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
BenQ DW1620
We took our first look at the BenQ 16X drive just a few weeks ago. Our second look at the DW1620 uses the same firmware, although we were able to get some better media.| BenQ DW1620 16x DVD-/+RW Drive | |
| Interface | PATA |
| CD Write Speed | 40X, 32X, 24X CAV 16X, 8X, 4X CLV |
| CD Rewrite Speed | 24X ZCLV 16X, 10X, 4X CLV |
| CD Read Speed | 40X MAX CAV |
| DVD-R Write Speed | 16X, 12X, 8X CAV 4X, 2X, 1X |
| DVD-RW Rewrite Speed | 4X, 2X, 1X CLV |
| DVD+R Write Speed | 16X, 12X, 8X CAV 4X, 2.4X |
| DVD+RW Rewrite Speed | 4X, 2.4X CLV |
| DVD+DL Write Speed | 2.4X CLV |
| DVD Read Speed | 16X MAX CAV |
| Supported Modes | DAO / DAO-RAW 16 & 96 TAO SAO / RAW SAO, RAW SAO 16 & 96 Packet Write Multi-Session |
| Supported Formats | DVD+R (DAO, incremental, seq) DVD+RW (random) DVD-R (DAO, incremental, seq) DVD-RW (restricted overwrite) CD-R, CD-RW, CD-ROM, CD-DA, Mixed Mode, CD Extra Photo CD, CD Text, Bootable CD, UDF |
| Access Time | CD: 120ms DVD: 120ms |
| Buffer | 2MB |
Our first test burns with the DW1620 made us a bit nervous. The drive seemed to jump quite a bit during the writing process and we didn't hesitate to contact BenQ about it. They, in turn, informed us of their "Write right technologies" and reassured us that this behavior was normal for the drive. Their "Write right technologies" are a combination of features including Walking Optimal Power Control II (WOPC II), which adjusts the power of the laser during the burning process to ensure a quality burn.
One cause of "errored" burns is a warped area on the surface of the disc. For a drive to optimally write to media, the laser must be at a 90 degree angle to the surface of the media, which is where BenQ's tilt control feature comes into play. By scanning the physical surface of the warped media and tilting the laser, the drive can both read and write to warped media where other drives would produce errors. The Block Error Rate Optimal Writing Control (BLER OPC) helps the burner perform better at the end of the disc, since that is where the most errors can occur due to warped media surfaces.
Another feature that is said to help the DW1620 read and write to media much more efficiently than other drives is its sliding cone, which helps support the media when clamped in the drive and provides for quicker and more efficient auto-centering of the media on the drive's turntable. Features like these are not advertised on most all of the other drives but they are still successful at reading and writing. We will see if these technologies actually help the DW1620 when we perform our benchmarks.
Click to enlarge.
The DW1620 is based on the Philips Nexperia PNX7860E chipset, which works in conjunction with the TZA1047 analog processor to facilitate 16X DVD-/+R writing speeds as well as DVD+R DL writing capabilities.
A scan of the DW1620's label:
Click to enlarge.
Feel free to download the performance graphs for the DW1620 here.
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Maverick215 - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
1) where are the 8x disc quality tests, it seems you only did -r, 16x, and DL2) who cares about DL at $10 a disc I have to quote you, "read/write capabilities are not really useful in applications for the common end user."
3) who cares about 16x
a)it's not readily available
b) will likely be more expensive when it is
c) no realized speed improvement (your review states 11.9x max for 16x and 11.88 max for 8x media @ 12x (again we don't know the burn quality of this 8x@12 burn but you gave the result)
given these I'd have to say "read/write capabilities are not really useful in applications for the common end user." again.
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And to just take one drive here, the benq, you used a BETA firmware, it might be fair if you used a BETA of a upcoming release, but you used a BETA that is 3 public releases and atleast 5 weeks old. you consider NEC more mature, why not give Benq etc a chance to mature? At the very least you could say all burners were updated as of xyz date, at least we would have a reference point. And we could then understand that infact you started doing this comparison 5 weeks ago.
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That minor point aside. If you really care what is applicable to the "common end user" then why not more 8x media with the price of said media and then that media's burn quality tests(16x has a use here in comparing burn quality). 8x is what's most readily available, 8x@12x is comparable burn speed to 16x.
Sorry but this review just leaves me with an empty feeling. Perhaps I am alone in my opinion, but I can live with that.
Reflex - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
Nice to know I made the right choice a month and a half ago when I grabbed the 3500A. It wasn't anything more than me looking for a bargain for a Media Center PC, so I just lucked into the best drive it appears.BTW, where do you find the latest firmware for this stuff? And are there any good reccomendations on softare, seeing as OEM drives don't come with it usually...
AkumaX - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
don't really care about speed, but which burner has the best COMPATIBILITY and RELIABILITY in terms of burning? the 108D or the 3500A or something else?mkruer - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
So I take it DVD+R/RW won the format wars. BTW that would be a good article in itself. Why IS there a difference between the two formats (that’s -R vs +R)KristopherKubicki - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
Most of the drives we reviewed are the OEM versions - they pretty much all look identical (flat, beige/black, one button).Kristopher
PuravSanghani - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
OCedHrt: Errors have been fixed for your viewing pleasure :)Operandi - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
xsilver: If the drive is a re-badge then just say so in the artical, I don't think a picture is required.My point is simply that if your going get pics of the drives you should be taking pics of the portion people will be looking at. Other pics are fine but not geing bezel shoots dosn't make any sense to me.
OCedHrt - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
Hmm dunno how to edit. The CD-R write speed for the Pioneer between the graph and the table at the end is also different.OCedHrt - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
The description for the Ritek G05 read test doesn't match the graph at all. One of them is wrong.xsilver - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
I think the circuit pcb thing is a good idea -- some drives a just rebadges of other drives? (asus?) so to tell you look that the pcb / insides