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Rating: 
Summary: Does all it is supposed to do & decent price
Review: Got the I/O Magic 4x DVD +-RW drive last week at Circuit City because it had a $50 rebate, making the final price $150 + tax (one fifty plus tax). After $20 Circuit City mail-in rebate and $30 I/O magic mail-in rebate.I installed it in a fairly old machine: PII-400 MHz with 256 MB RAM, running Windows XP Pro, latest SP and patches. I was able to back-up about 4 GB of data off my laptop over my 11 MB/s WiFi network at home on a Memorex -RW disk in about 35 minutes. Not too bad. I ended-up buying a bigger HD after the first couple of days, to be able to use the DVD - copy features, which require about 5 GB of space at least (and my old 8 GB disk had only 400 MB left...). Got the Seagate 80 GB disk (8 mb buffer) from BestBuy ($69 after $50 rebate). Btw, this HD is great - the included utility transferred my OS and all programs off my old HD and my computer looks exactly the same as before, except that now I have an 80 GB drive instead of the meager 8GB (which is still in for back-up)! The new Seagate is so quiet - I can't hear it work, compared to my old drive (also Seagate)... Anyways, the HD upgrade made it possible to do a couple of backups of my own DVDs without a problem (using Memorex -R media). I used DVDSrink, latest beta (3.0 - 5 or something) and couldn't be happier - the thing rips a 1.5 hour DVD with all extras and menus to the disk and then I use the included Pinnacle Copy software to burn the DVD - the process took considerably less than an hour on my aging machine and the DVD works flawlesly in my Pioneer home DVD player:) The rebate ended 9/20, so at $199 you may be able to find a better drive, but it won't be easy, or at least not from a major retailer. I rated it 4 stars only because it does not support 4x DVD+-RW and no apparent support for Mt Rainier standard. If the (-) format is not important, the BenQ 4x drive supports 4x RW, plus Mt. Raintier and has 8 MB buffer... The drive comes with enough software to make use of it, if you combine it with a couple of essential free titles to allow DVD back-ups of any DVD (not sure about multi-region yet). Plus it has built-in phone jack and volume control, which is a plus.
Rating:
Summary: Good Product But Beware Of I/O Magic Rebates
Review: I bought this product in September 2003 and haven't had any major problems with writing DVDs with it. However, I have not received the $50 in rebates that were promised as part of the purchase. When contacted directly via phone, the rebate company (www.rebateservices.com) states that it has not received the requested information even though I have sent the documentation twice. The second time I sent copies of all the forms and UPC codes via certified mail which proves they received them. Two other people I know have had the same experience with this company. Beware of I/O Magic rebates. If you're considering buying this product because it's offering a rebate, think again.
Rating: 
Summary: Decent product, but don't count on getting your rebates!
Review: I bought this product in September 2003 and haven't had any major problems with writing DVDs with it. However, I have not received the $50 in rebates that were promised as part of the purchase. When contacted directly via phone, the rebate company (www.rebateservices.com) states that it has not received the requested information even though I have sent the documentation twice. The second time I sent copies of all the forms and UPC codes via certified mail which proves they received them. Two other people I know have had the same experience with this company. Beware of I/O Magic rebates. If you're considering buying this product because it's offering a rebate, think again.
Rating:
Summary: I/OMagic DVD Writer not 2x or 4x per specs-Burns RW Coasters
Review: PRO: Cheap
CON:
Cheap - Could not obtain reliablility with Nero Diagnostics at 2x or 4x. When I advised I/OMagic Tech Support of problem, they sent new software that disabled 2x and 4x. Not reliable even at 1x. Model IDVDRW4D DVD Writer makes coasters out of even +/-RW Rewritable media. I/OMAGIC refuses to provide refund. Claim no responsibility. Quoting their Manager of Customer Service email response: "we are a wholesaler of computer goods and as such, under no circumstances do we offer any refund(s) for products purchased." I would not expect anything better out of this or any other I/OMAGIC product. The "magic" is "on the box" and not "in the box".
SUGGESTIONS:
I have just trashed my I/OMagic and purchased a Plextor Model PX-708A. After extensive testing with Nero, on all four formats, I have not experienced a single data error. However, don't expect the "in the box" software (Roxio EasyCD/DVD Creator) to work on all four formats. The problem is the communication between the Plextor and Roxio's packet writing software - now called "Drag to Disc" which was formerly DirectCD. I have installed a trial version of Nero and all formats are working so looks like I will spend another $60-$90 to purchase Nero. Gets expensive when you can no longer trust what is "in the box" to work like what is "on the box".
After a very frustrating and time-consuming DVD writer experience, my suggestion would be to spend more money to purchase a higher quality unit or not to purchase at all if you are interested in writing DVD's. If all else is equal, look for Nero "in the box" if you need to use packet writing. An additional advantage is the Nero diagnostics which can be downloaded free at www.cdspeed2000.com. These diagnostics won't work with "Drag to Disc" or any other packet writing software installed because you can only have one packet writer installed. I suspect Nero's packet writer is embedded in the Nero diagnostics which are all *.exe files - no installation required. These tools are also included in Nero 6 Ultra edition.
