1. Introduction
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner -
Page 1
Freecom
Technologies is a leading manufacturer of easy to use multimedia storage
solutions to access digital data and enhance the connectivity of digital
portable devices. Freecom products offer flexibility, connectivity and value
that is unmatched by other storage manufacturers. Freecom was founded
in 1989 and very rapidly developed external drives for connection to
any PC. Especially business users, with the need to backup their data, found
freecom external drive "solutions" to be very handy. Freecom's
initial business concept was "External optical drives
which are user friendly, easy to install and can be connected everywhere".
Their latest FX-50 DVD+/-RW external burner supports up to 16X
+/-R writing speed, and 4X re-writing speed. It can also record a full CD
in less than 3mins at 48X, and can rewrite at 24X. The FX-50 burner can be
used with both USB2.0 or Firewire IEEE1394 interfaces, covering a wider range
of systems, from Microsoft Windows to MacOS.
- Features
This
external burner can read up to 16X DVD-ROM media, and up to 48X CD media. Writing
speed is the fastest available on the market for now, since it can record
a full Single Layer DVD disc in less than 6 mins. It also supports Double
Layer media, as expected, at 4X, again the highest speed available for today's
burners.
The
drive uses NEC's "High resolution writing strategies" to improve
writing quality at high speed, and further improve performance. Active OPC
constantly monitors the sensitivity of the media and adjusts the laser strength
to achieve the best possible results. It does this by analyzing the reflection
from the media's surface. Buffer underrun error prevention technology ensures
that media will be recorded successfully, even if the writing procedure is
interrupted or paused. You will find here, a
simple diagram explaining the Active OPC technology.
- Specifications
Drive |
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner |
Media |
DVD |
CD |
Transfer Rate Write |
+R |
16x CAV (9 - 22MBytes/sec)
|
-R |
48x CAV (3000-200kBytes/sec) |
13x CAV (7.3 - 17.5MBytes/sec) |
48xZCLV (3000-7200kBytes/sec) |
12x ZCLV (8.2 – 16.6MByte/sec) |
40x CAV (2550-6000kBytes/sec) |
8x ZCLV (5.5 -11MBytes/sec) |
40xZCLV (3000-6000kBytes/sec) |
6x ZCLV (5.5-8.2MBytes/sec) |
32xPCAV (2550-4800kBytes/sec) |
4x CLV (5.5 MBytes/sec) |
32x ZCLV (3000-4800kBytes/sec) |
2.4x CLV (3.3 MBytes/sec) |
24x PCAV (2550-3600kBytes/sec) |
+R9 |
4x CLV (5.5 MBytes/sec) |
24x ZCLV (3000-3600kBytes/sec) |
2.4x CLV (3.3 MByte/sec) |
16x CLV (2400kBytes/sec) |
+RW |
4x CLV (5.5 MBytes/sec) |
8x CLV (1200kBytes/sec) |
2.4x CLV (3.3 MBytes/sec) |
-RW |
24x ZCLV (3000-3600kBytes/sec) |
-R |
16x CAV( 9 - 22MBytes/sec) |
13x CAV (7.3 - 17.5MBytes/sec) |
12x ZCLV (8.2 – 16.6MByte/sec) |
16x CLV (2400kBytes/sec) |
8x ZCLV (5.5 -11MBytes/sec) |
6x ZCLV (5.5-8.2MBytes/sec) |
4x CLV (5.5 MBytes/sec) |
10xCLV (1500kBytes/sec) |
2x CLV (2.7 MBytes/sec) |
-RW |
4x CLV (5.5 MBytes/sec) |
2x CLV (2.7 MBytes/sec) |
4xCLV (600kBytes/sec) |
1x CLV (1.38 MBytes/sec) |
Transfer Rate Read |
DVD-R 16x CAV (max 22000 kb/s) |
CD-R 48x CAV (max 4800 kb/s) |
DVD-RW 4x CLV (5520 kb/s) |
DVD+R 16x CAV (max 22000 kb/s) |
CD-RW 16x CLV (max 2400 kb/s) |
DVD+RW 4x CLV (5520 kb/s) |
DVD+R9 4X CLV (5500 KByte/s) |
Access Time |
140ms |
120ms |
Mechanism |
motorized Tray load mechanism
for horizontal and vertical use |
Interface |
USB (USB2.0 or USB1.1) & Firewire/iLink IEEE 1394 |
Cashe Memory |
2MB |
Modes supported |
DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-Video, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, CD-Audio, CD Extra, CD Text, CD-IReady, CD-Bridge, Photo-CD, VideoCD, Hybrid CD |
Writing methods |
DAO(disc at once), SAO(session at once), TAO(track at once) with zero gap, variable or fixed packet, multisession |
Compatibility |
MPC Level 3, MultiRead, PC2001 |
The drive cannot read DVD-RAM media, it does not support Mount Rainier and
it uses the well known RPC II region control, allowing a user to change the
drive's region at most 5 times. Below are the drive's main specs as given by
NeroInfoTool, VSO Inspector and DVDInfoPro:
- The drive / Retail Package
The
retail package includes all parts necessary to start burning:
USB2.0 certified
cable, 6-pin to 6-pin firewire cable, 6-pin to 4-pin firewire cable,
power supply and of course, the FX-50 burner. We were expecting to see 16X
DVD+R certified media, but Freecom included an 8X DVD+R disc, along
with a blank CD-R 52X disc. Freecom uses the Roxio Burning
Suite, a complete software solution to burn DVDs and CDs, capture, edit and
convert
videos, and finally playback DVD Video files. The Freecom FX-50 burner comes
with a two year manufacturer warranty.
