DVD Write and ReWrite Tests - Nero Burning Rom 9.4.26.0 and InstantBurn 5:

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


Verbatim 16x DVD+R

 


Verbatim 16x DVD-R

When writing to DVD+R and DVD-R media at 8x, the BDX-S600U uses CAV. By looking at the screenshots above, you can see that Sony's new drive starts writing at about 3.38x and accelerates, reaching its maximum speed at the end of the disc.


Verbatim 8x DVD+RW

 


Verbatim 6x DVD-RW

The BDX-S600U also features 8x DVD+RW and 6x DVD-RW writing speeds. In both cases, the drive uses Z-CLV to reach its maximum writing speed.

  DVD+R DVD-R DVD+RW DVD-RW
Sony BDX-S600U 11:08 11:22 12:48 14:03

The BDX-S600U performed as expected in our DVD writing tests. While not as fast as some of the internal DVD writers we've looked at recently, it turned in some respectable times with DVD±R and DVD±RW media.

While Sony has a list of supported media on its website, I wanted to see for myself how well the BDX-S600U worked with some of the DVD+R and DVD-R discs 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.

  Manufacturer ID Max
Write Speed
Average
Write Time
Moser Baer 16x DVD+R MBIPG101 R05 8x 11:19
Taiyo Yuden 16x DVD+R YUDEN000T03 8x 11:10
TDK 16x DVD+R CMC MAG M01 8x 11:19
Verbatim 16x DVD+R MCC-004 8x 11:08
HP 16x DVD-R CMC MAG.AM3 8x 11:23
Moser Baer 16x DVD-R MBI 01RG40 8x 11:23
Taiyo Yuden 16x DVD-R TYG03 8x 11:23
Verbatim 16x DVD-R MCC 03RG20 8x 11:22

So what about writing quality? Using CD Speed we can test a disc's PI (Parity Inner), PIF (Parity Inner Fail) and Jitter rates. For these tests I used a Lite-On iHAS424 and read the discs at 8x with the PI and PIF ECC sums set to 8 and 1 respectively.

So what are "good" results supposed to look like? When testing with the iHAS424, the PI errors should not exceed 280 and the number of PIF errors should stay below 4. 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. 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. 


Moser Baer 16x DVD+R @ 8x
(
MBIPG101 R05)

Transfer Rate


Taiyo Yuden 16x DVD+R @ 8x
(
YUDEN000T02)

Transfer Rate


TDK 16x DVD+R @ 8x
(CMC MAG M01
)

Transfer Rate


Verbatim 16x DVD+R @ 8x
(
MCC-004)

Transfer Rate

The BDX-S600U'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.


HP 16x DVD-R @ 8x
(CMC MAG.AM3)

Transfer Rate


Moser Baer 16x DVD-R @ 8x
(
MBI 01RG40)

Transfer Rate


Taiyo Yuden 16x DVD-R @ 8x
(TYG03)

Transfer Rate


Verbatim 16x DVD-R @ 8x
(
MCC 03RG20)

Transfer Rate

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

  DVD+RW
Quick
DVD+RW
Full
DVD-RW
Quick
DVD-RW
Full
Sony BDX-S600U 0:09 12:42 0:51 14:04

To test the BDX-S600U's packet writing performance I used InstantBurn 5. Verbatim 6x DVD-RW, Verbatim 8x DVD+RW and Maxell 5x DVD-RAM media were used once again.

  DVD+RW
Write
DVD+RW
Read
DVD-RW
Write
DVD-RW
Read
DVD-RAM
Write
DVD-RAM
Read
Sony BDX-S600U 10:55 10:39 12:11 9:33 29:06 14:49

Double Layer DVD Write Tests - Nero Burning Rom 9.4.26.0:

To test the double layer DVD writing performance of the BDX-S600U, I used DVD+R DL media from Verbatim and Memorex. I created about 8GB of random files and directories on my hard drive and then burned them to our test discs with Nero.

  DVD+R DL
Sony BDX-S600U 27:47

The BDX-S600U performed as expected when writing to DVD+R DL media. In our tests, the drive took 27:47 to write 8001MB of data to Verbatim's 8x DVD+R DL discs. So what about writing quality? Take a look below.


Verbatim 8x DVD+R DL @ 6x
(MKM 003)

Transfer Rate


Memorex 8x DVD+R DL @ 8x
(RITEK S04)

Transfer Rate

The BDX-S600U's writing quality was pretty good with the DVD+R DL media from Verbatim and Memorex. Aside from a few small spikes, the PI/PIF rates stayed within acceptable limits and there weren't any readability problems.