1. Introduction
Pioneer DVR-A08XLA DL Recorder - Page 1
After
we finished testing the Pioneer DVR-108 drive, Pioneer sent us the
DVR-A08XLA (retail version) with a new firmware
(v1.10) that
promised a lot, with lowered writing times and improved writing quality.
In this review, we mainly test the DVR-A08's writing quality with
several DVD
recordable
media and we also check whether the various negative points mentioned
in the DVR-108 review, have been fixed with the new firmware.
New readers are advised, before proceeding, to read the Pioneer
DVR-108 review that contains the full reading tests.
- What are the main differences between the DVR-108 and DVR-A08XL series?
Probably, most users have this question in mind when reading the reviews.
We have already answered this question in our Pioneer
DVR-108 review, but we will repeat it one more time for new users.
:-)
Generally speaking, the DVR-108 and DVR-A08XL drives have exactly
the same reading/writing specs and performance but not the same "hardware".
Pioneer manufactures the DVR-108 drives for other manufacturers
(OEM), while it supplies the retail version as the DVR-A08 offering
an advanced feature called "QuietDrive" technology.
According to Pioneer, "...QuietDrive features a honeycomb design
in the unit's top outer casing that reduces vibration from the drive
mechanism. Together with noise dampening firmware and the lack of an
integral fan, ambient noise from the DVR-A08XL is significantly reduced..."
Another difference is the front bezel design, which is very
well designed for the DVR-A08XL series. Lastly, the OEM version (DVR-108A)
does not include any kind of software (Recording/Authoring) nor any
DVD-R/RW media.
If you are wondering which drive you should buy, we could
say, the retail price will make your mind up for you.
The DVR-108 is already being sold on the market for a low enough price,
so the DVR-A08XL will
be priced
a little higher
(you pay for QuietDrive feature and good looking design). But you won't
notice any performance differences between the two:-)
- Specifications
The Pioneer DVR-A08 supports 16X DVD±R, 4X DVD±RW
and 4X DVD+R DL writing according to the official specifications. As
a CD recorder it supports 32X CD-R and 24X US-RW writing along with
40X CD-ROM reading. Below are the full specs for the drive:
Drive |
Pioneer DVR-108 |
Media |
DVD |
CD |
Transfer Rate Read |
16X CAV SL DVD-ROM
12X CAV DL DVD-ROM |
40X CD-ROM CAV |
12X CAV DVD±R |
8X CAV DVD±RW |
32X CD-RW CAV |
2X CLV DVD-RAM |
8X CAV DVD+R9 |
Transfer Rate Write |
16X DVD±R Z-CLV |
32X CD-R Z-CLV |
4X DVD±RW CLV |
24X CD-RW Z-CLV |
4 DVD+R9 CLV |
Access Time |
145ms |
125ms |
Mechanism |
motorized Tray load mechanism for horizonal and vertical use |
Interface |
IDE / ATAPI |
Burst Transfer Rate |
PIO mode 4 / Ultra DMA 33 |
Cashe Memory |
2MB |
Supported Media formats |
DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-Video, DVD-RAM, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, CD-Audio, CD Extra, CD Text, CD-IReady, CD-Bridge, Photo-CD, VideoCD, Hybrid CD |
Audio |
headphone jack and volume control at front plus digital-out and line-out at the back (MPC compatible) |
Writing methods |
DAO(disc at once), SAO(session at once), TAO(track at once) with zero gap, variable or fixed packet, multisession |
Weight |
1.1kgr |
Dimensions |
148(W) × 42.3(H) × 198(D) mm |
The drive does not support Mount Rainier, as is the case with most new DVD
recorders, for either of the CD or DVD formats. It uses the well known RPC
II region control, allowing
a user to change the drive's region at most 5 times. Till now, there has been
no known way to make the drive region free.
Below are the drive's main characteristics as given by NeroInfoTool.
and DVDInfoPro:
- The Package
We received a retail Pioneer DVR-A08XLA from Pioneer.
The drive is also available with black bezel under a different
code name (DVR-A08XLB):
All retail packages include MyDVD Deluxe v5.3,
DLA (Drive Letter Access) v4.9, RecordNow! v7.2, Simple Backup v5.0
and CinePlayer software v2.0.1.
The front bezel on the drive is probably the nicest we have seen on
an ODD device, with Pioneer's logo at the center as well as the DVD-R/RW,
DVD+RW,
DVD Multi and US-RW logos. Pioneer also includes the 16X16 logo that
helps users distinguish the drive's
main writing speeds.
