Recently bought a DVD Writer with Lightscribe capability from www.blankdiscshop.com which was faulty.
It was a Phillips model so not a no brand drive so I expected it to work fine.

Sent it back and they refunded me which is all good.
However once bitten twice shy so I want to get one from somewhere else.

Not really had good experiences with www.ebuyer.com so I wont be buying from them either.

Any suggestions?

People on here slag them off till the cows come home and then some, but I've never had any troubles with *drum roll please*... PC World :D

Overpriced they may be, but at least you know they're not going to go bust next week and run off with your money leaving you with duff kit like the small backstreet traders tend to do cos they can't compete with such as PC World on price etc.

Originally posted by Rich
People on here slag them off till the cows come home and then some, but I've never had any troubles with *drum roll please*... PC World :D

Overpriced they may be, but at least you know they're not going to go bust next week and run off with your money leaving you with duff kit like the small backstreet traders tend to do cos they can't compete with such as PC World on price etc.
Cheers for that Rich.
However I was hoping for a web based company recommendation that's not over priced but is also better than ebuyer and blankdiscshop.

If all else fails I might try Maplins.

Originally posted by Rich
Overpriced they may be, but at least you know they're not going to go bust next week and run off with your money leaving you with duff kit like the small backstreet traders tend to do cos they can't compete with such as PC World on price etc.

Utter ********.

PC World are overpriced and anyone can compete with them on price. The reason that small backstreet traders go out of business is because people flock to PC World because of the flashy adverts and glittery buildings they have.

I've got a Pioneer DVD writer and have had no problems whatsoever. I got it from my trade only supplier, although really anywhere will do. Dabs are OK, as are Ebuyer and Scan.

Originally posted by Rich
People on here slag them off till the cows come home and then some, but I've never had any troubles with *drum roll please*... PC World :D

Overpriced they may be, but at least you know they're not going to go bust next week and run off with your money leaving you with duff kit like the small backstreet traders tend to do cos they can't compete with such as PC World on price etc.

Opinion alert:

They're overpriced and their sales team have no knowledge of products! I'll use my favourite analogy again - one of the sales team didn't know the difference between the CMOS and the BIOS.

Da B - tekheads.co.uk overclokers.co.uk

Both good.

:)

try microdirect some good deals on dvdwriters

Just looking at a writer on maplin.co.uk website.
Noticed writers being compatible with dvd-r9.

What is this? Is it worth looking for a writer with this capability?

DVD-R9 is dual layer disc support.

Most blank DVDs you buy are single layer (4.7GB maximum size). Dual layer discs can hold upto 9GB.

It's nice to have the support, but single layer discs are about 20p each, and Dual Layer are between £2 and £5 a disc, depending on where you go. This will of course drop with time.

I got mine from Overclockers.co.uk, a Sony one for about 30quid. Never had any problems with it, and it's 16x so nice and fast.

9 Gig DVDs are all well and good but are there any standalone DVD players that support them yet?

Get a pioneer dvr109 or 110 from www.microdirect.co.uk . Ive ordered loads of parts from them in the past, and never had anything go wrong with any of them. And you just cant beat the pioneer drives.

Kentboy: Tekheads=NOT good. Mate bought a case from them, and collected it rather than paying for delivery. We could hear them taping a box up in the back, and then he brought the case out in a box that looked like itd had some hammer, covered in packing tape. We opened it in the car park to check, and the case was bent, and the plastic front bezel smashed to pieces. Obviously was a faulty item that had been sent back, and theyd tried to pass it off to us as new.

Originally posted by slh73
Get a pioneer dvr109 or 110 from www.microdirect.co.uk . Ive ordered loads of parts from them in the past, and never had anything go wrong with any of them. And you just cant beat the pioneer drives.

Kentboy: Tekheads=NOT good. Mate bought a case from them, and collected it rather than paying for delivery. We could hear them taping a box up in the back, and then he brought the case out in a box that looked like itd had some hammer, covered in packing tape. We opened it in the car park to check, and the case was bent, and the plastic front bezel smashed to pieces. Obviously was a faulty item that had been sent back, and theyd tried to pass it off to us as new.

Cheeky devils!

:O :confused:

Originally posted by Rich
9 Gig DVDs are all well and good but are there any standalone DVD players that support them yet?

Try all of them. The majority of original, shop bought DVDs are on DVD-9.

Originally posted by Rich
9 Gig DVDs are all well and good but are there any standalone DVD players that support them yet?

Try all of them. The majority of original, shop bought DVDs are on DVD-9. Thats why they have to be compressed to fit a DVD-5 if you want to make a copy of them.

Would people say +R or -R format are more compatible for standard DVD players?

Originally posted by DaBouncer
Would people say +R or -R format are more compatible for standard DVD players?

'Minus' anyday - more compliant with equipment. I have a 'minus' recorder and -/+ DVDRW

I've heard good things about these guys ...

http://www.bigpockets.co.uk/

Originally posted by segasonic
I've heard good things about these guys ...

http://www.bigpockets.co.uk/

Yes, BigPockets are the top, they sponsor another forum I visit, and they're great!

:)

In terms of opinion on the actual writer unit itself...

I'd recommend the LG models based on personal experience with 6 units bought for customers and myself to date and no problems in respect of the actual writers.

My latest unit was a LG-4163B but there's a newer model out now..



As for media, I can't stress enough that no-name branded stuff is waste of time and you should avoid ebuyers stock like the plague as they have a well earned reputation for sending out whatever they feel like, and not what you've ordered.

www.svp.co.uk are well worth a visit and they even do the writers too so you could save yourself on the postage by getting it all in one go...

I won't buy my media from anywhere else...

I got my LG-4163B from ebuyer for 30 quid or so, after far too many crappy Pioneers and Panasonics and one Optorite failing on me after very little use, the LG is fantastic!
Fast, silent operation, no bad burns. :D
The LG will burn on anything it seems, but Ritek dye is the best for compatibility with other players.

Originally posted by segasonic
The LG will burn on anything it seems, but Ritek dye is the best for compatibility with other players.

Plus, you have DVD-RAM capability - very useful if you ever buy a DVD Recorder with this feature.

My first DVD writer was an LG, but the Pioneer 107 I now have has been just as good.

Let me know if you need anything from Scan DB, I can pick it up and drop it off for you when I'm over.