What does OEM mean

[konartis75]

what does this mean and what are the drawbacks of it when it comes to dvd burners. I heard there is no warranty is this true?

[Gazdaman]

OEM means it comes with the machine, I can't remember what it stands for. It also means it can't be sold commertially

Gaz

[Iceman]

OEM means Original equipment manufacturer.

[konartis75]

Does anyone know if OEM products have warranty's?

[SledDog]

Originally posted by konartis75
Does anyone know if OEM products have warranty's?

Yes they do, but the caveat is that 99% of the time any problem or warranty must be handled by the OEM party. For example, say you buy a burner that was OEMed by Compaq from Yamaha or Plextor, then any tech support and warranty must go through Compaq. Many times you're left holding the bag as they won't support a device that wasn't purchased along with one of their machines. Another thing to be aware of is that these devices may be specifically tweaked to the OEM's equipment and can not be considered "generic" like a retail box product.

Many times companies contract for too much of an item and wind up dumping the excess product on the secondary market. Those folks then resell those items as an OEM product. Most times it's a bare-bones sale with no manual, drivers, software, cables, etc. in comparison to it's retail box counterpart. Reseller warranty may be a 10 to 30 day straight replacement or nothing at all.

It pays to know exactly what you're buying into ahead of time.

[konartis75]

well I was planning to buy a dvr104 from here http://www.esbuy.com/piondvbardri.html BAlto what do you think about the warranty stuff if i bought from here?

[charlie_ps2]

Warranty is usually more restrictive than your rights at law. So the buying issue is the good name of the vendor if they are advertising the OEM version of a brand. If they weren't that hot, they wouldn't be easy about a warranty either.

Balto has given a good description of where you'd stand.

[SledDog]

Originally posted by konartis75
well I was planning to buy a dvr104 from here http://www.esbuy.com/piondvbardri.html BAlto what do you think about the warranty stuff if i bought from here?

I looked at the link you provided. I believe you can take some comfort in the fact that ESBuy was open and honest enough to state that these were not cast-off product from a computer manufacturer, and yes, the DVR-A04 is the retail consumer version of the DVR-104, so compatability is a non-issue.

(As a side note, I have my DVR-A03 flashed with DVR-103 firmware and it works perfect.)

My only dealing with ESBuy in the past was an order for Pioneer DVD-R blanks and had no problems. Before you dive in, check www.pricewatch.com to compare the pricing (and keep the shipping costs in mind.)

Otherwise, I'd email ESBuy concerning their warranty on the drive and then make your decision based on their response.

When you buy it, keep your firmware up to date at this site:

http://www.firmware.fr.st/