In this thread I describe the problem with my DVD burner. http://207.97.195.229/sdmb/showthread.php?t=274568
The drive (LG GSA-4040B) is still under warranty so I’m going to return it. In the meantime, I ordered a NEC ND-3500, one of the few 16x DVD burners on the market. I received it yesterday, but unfortunately I burned just two DVDs and then it died :eek:
Now I have to return two DVD drives 
It just goes to show, if it’s a burner and it’s not Plextor or Lite-on, it’s crap. 
In all serious, though, that sucks. At least it’s still under warranty.
I have a 3 year old Plextor 40x CD recorder. The build quality is crappy compared to the LG, but better compared to the NEC. Its noisy and the door mechanism is slow and flimsy. But it is still working
I’ve always used Pioneer DVD burners.
You can get a bare drive from http://www.meritline.com for less than $100 USD.
Y’know, the noise thing seems to be a Plextor trait. My old burner would screech pretty loud when you opened it up. On the other hand, I’ve never had one die on me.