Sony BWU-500S 12x Blu-ray Disc Writer

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - BD-ROM:

To test the BWU-500S's BD-ROM reading performance, I used the Blu-ray Disc version of The Fifth Element. This single layer disc is about 23GB in size.

 

	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	6.05x 3.38x 8.08x	6.05x 3.38x 8.08x	3.61x 2.02x 4.83x	5.95x 3.33x 7.94x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	73ms 187ms 256ms	74ms 188ms 255ms	87ms 4ms 3ms	78ms 208ms 350ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	0% 1% 1% 2%	0% 1% 1% 2%	0% 0% 1% 2%	0% 1% 8% 4%

The BWU-500S performed pretty well when reading BD-ROM discs. In our tests, the drive started reading at 3.38x and reached a maximum transfer speed of 8.08x.

Sony's new Blu-ray Disc writer had no problems playing back The Fifth Element and The Simpsons Movie using the bundled version of PowerDVD. Just keep in mind that if your monitor is connected to your video card using DVI or HDMI, both need to be HDCP compliant to play AACS protected titles. If not, you can still play them by switching the connection to VGA or using software like Slysoft's AnyDVD HD.

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - BD-R and BD-RE:

Next we'll look at the drive's BD-R and BD-RE reading performance. For this I created a few data discs using single layer BD-R and BD-RE media from Memorex and TDK and then ran our BD read tests with CD Speed.

TDK BD-R
 

	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	6.07x 3.47x 8.07x	6.08x 3.47x 8.07x	7.64x 4.34x 10.14x	5.97x 3.41x 7.94x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	73ms 182ms 259ms	74ms 183ms 263ms	90ms 5ms 4ms	76ms 215ms 363ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	0% 1% 1% 2%	0% 1% 1% 2%	0% 1% 1% 3%	0% 1% 7% 4%

Memorex BD-RE

	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	6.07x 3.47x 8.07x	6.07x 3.47x 8.07x	6.10x 3.48x 8.10x	5.97x 3.41x 7.92x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	73ms 175ms 260ms	74ms 184ms 265ms	91ms 4ms 4ms	79ms 220ms 369ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	0% 1% 1% 2%	0% 1% 1% 2%	0% 1% 1% 3%	0% 1% 7% 4%

TDK BD-R DL

Sony's new drive had no problems reading BD-R, BD-RE and BD-R DL media. In all three cases, the BWU-500S reached a maximum transfer speed of 8x.