Recomendations for a Blu Ray burner at DVinfo.net

Dan Lambert · August 14th, 2010, 09:16 AM

I've been looking at New Egg and Tiger Direct for a Blu Ray burner. Reading the customer reviews I'm left in quite a quandary. I'm not that concerned about price, but I'd like to get about the best one. I'd like it to basically burn Blu Ray disks without being too picky about the media. And I'd like it if it included software where I could watch a Blu Ray movies on my computer. It most definitely needs to play on stand alone Blu Ray players. If it would play on Sony PS3 that would be a nice bonus as well.

Right now I have XP 64bit with Sony Vegas Pro 8. I just bought a copy of Win 7 64 bit which I plan on upgrading to soon.

Thanks ahead for any recommendations.

Adam Gold · August 14th, 2010, 11:56 AM

The Videoguys recommend the Pioneer BD205. I just bought one for my new system. In my older machine I've been using an LG which works fine... the only caveat is that many (including myself) have had issues with the LG and Win7. For me the issues were solved by making sure the Intel Matrix Storage Manager (latest version) was installed.

Dan Lambert · August 14th, 2010, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Gold

The Videoguys recommend the Pioneer BD205.

Thanks Adam, I just checked out http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CCAQ8wIwAg#

And it's seems that everyone is giving it a very good rating. Just what I was looking for.

Jeff Anselmo · August 14th, 2010, 05:12 PM

Hi Dan,

Just to second Adam's suggestion, I also have the Pioneer BD205. I've used it with Adobe's Encore CS5 fairly recently and it turned out good (played on a PS3 and on a 52" flat screen). I've never burned a blu ray movie disc before and I was surprised how easy it was (editing from Premiere CS5 and burning with Encore CS5)

But I did read some reviews that the blu ray software that comes bundled with the burner wasn't very good; so I didn't install it.

Best,

Taky Cheung · August 14th, 2010, 09:04 PM

I have used two LG burners. Very reliable. Now using it with Win 7 and I don't need Intel matrix driver. Basically it works just out of the box. Price is good.

Adam Gold · August 14th, 2010, 11:07 PM

I probably should have specified that is it the LG H20L that has a problem with Win7, and LG flat out says it won't work with that OS. It does, but it took me a week of troubleshooting to make it seen by the OS. I'm sure newer LGs don't have this problem.

Jay West · August 16th, 2010, 12:37 PM

I've been using a Pioneer BD-205 with Win 7 since last year and also have a BD-205 in an external enclosure that I run with a Vista 64/8gb laptop. I mostly author DVDs in Encore, but I've also made CDs with Sound Forge/CD Architect. When I'm making multiple copies for distribution, I usually burn to an image file and use Nero to burn the copies (although 16x burns work on most players, it can still be a problem for some of my customers and I so usually burn at 12x.) I've mostly worked with Sony 16x printable DVD-R and Taiyo Yuden 16x printable DVD-R. Have also used several brands of dual-layer DVDs including Memorex. I've burned Blu-Ray disks using Sony, Memorex and Verbatim brands of disks. No coasters, yet.

Rani Korkise · August 27th, 2010, 03:14 AM

Hey guys...
Thank you very much for the recommendation and I'm probably going to go with pioneer, However I'm getting a little confused.. There seems to be two models? BDR-205BK VS BDR-205BKRP?
Look at ]Search for Computer Hardware & Computer Software @ MEGABUY.COM.AU
Besides including software, is there any other difference between the two?

Also is there a need for us to buy it with software since we use our own DVD authoring software?

Thanks in advance

Jay West · August 27th, 2010, 10:55 AM

I think the software package is the only difference.

While my drives came with the software (that being how videoguys.com sold them) I've never used the software. I mainly use Adobe Encore to author disks and occasionally use it for burning when I only need to make a single copy. For multiple copies, I use Encore to make an image file and use Nero to burn the image files to disk.

Taky Cheung · August 27th, 2010, 11:22 AM

I threw away Nero long time ago. It's just getting bloated and bloated. Now I use ImgBurn. It's a great free software to use. I use it to burn DVD folder generated by Encore or ISO for bluRay.

Perrone Ford · August 27th, 2010, 12:09 PM

Thanks for this info guys. Just ordered the Pioneer as an upgrade to my 2+ year old 2x burner. Should make things go a LOT faster!

Rani Korkise · August 28th, 2010, 02:25 AM

Thank you indeed for your prompt reply guys!

I'm placing an order for BDR-205BK (without Software) and a NexStar NST-530SU casing...

Rani Korkise · November 6th, 2010, 08:39 AM

Ok guys, that worked great and I haven't had any problems yet.

However, I'm not in need of a second external BD burner but the NST-530SU are out of stock EVERYWHERE and ETA is about 2 months the least...

What's a good alternative to this external case (hopefully within the same price range)

Thanks in advance!

August 14th, 2010, 09:16 AM	#1
Dan Lambert Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 38	Recomendations for a Blu Ray burner I've been looking at New Egg and Tiger Direct for a Blu Ray burner. Reading the customer reviews I'm left in quite a quandary. I'm not that concerned about price, but I'd like to get about the best one. I'd like it to basically burn Blu Ray disks without being too picky about the media. And I'd like it if it included software where I could watch a Blu Ray movies on my computer. It most definitely needs to play on stand alone Blu Ray players. If it would play on Sony PS3 that would be a nice bonus as well. Right now I have XP 64bit with Sony Vegas Pro 8. I just bought a copy of Win 7 64 bit which I plan on upgrading to soon. Thanks ahead for any recommendations.

