Dell tech support sent me a new drive, no phone calls! The drive is a refurb. NEC writer. It is much quieter than the Philips unit by far. I tried creating two DVD's successfully without issue. I will post more results once I really start using the drive.
However, you have to use 4x media to get it reported as 4x drive!
Only advantage of Philips drive was that it had 8Meg buffer while NEC has only 2MB. All other specs were prety close. NEC has adavantage in DVD burning speed and burning reliability. I created half a dozen coasters in Philips while my replacement NEC has been working without a hitch.
So does it impact on how much multi-tasking you can do whilst you burn? I have generally had no problems whatsoever starting and writing in word, surfing, FTP, email and money2002 whilst I'm burning. Hardly ever touches the buffer at all.
Do you have many problems with the 2meg buffer? Is there any way to increase it? It seems silly that a faster drive has less buffer. I can burn a full DVD in about 20 minutes. How fast does a 4x do 4.5 gigs worth?
Wondering if its worth upgrading - my drive is ok, now with the firmware upgrade, but still has glimpses of problems, and I think it may only get worse.
My opinion about all this is that DVD writing is where CD writing was 5 years ago, flaky and not yet refined. I used to get coasters all the time with my CD writer, it just came with the territory. Now, things are better but the increased data density means that there are more chances for errors due to media quality, writer stability, etc. If your unit is working, don't fool with it. As to multitasking while a disc is writing, I personally do not do it. I use another machine until the disc is finished.
I just phoned tech support about 50 minutes ago (12:30am Oct 31st). The call lastest about 30 minutes, mostly due to the fact that the techie claimed my voice was breaking up (his seemed perfect to me however). He made me test some movies I burnt and a data disc I had created. I didn't have to run any diagnostics (thank god, it's too late for that, I woulda just hung up and called back during some nicer hours of the day).
The problem with my SDVD6004 is that ever since I updated the firmware most of the discs I've burnt or even discs that I burn now, will not read or (in the case of a movie) they will work for a while then lock up.
For movies I've found that the light on the drive doesn't blink at any constant rate as it does on my desktop PC. I would imagine that it needs to read the disk every few seconds (my guess would be once every 8 seconds since it's an 8x drive but I'm too tired to really do the math). However it reads and then doesn't read after 8 seconds, at which the movie stops or studders and then the drive reads constantly for about 4 seconds. Then usually the program (doesn't matter which one) just locks up or the movie stops playing. If I use these same discs in my standalone Toshiba DVD/VHS player, they work fine. Sometimes I can't even get a movie to be recognized on the PC
For data discs, when I put them in it takes quite a while to identify, and after they do then it takes a long time for all the icons on the files to show up. If I use these same discs in my other PC with a Pioneer DVR 104 DVD-RW drive, they work fine. They also seem to work in my friends PCs.
Anyway I told the techie about people posting on the forums and he asked what model DVD+RW drive you guys had, which ones they were being replaced with, etc. I said that everyone with problems has a Phillips drive. Most have been replaced with Phillips drives and had decent success. Some have had to get the replacements replaced. I stressed to him that people who have recieved NEC drives have had ZERO problems and are quite happy.
He told me that he would have a new drive shipped out and it should be here 'tomorrow' (I'm guessing he didn't realize what time it was and that really 'tomorrow' is a lot closer than he thinks, or it's a weekend). I stressed to him that I did not want a Phillips drive and would really prefer an NEC. He said that he would try to get a non-Phillips drive, which gives me some hope but not a lot. If I get a Phillips I'm just going to phone back again.
Phillips has never really been in my good books. It seems that a lot of hardware related websites try to stray from them. Even www.cdmediaworld.com had a section dedicated to 'Phillips IQ CDrs'. They liked to say that the IQ stands for Inferior Quality. Maybe Phillips should put IQ into the names of their DVD+RW drives too!
Which is the better drive for digital audio extraction (DAE)? Would the 8MB buffer of the Philips drive boost performance more than the 2MB in the NEC?
@tennis998 wrote:
Which is the better drive for digital audio extraction (DAE)? Would the 8MB buffer of the Philips drive boost performance more than the 2MB in the NEC?
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed / replaced from this post by Dell>
Philips SDVD6004 DAE (Digital Audio Extraction) rate Max 24X
My 5150 came with the SDVD6004 and caused all kinds of problems veiwing DVD movie and burning DVDs was even worse. I called and complained to tech support. They had me run dianostics and do a restore of XP. Then he sent me a NEC-5100A. Only it was refurbished. I installed it anyway and guess what! It was labeled refurbished for a reason. I would not read anything, CDs, DVDs, DVD+R(W), and don't even think about writing to anything. I called tech support back and they had me format and reinstall XP. When that didn't work tech support told me it was the computer and I'd have to send it in for repair. I said I'd wait untill the next day and try reinstalling the drivers. The next day I called tech support back and the sent me an NEW NEC-5100A. I installed it Tuesday and my first thought was oh no, another DOA. It didn't make any noise. I put a DVD in it and hoped for the best. I still heard nothing. Then all at once the movie started perfectly, wow! I tried CDs, DVD+R(W), DVD-ROMs and everything worked fine. I have burn several DVD+R(W) with no failures!!
