Fall 2004 DVDR Roundup: Dual Layer and 16X DVD+R
by Anand Shimpi & Virginia Lee on November 1, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Storage
Write Tests
How else would we gauge a group of DVD burners if not by their write performance? We have compiled our results from the benchmarks that we have performed with a few types of media to which these drives are capable of writing.
As we begin to move into the realm of DVDs, we tend to forget about how each DVD burner will handle CDR media. Our results show that all of the drives can burn CDR media above an average of 29X speeds with exception to the DVR-108D which averaged a 24.95X write. The NEC ND-3500A tops out at slightly above the 36X mark to take the CDR charts.
The focus of our 16X roundup ultimately hinges on DVD write speed and quality.
Here again, the ND-3500A tops the charts by writing to the Mitsubishi 8x DVD-R media at an average of 10.22x speeds. LiteOn is left behind at the end of the list with an average writing speed of 6.04x.
Pioneer has the MCC 003 media in its grasp as it burns a complete Mitsubishi DVD+R, which is rated at 8x speeds, at an average actual speed of 10.01X. Let's see how it does with the Ritek media.
We expected the both the 108D and the ND-3500A to perform better on the Ritek media, but as the graphs show, they broke the 8x barrier, but not quickly enough to bring the average write speed above 8x. Sony's DRU-710A just barely made it to second to last while the first place position was taken, for this media, by LG's GSA-4160B at an average of 7.81X.
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Sabresiberian - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
#15 DL is important to me because I know the price of media will drop and I want the drive I buy to be as useful as possible for the longest time possible. I might be buying it today but I will be using it tomorrow :) Overall you make some good points :)I think this is a difficult time to do this kind of article, because other improved versions will be available before the end of the year. For example, the Plextor 716A will be released with SATA capabilities.
I think its wierd that you couldn't get the Plextor drive in time, as I know this product has been reviewed by others.
southernpac - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
A recent (17 August) article in PC World advised extreme caution when buying an OEM (versus retail) DVD burner. It said that OEM units "carry no manufacturer's warranty, lack burning software and are ineligible for firmware upgrades" (therefore costing more in the long run). Many examples were given. I would appreciate advise as to whether this is percieved to be a real concern. If so, NEC has no retail outlet - how would you buy a non-OEM unit?southernpac - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
A recent (August 17th) PC World article advised extreme caution when buying OEM vs. retail DVD burners. It claimed that OEM versions carry no manufacturer's warranty, lack software and are ineligible for firmware upgrades (therefore actually costing more in the long run). Many examples were given. I would appreciate some advise as to whether this is percieved to be a real risk. If so, NEC has no retail outlet - how would you buy a non-OEM unit? BillGatak - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
How about overburn tests? I have many times wanted to burn 50-100MB more than a standard single-layer disk but failed because my drive or software won't do it.Codyman - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
I'm kinda wondering if a PX716A couldn't get crammed into this test somehow. Been waiting for this review in hopes that it would've been in this test and I haven't been waiting the extra couple months for nothing.danidentity - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
I'd like to see a list of recommended media for different speed grades (4x, 8x, etc.) for different burners.techfuzz - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
Why weren't the firmware on all the drives tested brought up to at the very least the most recent officially released version? For example, NEC's current official firmware is v2.17 where the v2.16 used in this roundup is the original firmware as-shipped from the factory?!Bozo Galora - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
firmwares are on www.cdrinfo.comecouser - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
Doesn’t Samsung make a Dual Layer DVD burner? If so why isn’t it in this roundup?MIDIman - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
Yay! I'm a winner! I was waiting for this article, but couldn't wait long enough, and picked up the NEC two weeks ago. Couldn't be happier.Here's hoping for better Ritek 8x/16x support...