[mythtv-users] DVD hardware

[aaron]

On 2/25/08, Ben Newman <ben at ultraswank.com> wrote:
> and eventually just not able to read a DVD.  I'm assuming this is just
> because the cheapie DVD drives I use just aren't meant for the heavy
> use frequent DVD watching puts them through, but it sure is
> frustrating.  Does anyone have any recommendations on a solid drive
> that won't need frequent replacement?

I've had good experiences with Toshiba and Plextor.

I've got a Toshiba DVD drive in my desktop machine that is 7 or 8
years old, and never had a problem with it. I also have the same one
in my Myth box, about four years old. Also never had a problem with
it. Of course, I do get the occasional issue playing disks, but not
enough that I would really consider it a problem.

I used to have an old Plextor 4x SCSI drive in my previous machine. It
was one of the old caddy-based models (rather than a tray). The door
had broken off the front (so there was a large opening at the front
where dust could easily get in. Even with that I never had any
problems at all with the drive. I mean, sure, 4x was slow, but come
on, it was SCSI! :)

(SCSI CD drives were the best! spinning up the disk didn't halt the
rest of the system. ;-) )

When it comes to writers I always buy Plextor. More expensive, yes,
but worth it, in my experience. I've still got a perfectly functional
16x CD writer lying in a box somewhere... I wanted to wait for it to
die before buying a DVD writer, but it just kept going and going...
finally I gave up and just replaced it anyway.


-- 
aaron

"Oh oh oh. I'm incoherent with excitement. Please tell me what fascinating
bit of badger-sputumly inconsequential trivia you will assail me with next."
        -- Arthur Dent