To sum it all up, DO NOT BUY THE SDVD6004. Spend the extra money and get the 4X NEC 5100A.
I got my replacement and as I hoped it's the 5100A. It's a bit noisey when you first put in a disc (zap sort of sound when the laser moves quickly) but after that it's quieter than the SDVD6004. The 5100A is a refurb naturally.
So does everyone elses 5100A make the same loud noise when you put in a disc? My Pioneer desktop DVD-RW makes a similar sound so I assume it's fine. I've been able to re-burn all the movies that would not read from SDVD6004-burnt discs and they all work MUCH better now :)
My i8600 was shipped with a SDVD6004 which also made many problems(firmware 1.03). I couldn't burn a DVD+RW, it didn't burn some DVD+R's and sometimes had problems with CD-R's. Yesterday I got my Philips replaced by a NEC ND-5100A and it works fine. I am very pleased with the NEC. Although it is faster, it runs a LOT cooler than my Philips SDVD6004.
at ReWeN: I can confirm that it emits some noise when inserting a disc, something like two beeps.
Well this is cool. I bought a new 5100 two months ago and just now got around to trying out the Philips SDVD6004 burner. The first two DVD's burned ok but I was unable to play them in my Apex DVD Player or on my Dimension 4100 desktop. After that, every disc I try to burn gets about half way thru and fails.
Contacted tech support via email and after much haggling they agreed that I have a defective drive and they would ship me a replacement. Airborne drops off the package today, I open it up and there is a dang Samsung SN-324 CD-RW/DVD ROM Drive in the box!
Before I write tech support back, I wanted to know why Dell sends out replacement parts that are obviously used. This "new" drive has scratches on the case and has dust inside of the tray. I paid for a New Drive, not a used or refurbed unit. Am I right in wanting to ask that a New replacement part be sent to me?
I believe Dell is forced to lable all replacement parts as refurbished due to legal reasons so in fact you may actually have a new drive. If the manufactured date on the drive is less than 3 months old, I would consider it a new drive.
TommyGadget
23 Posts
0
October 28th, 2003 16:00
Dell tech support sent me a new drive, no phone calls! The drive is a refurb. NEC writer. It is much quieter than the Philips unit by far. I tried creating two DVD's successfully without issue. I will post more results once I really start using the drive.
TommyGadget
charcol
7 Posts
0
October 28th, 2003 18:00
Is the NEC drive a 4x? Or a 2.4x like the philips drive?
Thanks
Walter_SA
12 Posts
0
October 28th, 2003 23:00
NEC is 4x burner.
However, you have to use 4x media to get it reported as 4x drive!
Only advantage of Philips drive was that it had 8Meg buffer while NEC has only 2MB. All other specs were prety close. NEC has adavantage in DVD burning speed and burning reliability. I created half a dozen coasters in Philips while my replacement NEC has been working without a hitch.
TommyGadget
23 Posts
0
October 30th, 2003 01:00
charcol,
The NEC is a 4x drive.
TommyGadget
charcol
7 Posts
0
October 30th, 2003 02:00
So does it impact on how much multi-tasking you can do whilst you burn? I have generally had no problems whatsoever starting and writing in word, surfing, FTP, email and money2002 whilst I'm burning. Hardly ever touches the buffer at all.
Do you have many problems with the 2meg buffer? Is there any way to increase it? It seems silly that a faster drive has less buffer. I can burn a full DVD in about 20 minutes. How fast does a 4x do 4.5 gigs worth?
Wondering if its worth upgrading - my drive is ok, now with the firmware upgrade, but still has glimpses of problems, and I think it may only get worse.
TommyGadget
23 Posts
0
October 30th, 2003 16:00
My opinion about all this is that DVD writing is where CD writing was 5 years ago, flaky and not yet refined. I used to get coasters all the time with my CD writer, it just came with the territory. Now, things are better but the increased data density means that there are more chances for errors due to media quality, writer stability, etc. If your unit is working, don't fool with it. As to multitasking while a disc is writing, I personally do not do it. I use another machine until the disc is finished.
TommyGadget
ReWeN
131 Posts
0
October 31st, 2003 04:00
I just phoned tech support about 50 minutes ago (12:30am Oct 31st). The call lastest about 30 minutes, mostly due to the fact that the techie claimed my voice was breaking up (his seemed perfect to me however). He made me test some movies I burnt and a data disc I had created. I didn't have to run any diagnostics (thank god, it's too late for that, I woulda just hung up and called back during some nicer hours of the day).
The problem with my SDVD6004 is that ever since I updated the firmware most of the discs I've burnt or even discs that I burn now, will not read or (in the case of a movie) they will work for a while then lock up.
