Following on from this thread - http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showto...amp;#entry94520 - can anyone recommend me a decently-priced, idiot-proof external DVD writer?

Taking a quick look I would buy this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827106098

I have bought two lite on internal burners lately(one for myself and another for a computer I was repairing) and both have been really nice drives. Haven't had any complaints.

I just bought the Sony NEC Optiarc yesterday because my Plextor PX-760A is starting to die. At that price I won't care if it goes kaput in a year or two because I'd just get another - I may also get an inexpensive Lite-On for the heck of it.

i've got Lite-On DX-20A3H Lightscribe External Burner - 20x DVD±R Burn, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD±R DL, 12x DVD-RAM, USB 2.0
LITE-ON DX-20A3H Lightscribe External Burner, it's price about 60$, normal device

I really like the Plextor external drives. They seem to be very accurate and very reliable -- a cut above many of the others (although I'm sure there are other good drives). I do professional audio work and use Plextors quite a bit -- they just seem to hold up very well.

I'm glad for you, however the PX-760A has seemed like a lemon from the get-go. There's some discussion on forums about it not recognizing some discs, etc. I've got a pile of audio CD's that it won't recognize and even some data CD's. Although my PX-760A has some faults and seems to be going kaput I may put it in my old PC just for DVD support.

That's too bad. Maybe I've just been fortunate, but I've had pretty good luck with them. One older model I still use quite a bit is a PX-716UF. It has performed exceedingly well for me. However, I don't use many of the most common CDs (Sony, TDK, Memorex, Maxell, etc.). Rather, I lean heavily on Taiyo Yuden and Mitsui (not always found at Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.) -- never have had a recognition problem with either of these brands.

The last store locally that carried Taiyo Yuden was Staples however they were re-badged with Memorex packaging but not anymore. I've never used Mitsui before however I've heard good things about them.

I was able to find some good quality Ritek manufactured CD-R's at ALDI though, and so far they are performing very well - which is why I bought 100 of them. Next time I'm going to test out their DVDR discs too as the below writing will detail why.

Sony DVDR's aren't manufactured by Ritek anymore. I haven't had media quality issues, it's just media cleanliness issues as if they weren't being made in those so-called clean room environments that disc manufacturing was gloated to be made in years ago. Also every now and then a disc is scratched straight out of the packaging which thoroughly pisses me off so I'm done with Sony discs forever.

Actually, I've only used Mitsui CD-Rs -- don't know if they make DVDs -- but possibly they do. Regarding DVDs, I don't think Verbatims are too bad. Have had pretty good luck with them and know several other studios that use them.

Hi - me again.

I've decided to get a Liteon external DVD burner, but there are different sorts. For what it's worth, I'm in the UK, so the choice might be somewhat different for me than elsewhere.

Could someone tell me which of those available at Amazon.co.uk (not Amazon.com) I should plump for?

Thanks.

I'll tell you what Lightscribe is cool and all, however you have to buy their CD-R's to my knowledge and I'd really want to know who manufactured those discs, i.e.; Taiyo Yuden, Ritek, if it's CMC use them as shiny coasters.

Last time I checked the light scribe discs cost a bunch more. I would rather just use a sharpie.

Ditto, and I too would rather use a Sharpie marker! It also takes a good amount of time to lightscribe those discs from what I've read.

Hi guys - any thoughts on this one?

Cheers

I've had an external LG super multi for ages now -- the old 5163d -- looked up amazon.co.uk & the equivalent is now only £35 with the lightscribe feature I lack & burns dvd's @ 20x .... @ that price its worth a shot .... just beware the dvd media you use as if it's still the same as mine some discs wont work ... maybe I should of updated firmware or something ??

Or switch DVD brands and buy quality media. If you do update the firmware make certain you only download the update from the drive manufacturer (stay away from those hacked firmwares that can kill your drive).