Rating: 
Summary: Updated info on this drive
Review: After reading the reviews on this drive it was clear that it was a good one but there are a bunch of comments on the firmware and software that are outdated. My recent purchase had the most up to date version 1.04 firmware, and Roxio EZ CD/DVD version 6.1.1.21 software right out of the box. Many users report having to use Nero for successful copies. Both Roxio and Nero are very capable, and this version of Roxio has fixed the worst of the bugs from 6.0. Both programs suffer from "too much user friendliness" as most programs do these days, with all the clutter on the desktop and taskbar, but this can be disabled and simplified to a very usable package for this very capable drive.
Rating: 
Summary: almost Dead On Arrival
Review: I brought this thing home, hooked it up and after successfully reading the first commercial CD I put in, it subsequently was unable to read anything else. I tried it in both a PC tower (where I flashed the firmware to the latest version) and external firewire case (connected to a mac) and got temporary improvements - i.e. would read two or three times before being unable to read. I tried all jumper configurations possible. My first attempt using Plextor's Self-diagnostic test told me that, according to the way they saw it, the drive was ok. My second told me that it had write errors. It now simply will not read anything. The only positive thing I have to say thus far is that the return and replacement service was prompt. I've connected the new unit and it's working as it should.
However, I've since done some looking around on various CD/DVD forums (something I regret not doing before I bought it) and it seems that this drive has a suprising number of early failures. Even worse, people are returning it more than once after the replacement fails only after 2 or 3 months of operation.
I would up my number of stars to 2 but I'm not sure how the change it.
Rating:
Summary: great product
Review: I did not own previous DVD Burners prior to buying this drive, so I do not have any real life comparisons. However, I did consult websites, such as www.dvdrhelp.com, which had a bunch of reviews. Based on remarks there, I decided to buy this drive to back up my photographs. (Canon 10D RAW files are 6-9MB each). Installation was simple, but I have prior computer repair experience. However, should be no problem for most. This drive is really remarkable. Not only 8X DVD burning, (works on most 4X media), but also 40X CD-R burning which most other all-in-one drives do not have. The highest I have usually seen while comparison shopping was only 16X. Burning a full 4.7GB DVD+R disc averages around 7 min 30 sec to 8 min 45 sec. The included software, I did not really like. Roxio 6 software was not my taste--too user friendly, with too many start-up programs that appear on your taskbar by the clock. I am using Nero 6.0.19 with no problems.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing DVD±RW Drive
Review: I had this DVD-R drive for about 2 weeks now and I am very happy with it. It works great with external 120 GB western digital hard drive and I made my first DVD with (believe it or not) Win XP Movie Maker 2.0 and the included Roxio DVD builder. I like the fact that with Roxio DVD builder you can have a video file for your background on the main DVD menu (instead of just a picture as with many other DVD authoring software). It took about 13 minutes burning DVD+R media with my 512MB RAM and 2GH toshiba laptop. The drive has audio ports on the back (Left and Right) and also for headphones in the front with volume adjustment. It can stand vertically (pretty stable) and flat. It got not one but TWO firewire ports (I guess it is 4 pin and 6 pin) besides the USB 2 connection. It got a switched on the back to turn it off when you do not need it without unplugging it. It is Kinda bulky a bit but I guess most of them are. I highly recommend this product for DVD±RW Drive first timers ;-)
Rating: 
Summary: Slow but Quality Burning
Review: I have been nothing but satisfied with my PX-708A. It's error protection technology seems to function flawlessly, but it does slow down the burning process when enabled. If speed is what you are looking for, then look elsewhere. But if a quality, error-free burn is more important to you than speed, then this burner should please you. I have used Mitsui, Sony, and Iomega discs with this burner with no problems at all.
