Life of Burner?

[figaro14]

I've been burning a lot of DVDs on my new NEC ND 3650A burner which fortunately will burn dual layer disks also. I'm just wondering what is the average life expentancy of a burner?

[burfadel]

Thats a tough question, there's no correct answer. It could stop working tomorrow, or you could continue burning on it at the current rate for years! Just remember to always only use clean disks (no dust or anything on it), as people often mistake a dirty lens for a faulty drive/player - this includes every dvd drive/player etc! (cd's as well).

DVD drives are fairly cheap now, if it does fail in 6 months time a good replacement can cost AUD50 or less. How many DVD's are you considering as a lot? 300? 500+?

[bongoman31]

I've burned over 600 with my Sony. They're the enemy as far as copy protection, but they make a great burner. Kind of ironic, huh?

[Blue_MiSfit]

Indeed. Sony is so inconsistent it makes me sick. They have some products that are just great, and some that are god-awful..

I've had my first DVDRW for like 3 years, and its working perfectly. I've burned probably 400 - 500 DVD+Rs.

~MiSfit

[LANjackal]

Lifespan depends on quite a few things. I've had some burners start acting up after 2.5 years, while others are still going strong 6 years later. In any case, DVD burners are currently dirt cheap, so there's nearly nothing to worry about :).

[burfadel]

Plus they're now up to 20x which can be handy :) (using 16x media)

[smileBhappy]

I have worked with lots of burners and I have never had one "die" on me..... I have 3 computers now each with a burner, the oldest being 5 yeras old and its still going strong....

[burfadel]

I have worked with lots of burners and I have never had one "die" on me..... I have 3 computers now each with a burner, the oldest being 5 yeras old and its still going strong....

Exactly :) I take it you ensure the disks are clean!

I had a friend who had a recent 16x speed Samsung die, but that was due to a power supply problem (we think)...

I have also seen a pioneer die of someone's else, they bought a new one. I took a look at it as it was only just out of warranty, and it turned out to be a dirty lens and lens slidey thing (the rods the lens mechanism moves on). A little bit of vaseline on that and Window cleaner on a soft cloth later and it works perfectly again!

[reepa]

Just some anecdotal evidence: my Creative cdrw burner is from 2000 and still works fine. I don't record many cds, but when I do, the 10-minute writing time isn't too bad (20 minutes for a rewritable cd). I'll replace it when it dies or when I can get a cheap cd-dvd-bluray-hddvd combo burner.

[burfadel]

Just some anecdotal evidence: my Creative cdrw burner is from 2000 and still works fine. I don't record many cds, but when I do, the 10-minute writing time isn't too bad (20 minutes for a rewritable cd). I'll replace it when it dies or when I can get a cheap cd-dvd-bluray-hddvd combo burner.

I think the old Creative drivers were rebadged Sony drives...

[gellar]

ive had them last anywhere from a month to 3 years with constant everday use ...

the 3 year old one is still working fine ...

i think dirt is the main killer of them ...