I think a lot of optical drives are manufacturered by a few major manufacturers who then supply them to the more famous brands like Sony and samsung etc. I think LG is a good choice because they have that huge futuristic factory in china(i think) that has been turning out quality hardware for things like their LCDTV's etc. My drive was a sony or samsung branded drive I think (cant check now as i dont have the front bezel attached on the HTPC case its in but it is actually a TSSTcorp SH-S223
Holy Thread revival batman! Right now it is hard to go wrong with either a Samsung Spinpoint F1, western Digital, or Seagate hard drive. As for optical I would go with LG or Sony
IIRC, Sony and maybe Pioneer Make their own Laser heads, although they could've bought them all from Toshiba. Western Digital Caviar Blacks are the best in the market so far.
WDC Black is not the best, but the best in performance for the capacity. VelociRaptors are faster than them but are much pricier. Indilix(sp)/Intel SSD's are the way to go!
