The Firmware Page

From what I've seen.

Pio 108 automatically sets booktype to DVD-ROM on DVD+R9 (Dual Layer) discs.

Pio 108 is significantly faster at 8x than the NEC.

Both drives are pretty similar at 12x with the Pio 108 1.10 firmware. The new 1.14 firmware can reportedly shave off another 14 seconds burn time. Only seen one report so far however.

NEC is almost 1 minute faster at 16x when compared to the 1.10 firmware on the Pio 108. The 1.14 firmware reportedly decreases the burn time on the Pio 108 but have yet to see any burn results. However, even with more speed increases it is doubful that the Pio 108 will come close to the NEC 16x burn speed due to the use of Z-CLV on the Pio 108.

The emperors test with official 16x media shows the Pio 108 with much better burn quality than the Nec drive at 16x burn speeds. The Pio 108 has an almost perfect burn using the 1.10 firmware (especially where the 16x burn occurs). 1.06 firmware has dubious quality burns at 16x (most notably where the 16x burn occurs). NEC has said they are commited to improving the burn quality of their drive, however, they aren't exactly the fastest when it comes to updating their firmware.

Hope that helps. Myself I'll stick with my Pioneer as they seem much more dedicated to improving their drives through firmware updates than does NEC.

Regards,
Silent Buddha

PS - To summarize for Pioneer x08 series drives. 1.06 firmware has good burn quality at 8x and lower but dubious burn quality on some media at 12x and 16x. Burn quality is quite good for all speeds with 1.10 and 1.14 firmware.

[align=center]Comparison HERE[/align]

British pounds? lol ...... you mean "Sterling"

Flash,

That quote was in regards to 12x burn times, not 16x.

However, I do want to thank you for that link to the 16x burn time. It looks like the 1.14 didn't improve burn times over the 1.10 if any. About what I expected, but I was still hoping for a miracle. Not that it matters much to me, since I'm quite happy with 8x and 12x.

BTW - have you done any tests to see if there is a noticeable difference between 1.10 and 1.14 in regards to 12x burns? The only thing I've seen is just a user saying he got burns up to 14 seconds faster. But he didn't post any screens or anything to back it up.

Regards,
Silent Buddha

I guess when it comes to burning DVD media both NEC and Pioneer seem to be better than Lite-On, quality-wise. However it seems NEC has zero/zilch/none/nil o.e.m. firmware support for their drives. I'm not doubting the abilities of 3rd party firmware patchers, but it would be nice to be able to choose from either oem or 3rd parties. I've checked Pioneer's Australian firmware page and they seem to have a decent amount of firmware updates for their drives. Couldn't locate any for NEC. I think this will heavily influence my purchase decision, and also for those around me.

On newegg.com, the ND-3500A and the DVR-108 are close in price, ranging from $75 to $86 dollars. The quieter and snazzier looking DVR-A08XL is $180 (!).

Primarily will be using these drives to back up movies. Does anyone know how either drives handle back ups for games (SafeDisc, Securom)? If they can't, I could always fall back on my Lite-On or Plextor burners.

well, I based my decision on which drive Herrie is most likely to massage the firmware on so the 3500A was what I got. If it wasn't for the 32x CD-R speed on my 2500 I wouldn't have upgraded.

I'm sure the 3500A will eventually be the better drive with Herrie's support. I'm postponing my vote until after Herrie does his magic.

Yep, I agree...the new firmware, when it's released, should improve the drive even further...

I've got the 3500, currently running the v2.17 firmware. It's ok for now

i got both the NEC3500 and the PIONEER 108.
the NEC is better i reckon.

I have both drives too and IMO the Pioneer 108 is the better drive because it has the better burning quality.
That's my opinion after several hundred burned DVDs.

well i've burned alot more then several hunderd dvdr, and i still reckon the nec is better imo.