On the drive's front panel, you can see the eject button, the activity led
and the eject hole. There is no volume control or headphone jack.
On the rear of the unit, you will find the USB2.0 connectors and the
Firewire/iLink connectors, along with the power input. You can see that there
is no power
switch on this drive. It will automatically turn itself on or off when the
PC is turned on/off. Also, there are no audio outputs.
Dismantling the device will void the warranty, so we advise against
it. Instead, use the photos in this review for a closer look under the hood.
You
can clearly see that Freecom uses the well known NEC ND-3500A burner, a very
fast device that produces very good quality burns.
Click on the image below to reveal a high resolution image.
The main chipsets are from NEC, with part numbers NEC
D63635GM and NEC C333500. The same chipsets are used in
the TDK 1616N, the Pioneer DVR-108
and the ASUS DRW-1604P.
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 |
The following picture shows the laser lens assembly of the Freecom FX-50 external burner. By clicking
on the picture, you can see a higher resolution image.
- Installation
The device was connected to our test PC and was identified
as "FREECOM_DVD+/-RW16B9" under
Windows XP. You can see that the book type option is missing from this drive,
an issue that should not worry us, since it does not working anyway with NEC
based drives.
In this review, we will be comparing the drive against the Memorex D²(F16)
External drive and the ASUS DRW-1604P, since all three drives have similar
specifications.
- Testing software
In order to perform our tests we used:
- Nero CD-DVD Speed v3.40
- CDVD Benchmark v1.21
- ExactAudioCopy v0.9 beta5
- Nero Info Tool v2.27
- KProbe v2.4.2 (Reader: LiteOn LDW-811S firmware vHS0Q, LiteOn SOHD-167T firmware 9S13, LiteOn XJ-HD165H firmware CH11, and LiteOn LTD-163 firmware GH5S, Reading speed 8X CAV)
- PlexTools v2.17 (Reader: Plextor PX-712A firmware v1.05, Reading speed 8X CLV for CD-R)
- DVDInfoPro v3.16
- Nero Burning Rom v6.6.0.1
- DVD Decrypter 3.5.1.0
- CopyToDVD 3.0.32.54
2. Transfer Rate Reading Tests
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 2
Transfer Rate Reading Tests
- CD Format
The Freecom FX-50 DVD±RW supports up to 48X reading speed. Below are the
transfer rate graphs along with the comparative results for the Memorex D²(F16)
External and ASUS DRW-1604P drives:
With CD-R media, the ASUS drive clocked up the slowest speed while the Memorex external
drive proved to be the fastest. The FX-50 burner held its own being only slightly slower in all tests than the Memorex. In contrast,
the Memorex burner was the slowest with US-RW media and the Freecom drive
the fastest.
- DVD Format
Although the Freecom drive was the slowest with Single Layer DVD media, the speed differences between the three drives are insignificant.
The two layers of a PTP DVD-ROM disc are read sequentially
with the drive starting the reading process from the inner part of the disc, which is the
beginning of each layer, progressing towards the outer range for each layer.
The Freecom FX-50 was the slowest and with quite a difference from the ASUS drive which was the fastest.
The first layer of an OTP dual layer DVD-ROM is read exactly
the same way as the first layer of the PTP disc we tested previously. The difference
here is the reading strategy of the second layer on the disc. The beginning
of the second layer is located in the outer part of the disc, so the drive
starts reading from the outer tracks towards the inner part of the disc. Again, the same pattern here where the Freecom burner was slowest. The
average reading speed was 5.41X with a start speed of 3.02X and
end speed of 7.21X.
The Freecom FX-50 is a very fast reader with +/-R media, since it can read at a speed of up to 16X. With +/-RW media, it supports up to 8X reading speed and was marginally slower than either of the other two drives.
The FX-50 reported an average ripping speed of 5101kb/sec with DVD-Video
discs, and proved
to be slowest when it comes to DVD Video ripping.
The
Memorex drive was the fastest DVD Video ripper at just under 9000 kb/s.
Nero CD-DVD Speed Graphs
3. CD Error Correction Tests
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 3
CD Error Correction Tests
In the following tests we check the drive's behavior when reading
scratched / defective audio discs. The test discs used were the ABEX series
from ALMEDIO.
- ABEX TCD-721R
|
Errors
total
|
Num:
1457128
|
|
Errors
(Loudness) dB(A)
|
Num: 173360 |
Avg:
-80.3 dB(A) |
Max:
-18.3 dB(A) |
|
Error
Muting Samples
|
Num: 5993 |
Avg:
1.2 Samples |
Max: 18 Samples |
|
Skips
Samples
|
Num: 36 |
Avg:
6.0 Samples |
Max:
6 Samples |
Total Test Result |
64.1 points (out of 100.0 maximum) |
|
C2 Accuracy |
98.7 % |
The total error count was a little above average and the maximum error loudness level
was high at -18.3dB. There were 36 skipped samples
which is high, while
the drive
was awarded a total score of 64.1. In general, the drive 's performance
was not that good with this test disc.