On the rear you can find the analogue and digital audio outputs
(SPDIF), the IDE master/slave/cs selection pins, the IDE connector and
the power input. There are even vent holes for a fan, however one is
not
installed.
The top of the drive includes the identification sticker with the
code number, serial number, manufacture date and place of manufacture
("Made
in China"), as well as various approvals among
other things:
The top also includes the honeycomb design in the unit's top outer casing that reduces vibration from the drive mechanism
Removing the screws and opening the drive's cover voids the drive's warranty. For reference reasons, we post the following pictures. Click on the photos for an enlarged view.
The main chipset is from NEC and its part number is NEC
D63635GM, which is used in combination with the NEC C333500:
Model name |
C3335
|
Process |
Bi-CMOS 0.35
|
Voltage |
5V
|
Package |
120-pin TQFP (14x14mm)
|
Power consumption |
0.66W (8x DVD playback)
|
0.74W 8x DVD recording)
|
Speeds |
DVD playback |
16x CAV |
DVD-RAM playback |
4x |
DVD recording |
16x |
CD playback |
48x |
CD recording |
48x |
Model name |
D63635
|
Process |
CMOS 0.15
|
Voltage |
1.5V core, 3.3V I/O
|
Package |
216-pin LQFP (24x24mm)
|
Power consumption |
0.35W (8x DVD playback)
|
0.95W (8x DVD recording, LVDS)
|
Interface |
Host |
ATA/ATAPI5 |
Buffer |
16Mbit SDRAM |
Speeds |
DVD playback |
16x CAV |
DVD-RAM playback |
4x |
DVD recording |
16x |
CD playback |
48x |
CD recording |
48x |
- Installation
The device was connected to our test PC and was identified as "PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-108" under WinXP.
- Testing software
In order to perform our tests we used:
- Nero CD-DVD Speed v3.12
- CDVD Benchmark v1.21
- ExactAudioCopy v0.9 beta5
- Nero Info Tool v2.24
- PlexTools v2.16 (Reader: Plextor PX-712A firmware v1.05, Reading speed 8X CLV for CD-R)
- DVDInfoPro v2.64
- Nero Burning Rom v6.3.1.20
- DVD Decrypter 3.5.1.0
- CopyToDVD 3.0.30
2. DVD Recording Tests
Pioneer DVR-A08XL DL Recorder - Page 2
DVD Recording Tests
- Writing Performance
The Pioneer DVR-A08XL supports 16X ± R (Z-CLV) writing
speeds along with 4X CLV for DVD±RW, 4X CLV for DVD+R9
media. Nero Burning Rom reported speeds are shown below, after inserting a
DVD-R media.
The Pioneer DVR-A08XL uses Zone-CLV recording strategy, meaning the disc area
is divided into zones, where in each zone the speed is constant. In order
to reach the 16X recording speed, the drive uses 4 zones (6X->8X->12X->16X).
As Pioneer explains "...ZoneCLV is a method for data writing in which the writing area within a disc is separated into "zones", between the inner, mid, & outer circumferences. Within each zone, writing speed is maintained at one fixed speed, this allows for the writing speed to be perfectly stable. Pioneer considers ZoneCLV writing as an important method for ensuring high quality writing and maintaining data integrity..."
The 16X speed is reached at the 4.00GB point, meaning that unless
you are burning a full 4.36GB project, you will not benefit from the
promised 16X speed. By using Nero CD-DVD Speed with DVD-R and DVD+R media,
we are able to see the 12X/8X Z-CLV recording technology being used by the
recorder.
By using the TDK 8X DVD-R we can see the writing strategy graph for reaching
the 16X writing speed. There are 4 zones, 6X from 0 to 0.8GB, 8X from 0.8GB
to 1.8GB, 12X from 1.8GB to 4.0GB and 16X from 4.0GB to the end. The average
writing speed reaches 10.34X.
By using a DVD+R media (create Data Disc), the average writing speed drops a little to 10.28X and the total recording time rises up to 6:48mins.
Below are the writing transfer tests for the 12X and 8X writing speeds:
- Burning Tests
We burned 4315MB of data on various DVD±R, DVD±RW media. We
used the maximum allowed writing speed for each disc. All tests were carried
out with the latest available firmware (v1.10) and we burned only ±R
media supported at 8+X speeds and not at 4X.
