Nu Tech DDW-081: More DVD+R madness
by Kristopher Kubicki on October 22, 2003 10:54 PM EST- Posted in
- Storage
Final Thoughts
Nu Tech has come a long way in 3 months. They have a sharp image and the backing of QSI to keep them competitive in the DVDR industry. While the DDW-081 does not disappoint, it doesn't exactly scream spectacular either. Fortunately, the drive is well supported. SonicDVD, Nero, Roxio, DVDDecryptor, InterVideo DVD Creator and Alcohol 120% all had no problems detecting and burning with the Nu Tech DDW-081.Our main concerns stem from the lack of 8X DVD+R media. While our current champion, the Plextor 708A, had no problems burning several brands of 4X media at 8X, the DDW-081 will only burn 8X certified media at 8X. The lack of bitsetting capabilities for the drive seemed disappointing also. Granted, our Plextor 708A does not support bitsetting either, but it does support DVD-R burn capabilities.
However, considering the extremely low cost of the unit, around $160, we have to give Nu Tech a lot of credit. If burning DVD-R's is not a problem, you save $100 over the Plextor 708A. Let us not forget also that Sony recently announced that their newest drive will not be supporting 8X DVD-R writes, and will debut at $270 (although the Pioneer 107 should support Z-CLV 8X). Could it be that DVD+R is pulling ahead in the “format wars”? Although it lacks the performance of the Plextor 708A, Nu Tech clearly wins the price grab.
Coming up later this month, we will have an exclusive look at the newer drives based on Pioneer's 107 8X DVD+/-R design, as well as dual format drives from Gigabyte and MSI!
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Anonymous User - Thursday, October 23, 2003 - link
United Micro has it for $139 shipped.http://www.unitedmicro.com/partw.cgi?DWNT006++5
Anonymous User - Thursday, October 23, 2003 - link
#11: My apologies, I did use DiskInfo Pro.Here is what DIP says AFTER I burned the media.
YUDEN Disks labeled Plextor
Media Information
Region information N/A not a DVD-VIDEO
Media code/Manufacturer ID YUDEN000T01
Format Capacity 4.38GB(4.70GB)
Book Type DVD+R
Media Type DVD+R
Media Id Code Speed 4.0x 5540KBps
Data area starting sector 30000h
Data area end sector 23053Fh
Linear Density 0.267um/bit
Track Density 0.74um/track
Number of Layers 1
RICOH Disks labeled Imation
Media Information
Region information N/A not a DVD-VIDEO
Media code/Manufacturer ID RICOHJPNR01
Format Capacity 4.38GB(4.70GB)
Book Type DVD+R
Media Type DVD+R
Media Id Code Speed 4.0x 5540KBps
Data area starting sector 30000h
Data area end sector 23053Fh
Linear Density 0.267um/bit
Track Density 0.74um/track
Number of Layers 1
MMC Disks labeled Verbatim
Media Information
Region information N/A not a DVD-VIDEO
Media code/Manufacturer ID RICOHJPNR01
Format Capacity 4.38GB(4.70GB)
Book Type DVD+R
Media Type DVD+R
Media Id Code Speed 4.0x 5540KBps
Data area starting sector 30000h
Data area end sector 23053Fh
Linear Density 0.267um/bit
Track Density 0.74um/track
Number of Layers 1
Another Ricoh Disk labeled FujiFilm
Media Information
Region information N/A not a DVD-VIDEO
Media code/Manufacturer ID RICOHJPNR00
Format Capacity 4.38GB(4.70GB)
Book Type DVD-ROM
Media Type DVD+R
Media Id Code Speed 2.4x 3324KBps
Data area starting sector 30000h
Data area end sector 23053Fh
Linear Density 0.267um/bit
Track Density 0.74um/track
Number of Layers 1
There are two things I'd like to point out. The first being DiskInfoPro identified the MCC disk as 8X before it was burned. Furthermore, the FujiFilm disk was identified as 4X on the box, and 4X in DiskInfoPro before it was burned.
#12: Thank you for the updated link. The PDF I recieved was straight from QSI and I was unaware there was an update on the chipset.
Cheers,
Kristopher
Anonymous User - Thursday, October 23, 2003 - link
Yes... MMC 02 is capable of 8x with that drive. That's why your utility is saying that. However, that doesn't mean that Verbatim/Mitsu. actually rates it at that speed.Anonymous User - Thursday, October 23, 2003 - link
One more thing, in the review you claim that the PNX7850 chipset does not support 8x speed. Not true, it does: http://www.semiconductors.philips.com/acrobat/lite...It was only early versions that didn't support 8x. The PDF you link to is for the complete reference design where the Philips OPU 66.20 limits the speed to 4x (I assume QSI uses a different PUH).
Anonymous User - Thursday, October 23, 2003 - link
Then Diskinfo is wrong because MCC 002 (as in Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. and not MMC) DVD+R media are only certified for 4x speed. Use DVDInfoPro or DVDIndentifier instead for checking the media.Anonymous User - Thursday, October 23, 2003 - link
Thanks Christopher :)for the linksAnonymous User - Thursday, October 23, 2003 - link
#1: We did not have a verbatim disk included. We have a 4X DVD+RW instead. Remember, we had a review sample so ours might have been slightly different. We had to upgrade from QSI firmware just to bring ours to spec with the retail drives.#2: DiskInfo, kind of a neat utlity, claimed the MMC 02 disk is capable of 4X and 8X.
I uploaded the firmware for anyone who wants to download it. Its on the last page of the article.
Cheers,
Kristopher
Murse - Thursday, October 23, 2003 - link
You can also take a look at this thread:http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=...
They sell it at Newegg, Excaliberpc, Atacom, Unitedmicro, Zipzoomfly...to name a few.
Anonymous User - Thursday, October 23, 2003 - link
Check this thread there are a few sites mentioned..http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=12956...
Anonymous User - Thursday, October 23, 2003 - link
If anybody knows where you can buy one, please post a link. Thank you.