Lite-On iHAS422 22x "Super AllWrite" DVD±RW/RAM

DVD Write and ReWrite Tests - Nero Burning Rom 7.11.10.0 and Drag-to-Disc 9.0:

To test the DVD writing performance of Optiarc's new drive I used Taiyo Yuden 16x DVD+R, Taiyo Yuden 16x DVD-R, Verbatim 8x DVD+RW and Verbatim 6x DVD-RW media. To get the writing times, a 4.38GB image was burned to our test discs using Nero.

When writing to DVD+R and DVD-R media at 24x, the AD-7240S uses CAV. By looking at the screenshots above, you can see that Optiarc's new drive starts writing at about 10x and accelerates, reaching its maximum speed at the end of the disc.

The AD-7240S also features 8x DVD+RW and 6x DVD-RW writing speeds. While the drive uses CLV when writing to DVD-RW media, it uses Z-CLV to reach its maximum DVD+RW writing speed.

Optiarc's new "Super-Multi" drive performed very well in our DVD writing tests. The AD-7240S turned in some of the fastest DVD±R and DVD±RW writing times we've seen, beating the drives from Samsung and LG by a small margin.

To check the media compatibility of the iHAS422, I ran a few tests using some of the media available in my area. The media types, along with the average time it took the drive to write our 4.38GB image, are listed below. For these tests, SmartWrite and OverSpeed were left disabled.

So what about writing quality? Thanks to KProbe, we can test a disc's PI (Parity Inner) and PIF (Parity Inner Fail) rates. For these tests I used a Lite-On SHM-165H6S (firmware HS0E) and read the discs at 4x with the PI and PIF ECC sums set to 8 and 1 respectively. For comparison, I also tested the discs on a BenQ DW1640. When combined with Nero CD Speed, the DW1640 is able to report PI Errors, PI Failures, Parity Outer Failures and even jitter levels. For this test, the discs are read at 8x with both the PI and PIF ECC sums set to 8.

So what are "good" results supposed to look like? With KProbe, the PI errors should not exceed 280 and the number of PIF errors should stay below 4. When testing with CD Speed, the number of PI errors should stay below 280 as well. However, because it scans with an ECC sum of 8, a higher number of PIF errors is acceptable, as long as they do not exceed 32. Since POF errors are uncorrectable, we really don't want to see any of them at all.

I also put these discs through a "stress test" by reading them back at 16x with the DW1640. By reading these discs back at this speed, we can see if there are any readability issues caused by the number of errors or high levels of jitter. 

The iHAS422's writing quality was pretty good with most of the DVD+R media we tested. Aside from a few small spikes, the PI/PIF rates stayed within acceptable limits.  

Lastly, here are some results from our DVD-R test media. While the writing quality varied from one manufacturer to another, the results were pretty good for the most part.

To test the iHAS422's packet writing performance I used Drag-to-Disc 9.0. Verbatim 8x DVD+RW, Verbatim 6x DVD-RW and Maxell 12x DVD-RAM media were used once again.

The iHAS422 performed pretty well in our packet writing tests. While not the fastest drive we've tested, it turned in some respectable times when reading and writing to DVD+RW, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM media.

Double Layer DVD Write Tests - Nero Burning Rom 7.11.10.0:

To test the double layer DVD writing performance of the iHAS422, I used DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media from Verbatim, Memorex and Moser Baer. I created about 8GB of random files and directories on my hard drive and then burned them to our test discs with Nero.

With a maximum writing speed of only 8x, the iHAS422 was no match for the drives from Samsung and LG. Nevertheless, it performed as expected, taking less than 17 minutes to write 8001MB of data. So what about writing quality? Take a look below.

Performance Revisited:

Like Lite-On's previous "Super AllWrite" drives, the iHAS422 performed pretty well throughout most of our tests. While not as fast as some of the other drives when writing to DVD±R DL discs, it turned in very good times with DVD±R, DVD±RW and DVD-RAM media. The iHAS422 was also fairly quick when reading DVD's. The drive was able to read single layer data DVD's and DVD±R media at 16x and other types of recordable media at 12x.

The iHAS422 also did relatively well in our CD read tests. The drive read pressed and CD-R discs at speeds as high as 48x and had some very good seek times. When it came to writing CD's, Lite-On's new drive gave us some mixed results. While the iHAS422 turned in some respectable times when writing to CD-R media, its Z-CLV writing method put it at a slight disadvantage in our rewriting tests. With all things considered, the Lite-On iHAS422 gets a solid 8 out of 10 for the performance section of this review.