The perfect external DVD burner?

Message

JNavas · #1 Post by **JNavas** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 10:10 am

OK, so nothing's perfect, but it's darn good, and a great value.

The Problem: Needed a DVD burner for my ThinkPad T41.

The Options:

Internal. Must be super slim (9.5 mm high). Currently available drives are expensive and/or problematic.
External. More affordable and capable, but I didn't want to be carrying around a lot of weight and bulk, including power.

The Solution:

Slim (12.7 mm) drive mounted in compact case, powered by the computer.
Small and light enough to keep in my computer bag.
USB 2.0 doesn't limit performance.
External makes it possible to copy CDs and DVDs on the fly from the internal CD-RW/DVD, or burn 2 CDs at once.

The Hardware:

NEC ND-6750A
3rd generation slim drive, fast and capable
Got mine on eBay for less, but only $66 from Newegg
Centrix EX-BLK-01 USB 2.0 External Slim Line Enclosure
Includes two cables: standard USB, plus combo USB/PS2 passthru for extra power (needed for reliable burning). Matches black ThinkPad nicely. Great value. Assembly is dead easy. $15

Picture: external link [embedded images prohibited by Moderators]

Total Cost:

$81 plus tax and shipping.
$5 for soft black cosmetics case at Target that fits enclosure and cables nicely.

Caveat:
NEC slim DVD burners are conservative about blank media, often limiting speed to less than the advertised rating, but better that than coasters.

Results:
The NEC ND-6750A has performed very well on both reading (much faster on DVDs than the internal Panasonic/Matshita UJDA745 CD-RW/DVD drive) and writing of several types of media. Quality of 4X burns on Philips- and Verbatim-branded 8X DVD-R media has been good.

Drive Specs:

Transfer Rate Read CD: 24x
Transfer Rate Read DVD: 8x
Transfer Rate Write (CD): CD-R 24x; CD-RW 20x;
Transfer Rate Write (DVD): DVD-R 8x; DVD-R DL 4x; DVD-RW 6x; DVD+R 8x; DVD+R9 4x; DVD+RW 8x

Makes a great portable drive for use with desktop systems as well.

-John

Habib · #2 Post by **Habib** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 2:58 pm

Followed the instructions and now I have a slim portable DVD-Writer! Thanks!

#3 Post by **jdhurst** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 1:09 pm

Do you (Mr. Navas) know of an internal drive that is not problematic? I have a T41, would like to get a DVD burner, and if the proposed internal drive is known good, I would be prepared to pay the money (up to a point). Thanks, .. JD Hurst

Habib · #4 Post by **Habib** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 1:19 pm

The Pioneer DVR-K16 might be what you are looking for. Here is a list of Slim burners at Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... =0&Ntk=all

JHEM · #5 Post by **JHEM** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 5:15 pm

Habib wrote:The Pioneer DVR-K16 might be what you are looking for. Here is a list of Slim burners at Newegg.

I believe those are all 12mm "Slim" drives, the T4X series machines use 9.5mm "Ultra-Slim" drives.

Regards,

James

JNavas · #6 Post by **JNavas** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 9:34 am

jdhurst wrote:Do you (Mr. Navas) know of an internal drive that is not problematic? I have a T41, would like to get a DVD burner, and if the proposed internal drive is known good, I would be prepared to pay the money (up to a point). Thanks, .. JD Hurst

The best of the integrated drives I know of is the ThinkPad Super Multi-Burner Ultrabay Slim Drive (40Y8622). However, I don't think it measures up to the NEC ND-6750A.

JNavas · #7 Post by **JNavas** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 9:50 am

Habib wrote:The Pioneer DVR-K16 might be what you are looking for. Here is a list of Slim burners at Newegg

The Pioneer DVR-K16 is probably the best alternative to the NEC ND-6750A for use in an external enclosure IM(ns)HO, but I think the NEC ND-6750A is a bit better (more reliable and more compatible). Newegg no longer has the ND-6750A, but does have the Sony NEC Optiarc AD-5540A, with better specs, but I personally haven't used it. (Sony NEC Optiarc is a joint venture of NEC and Sony for optical storage that was formed from their formerly separate operations.)

