BenQ DVD Writer is vanishing from market and no longer is available for purchased. Newegg.com does not have so other places I guess we have to live without it.

I was sure amazed how quickly they pulled them from NewEgg. It made it appear like it was some major recall because the drives were defective, rather than just letting them sell out of them. There are some to be had in Europe and Taiwan, IIRC, but unless they are rebadged at CompUSA like Norwood or some brands like that, we're out of luck. Quite sad too, as I took a long time to 'bite' on buying a BenQ, and when I did, I got a 1640 and loved it (still do, and hope it works well for many years). Right now, there appears to be no 'close replacement' for it in terms of quality scanning and Solidburn results I got on my burns.

The availability of rebadged Benq 1650/1655 drives are at Compusa under the brand names Norwood Micro, Compusa and Connect Computers.

I think that you can still get the DW 1655 for $41.99 at Meritline.com. This includes shipping. I know that some have had problems with Meritline, but they've always been okay with me.

Thanks for the reminder, DVD ADDICT! I knew someone had given the complete list of rebadges, but I did not remember the exact ones.

I know for sure the Norwood Micro drives are rebadged Benq 1650's because on the box it says, "DW1650". I opened up the Connect Computer boxes at my local Compusa last month and they were 1650's as well. The vent is a dead giveaway on the drive. The Compusa brand supposedly is a 1650 but there have been reports that they could also be Liteon so open up the box to look at the drive. If you want to sure about the drives then open up the Compusa and Connect Computer boxes. The lightscribe Connect Computer drive is a rebadged model LG GSA-H10LI, it's on the sticker of the drive.

Also there has been cases that HI-VAL have been repackage of BenQ 1640, 1650 & 1670. BTW: The HI-VAL drive is always on the sale @Fry's Electonic for $29.99 after $10 MIR.

I bought a Retail 1655 from Newegg last week and it was delivered yesterday.

The Sony 810A-R = a 1650, these are still around a few places

oh wow i remember waiting for them to hit the US market and now they are gone for good? good thing i got one way back then and i'm loving it. Now i'm thinking of getting an extra one just for safe keeping. That really bites tho.

Plenty of Sony DRU-810A-R at Fry's. About $50 AR.

I went to CompUSA yesterday and they have stacks of the Norwood 1650's
but they want 80 dollars for them.

I wonder if the firmware is the same as the benq fw with just a different alpha
numerical designation, or is it totally different fw.

You would think if it was a dw1650 and came from Benq it would be the same.

Right now at Compusa the rebadged BENQ 1650 Norwood Micro drive is $59.99 after $20.00 mail in rebate. The firmware has the official BENQ firmware. The drive itself says "BENQ DW1650". I haven't seen anyone else report differently. Installed 3 of those Norwood Micro drives into 2 different computers that I just built.

Hi DVD ADDICT,

What firmware was installed on the Norwoods you purchased?

I have 2 1640's and love them!!, the first i bought well over a year ago, prob has seen a few thousand burns, my kids spilled some soda on my pooter and the tray was all sticky!, i took it all apart and cleaned it a few times, the tray was sticking while opening so i bought a newegg 1650, first burn was bad!!
Bought a Compusa norwood micro 1640 and put the 1650 in the box for a refund!!
The first 1640 is in my work comp here at a car dealership, we have high speed cable so i burn alot here too...
It's real dirty here so i dont know how long it will last but it keeps on burning, i also have a Plextor 708a at work and a NEC3500 in my home poot.

Sorry I don't remember because I immediately flashed the drives to firmware BCIC.

damn you guys got me all scared i been meaning to get the 1640 FOREVER and saw this post searched the net nobody selling ran a fast ebay check

cha-ching!!!!

$34 shipped and he has pictures of the back sticker showing the model number

wheew hope its good!

Is this BenQ 1640 from eBay brand new or used one?.

here, in Malaysia, benq dw1650 is everywhere..

its used but the guy is not a business ebay seller its his personal drive and he has 100% feedback so hopefully i dont have any problems. It is also warrantied so as soon as I get it i'll just run a few tests. and make sure its good to go

Got a pic of that vent? How can I distinguish a LiteOn?

Yes that would be nice to know the drive works flawlessly, a year ago I bought one of these Scientific Atlanta Cable box from some one in eBay but never been able to get it to work because you need activation from cable company that they won't activate these boxes since they consider them illegal.

It would be nice if I burn a few thousand burns then put on Ebay :-)

ebay is all about paying attention to feedback choosing good sellers with warranties and a dash of luck

I can't really rely on these sellers @ebay having sell brand new unit.