Samsung SH-S203B 20x DVD±RW/RAM

CD Write and ReWrite Tests - Nero Burning Rom 7.9.6.0 andDLA 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.

Samsung's new "Super-Multi" drive has a maximum CD writing speed of 48x. To reach this speed, it uses CAV, or Constant Angular Velocity. With Fuji's 48x media, the drive started writing at about 21.46x and reached a maximum speed of 48.07x at the end of the session. This gave the SH-S203B an average writing speed of about 36.64x.

To test the drive's writing times, I wrote our test data to some Taiyo Yuden manufactured Fujimedia rated at 48x. The results are below.

The SH-S203B took longer than expected to complete our CD writing tests. In our tests, it trailed behind the other drives, taking 3:00 to write an entire 701MB CD.

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.

Fuji 48x (Taiyo Yuden)

Imation 52x (MBI)

Verbatim 52x

The LH-20A1L'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 SH-S203B 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 uses a total of three "zones" to reach its maximum speed. The drive starts writing at 16x and jumps to 24x at about the 9 minute mark.The SH-S203B writes at this speed until about the 29 minute mark. When it reaches this point, its writing speed increases to 32x and stays there until the end of the session.

Samsung's new DVD writer didn't do as well as some of the other drives we've tested. Due to its Z-CLV writing method, the LH-20A1L took 2:22 to write 400MB with Nero and a whopping 3:28 to do the same with DLA.

The SH-S203B also erases at 32x. While it didn't have the fastest quick erase time out of the four drives here, it was able to do a full erase in a respectable 3:15.