[ddr]

I used to swear by pioneer, well I still like them a lot but from what i've read they used crappy mediatek chipsets since series 1/218 and on and I can't find the 217's or before (i'm using a 212D and still works like a charm)

I've used samsung's and LG's and I don't like them. The ones I've tried are loud and they seem to have a harder time reading older burned discs than the pioneers I've owned. Not to mention the ones that won't read discs anymore, stick their trays out randomly, retract the tray right after ejecting, all in just about half a year.

Any experiences or recommendations? I don't really care for burning speed as I only burn at 4x for DVD and CD, and 2.4x for DVD DL

thnx

[!MiKrofT]

All burners nowadays are kinda loud now.. considering the speed they spin discs at. They're so cheap now that it doesn't matter if it dies you can just buy another. I haven't had any problems with my LG drives.

[Jmac]

I only buy Lite-On ... Broad feature set (how so many burners still don't have bitsetting functionality, I just don't understand), always been reliable for me ... Very few problems in the computers I've built using them ...

Always seem to have issues w/ LG, personally.

[!MiKrofT]

LiteOn's are ok. But the build quality feels really cheap to me. Unless that's changed.

[ddr]

I'm sure if you get a good drive it'll last... but there are so many flimsy cheap drives out there!

I hate opening my case and replacing it. Every time something wonky happens i.e. tray retracts right after opening I feel insecure about the burns I've made with this particular stupid burner

the reviews and responses I'm getting are so varied and biased...
"i've never had a problem with XXX"
"my XXX crapped out in a month"

[twitchyzero]

ive owned a few burners and they all kinda crap out after a few years
my current lite-on can't burn DL anymore

[roastpuff]

I'm still on my Pioneer 212D and I love it. The Samsung Writemaster in my brother's PC has died after 2 years of reading SC and WC3 CD's, hehe.

I recently used the 212D to burn a set of 30 DVD's with no coasters/issues, all in a row.

This (http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=45244&vpn=IHAS124-04&manufacture=Liteon&promoid=1192) is on sale, I might get it to replace the Samsung.

[ddr]

good catch, maybe i'll do the same and jump on my samsung
I'll save the 212D for burning DL stuff

[way2quik]

Most optical these days perform the same.
It can burn when functional, but will have problems reading blank discs or playing DVDs.
This is coming from Samsung.
My LiteOn is still good for about a year now. I bought an LG and it is good so far.