LG BH08LS20 Super Multi Blue Blu-ray Disc ReWriter

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - DVD-ROM:

For this test I used a single layer, single sided data DVD-ROM disc that is 4.37GB in size.

 

	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S	LG GGW-H20L	Lite-On DH-4B1S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	12.34x 6.84x 16.51x	12.27x 6.80x 16.40x	12.28x 6.80x 16.42x	9.33x 5.12x 12.49x
Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full:	111ms 115ms 191ms	153ms 158ms 291ms	121ms 141ms 213ms	138ms 158ms 209ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	4% 8% 15% 27%	4% 6% 9% 18%	4% 8% 14% 23%	5% 9% 17% 32%

The BH08LS20 was fairly quick when reading single layer DVD-ROM's. In our tests it started reading at 6.84x and reached a maximum transfer speed of 16.51x. Looking at the other scores, you can see that the drive's seek times were also quite good.

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - DVD-R and DVD-RW:

First, we'll look at the drive's DVD-R and DVD-RW reading performance. For this I made copies of our DVD-ROM test disk using some general use 16x DVD-R and 4x DVD-RW media from Verbatim and then ran our usual DVD read tests with CD Speed. For the DVD-RAM tests, media from Maxell was used. The results are below.

Verbatim DVD-R
 

	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S	LG GGW-H20L	Lite-On DH-4B1S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	12.36x 6.88x 16.52x	12.28x 6.80x 16.42x	9.23x 5.12x 12.33x	9.35x 5.14x 12.49x
Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full:	116ms 125ms 191ms	166ms 170ms 317ms	102ms 125ms 183ms	139ms 158ms 212ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	4% 8% 15% 28%	4% 6% 10% 18%	3% 6% 12% 22%	5% 9% 17% 32%

Verbatim DVD-RW
 

	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S	LG GGW-H20L	Lite-On DH-4B1S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	7.72x 4.28x 10.32x	6.15x 3.41x 8.23x	7.69x 4.23x 10.29x	9.37x 5.13x 12.54x
Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full:	106ms 124ms 199ms	156ms 228ms 352ms	110ms 136ms 206ms	138ms 159ms 212ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	4% 8% 15% 28%	4% 6% 10% 18%	4% 7% 13% 24%	5% 10% 17% 32%

The BH08LS20 performed very well when reading DVD-R and DVD-RW media. In our tests, the drive read DVD-R discs at 16x and DVD-RW media at a respectable 10x

LG's new drive had no problems reading Verbatim's 4x DVD-R DL media. The BH08LS20 started reading at 3.44x and reached a maximum transfer speed of 8.24x.

Maxell 5x DVD-RAM
 

	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S	LG GGW-H20L
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	4.65x 3.01x 5.02x	4.99x 4.96x 5.00x	4.62x 3.00x 5.00x
Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full:	185ms 201ms 276ms	327ms 472ms 1135ms	139ms 156ms 206ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x:	21% 34% 53%	18% 14% 74%	17% 27% 42%

The BH08LS20 has a maximum transfer speed of 5x when reading DVD-RAM discs. By looking at the screenshot you can see that it starts reading at 3.00x and accelerates, reaching 5x at the 1.6GB mark. 

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - DVD+R and DVD+RW:

Next we'll look at the drive's DVD+R and DVD+RW reading performance. For this I made a copy of our DVD-ROM test disk using some 4x DVD+R and 2.4x DVD+RW media from Verbatim. I then ran our usual DVD read tests with CD Speed. The results are below.

Verbatim DVD+R
 

	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S	LG GGW-H20L	Lite-On DH-4B1S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	12.37x 6.87x 16.53x	12.29x 6.78x 16.43x	9.22x 5.10x 12.33x	9.35x 5.13x 12.51x
Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full:	120ms 127ms 198ms	165ms 171ms 303ms	100ms 130ms 196ms	137ms 162ms 213ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	4% 8% 15% 28%	4% 6% 10% 18%	3% 7% 15% 24%	5% 9% 17% 32%

Verbatim DVD+RW

	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S	LG GGW-H20L	Lite-On DH-4B1S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	7.73x 4.30x 10.33x	6.15x 3.41x 8.22x	7.69x 4.24x 10.29x	9.36x 5.13x 12.50x
Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full:	108ms 122ms 190ms	156ms 169ms 330ms	110ms 129ms 191ms	138ms 161ms 213ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	4% 7% 15% 28%	4% 6% 10% 18%	4% 7% 12% 23%	5% 10% 17% 32%

The BH08LS20's performance with DVD+R and DVD+RW media was very similar to what we saw with DVD-R and DVD-RW. The drive read DVD+R discs at 16x and DVD+RW media at 10x.

Verbatim DVD+R DL
 

Reading Verbatim's double layer DVD+R media wasn't an issue for LG's new drive either. The BH08LS20 started reading at 3.44x and reached a maximum transfer speed of 8.25x.

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - DVD-Video:

For these tests I am using the US version of Transformers: The Movie on DVD. The disc is over 4GB and single sided.

 

	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S	LG GGW-H20L	Lite-On DH-4B1S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	3.66x 2.03x 4.89x	4.55x 2.52x 6.09x	6.06x 3.36x 8.10x	9.24x 5.05x 12.35x
Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full:	134ms 167ms 228ms	149ms 163ms 311ms	191ms 231ms 333ms	138ms 160ms 208ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	4% 7% 13% 31%	4% 6% 10% n/a	4% 6% 18% 24%	5% 9% 17% 32%

The BH08LS20 didn't do nearly as well as the other drives when reading DVD videos. In our tests, it reached a maximum speed of only 4.8x when reading both single and dual layer discs. 

To see how well LG's new drive worked as a DVD player, I watched a few scenes from Transformers: The Movie and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace using the bundled version of PowerDVD. The BH08LS20 had no problems playing back either movie and was fairly quiet.