On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 11:52:09 -0500, "Anna" wrote:

"Bob" wrote in message
Plextor has indeed enjoyed a good reputation but they have not kept up
with the market. Their price is not justified and they too are
rebranding - so I am told.

Anna writes...
Well, you were "told" wrong. Plextor's products, i.e., their optical drives,
are generally considered fine products, among the best optical drives on the
consumer market today. Granted, a case can be made that they may be slightly
overpriced

I'm not trying to take sides here, as I just 'overheard' this fragment
of the conversation. However, Plextor's quality has most definitely
NOT been up to what they once were. Their latest drives are much less
reliable than much of the competition. That's from my experience and
from research.

I know there are still adherents to Plextor. I suppose that includes
many at sites like 'CDFreaks.com' who claim they're on their 5th or
6th in-warranty replacement. So I guess that's a good comment on
Plextor's service/RMA department if nothing else. g Incidentally,
Plextor's newer cheaper drive appears to be a rebadged BenQ. It
is supposedly more reliable than their own drives.

BTW, CDFreaks, despite the odd name, has tons of info on CD and DVD
burners including charts of how various media work with a given
burner. Many of the posters own lots of DVD burners (not unusual to
see 5+ different burners listed in a sig). Overall consensus seems to
favor NEC 3520 and 3540 and BenQ 1640. And Taiyo-Yuden media, in case
anyone was wondering.

The most widely approved drive is the NEC 3540 with the BenQ 1640 in a
close second place for the moment.

See above.

Anna writes:
I've no problem with the NEC optical drives. By & large I've found them to
be reliable units. I've no significant experience with the BenQ products.

BOYCOTT SONY!

I don't know much about the Sony Rootkit. I do know enough about
rootkits in general to know I never want one close to my machine. If
the Sony rumor is true, I have to wonder why any sane company would
use such a method. I hope that doesn't catch on.