I spent a lot of time searching the web only to find Europe is full of the SHW 16H5S but nothing in the United States. Does anyone know where in the U.S. where I can purchase one?
Thanks

Some of the I/O magic brands at Staples are the Lite-On 16H5S. The ones that says 8x dual layer have about a 50% chance of being 16H5S and 50% chance of being a BenQ 1655. If you do not like BenQ then just keep returning it until you find the Lite-On. BTW the drive is a genuine Lite-On. Says so on the drive "Lite-On 16H5S" and comes with original Lite-On firmware, thus no need to crossflash.

CompUSA also has the IOMagic boxes that had been all 16H5S, includes both black & beige bezels.

Thanks for the leads. I'll do some checking tomorrow. Another question. I found a Sony DWQ28A. Is this the same as a 16H5S?

No.

I went to CompUSA and bought the IOMagic lightscribe and it was a BenQ. They were great about the return (under 21 days and no restocking fee). Off to another CompUSA store and try again. I wish Lite-On would just release the drive to the North American market.

What you currently have is a BenQ DW1655, a very good drive as well. But if you are set on a 16H5S, then you'll have to find it. There's an easy way to check before leaving the store. Just push on the flaps and widen the box from the bottom until you can take flaps out. This way, you can check on the label first without breaking the seal.

the 16h5s might be a good drive... but you have to be a liteon freak to not keep the dw1655.

I guess I could be that liteon freak but the BenQ is looking pretty good about now.

I saw an ad on Ebay that claims a HP is a Lite-On.
(Liteon / HP DVD740i 16X DVD±R/RW w/ LightScribe)

Could this be the 16H5S or wrongly labeled?

Check here also.