For movies I've found that the light on the drive doesn't blink at any constant rate as it does on my desktop PC. I would imagine that it needs to read the disk every few seconds (my guess would be once every 8 seconds since it's an 8x drive but I'm too tired to really do the math). However it reads and then doesn't read after 8 seconds, at which the movie stops or studders and then the drive reads constantly for about 4 seconds. Then usually the program (doesn't matter which one) just locks up or the movie stops playing. If I use these same discs in my standalone Toshiba DVD/VHS player, they work fine. Sometimes I can't even get a movie to be recognized on the PC
For data discs, when I put them in it takes quite a while to identify, and after they do then it takes a long time for all the icons on the files to show up. If I use these same discs in my other PC with a Pioneer DVR 104 DVD-RW drive, they work fine. They also seem to work in my friends PCs.
Anyway I told the techie about people posting on the forums and he asked what model DVD+RW drive you guys had, which ones they were being replaced with, etc. I said that everyone with problems has a Phillips drive. Most have been replaced with Phillips drives and had decent success. Some have had to get the replacements replaced. I stressed to him that people who have recieved NEC drives have had ZERO problems and are quite happy.
He told me that he would have a new drive shipped out and it should be here 'tomorrow' (I'm guessing he didn't realize what time it was and that really 'tomorrow' is a lot closer than he thinks, or it's a weekend). I stressed to him that I did not want a Phillips drive and would really prefer an NEC. He said that he would try to get a non-Phillips drive, which gives me some hope but not a lot. If I get a Phillips I'm just going to phone back again.
Phillips has never really been in my good books. It seems that a lot of hardware related websites try to stray from them. Even www.cdmediaworld.com had a section dedicated to 'Phillips IQ CDrs'. They liked to say that the IQ stands for Inferior Quality. Maybe Phillips should put IQ into the names of their DVD+RW drives too!
tennis998
1 Rookie
•
23 Posts
0
October 31st, 2003 13:00
somms
623 Posts
0
October 31st, 2003 18:00
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed / replaced from this post by Dell>
Philips SDVD6004
DAE (Digital Audio Extraction) rate Max 24X
http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/storage/p59472/en/specs.htm
NEC ND-5100A
DAE (Digital Audio Extraction) transfer rate 8-20X CAV: 1200-3000KB/sec
Master Yoda
35 Posts
0
November 5th, 2003 22:00
My 5150 came with the SDVD6004 and caused all kinds of problems veiwing DVD movie and burning DVDs was even worse. I called and complained to tech support. They had me run dianostics and do a restore of XP. Then he sent me a NEC-5100A. Only it was refurbished. I installed it anyway and guess what! It was labeled refurbished for a reason. I would not read anything, CDs, DVDs, DVD+R(W), and don't even think about writing to anything. I called tech support back and they had me format and reinstall XP. When that didn't work tech support told me it was the computer and I'd have to send it in for repair. I said I'd wait untill the next day and try reinstalling the drivers. The next day I called tech support back and the sent me an NEW NEC-5100A. I installed it Tuesday and my first thought was oh no, another DOA. It didn't make any noise. I put a DVD in it and hoped for the best. I still heard nothing. Then all at once the movie started perfectly, wow! I tried CDs, DVD+R(W), DVD-ROMs and everything worked fine. I have burn several DVD+R(W) with no failures!!
To sum it all up, DO NOT BUY THE SDVD6004. Spend the extra money and get the 4X NEC 5100A.
ReWeN
131 Posts
0
November 6th, 2003 02:00
I got my replacement and as I hoped it's the 5100A. It's a bit noisey when you first put in a disc (zap sort of sound when the laser moves quickly) but after that it's quieter than the SDVD6004. The 5100A is a refurb naturally.
So does everyone elses 5100A make the same loud noise when you put in a disc? My Pioneer desktop DVD-RW makes a similar sound so I assume it's fine. I've been able to re-burn all the movies that would not read from SDVD6004-burnt discs and they all work MUCH better now :)
HMKrieps
713 Posts
0
November 6th, 2003 13:00
at ReWeN: I can confirm that it emits some noise when inserting a disc, something like two beeps.
Message Edited by HMKrieps on 11-06-2003 04:47 PM
ReWeN
131 Posts
0
November 6th, 2003 15:00
Thanx for the confirmation :)
skelley5
2 Posts
0
November 13th, 2003 00:00
Well this is cool. I bought a new 5100 two months ago and just now got around to trying out the Philips SDVD6004 burner. The first two DVD's burned ok but I was unable to play them in my Apex DVD Player or on my Dimension 4100 desktop. After that, every disc I try to burn gets about half way thru and fails.
Contacted tech support via email and after much haggling they agreed that I have a defective drive and they would ship me a replacement. Airborne drops off the package today, I open it up and there is a dang Samsung SN-324 CD-RW/DVD ROM Drive in the box!
Before I write tech support back, I wanted to know why Dell sends out replacement parts that are obviously used. This "new" drive has scratches on the case and has dust inside of the tray. I paid for a New Drive, not a used or refurbed unit. Am I right in wanting to ask that a New replacement part be sent to me?
Thanks!
Steve
somms
623 Posts
0
November 13th, 2003 03:00
I believe Dell is forced to lable all replacement parts as refurbished due to legal reasons so in fact you may actually have a new drive. If the manufactured date on the drive is less than 3 months old, I would consider it a new drive.
http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/storage/p50705/en/intro.htm
Just as long as you know that this drive won't be able to successfully burn DVD's either since it's only a CD burner.