Hope this helps you avoid my bad experience as I have benefited from many Amazon reviews. We can only hope to keep the manufacturers honest by sharing our experience - good and bad.
Rating:
Summary: I/OMagic DVD Writer not 2x or 4x per specs-Burns RW Coasters
Review: PRO: Cheap
CON:
Cheap - Could not obtain reliablility with Nero Diagnostics at 2x or 4x. When I advised I/OMagic Tech Support of problem, they sent new software that disabled 2x and 4x. Not reliable even at 1x. Model IDVDRW4D DVD Writer makes coasters out of even +/-RW Rewritable media. I/OMAGIC refuses to provide refund. Claim no responsibility. Quoting their Manager of Customer Service email response: "we are a wholesaler of computer goods and as such, under no circumstances do we offer any refund(s) for products purchased." I would not expect anything better out of this or any other I/OMAGIC product. The "magic" is "on the box" and not "in the box".
SUGGESTIONS:
I have just trashed my I/OMagic and purchased a Plextor Model PX-708A. After extensive testing with Nero, on all four formats, I have not experienced a single data error. However, don't expect the "in the box" software (Roxio EasyCD/DVD Creator) to work on all four formats. The problem is the communication between the Plextor and Roxio's packet writing software - now called "Drag to Disc" which was formerly DirectCD. I have installed a trial version of Nero and all formats are working so looks like I will spend another $60-$90 to purchase Nero. Gets expensive when you can no longer trust what is "in the box" to work like what is "on the box".
After a very frustrating and time-consuming DVD writer experience, my suggestion would be to spend more money to purchase a higher quality unit or not to purchase at all if you are interested in writing DVD's. If all else is equal, look for Nero "in the box" if you need to use packet writing. An additional advantage is the Nero diagnostics which can be downloaded free at www.cdspeed2000.com. These diagnostics won't work with "Drag to Disc" or any other packet writing software installed because you can only have one packet writer installed. I suspect Nero's packet writer is embedded in the Nero diagnostics which are all *.exe files - no installation required. These tools are also included in Nero 6 Ultra edition.
Hope this helps you avoid my bad experience as I have benefited from many Amazon reviews. We can only hope to keep the manufacturers honest by sharing our experience - good and bad.
Rating:
Summary: Good Product But Beware Of I/O Magic Rebates
Review: The recorder performs well for me and so far has accepted all media I have tried. This is actually an Optorite DD0203 ± recorder. The only complaint I have is I/O Magic's failure to honor the offfered rebate. I purchased this unit in Aug 2003 and submitted the required items to receive the $30.00 rebate. Inquires to the status of the rebate resulted in "unable to locate anything in our system". I have submitted copies of the information two additional times and still no luck. I will never buy another I/O Magic product.
Rating:
Summary: Good Product But Beware Of I/O Magic Rebates
Review: The recorder performs well for me and so far has accepted all media I have tried. This is actually an Optorite DD0203 ± recorder. The only complaint I have is I/O Magic's failure to honor the offfered rebate. I purchased this unit in Aug 2003 and submitted the required items to receive the $30.00 rebate. Inquires to the status of the rebate resulted in "unable to locate anything in our system". I have submitted copies of the information two additional times and still no luck. I will never buy another I/O Magic product.
Rating:
Summary: A piece
Review: this burner is a waste of money period. i have two burners in my machine, one old DVD-R Pioneer 2x and just recently added this I/O "magic". i can't backup my cd's like i can with my pioneer. i use nero and when i try to make a copy of a cd it says, "please insert empty disc". but then when i take that same disc and put it in my pioneer it works fine. I/O magic's products are crap. unfortunately i didn't read the reviews on this drive before i bought it. saw a good price and jumped on it....oh well this will not happen again. be warned i usually don't waste my time writing reviews unless it is something peeps need to be aware of. THIS DRIVE BLOWS
Rating:
Summary: A piece
Review: this burner is a waste of money period. i have two burners in my machine, one old DVD-R Pioneer 2x and just recently added this I/O "magic". i can't backup my cd's like i can with my pioneer. i use nero and when i try to make a copy of a cd it says, "please insert empty disc". but then when i take that same disc and put it in my pioneer it works fine. I/O magic's products are crap. unfortunately i didn't read the reviews on this drive before i bought it. saw a good price and jumped on it....oh well this will not happen again. be warned i usually don't waste my time writing reviews unless it is something peeps need to be aware of. THIS DRIVE BLOWS
Rating:
Summary: A piece
Review: this burner is a waste of money period. i have two burners in my machine, one old DVD-R Pioneer 2x and just recently added this I/O "magic". i can't backup my cd's like i can with my pioneer. i use nero and when i try to make a copy of a cd it says, "please insert empty disc". but then when i take that same disc and put it in my pioneer it works fine. I/O magic's products are crap. unfortunately i didn't read the reviews on this drive before i bought it. saw a good price and jumped on it....oh well this will not happen again. be warned i usually don't waste my time writing reviews unless it is something peeps need to be aware of. THIS DRIVE BLOWS
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