- ABEX TCD-726
|
Errors total
|
Num:
8435
|
|
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)
|
Num: 12258 |
Avg:
-85.4 dB(A) |
Max: -11.3 dB(A) |
|
Error Muting Samples
|
Num: 321 |
Avg:
4.4 Samples |
Max:
18 Samples |
|
Skips Samples
|
Num: 2 |
Avg:
6.0 Samples |
Max: 6 Samples |
Total Test Result |
73.8 points (out of 100.0 maximum) |
C2 Accuracy |
96.1 % |
The Abex TCD-726 test disc is much easier for drives in general to read. Most
drives manage to compile a score in the 90s with the better drives managing
100. The drive managed only 73.8 points, indicating once more that the drive's CD error correction
capabilities need further improvement.
- CD-Check Audio Test Disc
The CD-Check Test Disc is a very useful tool for evaluating the Sound Reproduction
/ Error correction capabilities of a CD player. The disc offers a signal combination
with disc error patterns to rate the drive's abilities to read music and reproduce
it completely. Five tracks on the disc contain a sequence of progressively
more difficult tests. These tracks are referred to as Check Level-1 through
Check Level-5.
The
tracks are reproduced through a software multimedia player (i.e.
Windows Media Player). Each level is considered as passed, if the tone
is smooth, continuous without interruptions, skipping or looping. The higher
the Check Level passed, the more reliable the sound reproduction
of the tested drive.
|
Error Level
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
|
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
3/5
|
0/5
|
0/5
|
The drive successfully passed only the first two out of the five check levels
for this test. Here too, the drive turned in a poor performance. Almost
all drives have difficulties reading the 5th level but good quality drives
can
read up to the 4th
level. However, most drives will pass at least the third level without any
problems.
- Summary
Generally we can say that the CD error correction of the Freecom FX-50 external burner is
less
than average, something that could be fixed with newer firmware releases.
4. DVD Error Correction Tests
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 4
DVD Error Correction Tests
In the following tests we examined the DVD reading capabilities of the Freecom FX-50 burner with scratched / defective DVD media. For
the tests, we used CDVD Benchmark and Nero CDSpeed . The reference test media
comes from ALMEDIO.
- Single Layer media
ABEX TDR-821
This is a single sided, single layer DVD-ROM with a 4.7GB capacity, and its surface has an artificial scratch of dimensions varying from 0.4 to 3.0 mm.
The following transfer rate snapshot comes from the CDVD Benchmark v1.21 transfer rate test.
The Freecom FX-50 reported minor changes in speed over the scratched region on the disks surface but in general had no real problems reading the disc successfully. The resultant graph is very clean and smooth.
ABEX TDR-825
This is also a single sided, single layer DVD-ROM of 4.7GB
capacity. The data structure of the disc is exactly the same as that of the
TDR-821, with the difference that there are no scratches on it but instead,
defective areas of dimensions ranging from 0.5 to 1.1 mm. There are also fingerprints sized from 65 to 75 micrometers.
Again, the drive had no problems reading this test disc. This behavior was more or less expected since this is a NEC based drive.
- Dual Layer media
ABEX TDR-841
This is an 8.5GB dual layer, single sided DVD-ROM disc with artificial scratches
of dimensions ranging from 0.4 to 3.0mm, on both layers.
Very good DVD error correction capabilities were shown again with this test disc. It should be noted that some NEC based drives have problems reading this disc, but the Freecom successfully read the media without any speed drops or fluctuations.
ABEX TDR-845
The disc is a single sided, dual layer DVD-ROM disc with a capacity of 8.5GB. The only difference between the TDR-845 and the TDR-841 is that the first includes defective areas and fingerprints. The dimensions of the defective areas range from 0.5 to 1.1 mm and the
fingerprints are sized from 65 to 75 micrometers.
The Freecom drive kept on reading past the defective areas without any problem. Once more, very good performance.
ABEX TDV-541
The TDV-541 is a single sided, dual layer DVD-VIDEO disc, with a capacity
of 8.5GB. The disc is based on the TDV-540 series which is designed for inspection
and adjustment of DVD-VIDEO players. The disc checks the layer switch operation
from layer 0 to layer 1 and also includes test pictures and test signals for
DVD sound files.
The current TDV-541 also checks the error correcting capabilities of
the drive and includes scratches from 0.4 to 3.0 mm.
The FX-50 needed to reduce its reading speed immediately after the layer switch point, but it managed to read the disc without any errors. It started to read at a speed of 1.91X, reached a highest
reading speed of 4.60X at the end of the first layer and reported an average
speed of 3.40X.
ABEX TDV-545
The TDV-545 disc is based on the TDV-540 series. It is a single sided, dual layer DVD-VIDEO disc with a capacity of 8.5GB. The TDV-545 includes artificial black dots on the data surface, sized from 0.4 to 1.0 mm. It has also 65 - 75 micro meter fingerprints.
Not even this disc was a problem for the Freecom FX-50. The test started at 1.91X and reached a maximum 4.60X speed, reporting an average speed of 3.44X.
- Summary
The Freecom FX-50 external burner is a very good reader when it comes to defective media. It managed to read all test discs and at a considerably high speed. Very good performance indeed.
5. Protected Disc Tests
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 5
Protected Disc Tests
- Reading Tests
To create the image of the various protected titles to the hard disk, we used Alcohol 120% software and the appropriate settings, according to the protection type of the inserted disc. Below you can see the duration of each process as well as the transfer rate in each case.