- Writing Time Results
- The only media we had in our labs that allowed 16X burning was
TDK 8X media with ID code TTH01. As far as we know, only two other media
are supported at 16X, SONY 8X -R (SONY08D1) and Maxell 8X -R (MXL RG03).
According
to Nero,
it took 6:54mins to finish the task at 16X. There is a big difference between
the recording time that Nero needed to burn the project (not full disc) 6:54mins
and what CDSpeed reported 6:24mins, where we noticed that Nero takes a long
time during the LeadOut area...
- The DVR-A08XLA supports more media at 12X. The recording times vary according
to the used media, the worst results coming with TDK 8X -R (TTG02) since
the drive lowered speed to 8X near the end.
- At 8X the recording times are similiar since both DataWrite and MMore 8X
-R are based on FuliFilm03 media.
Below are results after inserting several media in the drive. BenQ 16X
-R and LeaData 8X -R are only supported at 4X, as were also TY and Verbatim
4X media which with some drives have allowed speeds of 8X. Future firmware
upgrades hopefully will support more media at 8X.
8X DVD-R
12X DVD-R
16X DVD-R
The drive supports 4X writing with various 4X DVD-RW media we used. The burning times were from 14:35 ~ 14:48mins.
- The DVR-A08 supports more than one media at 16X. The lowest recording times
came with CMC Magnetics 8X and Verbatim 16X, while the TY 8X needed a few
more seconds to end the task.
- Many 8X rated media will burn at 12X with recording times of 7:07~7:19mins
- At 8X several media are supported, with recording times of 8:09~8:15mins.
In general DVD+R/RW recording times are higher, by a few seconds, compared
with the DVD-R/RW.
As we have seen with the DVD-R format, newer 16X DVD+R media is not supported
at 16X, only at 4X. Hopefully Pioneer will fix this with new firmware.
8X DVD+R
12X DVD+R
16X DVD+R
The recording times with DVD+RW format were impressive at 13:43mins.
- DVD Overburning Tests
Using Nero CD-DVD Speed, we tested if the drive can overburn using DVD+R and
DVD-R media. Unfortunately, the drive does not support overburning with either
±R media, returning an error message while trying to start the
burning process.
- DVD+MRW Tests
The drive doesn't support the Mount Rainier feature.
3. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 1
Pioneer DVR-A08XLA DL Recorder - Page 3
CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 1
In order to test the writing quality and readability of the burned media we
used two readers and two software packages:
- LiteON SOHD-167T with patched firmware being
able to read DVD5 up to 16X CAV and DVD9 up to 10X CAV. For the trasnfer rate
tests we used the latest Nero CDSpeed version.
- Plextor PX-712A with the latest available firmware. For scanning the disc
we used the latest PlexTools version at 2X CLV reading speed, BURST
mode, with middle accuracy.
In general, a "perfect" disc should have a smooth reading curve,
very low PIE/POE and zero POF error rates. Most times, even though a disc
has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth and may
include speed drops. Due to the fact that we oversped the reading capabilities
of the LiteON
SOHD-167T,
such drops are expected, especially near the outer area of the disc.
The measurements below should be taken not as the absolute criteria
of the burning quality but as an indication level.
16X DVD-R Writing Speed
- Summary
The DVR-A08 with TDK's 8X media reached 16X with very low PIE error rates.
No POF errors were reported, while the POE error rates were also rather low.
The SOHD-167T slowed its reading speed near the end of the disc indicating
a very good performance.
4. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 2
Pioneer DVR-108 DL Recorder - Page 4
CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 2
In order to test the writing quality and readability of the burned media we
used two readers with two software packages:
- LiteON SOHD-167T with patched firmware being able to read DVD5 up to 16X
CAV and DVD9 up to 10X CAV. For the trasnfer rate tests we used the latest
Nero CDSpeed version.
- Plextor PX-712A with the latest available firmware. For scanning the disc
we used the latest PlexTools version at 2X CLV reading speed, BURST
mode, with middle accuracy.
In general, a "perfect" disc should have a smooth reading curve,
very low PIE/POE and zero POF error rates. Most times, even though a disc has
very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth exhibiting
speed drops. Due to the fact that we oversped the reading capabilities of
the LiteON
SOHD-167T,
such drops are expected, especially near the outer area of the disc.
The measurements below should be taken not as the absolute criteria
of the burning quality but as an indication level.
12X DVD-R Writing Speed
- CMC Magnetics 8X DVD-R @ 12X
- Summary
The best results were achieved with TY and Verbatim 8X DVD-R media
with almost perfect graphs and very low PIE/POE.
5. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 3