Pioneer BDR-2203 8x Blu-ray Disc Writer

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - DVD-ROM:

For this test I used a single layer, single sided data DVD-ROM disc that is 4.37GB in size.

 

	Pioneer BDR-2203	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S	Lite-On DH-4B1S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	11.93 6.64x 15.96x	12.34x 6.84x 16.51x	12.27x 6.80x 16.40x	9.33x 5.12x 12.49x
Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full:	153ms 186ms 338ms	111ms 115ms 191ms	153ms 158ms 291ms	138ms 158ms 209ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	12% 13% 23% 44%	4% 8% 15% 27%	4% 6% 9% 18%	5% 9% 17% 32%

Pioneer's new drive wasn't as fast as some of the others when reading single layer DVD-ROM's. While it came very close, the BDR-2203 had a hard time reaching its rated speed in our tests.

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - DVD-R and DVD-RW:

First, we'll look at the drive's DVD-R and DVD-RW reading performance. For this I made copies of our DVD-ROM test disk using some general use 16x DVD-R and 4x DVD-RW media from Verbatim and then ran our usual DVD read tests with CD Speed. For the DVD-RAM tests, media from Maxell was used. The results are below.

Verbatim DVD-R
 

	Pioneer BDR-2203	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S	Lite-On DH-4B1S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	11.95x 6.64x 15.98x	12.36x 6.88x 16.52x	12.28x 6.80x 16.42x	9.35x 5.14x 12.49x
Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full:	165ms 198ms 352ms	116ms 125ms 191ms	166ms 170ms 317ms	139ms 158ms 212ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	16% 13% 23% n/a	4% 8% 15% 28%	4% 6% 10% 18%	5% 9% 17% 32%

Verbatim DVD-RW
 

	Pioneer BDR-2203	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S	Lite-On DH-4B1S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	9.36x 5.20x 12.52x	7.72x 4.28x 10.32x	6.15x 3.41x 8.23x	9.37x 5.13x 12.54x
Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full:	167ms 394ms 385ms	106ms 124ms 199ms	156ms 228ms 352ms	138ms 159ms 212ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	14% 13% 24% n/a	4% 8% 15% 28%	4% 6% 10% 18%	5% 10% 17% 32%

The BDR-2203 had no problems reading DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media. In our tests, the drive read DVD-R discs at speeds near 16x, and both DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media at a respectable 12x.

Maxell 5x DVD-RAM
 

	Pioneer BDR-2203	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	4.97x 4.73x 5.00x	4.65x 3.01x 5.02x	4.99x 4.96x 5.00x
Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full:	193ms 3ms 1ms	185ms 201ms 276ms	327ms 472ms 1135ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x:	18% 30% 45%	21% 34% 53%	18% 14% 74%

The BDR-2203 has a maximum transfer speed of 5x when reading DVD-RAM discs. By looking at the screenshot, you can see that it reads at this speed from start to finish.

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - DVD+R and DVD+RW:

Next we'll look at the drive's DVD+R and DVD+RW reading performance. For this I made a copy of our DVD-ROM test disk using some 16x DVD+R and 4x DVD+RW media from Verbatim. I then ran our usual DVD read tests with CD Speed. The results are below.

Verbatim DVD+R
 

	Pioneer BDR-2203	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S	Lite-On DH-4B1S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	11.95x 6.67x 16.00x	12.37x 6.87x 16.53x	12.29x 6.78x 16.43x	9.35x 5.13x 12.51x
Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full:	170ms 204ms 357ms	120ms 127ms 198ms	165ms 171ms 303ms	137ms 162ms 213ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	16% 13% 23% n/a	4% 8% 15% 28%	4% 6% 10% 18%	5% 9% 17% 32%

Verbatim DVD+RW

	Pioneer BDR-2203	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S	Lite-On DH-4B1S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	9.39x 5.23x 12.56x	7.73x 4.30x 10.33x	6.15x 3.41x 8.22x	9.36x 5.13x 12.50x
Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full:	166ms 199ms 353ms	108ms 122ms 190ms	156ms 169ms 330ms	138ms 161ms 213ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	14% 13% 23% n/a	4% 7% 15% 28%	4% 6% 10% 18%	5% 10% 17% 32%

Verbatim DVD+R DL
 

The BDR-2203's performance was very similar to what we saw with DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media. The drive read DVD+R discs at 16x and both DVD+RW and DVD+R DL media at 12x.

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - DVD-Video:

For these tests I am using the US version of Transformers: The Movie on DVD. The disc is over 4GB and single sided.

 

	Pioneer BDR-2203	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S	Lite-On DH-4B1S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	11.81x 6.58x 15.79x	3.66x 2.03x 4.89x	4.55x 2.52x 6.09x	9.24x 5.05x 12.35x
Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full:	149ms 176ms 327ms	134ms 167ms 228ms	149ms 163ms 311ms	138ms 160ms 208ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	12% 13% 23% 43%	4% 7% 13% 31%	4% 6% 10% n/a	5% 9% 17% 32%

The BDR-2203 didn't slow down very much when reading single layer DVD videos. It started out at about 6.58x and reached a maximum read speed of 15.79x. Pioneer's new drive was also fairly quick when reading dual layer discs. By looking at the screenshot below, you can see that the drive's transfer speeds peaked at about 12x.

To see how well Pioneer's new drive worked as a DVD player, I watched a few scenes from Transformers: The Movie and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace using the bundled version of PowerDVD. The BDR-2203 had no problems playing back either movie and was fairly quiet.