Nu Tech DDW-081 Writing Quality

[Ian]

I haven't seen any KProbe tests for the DDW-081. Here are a few that I've done. All discs recorded at 8x. Tested using LDW-401S @ 1x with Sum 8 ECC... blah blah blah..

TDK 4x DVD+R (Ricoh)



Memorex 8x DVD+R (Ricoh)



Verb 8x DVD+R (MMC)



The thing that caught my eye right away was the "spikes" about 1/3 of the way through. This is the same spot where the drive changes speeds.

[Ian]

Here's a Verb disc recorded at 4x. Notice that there's no "spike".

[dodecahedron]

weird.
but the fact that the spike appears in the same place in all 3 brands suggests that this is a drive/firmware issue and not a media issue. the drive has probelms making good burns at 8x.

i wonder, did you notice if it's a real 8x burn? the drive is probably does 8x at ZCLV. so does it really stay 8x all the way to the end?

BTW does this mean youv'e started working on a review of this drive?

[Ian]

weird.
but the fact that the spike appears in the same place in all 3 brands suggests that this is a drive/firmware issue and not a media issue. the drive has probelms making good burns at 8x.

I could see that the spike might cause readability problems.. but I haven't had any problems reading the discs (so far).

i wonder, did you notice if it's a real 8x burn? the drive is probably does 8x at ZCLV. so does it really stay 8x all the way to the end?

I haven't seen any slow downs at all with this drive. You select 8x and it writes at 8x.

BTW does this mean youv'e started working on a review of this drive?

Yep. I figured you guys needed a good review of the drive.. and not some craptastic "world's first" one.

[dodecahedron]

i wonder, did you notice if it's a real 8x burn? the drive is probably does 8x at ZCLV. so does it really stay 8x all the way to the end?

I haven't seen any slow downs at all with this drive. You select 8x and it writes at 8x.

is it indeed ZCLV 8x or CLV 8x?

craptastic

nice word!

[Ian]

CD Speed says CLV, but if you look at the graph you can see that its really Z-CLV

[dodecahedron]

ZCLV alas oh well it was expected.

if i'm not mistaken it switches from 6x to 8x earlier than the Plexor does. is it indeed faster (any noticeable difference)?

what's with those ugly spikes ??? uugh
(i remember seeing them in a review once before, but can't recall which one.)

[Ian]

if i'm not mistaken it switches from 6x to 8x earlier than the Plexor does. is it indeed faster (any noticeable difference)?

The point where the two drives change speeds is very close. So are their writing times. In most cases, the Nu Tech was only 1-3 seconds faster.

[kirpen]

What does it all mean? I just got the drive on 11-19 and the only thing I can say is the eject button had problems after some burns and it doesnt read vcds very well.

[zebraX]

Purely in the interest of burn quality, I thought I would post a comparison pic of my LDW-811S writing at 8x to 4x RICOHJPN001 (02 rev) media.

Now, I know its hard to compare...but, it would seem to me that the LDW-811S is making a nicer burn on the whole (if we go by the PI/PO count).

I used exactly the same KProbe settings and an LDW-811S in this test.



I also have a scan of a Verbatim 4X+R (MCC002) written @ 8x in the Nutech drive for comparison:



Now, from these pictures, it would seem that the Nu and the 811S are writing VERY similarly @ 8x to known good 8x media (well, 4X in reality)...

Comments? [oh...and please dont point out the fact that its close to impossible to compare drive to drive kprobe scans, I am aware of this, but its all we have to work with and GENERALLY SPEAKING, it seems to have a strong correlation between PO errors and playback in set-tops]

[Ian]

I used exactly the same KProbe settings and an LDW-811S in this test.

I read them at 1x. Your graphs have you reading them at max. Not really sure how big of a difference that makes.

[Dartman]

Well those are better looking then the burns my Sony 500a makes and they always work in my dvd player. IF they're really going to add minus support and probably dual layer later I need to get one of those for 139 it might be the best deal out there.

[aviationwiz]

As far as quality scans go with KProbe and PI/PO. They really don't mean much. I think the farthest extent that you can compare one burn to another burn, is if it's being tested in the same drive. (AKA, for me, LTD-163D, for Ian, LDW-401S.)

[zebraX]

Ummm...why is it that so many people refuse to take note of what has already been stated? Look in my post AGAIN...

I have already acknowledged that it is difficult to obtain meaningful results from different drives, let alone different hardware configurations and EIDE bus conditions!!!!



Please don't re-state the obvious.

These tests are by no means completely qualitative or quantitative. They should indeed be taken with a grain of salt.