August 14th, 2010, 11:56 AM	#2
Adam Gold Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Woodinville, WA USA Posts: 3,467	The Videoguys recommend the Pioneer BD205. I just bought one for my new system. In my older machine I've been using an LG which works fine... the only caveat is that many (including myself) have had issues with the LG and Win7. For me the issues were solved by making sure the Intel Matrix Storage Manager (latest version) was installed. __________________ "It can only be attributable to human error... This sort of thing has cropped up before, and it has always been due to human error."

August 14th, 2010, 05:12 PM	#4
Jeff Anselmo Major Player Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: New Mexico Posts: 566	Hi Dan, Just to second Adam's suggestion, I also have the Pioneer BD205. I've used it with Adobe's Encore CS5 fairly recently and it turned out good (played on a PS3 and on a 52" flat screen). I've never burned a blu ray movie disc before and I was surprised how easy it was (editing from Premiere CS5 and burning with Encore CS5) But I did read some reviews that the blu ray software that comes bundled with the burner wasn't very good; so I didn't install it. Best, __________________ --JA

August 14th, 2010, 09:04 PM	#5
Taky Cheung Inner Circle Join Date: May 2007 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 2,114	I have used two LG burners. Very reliable. Now using it with Win 7 and I don't need Intel matrix driver. Basically it works just out of the box. Price is good. __________________ LA Color Pros Blog RODE Authorized Reseller . Comer LED Camera Lights . TakyBox HTML5 Menu Generator

August 14th, 2010, 11:07 PM	#6
Adam Gold Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Woodinville, WA USA Posts: 3,467	I probably should have specified that is it the LG H20L that has a problem with Win7, and LG flat out says it won't work with that OS. It does, but it took me a week of troubleshooting to make it seen by the OS. I'm sure newer LGs don't have this problem. __________________ "It can only be attributable to human error... This sort of thing has cropped up before, and it has always been due to human error."

August 16th, 2010, 12:37 PM	#7
Jay West Major Player Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Red Lodge, Montana Posts: 889	I've been using a Pioneer BD-205 with Win 7 since last year and also have a BD-205 in an external enclosure that I run with a Vista 64/8gb laptop. I mostly author DVDs in Encore, but I've also made CDs with Sound Forge/CD Architect. When I'm making multiple copies for distribution, I usually burn to an image file and use Nero to burn the copies (although 16x burns work on most players, it can still be a problem for some of my customers and I so usually burn at 12x.) I've mostly worked with Sony 16x printable DVD-R and Taiyo Yuden 16x printable DVD-R. Have also used several brands of dual-layer DVDs including Memorex. I've burned Blu-Ray disks using Sony, Memorex and Verbatim brands of disks. No coasters, yet.

August 27th, 2010, 03:14 AM	#8
Rani Korkise New Boot Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Sydney Posts: 16	Hey guys... Thank you very much for the recommendation and I'm probably going to go with pioneer, However I'm getting a little confused.. There seems to be two models? BDR-205BK VS BDR-205BKRP? Look at ]Search for Computer Hardware & Computer Software @ MEGABUY.COM.AU Besides including software, is there any other difference between the two? Also is there a need for us to buy it with software since we use our own DVD authoring software? Thanks in advance

August 27th, 2010, 10:55 AM	#9
Jay West Major Player Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Red Lodge, Montana Posts: 889	I think the software package is the only difference. While my drives came with the software (that being how videoguys.com sold them) I've never used the software. I mainly use Adobe Encore to author disks and occasionally use it for burning when I only need to make a single copy. For multiple copies, I use Encore to make an image file and use Nero to burn the image files to disk.

August 27th, 2010, 11:22 AM	#10
Taky Cheung Inner Circle Join Date: May 2007 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 2,114	I threw away Nero long time ago. It's just getting bloated and bloated. Now I use ImgBurn. It's a great free software to use. I use it to burn DVD folder generated by Encore or ISO for bluRay. __________________ LA Color Pros Blog RODE Authorized Reseller . Comer LED Camera Lights . TakyBox HTML5 Menu Generator

August 27th, 2010, 12:09 PM	#11
Perrone Ford Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 4,100	Thanks for this info guys. Just ordered the Pioneer as an upgrade to my 2+ year old 2x burner. Should make things go a LOT faster! __________________ DVX100, PMW-EX1, Canon 550D, FigRig, Dell Octocore, Avid MC4/5, MB Looks, RedCineX, Matrox MX02 mini, GTech RAID, Edirol R-4, Senn. G2 Evo, Countryman, Moles and Lowels.

August 28th, 2010, 02:25 AM	#12
Rani Korkise New Boot Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Sydney Posts: 16	Thank you indeed for your prompt reply guys! I'm placing an order for BDR-205BK (without Software) and a NexStar NST-530SU casing...

November 6th, 2010, 08:39 AM	#13
Rani Korkise New Boot Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Sydney Posts: 16	Ok guys, that worked great and I haven't had any problems yet. However, I'm not in need of a second external BD burner but the NST-530SU are out of stock EVERYWHERE and ETA is about 2 months the least... What's a good alternative to this external case (hopefully within the same price range) Thanks in advance!