Game Title |
Protection Scheme |
Duration |
Reading speed |
PSX "NBA Jam Extreme" |
Lybcrypt |
01:06 min |
1349 sectors/sec |
Serious Sam The Second Encounter v1.07 |
SafeDisc v.2.60.052 |
32:56 min |
170 sectors/sec |
VRally II |
SecuROM v.2 |
3:08 min |
1819 sectors/sec |
The Freecom external burner was almost three times faster with Lybcrypt protected discs than the Memorex and the ASUS drive. However, the Memorex external burner was the fastest with SafeDisc protected discs. With SecuROM protected discs, although the Freecom drive was the slowest, it was not that far behind the Memorex and the ASUS drives.
- Writing Tests
The Freecom FX-50 external burner supports the DAO-RAW writing mode. For checking the drive's
EFM correction status, we used 5 different game titles with different SafeDisc
2 versions having the latest software patches installed. After making the images
of the various titles onto the hard disk, we burned them (at maximum speed) with
Alcohol 120% v1.9.2.1705. Two different discs were created for each title;
one with the "Bypass EFM error" enabled and one more with the function
disabled.
- Fifa 2004 - Safe Disc v3.1x
- The Sims Superstar - Safe Disc v2.9x
- The Sims Unleashed - Safe Disc v2.8x
- Serious Sam Second Encounter - Safe Disc v2.51.021
- Max Payne - Safe Disc v2.51.020
The table below shows the results of the attempted backups and whether they worked (game installed / played normally), or not.
Drive |
Fifa 2004
SD v3.1 |
Sims Superstar SD v2.9 |
Sims Unleashed SD v2.8 |
Serious Sam-Second Encounter
SD v2.51.051 |
Max Payne
SD v2.51.020 |
EFM OFF |
EFM ON |
EFM OFF |
EFM ON |
EFM OFF |
EFM ON |
EFM OFF |
EFM ON |
EFM OFF |
EFM ON |
Toshiba
SD-M1502 |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
Creative CD5233E |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
Freecom FX-50 External |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Like most NEC based drives, the FX-50 burner cannot produce working backups with the newest v2.8x, v2.9x
and v3.1x builds. Partially working backups were produced for SafeDisc v2.51.051 & v2.51.020.
6. DAE Tests
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 6
DAE Tests
- Pressed and CDR AudioCD results
The Freecom FX-50 supports 13-32X CAV DAE speed. The following results were reported when using Exact Audio Copy.
The Memorex
16X recorder supports up to 48X CAV DAE speed, the highest speed available and hence reported the highest average DAE speed. On the other hand, the Freecom and ASUS drives both support the same DAE speed but the ASUS DRW-1604P managed to produce slightly faster times than the FX-50.
The Freecom FX-50 burner can report C2 errors, but caching is not supported.
- Advanced DAE Quality
Very good recorders can achieve a perfect
quality score of 100. The Freecom could only achieve a score of 89.7 and was the slowest drive among the three in the comparison. The FX-50 cannot read Leadin or Leadout data,
but it can read CD Text and Subchannel data. The reported average speed
was
24.26X.
- Ripping 90mins AudioCDs
The drive can read/rip flawlessly 90min Audio CDs at an average speed of
22.28X, starting the reading process at 15.33X and reaching a maximum
speed of 32.96X. Reading speed dropped to around 9X near the end of the reading
process, from the 77th min to the end but the drive read the
disc without errors.
- Ripping 99mins AudioCDs
The 99min Audio CD we used for this
test was not recognized correctly by the Freecom FX-50. The time length was
wrong and the reading process could not start, giving the following error message.
It should be noted that 99min Audio CDs were a problem with all NEC
based drives.
7. Protected AudioCDs
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 7
Protected AudioCDs
For the test procedure we used three audio discs with different audio copy
protections. The ripping process on all protected Audio discs was carried out
with Exact Audio Copy v0.9 beta5.
The tested protected Audio discs were:
- Sony's Key2Audio from "Celine Dion - New Day Has Come"
- Cactus Data Shield 200 from "Natalie Imbruglia - White Lilies Island"
The Cactus Data Shield 200, contains artificial errors that are not easily
bypassed by the reader, while the Key2Audio contains a second session causing
problems for readers when trying to read the Table Of Contents (TOC).
The tested tasks are:
- Recognition of the inserted disc (Yes/No).
- Ripping all wavs (with EAC's Burst Mode) to the hard disk with copy&compare function.
- Listening to the produced wavs for any click/skips.
The drive recognized up to the 12th Audio track of the CDS200 disc,
and with the "Retrieve Native TOC" option removed, the drive recognized
the 13th track.
The test results are shown in the following table:
|
Key2Audio |
CDS200 |
Freecom FX-50 External |
Ripping process completed, EAC reports no problems, Read&Test CRC comparison successful for all tracks |
Ripping process completed, EAC reports no problems, Read&Test CRC comparison not the same for all tracks |
For Key2Audio CDs, the FX-50 burner rips 100% accurately. EAC did not report timing problems and at the same time, the Read&Test CRC check comparison was the same for all tracks. On the other hand, the drive could not rip 100% accurately CD200 discs since Read&Test CRC check comparison was not the same for the corresponding tracks.
- Cactus Data Shield 200.0.4 - 3.0 build 16a (Aiko Katsukino - The Love Letter)
This
is a "special" CDS200 build, since it doesn't contain any artificial
errors which create problems during the ripping process. Most problems occur
when trying to write the ripped wav files, since the produced CD-R disc contains
C2 and
CU
errors!
