Hello

I want to buy a LG dvd writter. I know that there are Panasonic based and Renesas based dvd-writter from LG. I thought LG GSA-4166B (Panasonic chipset) would be great but what about GSA-4167B (Renesas chipset)?

Who's better? (excluding LightScribe function of 4166b)

Both are very excelent drives. Read reviews here:
GSA-4166B
GSA-4167B

Both are very good for some media. I have both. Which media are you planning to use?

TDK, Verbatim, Sony (DVDs), Traxdata (CDs) ... generaly good media with tradition in CD\DVD manufacturing ...
I wanted to say what chipset is better for quality burning. I'm not interesting in speeding of read but quality. Also I read somewhere that someone had some problems in recognision of Traxdata +DL 2.4x at it's speed and LG 4166b burnt it at 4x with problems. What about that?

DJ13 is not the official firmware, isn't that true? Is DJ13 better than DL13?

What should I look for? GSA-4166B or GSA-4166BI? (if I wish 4166 not 4167)
Thanks

I don't think it matters as far as the drive goes, I believe the 4166BI comes in a retail box w/software & hardware, whereas the regular is just bulk, drive only.

ok. but here http://www.cdfreaks.com/article/262 they have a retail GSA-4166B, and it seems there is a BI version to (also seen this info at the us.lge.com). I'm asking what should I choose? Are there some diff beetwen these 2 drives? I hope not because I'll find only 4166B, not 4166BI

probably i''l find only 4166B here in Romania-Sibiu

The I is just a reference to a drive in a retail box for most, if not all, LG drives for distributors to differentiate it from a bulk drive. All the reviews indicate the model of the drive, not how to identify if it's in a retail box or not. There is no difference between the drives.

ok. thanks. I can't wait to buy a 4166B ....

LG's Renesas and Panasonic chipset drives are about equal in burn quality. However, both the models you have mentioned are actually slightly out of date. If you manage to find it, I recommend you get the GSA-H10N instead (no lightscribe) or GSA-H10L (lightscribe) which are LG's latest models. Both are renesas chipset models.

This is not a problem with the drive. It is a problem with the media. Traxdata DVD+R DL 2.4x discs are made by Ritek (MID : RITEKD01). This is the same with Memorex and Fujifilm DVD+R DL discs in general. Ritek CDs are pretty good but their DVD discs can be quite horrible, especially their 8x DVD-R and 2.4x DVD+R DL ones. A lot of writers have problems with RITEKD01 discs. Even when you can get the discs to burn properly, some DVD players have problems playing them back. This is why it is recommended that you stick to only Verbatim discs for DVD+R DL and nothing else.

So don't base your judgement of the writing capabilities of the writer on how well it writes Traxdata DVD+R DL 2.4x discs.

This is probably going to be a little confusing. LG and Hitachi both release their own versions of the same drive models. The LG versions are the ones you are familiar with. The Hitachi ones are sold mostly only in Japan under such brands as IO Data and Buffalo. These drives usually have slightly better features than their LG counterparts, for example a UDMA4 IDE interface and auto bitsetting. However, with most of the current LG models, it is possible to use the firmware from the Hitachi versions of the same models and gain those extra features.

DJ13 is from the Hitachi GSA-4167B. DL13 is from LG's version of the GSA-4167B.
DJ13 will give you a UDMA4 IDE interface and auto bitsetting, as well as the reduction of certain read speed limits (rip lock).

I have had great results with Verbatim MCC 004 made by CMC (+R 16X). If you have any chance to get these they are worth the trouble.

[quote=karangguni]LG's Renesas and Panasonic chipset drives are about equal in burn quality. However, both the models you have mentioned are actually slightly out of date. If you manage to find it, I recommend you get the GSA-H10N instead (no lightscribe) or GSA-H10L (lightscribe) which are LG's latest models. Both are renesas chipset models.



So, you advice me to buy H10N not 416xB. But I haven'y seen any reviews of H10N. I saw only for H10A and seen that this last one is very slow reader, vs. very good and fast reader that 4166B was.
Also I couldn't find some specifications of H10N. If you recomand h10N I would buy it. I'm not interesting in LightScribe feature. I use black marker

I would by H10N only if it's better than 4166B in burning quality and compatibility. thanks

Btw, what chipset does my "old" LG 4120B dvd burner have? I am still VERY satisfied with that drive, currently in an external housing with oxford 911 chipset

For reading speeds, there is special firmware (from Hitachi, LG's partner) for the H10N which will allow it to do :

- DVD+/-R discs read at 16x max (H10A : 10x max)
- DVD+RW discs read at 12-14x max (H10A : 8x max)
- DVD-VIDEO single layer discs rip at 10x max (H10A : 5x max)
- DVD-VIDEO double layer discs rip at 8x max (H10A : 5x max)

In addition, this firmware will also give you :

- UDMA4 interface (H10A : UDMA2)
- hardware based automatic bitsetting/book typing (H10A : manual
bitsetting/book typing)

This is quite a new drive and so it is hard to find reviews of the drive. LG has a habit of often launching drives and not updating their websites, so it is no wonder that you cannot find any specifications of the drive.

The specs for the H10N and and the H10A are the same except for the following write speeds :
- 10x DVD+R DL
- 12x DVD-RAM

The following thread has scans and some information on the drive. Generally, only pay attention to scans of burns done with firmware JJ11 or JL11. Burns done with earlier firmware version may not be that good but burn quality was improved with these two newer versions of firmware.

Renesas R8J32005FP, very much older brother of the chipset used in the H10A/N/L drives. That chipset range has been the one LG traditionally used for most of its drives. The use of Panasonic chipsets seems to be a recent experiment, at least for retail models.

More information here (see Q5) :
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showpost.ph...58&postcount=2

If you truly believe that 4166B is a fast reader, then you never have seen a fast reader.

Sascha

I just wanted to say that I saw that 4166b is faster than 4167B at DVD+/-R reading. I know that are faster reading drives from Nec and Benq

Do I lose my warranty if I flash my H10N with JJ11 (from Hitachi) ?

Hi,Check LG Germany website.

Michael

Of course you do.

Sascha

ok. let's say I wanna do it. Where can I find this JJ11 firmware and What kind of flashing software do I need for making a JL11 H10N a JJ11 H10N. Thanks a lot.