Sony DRU-720A: Speed Increases All Around
by Purav Sanghani on March 6, 2005 12:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Storage
Read Tests
Like manufacturer-specified write speeds, specified read speeds are not always the best measure of a drive's performance. We have chosen select media to test the following drive read benchmarks.
For our CD seek time test, we used a CD-ROM filled with 700MB of data.
Take a look at how the DRU-720A performs with DVD media.
For our DVD seek time test, we used a 4.5GB DVD-ROM with the maximum 4.35GB of data.
For our 4.5 DVD read speed test, we used a home made 4.5GB DVD-Video disc.
For our 9GB DVD read speed test, we used a pressed dual layer DVD-Video disc, specifically "The Matrix".
With the 4.5GB home-made DVD-Video, the DRU-720A had read the disk the fastest at 6.17x. It's not as quick as some of the other 16x drives out there, like NEC's ND-3500A or Pioneer's DVR-108D, but it is an improvement over the older Sony drives.
As for the read test with "The Matrix", the DRU-720A doesn't perform as well as its predecessors. The DRU-540A reads the disk faster than the 720A and 710A at 6.91x, while the 720A comes in at 4.3x.
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semo - Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - link
#14"I used to make my own cdrw/dvdrw cases with custom inserts but after realizing how much time and ink I was waisting I finally went back to the sharpie route."
that's why i want lightscribe, so i don't have to waste too much time. it can burn the label all day, i don't care, i'm away most of the time anyway and i almost never use the cd/dvd after i burn it.
and "Take a art class or two and become more talented with a sharpie :)"
would you say something similar to this to someone who wants a printer?
PuravSanghani - Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - link
#15: Our next roundup should include all of the highest speed media supported by the competing drives.#16: Sometimes. Although, there are brands of media out there that just do not work well with certain drives/firmwares.
bjtag - Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - link
If you write at slower speeds are the errors less?Hemispasm - Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - link
Good review. Some more media scans would have been nice (and informative) though :)dgkulzer - Monday, March 7, 2005 - link
#2 - I was under the impression that all Sony drives are now made by LiteOn. At first it was just the cdrw drives but now the dvdrw are also.#3 - Take a art class or two and become more talented with a sharpie :) I used to make my own cdrw/dvdrw cases with custom inserts but after realizing how much time and ink I was waisting I finally went back to the sharpie route.
My first couple of dvdrw drives were Sony and I had great luck with them but when I got a new black case I decided to get a new drive and the dvr-108 was on sale so I got that. I don't care for DL much yet and will not be interested until the price of the media gets to about 1/10 its price now.
WooDaddy - Monday, March 7, 2005 - link
Is there a place that sells DL media for less than $7 yet? DL burner is a nice feature.. if you can use it and it's affordable. Personally, I still like my ND3500A with 2.18 modified FW. Burns TDK, Sony and Fuji DVD+/-R 8x media at 16x flawlessly. I'll need another burner soon so I'll be looking forward to Purav's next review.Keep up the good work guys!
KristopherKubicki - Sunday, March 6, 2005 - link
bofkentucky: we have a second 16x roundup in the next few weeks.Kristopher
bofkentucky - Sunday, March 6, 2005 - link
I would have liked to have seen the this up against the 8MB cache Plextor's. Are there plans for an optical shootout in the future.ND40oz - Sunday, March 6, 2005 - link
How about they test the 720 next to the old 710 with the latest firmware since it brings it up to the 720s specs.semo - Sunday, March 6, 2005 - link
meant to say media are lagging behind as usual[rant]why the hell isn't there any edit button in here[/rant]