I also have the Liteon SOHW-1693S and going to exchange it for a NEC ND3550 which has the same features and is a few dollars cheaper. I've heard the NEC is more durable. I'm only interested in the drive that can burn the most DVD's with the highest quality. The last Liteon I had was LDW-811S and it burned less than 200 DVD's before all it started doing was coasters. Maybe the LDW series was just garbage and SOHW are better? Anyway, I'm going to try NEC. Anyone with NEC care to share your experiences? I don't see many reviews out there on the ND3550A. Thanks.