R DL burning
(and 16x DVD-R would be nice too!) although I have a few unclear
issues that someone here may be able to clarify, or maybe we'll just
have to wait for some reviews ;o)

Apparently the Pioneer uses the same NEC chipset, but there seems to
be hardware differences - like the Pioneer uses DMA66 instead of the
NEC's 33, and the NEC does proper 16x CAV instead of the Pioneer's
crappy ZCLV.

Also the Pioneer retail A08XL vs. OEM DVR-108 actually seems to be
different this time (usually it's just lack of software) as the retail
has a nicer facia and some low sound technology (actually seems to
slow the drive down, so might not be a good thing) and the OEM doesn't
even have a headphone jack (does anyone use that?)

The Pioneer PR says that it takes 7mins to do a 16x DVD+R burn, but
surely that's nearer 8x (my 4x 105 takes 14mins) not even 12x? The
ND3500a release says "1 hour movie in 4mins", which also translates to
around 8mins a DVD-R I guess? I'd have thought 16x would be about
4mins for 4.7Gb?

I'm really split here, Pioneer is usually a DVD leader, but the NEC's
have been really good since the 2500a, especially with the hacked
rpc1.org firmware.

It seems that the NEC chipset will not support BitSetting, which would
seem essential to me, but some websites are saying that that's because
the DVD+R DL BookType is automatically set to DVD-ROM by default?

I've not seen any pricing on the ND3500a yet, but the 108 seems to be
around $129, maybe if the NEC is cheaper (usually is) this will sway
me.

Then of course there's going to be other makes (but Pioneer/NEC are my
favourites) such as Asus/Benq/Sony, which may also use the same
chipset?

Maybe it'll be worth waiting for some firmware hacking and cheaper
DL/16x media to arrive before relocating the DVR-105 to the wife's PC
;o)

simoninusa2001@yahoo.co.uk (simo) wrote in
news:30260531.0408051253.3373055e@posting.google.c om:

FWIW ..

my 8xNex2510 takes 13min
My 4x106(when I had it) was a shade over 20min.


--
Lordy

"lordy" <spam_box@gmx.net> wrote in message
news:Xns953CEE292F352lordybigfootcom@130.133.1.4.. .
Why is burning speed important? Surely, reliability and error free discs are
more important? Or are you running some kind of factory?

lordy <spam_box@gmx.net> wrote:

So how does my 4x DVR-105 do 4.7Gb in 14mins?!

I know the NEC ND2500a was slower than the 8x Plextor by about a
minute, but I thought it still only took about 9mins - you sure you're
using 8x media on the 2510?

"Axel VK" <sparqs@pigpond.com> wrote in
news:4112cb61$0$16325$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au:

Well duh!

Lordy

simoninusa2001@yahoo.co.uk (simo) wrote in news:30260531.0408051908.3dc9f36
@posting.google.com:

Oops. These are probably my on the fly disc copy times (both drives are on
the same cable)

And when I had my 106 I was mistakenly using Promise PCI IDE for optical
drives.

I'll be quiet now!

Lordy

"Axel VK" <sparqs@pigpond.com> wrote:

Come off it, why would they make constantly faster drives if nobody
thought burning speed was important?

I just don't like being ripped-off for something that's supposed to be
four times the speed of my 4x drive, but in reality is only about
twice the speed.

Most important of course is the DL burning speed, 8.5Gb of data at
2.4x is going to take way too long, 4x will be bearable, I expect
around 20mins a disk?

BTW, it seems the 108 is now retailing for $119 including 6 discs....

"simo" <simoninusa2001@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:30260531.0408060830.b475f3f@posting.google.co m...
Because like someone said:

"There are lots of children out there who just have to have the
absolute cutting edge. Kind of a "mine's bigger than yours" attitude.
I'm perfectly satisfied to start a 4x DVD burn then go watch TV, eat a
sandwich or just watch the birds frolic in the yard."

Thats why the companies are able to sell new drives, not because they are
actually better drives.

I don't give a hoot if it takes 12 minutes or 30 minutes, as long as the
disc is error free and compatible!

"simo" <simoninusa2001@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:30260531.0408051908.3dc9f36@posting.google.co m...
Come on! What does it matter???????

"Axel VK" <sparqs@pigpond.com> wrote in
news:4114c785$0$16321$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au:

Everyone has different sets of requirements and their relative
usefulness. Is that so hard to believe? Of course some people also want
the latest and greatest but thats their choice.

--
Lordy

simoninusa2001@yahoo.co.uk (simo) wrote in
news:30260531.0408060830.b475f3f@posting.google.co m:

<Snip>

That's becauase you don't understand that 8x is not TWICE as fast as 4x nro
is 16x TWICE as fast as 8x, the speed increase is non linear over the
surface of the media

--
Trevor S


"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
-Albert Einstein

In article <30260531.0408060830.b475f3f@posting.google.com> ,
simoninusa2001@yahoo.co.uk (simo) wrote:

"Well, this ones burns CDs. Umm, and this one does too."
"Why should I buy that one?"
"Well, this ones burns CDs. Umm, and this one does too."

Axel VK wrote:
As part of my job I have to send Data to various sites. The size of the
data requires DVD's. Sometime I'll have to burn 1 or 2 DVD's a week,
sometimes I have to do 10+ in a day. When you have to do 10+ a day -
speed matters!!

"Trevor S" <bill@gates.com> wrote in message
news:Xns953FB39C034E3billgatescom@130.133.1.4...

True enough. A long time ago, they added nonfunctional transistors to
radios so they would sell: 108 transitors! must be better than 100
transistors.