Plextor DVD problems and Tirger Direct

[staatsof]

So I bought a PX-716UF drive last May with a one year warranty from the manufacturer.
That's clearly stated on my invoice in no uncertain terms.

I used it once when I got it for a project which got cancelled and now I'm intending to use it for backup. It's now broken. It failed the self test per Plextor but they won't fix it under warranty because it's refurbished. It appears that Tiger Direct has overstated the warranty as far as Plextor is concerned. I got 2 days of refusal and stonewalling and now after seeing a copy of my invoice they told me throw the Plextor out the window because they're sending a brand new Liteon external unit.

I's not the equivalent as far as interface options are concerned and I have as yet to compare performance specs but the last Liteon cd player I bought was total crap.

I'm also not impressed that Plextor would refurb a unit that breaks after a single usage.
My Plextor CD writer from 5 years ago is still doing well.

Was the PX-716UF a bad unit?

I need high quality and reliability for my backups.

Any thoughts or opinions out there?

Bob S.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

so who's sending the liteon? tiger direct?

 

[staatsof]

Yes it's Tiger Direct of course.

 

[hardcandy2]

Look on cdfreaks.com and in the optical drive forum, you will find that the newer Lite-ons burn very well. Plextors not so well these days.
Plextor actually had another manufacturer's drive rebadged as a Plextor in the last year. And still charged more for it than the original manufacturer. Pioneer maybe? Benq maybe?
I spent $100 for a Plextor 716, it is sitting with a broken tray now. Never burned as well as the NEC and Benq drives. Made more noise than the other drives.

 

[n7]

As much as you're still kinda getting screwed, it might be in a good way, since Plextor is no better than anyone else out there these days, if not worse.

You'll see the normal fanbois jump into this thread saying Plextor is the best, etc, but they never have any evidence to back up their claims.

Only thing i'd suggest is asking TD for an external that has IEEE1394 if you need that.

 

[corkyg]

Tiger Direct = gray market schlock house.

 

[PClark99]

count your blessings you are getting a liteon.

I have had 2 plextors shat the bed in the last year, whereas my liteon drive from 2004 is still going strong.

 

[Slugbait]

I'm going to assume the 716UF is basically the 716AL for a different market...and the 716AL was widely panned on newegg, usually failing 10-13 months after purchase for too many people. Failing refurbs shouldn't be unexpected with this drive. The worst part was that it wasn't a TEAC rebadge...it was an in-house unit.

On the other hand, the 755 has been a MaxPC favorite for months now, and gets great reviews.

I'm not a fanbois jumping in...but I've got several Plextors that are still going strong (708A, 40TSi, 12/4/32). Since those purchases, I've seen a lot of friends replace dead or faulty drives. Just like all makes, you need to do the research on the specific models to make sure you're getting something reliable.

And next time...if it has a laser or an extensive number of moving parts, avoid "refurb" sales.

 

[staatsof]

The 755 being a fav for months might not mean all that much then?
I was not aware that Plextor's reputation had gone so far south with this unit.

Liteon doesn't offer an external with firewire and USB but since this was firewire 400
I don't know that it matters all that much.

I had a very bad experience years ago with Liteon so I still tend to think of them as crap.
Perhaps that's not fair?

Enclosure boxes are cheap so if I just wanted to buy an enclosure and install an internal unit what is considered a very strong and fast drive?

It took a few phone calls and such to storm the bastilles but once a manager saw my
invoice Tiger Direct did the right thing.

 

[staatsof]

Any thoughts about the Plextor PX-755UF?
I'm assuming it's the 755SA (or maybe without the SATA, doesn't matter) internal drive in a case?


Thanks for all the input thus far!
Bob S.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: staatsof
Any thoughts about the Plextor PX-755UF?
I'm assuming it's the 755SA (or maybe without the SATA, doesn't matter) internal drive in a case?


Thanks for all the input thus far!
Bob S.

Don't buy another plextor...you are throwing your money at a name that has lost its reputation

 

[Zepper]

Tiger Direct is reseller non grata around here. You never know what you are getting. Isn't the 716UF just a 716A in an external enclosure? Try taking it out of the enclosure and using it as an internal to see if that resolves the problem - then just get another enclosure to put it in if the drive itself works OK. Also make sure the Firmware is updated to the latest (1.10) version.

And if you want high quality and reliability for backup purposes, use an external hard drive. Ext. HDD is also a lot faster so it is more likely that backups will actually get done. Nothing more useless than a backup that doesn't get done!

.bh.

 

[Mistwalker]

My PX-716UF died about 5 months after purchase, despite minimal use (only used it for archiving, and burned a total of maybe 10-12 DVDs over those months).

I was shocked a Plextor would fail so abruptly with so little cause...have they redeemed themselves since? I never did get around to buying a new burner...

 

[staatsof]

Originally posted by: Zepper
Tiger Direct is reseller non grata around here. You never know what you are getting. Isn't the 716UF just a 716A in an external enclosure? Try taking it out of the enclosure and using it as an internal to see if that resolves the problem - then just get another enclosure to put it in if the drive itself works OK. Also make sure the Firmware is updated to the latest (1.10) version.

And if you want high quality and reliability for backup purposes, use an external hard drive. Ext. HDD is also a lot faster so it is more likely that backups will actually get done. Nothing more useless than a backup that doesn't get done!

.bh.

I intend to backup to another hard drive automatically with Acronis and archive that to DVDs. I have been using a 24DDS tape but it's just too slow now. Backing up to a hard drive alone isn't real backup. I'm not about to start archiving hard drives off site.

Bob S.

 

[staatsof]

The Liteon shm-165p6sx seems to get pretty decent reviews.
The LH-20A1HX is just a newer version???


Does anyone have any experience with these?

Thanks.

Bob S.

 

[Zepper]

They are cheap enough now that the concept of archiving ext. HDDs off-site isn't far-fetched any more.

Mistwalker,
. The 755SA was the only SATA burner available for a while and they never shipped the 760SA here. If I wanted an external burner right now, I'd have no problem with using the 760A (under $100. shipped from ZZF) in a good external enclosure purchased separately.

.bh.

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Tiger Direct = gray market schlock house.

With bad rebates.

 

[staatsof]

I received my Liteon replacement external for that POS Plextor PX-716UF from Tiger Direct today and it is very quiet so far but then I'm only reading with it now.
The PLextor made so much racket it made me nervous. Sorry to see Plextor go in to decline like this. RIP Plextor.

So I am happy to report that TD did the right thing.

Bob S.