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
Performance/Features Conclusion
Looking back to page two and three of this analysis, we wanted to give a quick reference chart to detail as much information as we could about the various burners in our roundup. Below, you can see how our burners performed under media in general. The DVD+R media listed is 16X MCC 004, the DVD-R media is 8X Ritek G05, DVD+DL media is 2.4X MKM 001, DVD-RAM media is Prodisc 3X, and CDR media is 48X Fujifilm.All speeds given as averages unless stated otherwise.
| Features Comparison | ||||||||
| Pioneer DVR-108D | NEC ND-3500A | BenQ DW1620 | MSI DR16-B | LiteOn SOHW-1633S | Sony DRU-710A | LG GSA-4160B | NuTech DDW-163 | |
| 80min CDR Read Speeds1 | 31.67 | 36.53 | 31.40 | 31.41 | 30.30 | 30.32 | 32.80 | 31.59 |
| 80min CDR Write Speeds1 | 24.95 | 36.43 | 29.20 | 29.84 | 32.36 | 32.28 | 29.15 | 29.68 |
| DVD-R Read Speeds2 | 9.38 | 11.88 | 6.25 | 6.25 | 7.72 | 6.09 | 7.73 | 6.26 |
| DVD-R Write Speeds2 | 10.01 | 10.22 | 9.31 | 9.13 | 7.81 | 7.07 | 7.81 | 7.71 |
| DVD+R 16X Read Speeds3 | 9.39 | 6.25 | 6.24 | 6.25 | 6.15 | 6.15 | 6.21 | 6.24 |
| DVD+R 16X Write Speeds3 | 10.00 | 12.03 | 11.38 | 10.46 | 11.90 | 11.90 | 11.24 | 10.38 |
| DVD+R DL Read Speeds4 | 5.70 | 3.40 | 6.04 | Coaster | 6.17 | Coaster | 6.17 | 6.02 |
| DVD+R DL Write Speeds4 | 4.00 | 4.13 | 2.35 | Coaster | 2.40 | Coaster | 2.41 | 2.34 |
| DVD-RAM Read Speeds5 | 1.95 | - | - | - | - | - | 3.01 | - |
| DVD-RAM Write Speeds5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.43 | - |
| CD Seek Time in ms6 | 131 | 125 | 94 | 94 | 97 | 97 | 113 | 95 |
| DVD Seek Time in ms7 | 134 | 128 | 95 | 95 | 100 | 101 | 102 | 94 |
| Error Diagnostics | - | - | - | - | X | X | - | - |
| Booktype | Automatic | X | X | X | X | X | - | X |
| Chipset | NEC | NEC | Philips | Philips | MediaTek | MediaTek | LG-Hitachi | Philips |
2 8x 4.5GB MCC 02RG20 media
3 16x 4.5GB MCC 004 media
4 2.4x 8.5GB dual layer MKM 001 media
5 3x DVD-RAM Prodisc media
NEC's dominance of CDR burning came as no surprise. The Achilles heel of the Pioneer 108D is its CDR write speeds.
So, with all of the numbers that we have presented, what do they mean? Where does each of the eight 16X burners stand on the charts? As we presented on our chart above, there are a few drives that have the features and performance levels that put them towards the top. We mentioned earlier how Pioneer and NEC were the most matured drives, since they've been out for about 3 months now. Pioneer and NEC have had more time to test their drives with a long list of media, and have put out firmware updates to resolve some of the compatibility issues when first released while the manufacturers of the newer drives are just beginning to realize what works and what doesn't regarding compatible media.
For media compatibility, it is obvious that there are 3 units that come out on top: Pioneer's DVR-108, NEC's ND-3500A, and LG's GSA-4160B. All three units wrote to media of quality ranging from low to high in all formats including - R/RW, +R/RW, and +R DL.
It is obvious that performance is no problem for these 3 models, and what really makes them stand out from each other is their features. Seven out of the eight drives implemented the bit setting feature. We discussed earlier how setting the "Book Type" of the media increases its compatibility with set top DVD players. All three of our top competitors have this feature, but the 108D can only perform bitsetting automatically on DVD+R DL media. That knocks Pioneer's DVR-108D out of the race for the best burner, but keeps LG's GSA-4160B in the running for its DVD-RAM read/write capabilities. Pioneer may have stayed in the race for its DVD-RAM capabilities, if only it had write capabilities as well as it did read capabilities.
Finally, with the NEC ND-3500A and LG's GSA-4160B going head to head, we looked at the difference in features between the two and realized that the GSA-4160B's DVD-RAM read/write capabilities are not really useful in applications for the common end user. We feel the bitsetting function should take priority over DVD-RAM features, since it increases compatibility with set top boxes instead of creating another option to support. In the end, NEC's ND-3500A comes out on top to win the prize in both performance (fast read/write speeds, great quality of burns) and features (bitsetting, high DL write speeds). Though Pioneer's performance is just as impresseive, it is lagging behind in write speeds.
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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...