Maximum PC

Ok This is my first post so lets see how this goes... I'm in the market to buy some new hardware so naturally I check out Maximum PC's "Best of the Best" list. I go to the Bluray players and see the Plextor sitting nice and pretty. What's interesting is that when I click the shortcut that takes me directly to the Newegg site, the reviews there are awful. I was hoping to get two questions answered:

1. Has "The Lab" stress tested this drive? Many reviews mentioned only getting 10-20 burns before it died on them.

2. If you read the reviews further it mentions that this is just a rebranded Pioneer BDR-205 and their argument is compelling. Why pay $50 more for name that apparently provides awful customer service.

Thanks for any input on this subject

Usually, Newegg reviewers on matters like these are correct. I'd follow their advice...

...I quickly glanced at the reviews to make sure I don't eat my words later, and yeah, I'd go with a different drive. Good pick up!

Plextor's taken a dive in drives the past few years, and I thought it was while they gear up for Bluray. Guess not.

I go to club.myce for drive reviews so that I can see the quality reports. Here's a thread on the B940SA. The 1st post backs up that it's a rebranded Pioneer, but seems some quality issues and settings removed that the Pioneer has.

Not a lot of known good BluRay yet, as it's still settling out. Most of it is TDK, with Verbatim being good yet sticking to slower rated speeds...so I'm still trying to figure that part out.

The early Pioneer was good, but I'm pretty sure it was discontinued and replaced with a model with some corners cut to keep the price in check. The quality still appears good though, just some random read errors on TDK media.