Pioneer DVR-2920Q Qflix 20x DVD±RW/RAM

CD Write and ReWrite Tests - Nero Burning Rom 7.11.10.0 and DLA 5.20:

For this test I randomly generated 700MB of files and directories to test the time it takes the drive to write and close a CD. All of the files are between 1MB and 25MB in size and no more than 10 directories deep. All of the times below include not only the actual writing time, but the lead in and out times too. This gives a more realistic idea of how long it takes to write a CD.

The DVR-2920Q has a maximum CD writing speed of 40x. To reach this speed, it uses CAV, or Constant Angular Velocity. With Verbatim's 52x media, the drive started writing at about 17.85x and reached a maximum speed of 40.32x at the end of the session. This gave Pioneer's new DVD±RW drive an average writing speed of about 30.52x.

To test the drive's writing times, I wrote our test data to some Verbatim media rated at 52x. The results are below.

Pioneer's new DVD writer went into this test with a slight disadvantage. While the drives from Optiarc and Samsung can write CD's at 48x, the DVR-2020Q has a maximum writing speed of only 40x. Nevertheless, it was able to write an entire 701MB CD in a respectable 3:33.

To test the drive's writing quality I used Lite-On IT's KProbe2. Written by Karr Wang, this utility can be used to test the number of C1 and C2 errors on a disc. For these tests I used a Lite-On LTR-52246S (firmware 6S0F) and read the discs at 32x. 

Memorex 52x (CMC)

Taiyo Yuden 52x

Verbatim 52x

The DVR-2920Q's writing quality was very good. By looking at the KProbe screenshots, you can see that the discs burned by the drive had a low number of C1 errors and there were no C2 errors at all. 

For the rewriting tests I created 400MB of files on the hard drive and wrote them in DAO mode using Nero. To test the packet writing speeds I copied and pasted the same files off the hard drive onto a CD-RW disc using DLA from Sonic. Verbatim's 32x Ultra Speed CD-RW media was used for these tests.

While the DVR-2920Q uses CAV when writing to CD-R discs, it uses Z-CLV, or Zone CLV, when rewriting at 32x. By looking at the screenshot above, you can see that it starts writing at 16x and jumps to 24x at about the 19 minute mark. The drive writes at this speed until about the 49 minute mark. At this point, the writing speed increases to 32x and stays there until the very end of the session.

Pioneer's new DVD writer didn't do as well as some of the other drives in our rewriting tests. Due to its Z-CLV writing method, the DVR-2920Q took 2:53 to write 400MB with Nero and 2:39 to do the same with DLA.

The DVR-2920Q's Z-CLV writing method also put it at a disadvantage when erasing. The drive not only had the highest quick erase time, it took nearly four minutes to do a full erase.