The BATTLE of the BURNERS

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DUAL LAYER MEDIA TESTS
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Since I started these tests I have obtained several more 16X speed Dual Layer DVD writers so I am adding them to this review The drives I am initially testing will be The PIONEER DVR-108, NEC ND-3500AG, BENQ DD DW1620, LITEON SOHW1633S, TEAC DV-W516G & MEMOREX DVD+/-DLRWL1 F16

With all these tests I have a DVD Video title set that is just under the maximum size for a dual layer disc and the titles set is burnt at 2.4x speed with Copy2DVD. The media I used for this initial test is RITEKD01 2.4x D/L media from 3 separate sources

UNBRANDED SILVER RITEKD01 2.4 x speed DVD+R D/L media

DATASAFE RITEKD01 2.4 x speed DVD+R D/L media

RiDisc RITEKD01 2.4 x speed DVD+R D/L media

08 02 00 00 01 0F 32 10 00 03 00 00 00 FC FF CF ......2......... 00 22 B9 5F 00 00 00 52 49 54 45 4B 00 00 00 44 ."._...RITEK...D 30 31 01 40 25 25 37 00 00 28 64 00 28 64 19 1B 01.@%%7..(D.(D.. 0B 0B 0E 0F 01 00 00 00 00 19 1B 0B 0B 0E 0F 01 ................

Before I show the burn quality I will show how fast the drives can read this media

For these tests I burnt the same title set in each drive and then read the same disc in the drive it had been burnt in

Pioneer 108 f/w 1.14

The Pioneer commences the reading at about 5x reaching a peak of 8.25 times at the layer change but the reading after this point came up with errors and the readings of the second layer cannot be relied upon. I did a repeated burn with the same media and the results were similar so I must assume that this media is unsuitable for burning with the Pioneer DVR-108 with its current and latest firmware 1.14

NEC ND3500 f/w 208

The NEC starts reading at just under 2x peaking at 4x at the layer change and then dropping down to just under 2x at the finish. This graph is almost a mirror before & after the layer change and the changeover is smooth without hesitation. This is a good burn and playback should be OK. The slow reading speed is the only drawback with this drive but in my opinion is not a disadvantage because I will always attempt to read my media with a suitable DVD-ROM drive. With the original firmware 2.16 I was unable to produce a satisfactory burn and it was not until I applied the firmware 208 that I was able to produce a usable disc

BENQ DD DW1620 f/w B7H9

The BENQ drive is very slow at reading the disc starting at just over 2x and peaking at just over 3x with a slight dip around the layer change point finishing at just over 2x. The dip around the switch point is something that I would have expected and the fact that it is minor I do not consider this a problem. As far as reading the Dual Layer media this is by far the slowest of the drives tested so far.The firmware of this drive is B7H9 which is the original firmware on the drive

LITEON SOHW1633S f/w BS0H

This updated Liteon firmware shows a nice smooth graph with a rounded peak and no noticeable glitch at the layer change. This graph has the appearance of a good burn. It looks as if Liteon have excelled themselves with this firmware upgrade

Check out the original graph before the firmware upgrade

TEAC DV-W516G B4S2
Up to date I have not been able to succesfully burn any Dual Layer media with this drive I suspect a firmware problem and I am expecting a reply from Teac regarding this.

MEMOREX DVD+/-DLRWL1 F16 f/w BWSE

The Memorex gave quite a smooth curve starting at just under 3x peaking at 5x at the layer change dropping down to just under 3x at the finish. The layer switch is smooth with no dip and this looks like on of my best burns so far.

NOTE the Memorex, Teac & Liteon are basically the same drive (Liteon SOHW1633S) with their own specific firmware and the performances should be similar if the particular drive has a suitable similar firmware. Wherever possible I have used the latest firmware available for the drives and if I receive up to date improved firmware I will apply it and update my results

Each of these graphs represents the media having been burnt in the drive and then a speed read test done in the same drive showing the quality of the read and the reading speed of the disc as you can see the Pioneer is by far the fastest at reading but the quality of the burn with this media leaves a lot to be desired.

My future speed test on Dual Layer media will be carried out in the Pioneer drive because of its faster reading ability.

How do these read speeds compare

The Pioneer is the fastest drive starting at 5x and peaking at 8x but it faulters reading its own media during the second layer resulting in a longer reading time than the Memorex which has a much smoother read curve. So in these tests I would rate the Memorex the best

Added:  Monday, September 27, 2004
Reviewer:  Flash
Related web link:  Verbatim Dual Layer Tests
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