I know what the general opinion of Tiger is here, but thought this might catch some folks' attention. External Plextor 740 for $49.99 after $90 in rebates (2 rebates, a $50 and a $40). I've always gotten what I was owed, so take it with a grain of salt: Not a bad deal...

how is this compare to benq or nec? the rebates are making me hesitant.

it IS a benQ

it's the external version of the 1640

I just recieved mine. I have been trying to test it to make sure it works before sending in for rebates. So far, I am disappointed with DVD recording. One of my main reasons for getting one was to copy movie DVD so that my daughters can use the copy because the original disks are so darn fragile. When I trid to copy Pirates of the Carribean, I recieved this error message:

Read error at 00:17.37 Illiegal request (code 056F03)

I am using PlexTools software which is "suppose" to clone the disks regardless of encryption.

Oh well, I have come to not exect much from PC hardware and software anyway. Most of it is junk compared to the Unix systems I work with. It just doesn't seem to do even the simplest things well.

I have three 1640's (internals) and one ready to be deployed to the kids upgraded box, but have yet to test the external waters. Obviously though, I love the internals

i don't think plextools decrypts. you need to decrypt/rip the disc before you can burn a copy...

Hi
sys-eng welcome to the forum.
Plextor 740 has only limited use of Plextools. None of shaded area is available to this drive.

Hi
That's correct. Just straight copying. Nothing else.

That is what I learned tonight after searching the internet for two hours. If it is truly cloning the disk, encryption should not matter. It should simply copy 0 / 1 from disk to disk. Oh well, more PC issues. Any recomendations on a free or cheap (<$15) program to allow DVD to DVD copying? There appears to be a lot of them in the $30 - $70 range but I will send the Plextor back for a refund before I pay that much for PC software. I just cannot afford it.

if it allowed copying then the copy protection would be pretty useless then wouldn't it?

check out the "copy dvd movie" forum for software recommendations.

Yes, that is what I found out AFTER I bought the drive and PlexTools. Plextor was once known as the leader of CD and DVD recorders so I expected more information from them. It is not exactly a pleasant surprise. In hindsight, I can't say that PlexTools has any useful benefits and will just go the way of so many other useless PC programs.

Thanks for the response.

Hi
The 740 is not a 'true' Plextor. It's a BenQ 1640 clone & as such is actually a good drive. To use BenQs QSuite & utilities you'd have to crossflash to the 740 to 1640. Before doing this which viods warranty, take a look at QSuite manual (link in my sig) to see what features are available.
P.S. With a 'true' Plextor full access of Plextools does have it's merits.

Thanks a bunch. I will check it out.
This just goes to prove that Plextor is not nearly the company that it once was.

i'm confused...what goes to show?

the fact that they rebranded BenQ drive? you'll find that most if not all companies do this or have done this on a couple modelshis, and the brand on the box is what's actually inside maybe 50% of the time...

There was a time when Plextor would have just said that it was a rebranded drive. It is sort of like buying a Michelin tire only to find out that it is really a Firestone with Michelin logo on the side. Nothing against Firestone, but Michelin is often bought for its reputation and people are willing to pay more for it. Likewise, I bought Plextor because my other Plextor drives have been running for more than five years and never a failure. That is what people have come to expect from Plextor. Futhermore, Plextor drives are suppose to take advantage of their recording program that was written specificly for their drives. Now I find out that this drive does not work with their program any better than a a nonPlextor drive.

This may be a good drive, I don't know yet. Before this week, I had never heard of BenQ. Maybe they are good.

Yes, but people would not need to copy if they used better media. There were and are more durable media available but it seems the studios do not want them to last so they can sell more. If they guaranteed their media, I would be satisfied. We sure pay enough for them.

i can assure you that BenQ is the brand of choice for many cdfreaks members. I have a 1640 AND a 1655, and I absolutely love them. I've honestly found plextor to be very overpriced. there's no need to pay $100+ for a dvd burner, when there at top quality burners being sold on newegg.com and other similar sites for ~$40 (BenQ, NEC, Liteon, etc. are all very popular and very reliable brand names for dvd burning)

Benq makes very good drives, let there be no question about that. However, I completely understand what you are saying about Firestone versus Michelin. Plextor should perhaps pay more attention to legal precedents. The class-action lawsuit against Oldsmobile for selling their cars with Chevrolet engines (while simultaneously advertising "Rocket Powered") comes to mind. You may recall that Oldsmobile lost that lawsuit big-time.

Thanks for the feedback on the disk drive. I really appreciate it.

I sent an e-mail message to BenQ technical support asking if this is a BenQ drive and what model but their response was to call Plextor. If I had known that this was not truly a Plextor, I probably would have bought a Lite-On 1635SX. Well, I will give this BenQ a try after I figure out what program to use so I can copy a movie DVD.

Thanks again.

On this forum BenQ rates up there with God!

Don't try to bash here!