This "problem" is rumored to be connected to specific, chipset weaknesses.
We ripped the disc contents with EAC and burned the wav file produced from the Cactus Data Shield 200.0.4 - 3.0 build 16a disc with the latest Nero version as AudioCD+CD-Text. The burned media was checked for C1/C2 errors and for BETA/Jitter errors with PlexTools software using Plextor PX-712SA (firmware v1.05).
|
CDS 200.0.4 - 3.0 build 16a |
Freecom FX-50 External |
Reading performed without any errors. |
- C1C2 Error rate from PleXWriter PX-712A (8X CLV reading speed)
- BETA/Jitter Error rate from PleXWriter PX-712A
The C1/C2 error graphs show that the Freecom drive managed to produce a 100% error
free disc.
We then tried to extract all wav files with the Plextor PX-712A and PlexTool DAE Error Correction 5th Level enabled:
No errors were reported after extracting all files. The drive can backup the
disc 100% accurately.
8. CD Recording Tests
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 8
CD Recording Tests
- CD-R Format
The FX-50 supported writing speeds are as follows:
- 8X and 16X CLV
- 24X Z-CLV, 24X P-CAV
- 32X Z-CLV, 32X P-CAV
- 40X Z-CLV, 40X CAV
- 48X Z-CLV, 48X CAV
Although it's uncommon for a drive manufacturer to support
both Z-CLV and P-CAV/CAV writing strategies for the same writing
speeds, such behavior was expected since the drive uses the same writing strategies as the ND-3500A. Depending on the media manufacturer, the drive adjusts accordingly
to produce the best possible results.
According to Nero CDSpeed, the drive clocked in an average speed
of 36.27X.
The test started at 21.46X and finished at 47.97X (CAV).
- CD-R Recording Times
We created an 80min data compilation with Nero Burning Rom and recorded
it on a 700MB disc. The writing performance varies according to the inserted
media. Below is a chart depicting all recording times with
various media.
You will notice that not all media could be recorded at 48X. For example, Waitec 52X media could be recorded at 24X (4:09mins) and SKC 52X media could be recorded only at 32X (3:31mins). The drive reduces its writing speed to improve quality, but it was strange that not even high quality media like TY, could be recorded at high speed. Best time came with MMore 52X media. The drive needed only 2:59mins to burn this disc.
- Other features
The Freecom FX-50 supports overburning up to 90mins at full speed and can
both read and write CD-Text.
Unfortunately, the drive cannot overburn more that 90mins, and gives the following error message.
- CD-RW Format
The FX-50 supports 4X, 10X, 16X (CLV) and 24X (Z-CLV) rewriting speeds,
with Ultra Speed Rewritable Media
(US-RW).
Below you can see the Nero CD-DVD Speed writing simulation test with blank 24x US-RW media from Mitsubishi Chemicals.
- CD-RW Mount Rainier
Unfortunately, the Freecom FX-50 burner does not support the Mount Rainier feature.
9. Writing Quality Tests - 3T Jitter Tests
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 9
Writing Quality Tests - 3T Jitter Tests
On this page we present the 3T Pit & Land Jitter graphs when
using various media burned at 24X, 32X and 48X writing speeds.
- 3T Pit results
The
highest 3T Pit jitter reached was 55nsec (Creation CD-R media), which is way above the Red
Book limit of 35nsec.
Best results were achieved with Waitec CD-R media burnt at 24X. Generally,
the performance of the FX-50 burner was not good.
- 3T Land results
The 3T Land results were also high, reaching a maximum of 55nsec, like before. Best results came with TY media but this disc was burnt at 32X and not at 48X high speed.
It should be noted that the TDK 1616N and NEC ND-3500A drives reported similar results. Freecom should improve CDR writing quality with future firmware releases. Of course, it is always more safe to write at lower speeds than the maximum supported speed.
10. Writing Quality Tests - C1 / C2 Error Measurements
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 10
Writing Quality Tests - C1 / C2 Error Measurements
We measured the C1 / C2 error rate on the recorded discs we burned at the
various supported writing speeds. The software we used is PleXTools Professional
v2.17, and in particular the built-in Q-Check utility. The reader
was the Plextor PX-712A (firmware v1.05).
Creation 80min 48X @ 32X
MMore 80min 52X @ 48X
SKC 80min 52X @ 32X
Traxdata 80min 52X @ 48X
TY 80min 48X @ 32X
Waitec 80min 52X @ 24X
- Summary
There are several problems with some discs. The higher the writing speed, the worse the results we obtained. Worst results came with SKC 52X media. MMore media, which was the media that could be written faster than all the others, reported uncorrectable errors. Even Waitec media that was recorded at 24X reported some C2 errors. The
overall writing performance of CDR media needs improvement.
- Appendix
Media Label |
ID Code |
Manufacturer Name |
Lead Out TIme |
Creation 48X |
97m27s18f |
Plasmon Data Systems Ltd. |
79m59s74f |
SKC 52X |
97m26s26f |
SKC Co., Ltd. |
79m59s73f |
TY 80min 48X |
97m24s 1f |
Taiyo Yuden |
79m59s72f |
|
Mmore 52X |
97m17s 6f |
Moser Baer India |
79m59s74f |
TraxData 52X |
97m15s17f |
Ritek |
79m59s70f |
|
Waitec 52X |
97m28s26f |
Multi Media Masters & Machinery SA |
79m59s74f |
11. DVD Recording Tests
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 11
DVD Recording Tests
- Writing Performance
The FX-50 can write DVD+R and DVD-R media up to 16X CAV, and can rewrite up to 4X CLV.
