Plextor Plextor PX-716A

I purchased this Plextor Plextor PX-716A model, as I have been a strong advocate of the brand - ever since the 40TS. I have read the other reviews (but I would recommend you go to a dedicated hardware review site or forum to base you purchase decision) and I cannot see what the problem seems to be with the (non) writes that the others talk about. I have a pretty high end system, so maybe its a bottleneck issue (?) - but lets leave that to one side.

I have had no coasters on CD (R or R/W) all at various speeds - except for an occassional (visually) bad medium.

I use Datawrite, Ritek, or RiDisc discs for DVD, and once again, no coasters (+ or -) at whatever speed.

The only problem I have had is with D/L writes - 10/10 coasters - once this media becomes less expensive, I will try again, otherwise its the Pioneer or Lightscribe for me - when I come to replace the Sony.

The supplied software 'Plextools' is great, and does its job well - I have a 2nd writer in the shape of the Sony DRU500a, and this is controlled admirably by the software.

The read speed is good, though sometimes the drive can become a bit noisy, but there is little or no vibration problems.

The 8mb buffer is great for buffer under run, but would recommend a fast (SCSI or SATA 10K RPM) HDD if you use more than 1 drive at the same time, whilst doing other work.

The exchangable black/beige bezel is a good feature, but is now supplied with most drives nowadays - and for this sort of money (compared with the other same spec'd models) - I would want a few more different coloured LED's !!

Overall, pleasing results, a bit pricey compared to other models out there - but I have heard no bad stories regards their warranty - though I have had no cause to ever use it.

I am in contact with Plextor support regarding my PX-716A, and from the information and testing they specified, they said the drive was bad, and that it would be replaced with all the information. I needed the original receipt, but that wasn't available because I had already sent it in to Plextor to claim my rebate, which I never received due to a technicality. I am still waiting for an answer to my e-mail from support.

The Plextor Plextor PX-716A does not read all the disks that my older Plextor 708A reads. Problems with writing disks correctly. I have wasted 5 SL DVD and about 6 CDs.

I have not tried DL DVD as they are very expensive and I had no trust left in this drive after the performance it showed on CDs and single layer DVDs. So it's been returned back to the supplier.

Well, with my Plextor Plextor PX-716A I received a drive with TLA# 0203. That means hardware revision 2 and firmware vers. 3.

Plextor Belgium held back the drive for the European market due to some quality issues.

The final TLA# 0202 and all the successors are covering the expectations in plextor products. So my PX-716A (TLA# 0203) delivers an excellent write-quality and a high reading speed. So I am very pleased with this Plextor drive.

I have to recommend the following dvd media, which were written by the PX-716A in excellent writing quality:

SONY DVD+RW 4.7 Single-Sided 4x (Vers. 1.2)

TDK DVD+R 4.7 Single-Sided 8x

VERBATIM DVD+R 4.7 Single-Sided 16x

Ricoh DVD+RW 4.7 Single Sided 4x

I stand corrected on the Plextor Plextor PX-716A. I spoke too soon. It turns out that this drive makes very poor burns that are not readable in many drives. Even its own utility, Plextools, shows clearly how inferior these burns are. Unfortunately, I did all my QA testing on drives that had excellent error correction. I should have been more critical in my first review. Definitely do not buy this drive!

I almost passed on the Plextor Plextor PX-716A based on many negative comments I'd seen. But based on my previous good experience and support on my Plextor 712a, I opted to be brand-loyal and give the 716 a try. I felt I could always return it if there was a problem. I'm happy to say that I had no trouble at all and the drive works every bit as well as the 712 and, of course, I am now ready to burn double layer (when the media prices drop.) My TLA number is 0101, which means that this is the first hardware revision and the firmware is 1.01. (If you have a choice, avoid buying drives with TLA 0000 -- perhaps those early drives are the ones having a problem, if any.)

The Plextor Plextor PX-716A didn't recognize the media, even the Plextor brand media included in the box. The cumbersome hardware self-diagnostic test outlined in the manual didn't work either. I am now requesting Plextor to give me a "Return Merchandise Authorization" number.