JNavas · #8 Post by **JNavas** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 9:51 am

JHEM wrote:
Habib wrote:The Pioneer DVR-K16 might be what you are looking for. Here is a list of Slim burners at Newegg.
I believe those are all 12mm "Slim" drives, the T4X series machines use 9.5mm "Ultra-Slim" drives.

Correct.

JoeM · #9 Post by **JoeM** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 6:52 am

The search for a good but pocketable external DVD burner has ended here it seems.

I don't understand the following:

JNavas wrote: [*]Centrix EX-BLK-01 USB 2.0 External Slim Line Enclosure
Includes two cables: standard USB, plus combo USB/PS2 passthru for extra power (needed for reliable burning). Matches black ThinkPad nicely. Great value. Assembly is dead easy. $15[/list]Picture: external link

Is a single USB calbe sufficient for normal DVD usage? How are the PS2 cable and USB cable connected ? Does that prevent the internal USB chip from being overloaded?

From the pictures provided by the manufacturer there is a 2-pin power plug at the back of the USB case? What's that for?

JNavas · #10 Post by **JNavas** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:41 am

JoeM wrote:The search for a good but pocketable external DVD burner has ended here it seems.
I don't understand the following:
JNavas wrote:Centrix EX-BLK-01 USB 2.0 External Slim Line Enclosure
Includes two cables: standard USB, plus combo USB/PS2 passthru for extra power (needed for reliable burning). Matches black ThinkPad nicely. Great value. Assembly is dead easy. $15
Picture: external link
Is a single USB calbe sufficient for normal DVD usage? How are the PS2 cable and USB cable connected ? Does that prevent the internal USB chip from being overloaded?

A single standard USB cable (the first cable) can deliver enough power to the drive for reading, but not enough power for reliable writing (which takes more power than reading). The second cable is thus just to provide enough power for reliable writing, and doesn't need to be used at all for reading. The second cable is a special "two-headed" cable that can be connected to either a second USB port or a PS/2 port on the computer, just for power. The two cables are entirely separate -- I just have them tied together with zip cable ties for convenience.

JoeM wrote:From the pictures provided by the manufacturer there is a 2-pin power plug at the back of the USB case? What's that for?

There are two sockets on the back of the enclosure:

Standard USB port (for the first cable, a standard USB cable).
Round power port for special second cable. This could presumably be used with an appropriate wall wart power supply instead of the special second cable, but I haven't tried that.

Hope that helps!

dorin · #11 Post by **dorin** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 10:30 am

following a link someone put here about some ext ibm drives, i own the same enclosure with a lg 4028n (only it has an ibm sticker on it)

works wonderfull, with no pb, better then the lacie ext slim drive which is totally retarded when it comes to multisessions.

now, can anyone (maybe jnavas) tell me how to dissamble the enclosure? i know will come a time when an upgrade will be needed. i got it already installed, i only noticed 2 screws in the back if it. what next?!

thanks alot,

dorin

JNavas · #12 Post by **JNavas** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 10:50 am

dorin wrote:now, can anyone (maybe jnavas) tell me how to dissamble the enclosure? i know will come a time when an upgrade will be needed. i got it already installed, i only noticed 2 screws in the back if it. what next?!

Remove the two screws, and it should just pop open -- I think you just have to slide one of the two halves a bit.

JoeM · #13 Post by **JoeM** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 5:45 pm

Thanks for the explanation. Now I understand.

dorin · #14 Post by **dorin** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 12:38 am

soo easy!
thanks. now have to get rid of the lacie enclosure.

cheers,
dorin

The perfect external DVD burner?

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