Along with smaller cable size, one of the biggest benefits of Serial ATA is its ease of installation. Because it uses a point to point connection, setting jumpers has become a thing of the past. In most cases, installation is as simple as plugging in the SATA and power cables and turning the computer on. Needless to say, it took only a couple of minutes to install Plextor'ss Blu-ray Disc writer in our test computer. After making sure that the PX-B940SA was recognized by Windows, I was ready to start installing the software.
Software Installation:
As I mentioned earlier, the PX-B940SA comes with a CD full of software from CyberLink. If you have autorun enabled, the menu pictured below will automatically come up when you insert the disc. From here you can choose to install the bundled software, check out the drive documentation or view the TTDH setup instructions.
Clicking the "Install CyberLink BD Suite" button will bring up another menu where you can read about the various applications included in the suite. Otherwise, you can start the setup process by clicking the "Install Now" button.
After selecting your preferred language and entering your customer information, you'll be presented with a number of installation options. From here, you can choose to install InstantBurn, LabelPrint, Power2Go, PowerBackup, PowerDirector, PowerDVD or PowerProducer. Simply select the components you want and click next a few times. Once the files are copied over, you can start burning your own discs.
The Documentation:
The bulk of the PX-B940SA's documentation is located on the software CD in electronic format. Similar to the ones included with Plextor's other drives, the manual starts out by getting the user familiarized with their new drive. The first section goes over the PX-B940SA's capabilities, features and system requirements. Plextor has also provided some pretty good diagrams showing the various buttons and connectors located on the front and back of the drive. Everything is labeled clearly and the functions of each are easy to understand.
From here, the manual goes right into the physical installation of the PX-B940SA. With no jumpers to configure, this section is relatively brief. Nevertheless, it covers all of the basics including how to install it into an empty drive bay and hook up the cables. The manual continues on by going over the basic operation of the PX-B940SA. Along with information on how to use and maintain the drive, there is a short troubleshooting section as well as a list of frequently asked questions.
The PX-B940SA also comes with a "Quick Reference Guide." This small, fold out guide takes the user step by step through the installation process. While a little short on words, there are a number of diagrams showing what to do. For most people, the "Quick Reference Guide" will be all they'll need to get the PX-B940SA up and running.
Like the other Plextor drives we've reviewed, the PX-B940SA was very easy to install. Even though Blu-ray is a relatively new technology, there were no problems getting the drive or the software installed and working correctly. If for some reason you do run into trouble, the documentation Plextor has provided is quite good, even though it is in electronic format. With this in mind, the PX-B940SA scores a 9 out of 10 for the installation portion of this review.
