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
NEC ND-3500A
Pioneer's strongest competitor, the NEC 3500A, is a drive for which we have strong expectations. NEC's non-existent retail channel makes buying the drive a hassle - but you can easily find it at online retailers.| NEC ND-3500A 16X DVD-/+RW Drive | |
| Interface | PATA |
| CD Write Speed | 48X, 40X, 32X, 24X ZCLV 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 CLV 4X, 2X, 1X |
| DVD-RW Rewrite Speed | 4X, 2X, 1X CLV |
| DVD+R Write Speed | 16X, 12X, 8X ZCLV 4X, 2.4X |
| DVD+RW Rewrite Speed | 4X, 2.4X CLV |
| DVD+DL Write Speed | 2.4X CLV |
| DVD-RAM Read Speed | 2X 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: 130ms DVD: 140ms |
| Buffer | 2MB |
As we mentioned earlier, NEC's 3500A looks very similar to the Pioneer DVR-108D, and they should - they have very similar components. Most notably, however, the NEC 3500A advertises much higher CD write speed (48X as opposed to 32X). We noted earlier that write quality trumps write speed, but write speed in this instance is quite significant.
A snapshot of Nero's InfoTool shows the supported read and write features of the ND-3500A. We expected the 3500A to support the ability to read DVD-RAM media, but the unchecked box next to it told us something different.
Click to enlarge.
A high resolution scan shows the 3500A's NEC chipset. As we mentioned before, the 108D uses the same chipset, the NEC D63635 DSP, and it is disappointing to learn that the 3500A as a drive does not readily support the feature. Both the 3500A and the 108D support 16X burning of DVD+R media as well as 48X CDR reading/writing capabilities.
A high resolution scan of the topside label:
Click to enlarge.
Feel free to download the performance graphs for the ND-3500A here.
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Operandi - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
For future reference if you are going to bother taking pictures of the drives take a picture of somthing useful, the drive bezel. nobody cares what the circut board PCB looks like.xsilver - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
Also is there somewhere where I can find tests on reading regular dvd-9 movies? my liton 16x reader goes completely ape when there is any scratches on the disc, the 106d is much slower but plugs through.This is when using dvd decrypter
and who the hell uses cd's anymore? dvd's are so much cheaper per m/b to store data.... if someone doesn't have at least a dvd reader, I say quit trying to buy that l33t AMD64 / 6800 and get something useful!
PuravSanghani - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
The bitsetting feature on this model is very limited with the current firmware in that only DVD+R DL media will be autoset to the DVD-ROM booktype.KristopherKubicki - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
>Also the 108d is the same price as the 3500a where I am.... would it be recommended then?I would still recommend the NEC-3500A. The faster CD writing is worth it.
Kristopher
xsilver - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
Can the bitsetting option on the pioneer 108d be explained more? what will it auto set to?I have a 106d I want to upgrade and have found the pioneer to be much better than something like a liteon....
Also the 108d is the same price as the 3500a where I am.... would it be recommended then?