New DVD burner recommendation, please

I'm about to purchase a new DVD burner for my computer. Most of the ones
I've seen lately have an SATA connection. Do all burners with SATA also
accept a PATA ribbon connector, or is SATA essential?

If my computer has no SATA connection, how do I convert PATA to SATA?

Thanks,

Norm Strong

In article <hvSdnVwglpyb7CfanZ2dnUVZ_judnZ2d@comcast.com>,
<normanstrong@comcast.net> wrote:
>I'm about to purchase a new DVD burner for my computer. Most of the ones
>I've seen lately have an SATA connection. Do all burners with SATA also
>accept a PATA ribbon connector, or is SATA essential?

Either SATA or PATA, not both.

>If my computer has no SATA connection, how do I convert PATA to SATA?

There are converters but this introduces potential compatibility
and throughput issues, not to mention operational glitches.

If you have PATA, there are tons of excellent PATA burners out there.
Take a look at a high-volume dealer like Newegg and you'll see more
PATA hardware than you can shake a stick at.

Favorite brands for many: Pioneer, NEC, LG. Plextor stopped manufacturing
their own drives a few generations ago, and the current crop is not worth
the price premium usually reserved for Plextor-manufactures stuff in the
pas.

Many of the tech inclined like Lite-On, especially because they are cheap
and hackable. There is a wealth of third-party software taking advantage
of the ability to tweak these drives. A lot of other brands (e.g. Sony)
are re-badged Lite-On burners anyway.

On 19 Feb 2008, retsuhcs@xinap.moc (Mike S.) wrote in
alt.comp.periphs.cdr:

> Many of the tech inclined like Lite-On, especially because they
> are cheap and hackable. There is a wealth of third-party software
> taking advantage of the ability to tweak these drives. A lot of
> other brands (e.g. Sony) are re-badged Lite-On burners anyway.

Why would you tweak/hack a DVD burner? What can you make it do that it
doesn't already do?

In article <Xns9A4983C2B931nilch1@216.196.97.136>,
Nil <rednoise+news@REMOVETHIScomcast.net> wrote:
>On 19 Feb 2008, retsuhcs@xinap.moc (Mike S.) wrote in
>alt.comp.periphs.cdr:
>
>> Many of the tech inclined like Lite-On, especially because they
>> are cheap and hackable. There is a wealth of third-party software
>> taking advantage of the ability to tweak these drives. A lot of
>> other brands (e.g. Sony) are re-badged Lite-On burners anyway.
>
>Why would you tweak/hack a DVD burner? What can you make it do that it
>doesn't already do?

Disable region coding.

Read faster (i.e. remove riplock).

Write faster than a blank disc is certified for (i.e. overspeed;
with reliability danger).

Write faster than the factory spindle speeds would normally allow (e.g.
change CAV to CLV mode, or change the places at which such transitions
take place).

Write discs with lower error rates than with the factory settings.

Adjust the way in which the burner develops and uses strategies to write to
"unknown" media (i.e. not in the media ID table) to produce higher quality
burns at higher speeds than using generic strategy.

Use the drive for detailed media analysis (throughput, error correction,
jitter, etc) for objective measurement and documentation of recording
quality.


I'm sure the experts could give more, but that's what comes to mind at
first grab.

In article <fpf974$1au$1@reader2.panix.com>,
Mike S. <retsuhcs@xinap.moc> wrote:
>
>In article <Xns9A4983C2B931nilch1@216.196.97.136>,
>Nil <rednoise+news@REMOVETHIScomcast.net> wrote:
>>On 19 Feb 2008, retsuhcs@xinap.moc (Mike S.) wrote in
>>alt.comp.periphs.cdr:
>>
>>> Many of the tech inclined like Lite-On, especially because they
>>> are cheap and hackable. There is a wealth of third-party software
>>> taking advantage of the ability to tweak these drives. A lot of
>>> other brands (e.g. Sony) are re-badged Lite-On burners anyway.
>>
>>Why would you tweak/hack a DVD burner? What can you make it do that it
>>doesn't already do?
>
>Disable region coding.
>
>Read faster (i.e. remove riplock).
>
>Write faster than a blank disc is certified for (i.e. overspeed;
>with reliability danger).
>
>Write faster than the factory spindle speeds would normally allow (e.g.
>change CAV to CLV mode, or change the places at which such transitions
>take place).
>
>Write discs with lower error rates than with the factory settings.
>
>Adjust the way in which the burner develops and uses strategies to write to
>"unknown" media (i.e. not in the media ID table) to produce higher quality
>burns at higher speeds than using generic strategy.
>
>Use the drive for detailed media analysis (throughput, error correction,
>jitter, etc) for objective measurement and documentation of recording
>quality.
>
>
>I'm sure the experts could give more, but that's what comes to mind at

>first grab.

Oh yeah. Forgot:

Back up existing drive firmware prior to an update, for easy reversion to
older copy in case update leads to poorer performance on some media.

Cross-flash rebadged drives from other brands to OEM in order to restore
full feature set.

Modify media ID table in drive firmware to allow faster writing on media
where the manufacturer has chosen an innappropriately conservative speed
rating.

In article <Xns9A4983C2B931nilch1@216.196.97.136>, Nil <rednoise+news@REMOVETHIScomcast.net> wrote:
>On 19 Feb 2008, retsuhcs@xinap.moc (Mike S.) wrote in
>alt.comp.periphs.cdr:
>
>> Many of the tech inclined like Lite-On, especially because they
>> are cheap and hackable. There is a wealth of third-party software
>> taking advantage of the ability to tweak these drives. A lot of
>> other brands (e.g. Sony) are re-badged Lite-On burners anyway.
>
>Why would you tweak/hack a DVD burner? What can you make it do that it
>doesn't already do?
>
Hacking a burner can increase its recording speed, its ripping speed, it can
make it region free etc....

Nil wrote:
> On 19 Feb 2008, retsuhcs@xinap.moc (Mike S.) wrote in
> alt.comp.periphs.cdr:
>
>> Many of the tech inclined like Lite-On, especially because they
>> are cheap and hackable. There is a wealth of third-party software
>> taking advantage of the ability to tweak these drives. A lot of
>> other brands (e.g. Sony) are re-badged Lite-On burners anyway.
>
> Why would you tweak/hack a DVD burner? What can you make it do that it
> doesn't already do?
>

You can make it do things for which it wasn't designed - then ***** in
ng's about what a lousy product it is.
Dave Cohen

In article <oiZvj.57$JU3.38@trndny04>, Dave Cohen <user@example.net> wrote:
>Nil wrote:
>> On 19 Feb 2008, retsuhcs@xinap.moc (Mike S.) wrote in
>> alt.comp.periphs.cdr:
>>
>>> Many of the tech inclined like Lite-On, especially because they
>>> are cheap and hackable. There is a wealth of third-party software
>>> taking advantage of the ability to tweak these drives. A lot of
>>> other brands (e.g. Sony) are re-badged Lite-On burners anyway.
>>
>> Why would you tweak/hack a DVD burner? What can you make it do that it
>> doesn't already do?
>>
>
>You can make it do things for which it wasn't designed - then ***** in
>ng's about what a lousy product it is.
>Dave Cohen

Most of the *****ing about Lite-On drives is on the issue of noise and
the short lifespans of some specimens.