c't test of 8x DVD media

by **MediumRare** on Sun Aug 22, 2004 5:53 pm

The latest issue of c't (No. 18/2004, on sale in Europe on Mon.) has a test of 8x DVD media. They tested 10 media types with 5 burners capable of 8x (or faster). The burners were those that did best in previous tests (see the c't burner test thread). These are

BenQ DW.822A (B3IC)
LG GSA-4120B (A101)
NEC ND2510 (2.15)
Pioneer DVR-A07 XL (1.16)
Plextor PX-712A (1.03)

All DVD results are based on scans and other tests performed by Audiodev. As in previous tests, I'll sumamrize the c't quality index based on a weighted sum of PI/PIF/POF, DC Jitter and signal asymmetry (see http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=101936#101936 for a description of this index and the rating).

In addition, they've defined a new "mechanical property index" for unburned discs. This is an attempt to separate the influence of media and burning strategy. Again, they've defined a weighted quality index based on the following basic measurements:

AxialN CAV (axial deviations at 3000 rpm CAV, < 1 micron)
Radial CAV (radial tracking errors at 3000 rpm CAV, < 40 nm)
RRO (Radial Run Out at 1x CLV, < 70 micron)
Push-Pull signal (1x CLV, laser tracking- deviation of min/max < 15%)

Because this is a European test, some media will not be available elsewhere and some brands will have different suppliers. In particular, the European manufacturers do not have as close contact with the hardware manufacturers as do Japanese, Korean or Taiwanwese producers. As a result, the firmware of many drives may not have appropriate strategies implemented and fall back to conservative "generic" strategies.

European manufacturers:
- 3A Media, Austria, works closely with Plasmon, Ciba dye
- Skymedia, Switzerland
- MAM-E, France (former Mitsui, now in CSI concern)
- Sony (manufactured in Salzburg, Austria)

The Ritek discs were ordered from an online supplier as a "no-name" source to check on quality fluctuations.

Here a summary of the media properties:

Code: Select all: Rating / quality index Brand Manufacturer ID Speed Burn Mechanical DVD+R 8x 3A Media 3A Media Plasmon1 C01 - 0 - skymedia skymedia VDSPMSAB001 -- -- -- (Interaxia) MAM-E MAM-E MAM M02 - 0 - Maxell Maxell Maxell 002 ++ 0 + Intenso Prodisc Prodisc R03 + 0 0 DVD-R 8x 3A Media 3A Media POMS3A -- + 0 MAM-E MAM-E MAM 4XG02 - + 0 The One Ritek Ritek G05 0 0 + Sony Sony Sony 08D1 0 0 + TDK TDK TTG02 0 0 0

The second table shows how well each drive did. The entries are:
- the c't quality index and rating
- the speed at which the drive burned the disc and the recommended speed

Code: Select all: Manufacturer BenQ LG NEC Pioneer Plextor ID 3A Media 66 / + 64 / + 54 / + -48 / -- 45 / 0 Plasmon1 C01 8x / 8x 4x / 4x 2.4x /2.4x 4x /2.4x 8x / 8x skymedia -512 / -- - / -- -141 / -- -217 / -- -216 / -- VDSPMSAB001 8x / no - / no 4x /2.4x 4x /2.4x 6x /2.4x MAM-E -294 / -- 91 / ++ 79 / ++ -7 / -- -130 / -- MAM M02 8x / 4x 4x / 4x 2.4x /2.4x 4x /2.4x 8x / 6x Maxell 82 / ++ -165 / -- -451 / -- 57 / + -264 / -- Maxell 002 8x / 8x 12x / 6x 8x / 4x 8x / 6x 12x / 6x Prodisc 50 / + 80 / ++ -138 / -- 82 / + -109 / -- Prodisc R03 8x / 8x 8x / 8x 8x / 4x 8x / 8x 8x / 6x 3A Media 73 / + 21 / - 75 / ++ 92 / ++ 50 / + POMS3A 4x / 4x 4x /2.4x 4x / 4x 2x / 2x 6x / 6x MAM-E 3 / - 76 / ++ 77 / ++ 58 / + 59 / + MAM 4XG02 4x /2.4x 4x / 4x 4x / 4x 4x / 4x 8x / 8x Ritek 55 / + 7 / - 91 / ++ 78 / ++ -122 / -- Ritek G05 8x / 8x 4x /2.4x 4x / 4x 8x / 8x 8x / 4x Sony 77 / ++ -69 / -- 56 / + -34 / -- 84 / ++ Sony 08D1 4x / 4x 8x / 6x 8x / 4x 8x / 6x 8x / 8x TDK 61 / + 48 / 0 -82 / -- 64 / + -440 / -- TTG02 4x / 4x 8x / 6x 8x / 4x 8x / 8x 8x / 4x

