I have only one DVD Burner: Plextor PX-716A, and I am very satisfied with it's writing quality.
But I want to buy another one and I am seriously interested in getting the Benq 1640
becouse of it's power reading capabilities, that's what I read in many reviews.
But review is one thing and experience by yourself is another,don't you agree.
So I want to ask you guys if you are satisfiaed with the Benq 1640?
Did it prove your expectations?
Is it really a powerfull reader?
Is it the best DVD burner that can handle scratched DVDs or CDs with damaged data?
Have you experienced a case when you had a scratched DVD and you couldn't retrieve the files
with other DVD Burners but Benq 1640 did the job?

Thanks a lot guys,
Pavle

Yes and no. My 1640 will read some scratched disks while the 716A gave up, and vice versa.

The point is they will be a good combination.

i think 1640 is very good choice and as Zevia said, will be very good combination together with your plextor drive

i'd buy another DW1640, or possibly a NEC 4550 (hoping that the firmware someday becomes non-sucky)

I have a PX716 and a DW1640. The DW1640 seems to have a small firmware problem using the standard version firmware. It slows down when ripping from some DVD's. This is not present on the external DW1640 firmware though so is proof that it is a bug in firmware.

The DW1640 however will read damaged discs that the PX716 will not and vice versa.

I also have both the Plextor 716A and the BenQ 1640. They seem to compliment each other nicely, with the 716A having been a better reader of scratched discs overall and the 1640 able to read DVD+RW's (not damaged) that the 716A could not. I have not come across a disc that I have been unable to read yet. (fingers crossed and knock on wood!) Additionally, I have found that my 716A is a better CD burner while the 1640 is the better DVD burner with the current stock firmware and default settings.

BTW, the BenQ behaves nicely as the slave on the IDE channel. The Plextor demands it be set as the master.

owning both the 716 and 1640, i echo the sentiments thus far expressed in this thread - their combined forces are hard to beat

I am not a very happy BenQ 1640 owner. The drive I got did not write Verbatim DLs correctly. Moreover it had read problems. Also the BenQ 1640 is a very slow ripper for pressed DVDs.

After I got the LG 1653D I was much more satisfied. I'd recommend another drive like the LG 1563D or LiteOn 1693 in addition to the BenQ 1640 If you're already saisfied with the Plextor you own and it scans well...get a GOOD writer in all respects like the 5163D which is IMHO the best DVD+RDL writer (very little PIFs).

Can I get some more replies guys, I know there are more Benq 1640 owners out there whose experience with the Benq would be very appreciated if they post here.

Many Thanks to the guys who have already posted,
Pavle

you could read the BenQ forum and the thousands of posts re: the 1640 there already to get a gauge of what current owners opinions are...

The only drive from my arsenal I have had reading problems with is Nec 3540 that couldn't read some old DVD discs (however not scratched because I take good care for my discs) but every other drive read it fine.

get a 1640, formulate your own opinions. it's the best drive i've ever had.

I agree, after 2 Rmas I finally got one that reads great Made in China August 2005 BSHB, now I am very satisfied with Quikees WOPC Tool complimenting QSuite 2.0 I believe I have the best drive out there, by the way it works great on the same IDE cable with my L.G. 4163. Both fast writers (LG is a little faster) but the BenQ is a much faster reader and like it was said above it can read scratched discs great. I recommend it. For 38.99USD you cannot beat it.

I haven't been entirely please with my 1640. It was the first drive i'd purchased since my first dvd burner which was an lg4040b. The lg burner was great, and the only reason i replaced it was that I wanted a faster burner, and dual layer capability.

i bought the OEM version of the 1640, and have been rather dissapointed because it doesn't scan very well. I run it as secondary master all by itself, and i still get errors, like 10's of thousands of po/pi errors on any disc i scan. I use good discs for burning, 8x ty's, verbatim's, and the same thing. The discs play great on any dvd player (even the xbox) that i try them in, but the drive doesn't seem to be able to do a proper scan, because with the level of errors it reports, the disc shouldn't be playable.

i thought about RMA'ing it, but i'd have to pay for shipping to the place i bought it from (ncix) and if they deemed nothing wrong with it, they'd charge me all sorts of stuff, and I didn't trust them, so I didn't do it.

I think i'll get an NEC next time, I think BenQ can make some good drives, but i also think they have quality control issues, which is why some people get a great drive, and others have problems

Every manufacturer has quality control issues just take a look at the PLEXTOR, PIONEER, NEC, LG & SAMSUNG forums.

I have been very very pleased with my 1640. it's reading capabilities are superior to any of my DVD roms or plextor dvd burners. and I have had no prblems with the burns using Taiyo yuden, verbatim, ritek, or Maxell DVD+R disc's.

I agree with you on 1640, but remember all those disc you have named and using are top quality and brand names wich majority of other brand of burners have no problem burning them in good quality.

Well, I cant comment on junk or cheapo low quality media as I dont buy any.

Mine's been great so far, and with very average media. I'm getting no less than 94-98 quality scores on a tub of Fuji 8X +R which are Ritek R03. It has read discs that were damaged, or so I thought, which couldn't be read by my old Sony. I can't complain about the 1640 in any way except there's no C2 error checking. That's a disappointment, but otherwise it's a beautiful drive. I can't think of a better way to spend £30.

Why would anyone select a burner to burn crap media? What's the point of a good quality burn on crap media that ultimately will degrade after as little as 3 months? Believe me I KNOW...i've the last couple of months re-backing up movies that I burned on crap media. Save yourself the heartache and DONT CHOOSE A BURNER BASED ON WHETHER IT BURNS CRAP MEDIA WELL.

My advice, choose a burner that burn good quality media the best. A good reader, and is cheap.

Thusly, I would recommend the BenQ1640 or the LiteOn 1693S. Both can be had for under 40 bucks.

Which 1640 firmware are you currently using in the external Prolific case that did not have this "ripping bug"?

Personally i'd not touch BenQ again. It's my 4th writer and has not produced a good quality backup in the 2 weeks i have had it. Before the BenQ i had forgotten what a coaster was but it's been happily destroying my blank media since i've owned it. It has improved somewhat since i cross flashed it to a Plex 740 but i am going to sell it to my work who will only want to backup to cd. Just need to find a replacement that isn't a BenQ clone!

May be there is a misunderstanding here, I did not recommend that you should use a crappie media, I myself only use "Maxell, Sony, Fuji film, and Verbatim all made in Japan except for Verbatim. But please realize not every body in all part of the world have access to top quality and made in Japan media, therefore a good drive (which BenQ almost is, NEC 3500) must be able to read and write on no so top quality media also .

if you look on this forum, you'll see TONS of scans with mediocre media and good to great results. I've gotten 97 and better from almost every Ritek G05 I've burned so far with my 1640, and that's a reasonable step up from the old DW1620s I'd been using.
I've done OPTODISC OR4 with excellent results, and CMCMAGE01, etc etc, it's a superb burner. So far I've only done about a hundred discs, but burn quality hasn't dropped at all.

If it's anything like my previous BenQ burners then it'll last a thousand burns before I buy something new and then retire the old BenQ in perfect working order.