Are there any recommendations for BD Drives?

[Thorin937]

Hello,
my current Blu-ray drive seems to have failed. It shows up as BD-ROM in My Computer but when a BD or a DVD is inserted, the BD-ROM changes to CD-ROM and then flickers on and off in My Computer. I cannot access any media on the disks. I've written it off as mechanical failure and since it is past the warranty date, I am looking for another drive. My current drive is an LG UH12LS29, and it failed in 4 years of very light loads (<100 disks read total), so I am trying to avoid LG drives, but most drives on the market seem to be LG, so I am conflicted and asking for any advice on what to replace my current drive with.

Thank you!

[Woodstock]

Your experience with LG drives differs from mine... I have 3 that get heavy use, and a "spare" in another machine. What does that mean to you? Nothing... it's just a different data point. However, I'd buy another LG if I needed one today.

Other than LG drives, I have a Samsung that has worked well, but it isn't a current model, so that also means nothing to you. Unfortunately, this world is such that, while "model X" from a manufacturer might be great, that doesn't mean "model Y" is going to be, too. Heck, a different manufacturing lot on "model X" could be complete crap.

Have you tried cleaning the drive, in case it's simply dusty inside?

[Thorin937]

Thank you for your response. I have just opened up the drive and dusted it with an air can. The problem still remains. I was hoping you could recommend to me a specific drive model, no matter what brand it is. Thanks!

[onland]

Hello, my current Blu-ray drive seems to have failed. It shows up as BD-ROM in My Computer but when a BD or a DVD is inserted, the BD-ROM changes to CD-ROM and then flickers on and off in My Computer. I cannot access any media on the disks. I've written it off as mechanical failure and since it is past the warranty date, I am looking for another drive. My current drive is an LG UH12LS29, and it failed in 4 years of very light loads (<100 disks read total), so I am trying to avoid LG drives, but most drives on the market seem to be LG, so I am conflicted and asking for any advice on what to replace my current drive with. Thank you!

For internal use, a Pioneer 09 series BD writer is worth considering over other brands. Either the BDR-209DBK OEM bare drive (in North America), or the more refined BDR-S09XLT retail bare drive (in Europe), or the ultra high end refined and expensive BDR-S09JX retail drive with software (sold in domestic Japan market only). Pioneer is currently arguably by far the leading BD writer manufacturer in terms of research and various performance refinements. Even some early generation standalone consumer non-Pioneer BD players used internal Pioneer BD drives.

[Krawk]

Name brand - Pioneer
Off brand Name - LiteOn

Have had wonderful results from both over the many years of owning optical devices.

Some "name brand" drives are actually LiteOn drives (not the case with Pioneer.)

Of my LG experiences, they tend to die over a short period of time after their first use, regardless of if they're used or not after that first use. This does not sound scientific but I have had several fail within a few days of warranty expiration. Had TWO Blu Ray players that get used about 5 hours a week die on or after day 95. They remain powered OFF (unplugged) the rest of the week.

[onland]

Name brand - Pioneer
Off brand Name - LiteOn

Have had wonderful results from both over the many years of owning optical devices.

Some "name brand" drives are actually LiteOn drives (not the case with Pioneer.)

Of my LG experiences, they tend to die over a short period of time after their first use, regardless of if they're used or not after that first use. This does not sound scientific but I have had several fail within a few days of warranty expiration. Had TWO Blu Ray players that get used about 5 hours a week die on or after day 95. They remain powered OFF (unplugged) the rest of the week.

Yes, I would not personally consider LG or Samsung drives. I think both brands have average reliability at best and would rate them average in terms of manufacturer ODD feature innovations. As for Pioneer, it has indeed used Lite-On as an OEM, but only for specific drives during a specific period of their DVD product line and only for models distributed outside of Japan. It's not surprising that Pioneer has had other ODD manufacturers OEM Pioneer drives minimally since Pioneer is still a full on manufacturer in their own ODD research, design and manufacturing. However, towards the end of their DVD writer product line life cycle, when Pioneer was really only truly a BD writer manufacturer, Lite-On was the OEM for some of Pioneers DVD drives. Pioneer's last real DVD writer product was the 17 series. Anything later than the 17 series, including the 18, 19, 20 and 21 series DVD writers, were OEMed by Lite-On and were horrible drives. I once tested such a product and it could not even handle CD-Audio playback properly with a Windows software player. I also had CD-audio write compatibility problems with late generation Samsung ODDs (DVD writers) which produced CD-Rs that were unreadable by standalone full sized hi-fi CD-audio players. Some of Plextor's later ODDs were also OEMed by Lite-On, when Plextor retreated from the ODD market. This really leaves Pioneer as the only major Japanese ODD manufacturer left, aside from Korean brands such as LG and Toshiba-Samsung (TSST), plus Taiwanese manufacturers like Lite-On.