Liteon 401s@411 or Pioneer DVR-106

[werky]

Hi ppl

After a bad time with LG GSA 4040b, I want to buy a new dvd writer.

So I was looking for a true and real one. That could only be a Pioneer.

The problem is that I'm waiting for 3 weeks now without any recorder :-(.
The 106 is completely sold out and I have to wait till the end of the month to get it.

So yesterday I saw for selling a LiteOn 401s only for $79, I thought this was fantastic, but it has a big problem only dvd+r not dvd-r :-(

Then I found all the stuff about the upgrading of firmware from a Liteon 401s to a dual drive as a real 411s.

So my question is, what's best to do:

Pioneer DVDr-106 for $139
or
LiteOn 401s (up to 411) for $79

This is almost half the price. But is Liteon any good? Is this firmware upgrade any good, reliable durable? Can the drive be destroyed with these firmware hacks?

Thank you so much for your help

werky

[windtrader]

Liteon drives generally have a good reputation. They mostly are OEM drives for comapnies like Sony and others. You can go to here http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdplayers for lots of information on the various drives.

[gooki]

I've got 2x 401s dvd writers converted to 411s, they run fine with the latest firmware. Had a few issues in regards to xbox compatibility with older firmware. All sorted now.

Personally I would prefer the 106 but like you I found the 401s at a dirt cheap price so couldn't pass it up.