The Skymedia discs were essentially unuseable, Prodisc and Ritek positive surprises. The BenQ managed the most useable 8x burns.

G

by **alien7** on Sun Aug 22, 2004 6:23 pm

I always said that BenQ DW822A kicks ass for 8x DVD recording. :wink:

by **Vanderlow** on Mon Aug 23, 2004 4:57 pm

Looks like the Pioneer is right up there too. I wished they would have thrown in Ricoh and CMC media.

Thanks for keeping us up on those C't reviews.

by **thegdog** on Mon Aug 23, 2004 6:02 pm

MediumRare wrote:Prodisc and Ritek positive surprises.

The Ritek media got the best score on an NEC drive? That's not a surprise ... that's a frigging shock. :lol:

by **Vanderlow** on Mon Aug 23, 2004 6:28 pm

The best score at 4x at 8x my quess would be the pioneer would be better.

by **MediumRare** on Tue Aug 24, 2004 12:58 am

Vanderlow wrote:I wished they would have thrown in Ricoh and CMC media.

They just tested "new" media. Ricoh, Verbatim, TY and some others were tested together with 8x burners in the earlier tests. Of course this is without the (new) mechanical property index.

Vanderlow wrote:Thanks for keeping us up on those C't reviews.

I've learned so much on this forum that I want to give something back and pass on as much info as I can. I've found c't to be the best computer magazine anywhere (rivalled only by the classic Byte of ca. 15 years ago).

G

by **alexnoe** on Tue Aug 24, 2004 4:37 am

Just a sidenote: As you can see, a lot of crap media has been tested. That means, the test only shows how burners handle (or don't handle) low quality media. It is not a dvd writer test. Saying 'drive blah' is better according to this test is simply wrong. Correct is only 'drive blah can handle cheap discs'

When using MCC or TY on any of these drives, they'll all produce reliable results (unlike some LiteOn drives...)

by **Scour** on Tue Aug 24, 2004 7:31 am

alexnoe wrote:Just a sidenote: As you can see, a lot of crap media has been tested. That means, the test only shows how burners handle (or don't handle) low quality media. It is not a dvd writer test. Saying 'drive blah' is better according to this test is simply wrong. Correct is only 'drive blah can handle cheap discs'

When using MCC or TY on any of these drives, they'll all produce reliable results (unlike some LiteOn drives...)

I think it´s an interesting test of media AND burners. If you only buy the most expensive you had less problems with allmost all writers

But that test shows what a writer can do with media that have not the best quality

by **alexnoe** on Tue Aug 24, 2004 7:49 am

I do not only use expensive media, but I only use good media, i.e. Mitsubishi +R/-R/+RW/-RW, Matsushita -RAM, and TY -R/+R. And i'm glad LG used their time go get proper write quality on TY +R at 12x rather than trying to make Princo discs work.

Deleting files directly is much cheaper and faster than burning them to Princo discs before, but the effect after some months is exactly the same....

EDIT spelling

by **dodecahedron** on Tue Aug 24, 2004 5:46 pm

alexnoe wrote:Deleting files directly is much cheaper and faster than bruning them to Princo discs before, but the affect after some months is exactly the same....

c't test of 8x DVD media

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