Rating:
Summary: The best burner
Review: I have been waiting for this burner to drop in price, because after exhaustive research, I felt confident it was the best choice. I have not been disappointed. Installation was a snap, and it instantly began its efficient work. (Be sure to check Plextor's website for firmware upgrades). I did not use the packaged software, since I have heard of problems with Roxio. Instead I bought Nero6 Ultra Edition (be sure to download Nero updates from their site) and everything purrs. (Nero has a trial version on their website if you want to try before you buy). Anyway, I replaced my Dell CD-RW with this burner (this went into my Dell Inspiron 8100 Desktop: 1.6 GHZ; 30MB HD; 364 RAM). The RAM is a little low for burning DVDs....I found this out after producing a couple of coasters. But as long as I close all programs operating in the background and run at around 90% efficiency, everything works fine. I have found the Memorex 4x DVD+R media to work very well. I don't know why many people criticize this brand. The only two coasters produced were the fault of my system's memory not the disks. Final verdict...great burner...operation is fast and efficient. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: PLEXTOR DOES IT AGAIN !!!!
Review: I purchashed this drive when it first came out after reading so many good reviews on it. I have an older Plextor 16/10/40A cd burner in my other computer. It's over 2 years old and has burned 100's of cd's without a hitch. So far with the new 708A I have made movies and backed-up copies of movies. It works flawlessly. I'm running XP Pro with 1 Gb memory 2 120 Gb Western Digital HHD's P4 2.6 GHz. Installation went without a hitch. Use DVD-cloner 2 to back-up movies. You pay more for the Plextor but it's worth it. Have used both TDK and Sony DVD-R's with equal success. I am waiting for more reviews on Roxio Media 7 before I decide to upgrade to that or stick with Roxio 6. Have been using Roxio since ver 5 for my cd's and love it. Not as buggy as 6 was to start with. XP seems to be very fussy about others software. Never had that problem with windows ME.
Rating: 
Summary: I want to like this DVD burner...I really do...
Review: I'm a bit of a technophile and I consider myself to be capable with a PC...and I've yet to be able to get this product to work. I've installed the latest firmware release and have attempted to use a few different DVD burning software apps like Roxio (which comes in the box) and BackUpMyPC. I took the list of Preferred media vendors to the store and bought the exact model number of DVD+R media from TKD (one of six preferred vendors proven to work with this device). No success. This could easily be user error. In fact, my next step is going to be to uninstall everything, hardware and software, and just start from scratch. I really want this thing to work as I've only seen rave reviews...and not just on amazon.com. So, even if it is user error, this has still been a real hastle so that's why I gave it a low number of stars.
Rating:
Summary: Seriously disappointed
Review: I've been a big Plextor fan for years and in this case I spent extra money for the same specs, just for the Plextor name. It has always meant quality in my book. This drive installs and runs fine under win2k, but it does NOT burn at 8x. Every time I try to use 8x burning it makes a coaster.
I have used 2 versions of dvdXcopy, DVD-Cloner, Roxio and Nero 6, so I can't buy the "it's the software's fault" garbage. The media is 8x Memorex +R. When I knock it down to 4x it works fine, although I just finished making a coaster at 4x due to a buffer underrun, something that this drive is supposed to be immune to. Also, I get the same problem when trying to burn CDs at 40x, which IMO is not really a wondrous feat nowadays. I have to knock it down to 32x.
So basically it works, but for the extra money I paid (200 in Jan '04 - 60-80 clams more than the competition) I expected to get the advertised features. I'm sure someone else will come along and say that their's works fine, hence I'm clueless, but this is my experience. I burn a lot of DVDs too. My ride is an AMD 2200+ with 512 DDR400.
Rating:
Summary: ALWAYS works even with low cost media
Review: It works. It always works. It burns on ANY media. It can overcome "imperfections" in LOW LOW cost media and return a readable disc. I've never bothered with the bundled software, but I'm certainly NOT EVER going to install anything from Roxio.
Most burner review sites compare drive X to a plextor as they define the standard for high quality.
Why buy anything else?
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