(Mini-cons not included)
The ND-3540A we received from NEC was an OEM version. The drive did not come with any software, cables or even a printed manual.
Physical Features:
The drive NEC sent us for this review was manufactured in March of 2005 and had firmware 1.01. At the time of this review, this is the only official firmware available for the ND-3540A.
NEC's new DVD writer definitely doesn't get any bonus points for looks. Like their previous drives, they've kept the look of the ND-3540A very simple. There are no large NEC logos or anything advertising the drive's reading and writing speeds. If you look closely though, you can see logos advertising support for DVD-R/RW, DVD+R DL and Ultra Speed CD-RW media.
Below the tray you can see the ND-3540A's single LED. It lights up green when the drive is both reading and writing.
The rear of the ND-3540A is pretty straightforward. By looking at the picture below you can see the drive's IDE interface, power connector and audio output connectors.
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.The connector on the far left is undocumented and is most likely used for diagnostics.
Technical Specs:
Most of the specs below have been taken from NEC's website and by running a few simple tests:
| NEC ND-3540A 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, 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) 7x Max (DVD-ROM Dual Layer) 16x Max (DVD±R) 13x Max (DVD±RW) 7x Max (DVD±R DL) 5x Max (DVD-Video) |
| Buffer Size | 2MB |
| Access Times |
120 ms (CD-ROM) 140 ms (DVD-ROM) |
| CD Formats | CD-Audio CD-ROM CD-ROM XA CD-R CD-RW Photo CD Video CD CD-I 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 Recording Modes |
Disc At Once Random Write (DVD+R/RW) Sequential Write (DVD+R/RW) Incremental (DVD-R/RW) Multi-Border (DVD-R/RW) Restricted Overwrite (DVD-RW) |
More Features:
By looking at the picture below, you can see that NEC's new DVD writer is identified as an "_NEC DVD_RW ND-3540A".
The Nero screenshot also shows that the ND-3540A 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.
NEC's new drive seems to be able to do EFM encoding correctly. Using CloneCD version 4.2.0.2 with AWS disabled, Iwas able to reproduce older SafeDisc 2 protected titles like Max Payne along with some protected by SafeDisc 2.51 like Serious Sam: The Second Encounter.
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 ND-3540A's maximum reading and writing speeds, recording modes, buffer underrun protection and 2MB buffer.
InfoTool also shows that the ND-3540A is a 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. A patched RPC-1 firmware can be downloaded here. Just keep in mind that it is not supported by NEC nor by CDRLabs. Use it at your own risk.
While InfoTool gives us a quick glance at the ND-3540A'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 NEC's new drive can read and write to both DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media, it does not support the Mt. Rainier format.
Like NEC's previous 16x DVD±RW drives, the ND-3540A doesn't let you set the book type of single layer DVD+R or DVD+RW media. However, using programs like CD Speed or Nero, you can set the book type for DVD+R DL discs to "DVD-ROM." This greatly reduces compatibility problems, especially with older DVD players.
While affordably priced, NEC's new DVD±RW offers many of the features found on more expensive writers. Along with support for most CD and DVD formats, the ND-3540A sports some pretty impressive specs including 16x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW and 6x DVD-R DL writing speeds and a maximum DVD read speed of 16x. More importantly, it's one of the first drives with the ability to write to DVD+R DL media at 8x. The ND-3540A also includes features like a 2MB buffer and support for some sort of buffer underrun protection, but lacks bitsetting support for single layer DVD+R and DVD+RW media. Even then, the NEC ND-3540A scores a 9 out of 10 for its features.
