What's in the box?:
- Memorex MRX-500N 16x DVD±RW Drive
- Software Installation CD
- Hardware Guide
- Software Map
- 1 Memorex 8x DVD+R Disc
- Audio Cable
- Mounting Screws
- IDE Cable
Physical Features:
The drive Memorex sent us for this review was manufactured in November of 2005 and had firmware 1.A3. For this review we used firmware versions 1.A3 and 1.A4.
Looking at the front, it's pretty obvious that the MRX-500N is based on NEC's new 16x DVD±RW, the ND-3550A. While both drives are almost physically identical, Memorex has tried to set theirs apart by giving it a black and silver bezel. As you can see, the MRX-500N also has its share of logos. Along with the large "Memorex" logo, you can see a few showing off its support for DVD-R/RW, DVD+ReWritable, DVD+R DL and Ultra Speed CD-RW media.
Below the tray you can see the MRX-500N's single LED. Instead of lighting up green like on the ND-3550A, it is bright blue.
The rear of the MRX-500N looks very similar to some of the other NEC based DVD writers we've reviewed. By looking at the picture below you can see the drive's IDE interface, power connector and analog audio output connector.
Starting from the left of the IDE connection you'll see the jumper switch for master, slave and cable select. By default the drive's jumper comes set to master. Next to the jumper block is the analog audio connector. To the left of this is the digital audio output.
Technical Specs:
Most of the specs below have been taken from Memorex's website and the guide that came with the drive.
| Memorex MRX-500N 16x DVD±RW | |
| CD Write Speeds | 48x, 40x (CAV/Z-CLV) 32x, 24x (P-CAV/Z-CLV) 16x, 8x (CLV) |
| CD Rewrite Speeds | 32x, 24x (Z-CLV) 16x, 10x, 4x (CLV) |
| DVD+R Write Speeds | 16x, 13x (CAV), 12x, 8x, 6x (Z-CLV) 4x, 2.4x (CLV) |
| DVD+RW Write Speeds | 8x (Z-CLV) 6x, 4x, 2.4x (CLV) |
| DVD-R Write Speeds | 16x, 13x (CAV), 12x, 8x, 6x (Z-CLV) 4x, 2x (CLV) |
| DVD-RW Write Speeds | 6x (Z-CLV) 4x, 2x, 1x (CLV) |
| DVD+R DL Write Speeds | 8x, 6x (Z-CLV) 4x, 2.4x (CLV) |
| DVD-R DL Write Speeds | 6x (Z-CLV) 4x, 2x (CLV) |
| CD Read Speeds | 48x Max (CD-ROM/CD-R) 40x Max (CD-RW) |
| DAE Speed | 40x Max |
| DVD Read Speeds | 16x Max (DVD-ROM Single Layer) 12x Max (DVD-ROM Dual Layer) 16x Max (DVD±R) 13x Max (DVD±RW) 7x Max (DVD±R DL) |
| Buffer Size | 2MB |
| Access Times |
140 ms (CD-ROM) 160 ms (DVD-ROM) |
| CD Formats | CD-Audio CD-ROM CD-ROM XA CD-R CD-RW Photo CD Video CD CD-I (FMV) CD-Extra CD-Text |
| DVD Formats | DVD-ROM DVD-R/RW DVD+R/RW DVD+R DL DVD-R DL |
| CD Recording Modes | Disc At Once Session At Once Track At Once Fixed and Variable Packet Writing |
| DVD+R Recording Modes |
Sequential Write |
| DVD+RW Recording Modes |
Random Write |
| DVD-R/RW Recording Modes |
Disc At Once Incremental Restricted Overwrite |
More Features:
By looking at the picture below, you can see that Memorex's new DVD writer is identified as a "Memorex 16X-DDL-IN".
The Nero screenshot also shows that the MRX-500N has a maximum CD writing speed of 48x and a 2048KB buffer. This buffer is also backed up by some form of buffer underrun protection. According to Nero, the drive can also write CD-Text and overburn. Unfortunately, like some of the other NEC based DVD writers we've tested, it wasn't able to recognize our 99 minute CompUSA discs at all.
Using Alex Noe's Weak Sector Utility we were able to determine that like most other NEC based DVD writers, the MRX-500N is a "two sheep" burner. This means that the MRX-500N is capable of backing up titles protected by SafeDisc 2, including version 2.51.
Here is a screen shot from Nero's InfoTool. This program queries the drive to see what its reading and writing capabilities are. InfoTool had no problems detecting the MRX-500N's maximum reading and writing speeds, recording modes, buffer underrun protection and 2MB buffer.
InfoTool also shows that the MRX-500N is an RPC-2 DVD drive. This means that the drive's region is stored in the firmware. The drive's region can be changed five times and after that it cannot be changed anymore. While a patched RPC-1 firmware is available for the NEC ND-3550A, there isn't one for the MRX-500N yet.
While InfoTool gives us a quick glance at the MRX-500N's features, DVDINFOpro provides a little more information on some of the drive's reading and writing capabilities. By looking at the screenshot above you can see that while Memorex's new drive can read and write to DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media, it does not support the Mt. Rainier format.
The MRX-500N also supports a feature called "bitsetting." While the drive automatically sets the book type of DVD+R DL media to "DVD-ROM", you can manually do the same with single layer DVD+R and DVD+RW media using CD Speed or the bundled Nero software. This feature comes in handy if you have an older DVD player that has problems playing recordable media.