By using Nero CD-DVD Speed with DVD-R and DVD+R media, we are able to see the 8X ZCLV, 12X ZCLV, 13X CAV and 16X CAV recording technology being used by the recorder for -R and +R media.
Below is a table with several 12X and 16X recorders, listing
their average writing speeds as measured by Nero CD-DVD Speed.
Drive |
Writing Strategy |
Writing Speed |
Average
Writing Speed |
Plextor PX-712A |
P-CAV |
12X |
10.62X |
LG GSA-4120B |
Z-CLV |
12X |
9.87X |
BenQ DW1620A |
CAV |
16X |
11.52X |
ASUS DRW-1604P |
Z-CLV |
16X |
10.11X |
TDK 1616N |
CAV |
16X |
11.86X |
NEC ND-3500A |
CAV |
16X |
11.86X |
Freecom FX-50 External |
CAV |
16X |
11.85X |
Pioneer DVR-108A |
Z-CLV |
16X |
10.03X |
- Burning Tests
Only TDK 16X -R media was recorded at the 16X writing speed. The drive supports over-speed burning where some 8X media was recorded at 12X or 4X media at 8X. Best performance came of course with TDK 8X -R media that was recorded at the highest speed, in 6:03mins.
As it can easily be observed, writing at 16X with +R media format is slower than writing at 16X with -R media. Best performance was reported with Verbatim 16X media, but it took 7:33mins to complete the burning process. It should be noted that some 16X certified media was not recorded at 16X but at 8X, or even 4X in the case of Traxdata 16X media. This is a major
drawback for this drive.
- Comparison with other drives
Although the times reported with +R media were higher than the Memorex and ASUS drives, they can be considered as satisfactory. However, with -R media, the Freecom FX-50 was the fastest of all three burners in this comparison, and much faster than the Memorex external burner.
With DVD+RW and DVD-RW media, writing speed differences are not as significant as before. The overall performance of the drive with this media type is good.
- DVD Overburning Tests
Using Nero CD-DVD Speed, we tested if the FX-50 burner can overburn DVD+R
and DVD-R media. The drive does not support overburning, giving the following
error
with all inserted media.
- DVD+MRW Tests
Unfortunately, the Freecom FX-50 does not support the Mount
Rainier feature.
12. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 1
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 12
CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 1
In order to test the writing quality and reliability of the burned media we
used two readers with two software applications:
- The LiteON SOHD-167T with patched firmware being able to read DVD5 up to
16X CAV and DVD9 up to 10X CAV. For the transfer rate tests we used
the
latest Nero CDSpeed version.
- The 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 (0) POF error rates. Most times however, even though
a disc has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth
containing
dropoffs.
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 PI/PIF scan indicates excellent performance at 16X writing speed, but unfortunately, only TDK 8X media could be recorded at this speed. This means, that although the drive is reporting that it can produce very good quality, we cannot see the "whole picture", since we could only write one media at this speed. The LiteON reader needed to reduce its reading speed to correct some minor PO errors, but the disc was read without problems.
13. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 2
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 13
CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 2
In order to test the writing quality and reliability of the burned media we
used two readers with two software applications:
- The LiteON SOHD-167T with patched firmware being able to read DVD5 up to
16X CAV and DVD9 up to 10X CAV. For the transfer rate tests we used the latest
Nero CDSpeed version.
- The 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 (0) POF error rates. Most times however, even though
a disc has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth
containing dropoffs. 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
- Summary
Both 8X media presented above were recorded at 12X, and quality scans indicated that writing quality was very good. Both media were easily read by the LiteON drive and a smooth reading line was produced. Very good performance from Freecom.
14. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 3
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 14
CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 3
In order to test the writing quality and reliability of the burned media we
used two readers with two software applications:
- The LiteON SOHD-167T with patched firmware being able to read DVD5 up to
16X CAV and DVD9 up to 10X CAV. For the transfer rate tests we used the latest
Nero CDSpeed version.
- The 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 (0) POF error rates. Most times however, even though
a disc has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth
containing dropoffs. 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.
8X DVD-R Writing Speed
- Summary
The Freecom FX-50 kept on producing very good quality scans with all media tested. PI/PIF error levels were very low. This performance is not often reported by recorders. Verbatim media produced the best performance.
15. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 4
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 15
CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 4
In order to test the writing quality and reliability of the burned media we
used two readers with two software applications:
- The LiteON SOHD-167T with patched firmware being able to read DVD5 up to
16X CAV and DVD9 up to 10X CAV. For the transfer rate tests we used the latest
Nero CDSpeed version.
- The 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 (0) POF error rates. Most times however, even though
a disc has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth
containing dropoffs. 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.
4X DVD-R Writing Speed
- Summary
Worst results came with Creation 4X DVD-R media. These results were not expected at this low speed since the lower the writing speed, the lower the PI/PO error values expected. Creation media could not even be read with the LiteON DVD-ROM reader. On the other hand, Pony 4X media (Ritek G04) reported very good results. According to this, the bad performance of the Creation media might be due to bad media and not because of the drive's writing strategy.
16. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 5
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 16
CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 5
In order to test the writing quality and reliability of the burned media we
used two readers with two software applications:
- The LiteON SOHD-167T with patched firmware being able to read DVD5 up to
16X CAV and DVD9 up to 10X CAV. For the transfer rate tests we used the latest
Nero CDSpeed version.
- The 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 (0) POF error rates. Most times however, even though
a disc has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth
containing dropoffs. 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
As with the -R media format, so too with +R TDK media, the Freecom FX-50 performed brilliantly. Unfortunately, TY 8X media written at 16X did not meet our expectations and not even Verbatim 16X certified media could report good quality results at 16X writing speed. Freecom should look into this in a future firmware release.
17. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 6
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 17
CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 6
In order to test the writing quality and reliability of the burned media we
used two readers with two software applications:
- The LiteON SOHD-167T with patched firmware being able to read DVD5 up to
16X CAV and DVD9 up to 10X CAV. For the transfer rate tests we used the latest
Nero CDSpeed version.
- The 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 (0) POF error rates. Most times however, even though
a disc has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth
containing dropoffs. 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.
8X DVD+R Writing Speed
- Summary
BeALL 8X and Intenso 8X media performed very well, but this was an exception. Philips 16X and CMC 16X certified media could be recorded only at 8X but even at this speed, the drive could not produce good quality writing. Unfortunately, the drive seems to "prefer" the -R media format, since with +R media recording quality is reduced.
18. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 7
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 18
CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 7
In order to test the writing quality and reliability of the burned media we
used two readers with two software applications:
- The LiteON SOHD-167T with patched firmware being able to read DVD5 up to
16X CAV and DVD9 up to 10X CAV. For the transfer rate tests we used the latest
Nero CDSpeed version.
- The 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 (0) POF error rates. Most times however, even though
a disc has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth
containing dropoffs. 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.
4X DVD+R Writing Speed
- Summary
Although we encountered some problems with Traxdata 16X, Traxdata 8X and Samsung 8X media, writing at 4X seems to be much safer. All other media reported very good performance and could be read successfully by the LiteON reader.
In general, the drive performed very well with -R media at different writing speeds, but the lack of burning quality with +R media is significant. We hope to see Freecom improve burning quality with +R media format with a future firmware release.
19. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 8
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 19
CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 8
In order to test the writing quality and reliability of the burned media we
used two readers with two software applications:
- The LiteON SOHD-167T with patched firmware being able to read DVD5 up to
16X CAV and DVD9 up to 10X CAV. For the transfer rate tests we used the latest
Nero CDSpeed version.
- The 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 (0) POF error rates. Most times however, even though
a disc has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth
containing dropoffs. 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.
DVD+RW and DVD-RW Media
- Summary
Most media reported good quality results with the exception of MKM -RW media. Of course, recording at 4X should not produce such high PI/PO error values, but even with MKM -RW, the media could be read by our LiteON reader.
20. DVD+R DL - Page 1
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 20
DVD+R DL - Page 1
- Writing Tests
We burned some DVD+R DL discs with DVD-Video content. The source disc was "Gladiator Movie - Special Edition" disc1 with a total size of 6.86GB. First we transferred the movie to the hard disc with DVD Decrypter as ISO format (single file). We used Double Layer media provided by Traxdata and Verbatim (MKM). The following screen capture shows the media code of these Double Layer discs.
You might notice that Traxdata media Id Code speed cannot be read by the drive.
This means that this media is not supported with the current official firmware. Of course, there is a wide range of hacked firmware versions available that correct this problem, but we prefer to test the drive's behavior with official firmware for this review, because this is what users will get "out of the box". You can always check our NEC ND-3500A review for hacked firmware versions available. We then used Nero CD/DVD Speed to see the supported speed.
Only 1X recording speed is supported by the recorder, making it impossible to write. However, we tried to burn the disc with CopyToDVD software and the latest Nero Burning Rom which produced error messages.
We then used CopyToDVD v3.0.32.54 with Verbatim Double Layer media, and specifically
the "Movie & Pictures" option, and then "Write DVD Video".
The software prompts us to select Video_TS/ISO image folder. We chose the "GLADIATOR.ISO" image
and we selected the Freecom FX-50 burner.
After pressing "OK", the burning procedure started without any unexpected
delays. It should be noted that
we did not change the default booktype setting prior to writing, to investigate the default booktype setting for Double Layer media.
The writing process was finished after 22:40 minutes, even faster than the NEC ND-3500A and TDK 1616N drives. The average speed was 3.89X as
reported by the CopyToDVD software.
For comparison reasons, we post DL burning results with other
writers, with the same disc content and same recording software:
Drive |
Time (mins) |
Freecom FX-50 External |
22:40 |
TDK 1616N |
22:51 |
NEC ND-3500A |
22:52 |
ASUS DRW-1604P (4X) |
23:10 |
Pioneer DVR-108A (4X) |
23:10 |
ASUS DRW-1604P (2.4X) |
38:08 |
LG GSA-4120B |
38:12 |
Pioneer DVR-108A (2.4X) |
|
LiteON SOHW-832S DVD+R DL BookType |
38:33 |
LiteON SOHW-832S DVD-ROM BookType |
38:36 |
SONY DRU-700A |
|
BenQ DW830A |
39:14 |
BenQ DW1620A |
40:03 |
Excellent performance by Freecom. You can see that the Freecom FX-50 external burner is to date the fastest Double Layer burner.
