On Monday July 7 2003 02:32 pm, Lyvim Xaphir wrote:
> On Mon, 2003-07-07 at 11:27, Tom Brinkman wrote:
> > It's an IDE burner, not SCSI. I'm not interested in burnin
> > at over 8x. Most of the time I burn at 4x. Other than the
> > quality drives (Plextor and Yamaha), I just thought it might be
> > a good idea to investigate the cheap ones like Lite-On.
>
> Times have changed. Plextor and Yamaha are no longer what they
> used to be in the days before computer users became technically
> savvy about cdrom technology.
Oh for sure I agree. Any hardware needs to be investigated at
anticipated purchase time, not prior history. Hence my interest in
Lite-On's
> Plextor for instance now has an
> abysmal record with regard to EFM encoding. There are fully 20
> drives tested in the following URL, and only one of them has
> correct EFM encoding. That drive was released *this* year; go
> figure. SEE:
>
> http://www.elby.ch/en/products/clone_cd/writers/p.html#plextor
>
> Yamaha is not really any better, in fact they are worse. Out of
> 28 tested drive models, NONE of them has correct EFM encoding!!
> SEE:
>
> http://www.elby.ch/en/products/clone_cd/writers/y.html#yamaha
>
> This is what happens when people are using word of mouth to buy
> drives instead of performance oriented test results from real
> world applications. The vendors can rest on their laurels and
> push an inferior product on an unsuspecting public for as long as
> they are allowed. Plextor has started reacting to the Liteon
> phenomenon as of this year by finally putting out a drive that
> encodes completely right.
>
> Now as long as you are doing elementary stuff, like burning ISO's
> from the image, or copying non-copy-protected audio or software
> cd's, you'll never know that the drive isn't all there. In that
> case it's fine to own an inferior burner. It's only when you are
> doing college level stuff like making backup copies of copy
> protected audio or software cd's that you will really see the
> problems or attributes of a drive. That's why I keep posting
> these links; they represent information from test results.
> That's the starting point; the test results.
>
> All clearly explains the Liteon phenomenon. Why exactly are they
> so popular? Well, the answer is very simple. Liteon drives,
> almost all of them without exception, are fully capable of giving
> you true 1 to 1 copies of copy protected cd's. Why? Because
> they have BOTH the hardware modes needed *and* correct EFM
> encoding. Look at Liteon's track record and you will see what I
> mean:
>
> http://www.elby.ch/en/products/clone_cd/writers/l.html#liteon
>
> Out of 12 drives tested, only three are questionable. By test
> results, not word of mouth. This is exactly why Liteon drives
> are popular; quite simply, they do the job that they are supposed
> to do under demanding circumstances. So the hacker guys that can
> get the jobs done under the demanding circumstances already know
> everything I've posted here because they are cdrw hackers; as
> such their opinions are respected and they are the ones
> recommending the drives to others trying to do the same thing.
> Other people like me, for instance. The push for all this recent
> popularity is the fact that the Liteon drives get the job done
> after UPS delivers them.
>
>
> I personally chose Toshiba, because I feel that Tosh drives offer
> more quality of hardware than the others, (for slightly more
> money) plus having immaculate hardware specs. This is all based
> on prior personal experience.
>
> Liteon succeeds mainly because young cdrw hackers can afford them
> (they are cheap) and they almost always get the job done.
>
> > Few things I need to ask, are the Lite-On's made by Lite-On, or
> > are they rebadged from other manufacturers?
>
> Liteon is it's own manufacturer to the best of my knowledge.
> There are others relabeling the Liteon brand, like Buslink, and
> they sell them at a lower price. So if you see any Buslink brand
> burners in Best Buy or elsewhere, jump on them and ask the guys
> there if it registers as a Liteon model number in system
> information when it is installed. A relabeled Liteon drive will
> always display it's true Liteon model number when installed in
> the system.
>
> We bought a Buslink burner from Best Buy as a birthday present
> for a hacker bud not too long ago, and I went to Liteon's
> firmware page, downloaded their latest firmware, and flashed the
> drive (under DOS) before I giftwrapped it and sent it on.
>
> We paid 25 bucks for the drive after rebate.It was actually a
> relabeled Liteon LTR-32123S.
>
> > Can the firmware be flashed from DOS
>
> Yep
>
> > , and are updates available (or have been)?
>
> Yep
>
> > I went to their site to look for myself, but got an 'under
> > construction' message.
>
> Please check the following URL:
>
> http://www.liteontc.com.tw/
>
> HTH,
>
> --LX
Thanks for the concise summary of current burners. I agree also,
given better quality hardware, I'd spend the extra bucks. Savings
in the long run. Unfortunately many brand names start trading on
past reputation, even tho their currently putting out substandard
stuff. BTW, the liteon link gave me a 404 mesg, but I'll keep
tryin. Goin by your estimates tho, I need to look at Toshiba also.
OTOH, I have little need to fool with copy protected CD's, specially
since I don't use any M$ games/crap, and RIAA can hold their breath
waitin for me to purchase any more CD's. USEnet's got what I want
anyhow.
Thanks again LX, you made a lot'a sense.
--
Tom Brinkman Corpus Christi, Texas
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft?
Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
