NEC 3520a or Pioneer DVR-109 ?

[Cheezeit]

Hello,

i can't decide which dvd burner to get for my new rig. ive looked around, and it seems like most people reccomend the NEC 3520a or Pioneer DVR-109. Right now, they are the ame price at newegg.

Which one would you get, and please list why. what are the ups and downs of each burner?

Thanks in advance.

 

[theMan]

NEC 3520A. i dont know anything about the pioneer, but you can read this review it includes the 3500a but it is similar to the 3520, just not as good.

 

[imported_rod]

I have the pioneer, and im happy with it. i dont burn many DVD's, but it has done everything i've asked of it without hassle.

 

[Cheezeit]

thanks for the replies.

any other opinions?

 

[lenjack]

Just got a 3520a and no problems. You wont go wrong with either one.

 

[Cheezeit]

It seems like the 109 is regulary a little more expensive thean the 3520a. does this mean its a little better?

 

[arswihart]

come on, what a dumb question cheezeit

they are about the same

go to cdfreaks forums and ask there, scour the pi/pio testing and find out for yourself how these burners do with different media

 

[imported_g33k]

I have had the NEC 3520a for about three weeks now and I've burned two DVD movies with it. Both movies had less errors than my old Plextor drive. The movies I burned with the Plextor did not run that well in my Sony set top DVD player. Using the NEC burner, the movies play back great! I would recommend the NEC. Sorry I don't have any direct experience with the Pioneer, but I hear it's also a good drive.

 

[JBT]

I've got a Pioneer 108, and its excellent.

 

[Cheezeit]

Originally posted by: arswihart
come on, what a dumb question cheezeit

they are about the same

go to cdfreaks forums and ask there, scour the pi/pio testing and find out for yourself how these burners do with different media

its usually 10-15 dollars more expensive. they are about the same right now cause the pioneer is on sale.

ill check out cdfreaks, thanks

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: theman
NEC 3520A. i dont know anything about the pioneer, but you can read this review it includes the 3500a but it is similar to the 3520, just not as good.

This is a very good example of why people keep recommending the NEC. They just don't know anything about the Pioneer, so they think you should stick with the NEC.

The Pioneer is better in every way, and it's the same price.

The Pioneer is newer. It does DVD-R DL. It burns DL at 6X instead of 4X. The Pioneer rips DVD movies at 12X (dual layer) and 16X (single layer). The NEC rips DVD movies at 5X.

Both drives have very good burn quality. Both drives have bitsetting firmwares available if you're into that sort of thing.

You do need to flash the Pioneer 109 to get the faster ripping speeds and quieter operation of the A09, though.

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: Cheezeit

Originally posted by: arswihart
come on, what a dumb question cheezeit

they are about the same

go to cdfreaks forums and ask there, scour the pi/pio testing and find out for yourself how these burners do with different media

its usually 10-15 dollars more expensive. they are about the same right now cause the pioneer is on sale.

ill check out cdfreaks, thanks

The Pioneer has been $58 or less delivered for at least a month. Currently the Pioneer is $47.99 delivered at Newegg and the NEC is $49.99 delivered.

If you dig through the CDRLabs/CDFreaks reviews, you'll notice that the NEC gets slightly better burn quality with +R media and slightly faster burns with -R media. The Pioneer gets slightly better burn quality with -R media and slightly faster burns with +R media. I seem to recall the Pioneer being particularly impressive with Taiyo Yuden 8X DVD-R burned at 12X.

Get the Pioneer 109 and flash it as per this thread:
http://pioneer109.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=146

It's currently the best deal by far on a burner.

 

[Cheezeit]

sorry, im kinda new to this stuff, what is bitsetting?

 

[Cheezeit]

arrgh, at cd freaks they like the BenQ 1620 Pro. should i get that?

 

[fstime]

I have no problems with the 3520A.

 

[arswihart]

cheezeit you are such a noob! its just funny, not making fun of you.

just get the 109 and be done with it, and get high quality dvd-r media, thats all you gotta know

 

[ponyo]

Originally posted by: Cheezeit
arrgh, at cd freaks they like the BenQ 1620 Pro. should i get that?

yes.

 

[Excelsior]

Yeah..even though I have the NEC, many hardcore drive people are recommending the Benq..and it isn't much more at all, so I'd get that.

 

[Nick5324]

what timming... i'm also considering these 2 DVD burners. I just read the reviews for the NEC and the ASUS drive (based on the Pioneer 109). Really a toss up, one drive did slightly better then the other in various tests, nothing really huge to make it an obvious choice.

Asus (Pioneer)

NEC

 

[Cheezeit]

i guess were in the same boat then.

think i might go w/ the nec because more people use it, so they can help if you encounter problems.

but i need more opinions before i decide

 

[DerelictDev]

Perfect timing, im also in the market for a dvd-rw and have decided on the pioneer flashed to a09 based on this thread. The A09 seems to be a great drive but is $100+ online and in stores. The 109 is only $48 with shipping, plus ill be upgrading my whole computer in a few months (probably new dvd-rw as well) so the cheaper the better for now.

 

[Nick5324]

Well, I went with the NEC 3520A. I read some more reviews, and was going to go with the pioneer, but the black model is now OOS. Newegg wants $57 shipped for the white, plus i'd prefer a black drive. After reading multiple reviews, either drive is worth the money.

 

[gsellis]

I keep forgetting a key feature if you have a Hitachi DVD camcorder or a Mac. Pioneers can read DVD-RAM. NEC and Plextor cannot.

 

[DerelictDev]

Originally posted by: Nick5324
Well, I went with the NEC 3520A. I read some more reviews, and was going to go with the pioneer, but the black model is now OOS. Newegg wants $57 shipped for the white, plus i'd prefer a black drive. After reading multiple reviews, either drive is worth the money.

Wow that was quick, my friend and I both got one yesterday. The price was only $47 (black) with .99 cent shipping. It seems that the price now jumped up to $52 w/ $4 shipping and is out of stock. Lucky me

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: gsellis
I keep forgetting a key feature if you have a Hitachi DVD camcorder or a Mac. Pioneers can read DVD-RAM. NEC and Plextor cannot.

Not that any of the extra features is that big a deal on their own, but the combination of being able to read DVD-RAM, being able to burn DVD-RW DL, burning DL faster, ripping movies 3X faster, and even being a few bucks cheaper this week makes it pretty silly to get an NEC.