21. DVD+R DL - Page 2
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 21
DVD+R DL - Page 2
- Writing Quality
In order to test the Freecom FX-50 DVD+R DL writing quality, we used
the LiteOn SOHD-167T and the Plextor PX-712A drives.
- Verbatim Double Layer media @ 4X
Using Nero CD/DVD Speed, we got a very good scan, indicating again, good quality performance from the drive with the DL media recorded. A very small speed drop near the end of the first layer is nothing to worry about while the drive reported 7.34X average reading speed.
The reported PI error rates were far lower than the 280 limit, indicating very good quality media. It seems that writing Double Layer media is a strong point of this Freecom external burner.
The following screen captures is presented for reference reasons and concerns the media info
reported by DVDInfoPro for the Double Layer discs we burned. You can see that the default booktype setting for Double Layer media is set to DVD-ROM. This greatly increases compatibility with Stand-Alone DVD Players.
- Compatibility
The Freecom FX-50 external burner can burn directly all DVD+R9 projects with DVD-ROM booktype, ensuring you get maximum compatibility.
22. BookType Setting
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 22
BookType Setting
The Freecom FX-50 allows the booktype setting to be changed, since it actually uses NEC based firmware routines. While there are a few utilities that can be used to change the booktype setting, unfortunately only DVD+R DL changes are supported for now.
Using the latest DVDInfoPro software, we were able to see the default setting for the drive which was DVD-ROM for Double Layer media.
We then successfully changed the booktype setting to DVD+R DL.
We then used the WinBType booktype setting utility. Again, we had no problem
changing the default booktype to DVD+R DL and the back again to DVD-ROM.
23. Conclusion
Freecom FX-50 DVD+/-RW 16X Burner - Page 23
Conclusion
Freecom Technologies is known to be one of the leading manufacturers of optical storage drives that can be connected to just about any interface, supporting operating systems from Microsoft Windows XP to MacOS. Their latest 16X burner, the FX-50, uses both the USB2.0 and IEEE1394 interfaces. Of course, it ensures backward compatibility with USB1.1 interface. Freecom managed to gather all the latest technologies in one single package. It offers easy to use, powerful software from Roxio, and can do almost everything, from creating video files to burning professional looking DVDs or even convert from one video format to another. And all these at the highest speed available on the market currently with 2 years manufacturer warranty.
The first thing that will impress most end users is the drive's stylish case. Although the same case is used in many Freecom drives, we never seem to get tired of looking at it. Very good design. Having said this, what counts most of all is the performance of a drive and not its look. The drive exhibited very good DVD error correction capabilities, but CD error correction can be further improved. The DAE speed is considered to be low, compared with other optical drives with similar specifications. Also, it cannot make SafeDisc 2.60+
backups, due to the NEC chipsets used and cannot recognize 99mins discs.
When we tried to use the drive to burn a series of CD-R media, we observed that not all media could be recorded at high speed (48X), not even well known media brands such as TY which could be recorded only at 32X. All media recorded at 48X speed indicated reduced media quality, but this was expected since a higher writing speed reduces quality. Of
course, writing speed can be better optimized with a future firmware release.
The drive's performance with DVD media however, is a totally different story. The drive uses CAV writing strategy with most media, and we were not surprised to see 13X speed supported, since Freecom FX-50 uses the same writing strategies as the latest NEC based drives. However, some 16X certified media could not be recorded at high speed, and Freecom should include these media ID codes in a future firmware release.
DVD media quality was further investigated. Although the drive can produce average quality results with +R media, it seems that it "prefers" the -R media format since it produced higher quality results with this format. In any case, most media was recorded and read successfully. RW media was no problem for the FX-50 and it can easily be used for back up operations.
Double Layer burning support enables users to store up to 8.5GB per media, doubling the storage capacity. The FX-50 can burn Double Layer media up to 4X, which is the highest speed available at this time. It was indeed the fastest Double Layer burner, and it needed only 22:50mins to burn our test complilation. Concerning the default booktype setting for +R9 media, the Freecom external burner automatically sets the booktype to DVD-ROM, increasing the compatibility with most stand-alone DVD Players. Of course, booktype setting can be changed with several utilities, easily found on the web, like DVDInfoPro. Unfortunately, booktype setting can be changed only for Double Layer media, and not for Single Layer media.
In general, this drive will not disappoint in anyway. Especially for notebook users or anyone who needs an external burner, the USB2.0 and Firewire support can be very handy.
- The Good
- Very good DVD error correction capabilities
- Supports CD-Text (reading/writing)
- Supports audio protected discs
- Good CD writing quality at 32X with low Jitter values
- Very good Single Layer DVD writing quality
- High C2% accuracy
- Fastest recorder with Double Layer media
- Very good writing quality with Double Layer media
- Can read/rip 90min Audio CDs
- Can overburn up to 88min CDs
- The Bad
- Poor CD error correction
- Slow ripping CSS DVD-Video performance
- DAE speed only up to 32X
- Mount Rainier is not supported
- Cannot recognize 99min Audio CD's
- Cannot create working backups with SafeDisc protected games over v2.60
- Cannot overburn DVD recordable media
- Medium CD writing quality at 48X
- Does not support Traxdata Double Layer media
- Like To be fixed
- Official firmware release to support booktype setting for +R/+RW media
- Better writing quality with 48X CD-R media
- Traxdata Double Layer media support
| Retail Package |
 |
| Reading |
 |
| Error Correction |
 |
| Protected Discs |
|
| Writing |
 |
| Features |
|