Is there such a thing as a DVD burner & reader "losing there touch"?

[BurningTorch]

Basically, I have used the same DVD burner and reader for a good while now. Using these two I have burned well over 800 DVDs. My question is this, "Is it possible that a reader or a DVD burner lose there functionalities after awhile? Do DVD burners need to be replaced every once and awhile? And does mine need replacing? All I know about the burner itself is it’s a Sony 8x burner. Any help on this issue would be appreciated. Thanks!

[drfsupercenter]

Yeah it's possible... happned to my DVD-ROM drive. Just stopped reading DL discs, so I bought a burner to replace it. My burner goes for just $40 now, a nice cheap product that does the same as my dad's $200 Sony burner, it even does more!

[geno888]

With time all devices will broke.

Until your drive will work there is no reason to change it.

If you want to do a more precise test, try to scan latest media you burned and compare with new burnings after a month: if quality is going down, then maybe is time to change, but if quality is constant, then there is no reason to change.

[jmet]

You can always buy this burner/ripper. It's only $39.99 with free shipping. Its the NEC 3550, which I own the NEC 3540 and 3520. I wish I would have waited for the 3550 to be honest. - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827152059

[BR7]

@jmet
Out of curiosity would you recommend the 3550 above all others cause I am thinking of getting a new one soon

[drfsupercenter]

Honestly, I like mine. Nice cheap drive available at Micro Center and maybe some other "brick-n-mortar " stores