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This story was printed from CdrInfo.com,
located at http://www.cdrinfo.com.
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Appeared on: Saturday, March 24, 2007
LITE-ON DVDRW SH-16A7S


1. Introduction

Today we take a look at a 16x DVD burner from LiteOn. Though the SH-16A7S is not new on the market, it comes with a SATA interface and supports all types of DVD media currently available.

Writing speeds for the LiteOn DVDRW drive are set at 16X for DVD±R, 8X for DVD±R DL, 8X for rewriting DVD+RW, 6X for rewriting DVD-RW, 12X for DVD-RAM,32X for CD-RW and 48X for CD-R.

The basic features of the drive include:

Specifications
DVD Family Write
DVD+R 16X  maximum
DVD-R 16X  maximum
DVD+R9 8X  maximum
DVD-R9 8X  maximum
DVD-RAM 12X  maximum
   
ReWrite  
DVD+RW 8X    maximum
DVD-RW 6X    maximum
Read 16X  maximum
Access time 160ms
CD Family Write
CD-R 48X  maximum
ReWrite
CD-RW 32X  maximum
Read 48X  maximum
Access time 160ms
Buffer Size 2MB (MAX)
PC Required Pentium 4 1.3GHz or higher CPU and 128MB or higher RAM are
required.
HDD must have access time < 20ms; with a minimum of 650MB free
space.
9GB free space for creating a DVD image file (9GB for double layer;
5GB for single layer).
Compatibility Microsoft Windows 98SE / ME / 2000 / XP
MTBF (Life) 70000POH
S/N Ration > 75dB
General Environment
Operating 5°C to 50°C; Relative Humidity: 15% to 80%
Non-Operating -40°C to 65°C; Relative Humidity: 15% to 95%
Dimension 145(W) x 41.3(H) x 170(D) mm
Weight < 0.9Kg
Voltage Requirements
+5V +/-5% and less than 100 mVp-p ripple voltage
+12V +/-5% and less than 200 mVp-p ripple voltage

The drive

The typical front panel on the drive includes the DVD Multi Recorder logo, indicating the multi-format support for the various DVD formats.

The rear panel on the drive is also typical, featuring the SATA interface.

Our test sample was manufactured in October 2006.

This drive is based on the MediaTek MT-1899E Chipset, as seen in the pictures below.

Click for High Resolution Image

Click for High Resolution Image

Installation

The LiteOn drive was connected via a SATA interface and was recognized as "LITE-ON DVDRW SH-16A7S". The basic features of the drive are given below, from Nero and DVDInfo Pro software utilities.


2. CD - DVD Reading

For our CD transfer rate tests, we used the Nero CD-Speed utility and a set of Pressed CDs. The drive can read CD media at a maximum speed of 48X. For reference, we present a comparison of the LiteOn DVDRW drive with the Plextor PX-760A, Memorex 525GE and Samsung SH S182D drives.

Pressed CD

Press for Larger Picture

With a 48X maximum reading speed for CD-R/ROM media, the LiteOn drive is among the fastest in this task.

US RW CD

The following CD Speed graph shows the reading performance with US-RW media. For all the CDSpeed graphs, you can click on the image to see the full CDspeed snapshot.

Press for Larger Picture

- AudioCD

In the CD Speed Advanced DAE quality test, the drive's average speed was 33.17X with a quality score of 100.

A typical DAE task with an 80min non-protected Audio CD produced a 33.7X average ripping speed.


- 90/99 mins Audio disc

Both the 90min and the 99 min audio CD readings returned an error, as you can see in the screenshots above.

- DVD Format

Now let's have a look at how the drive performs with DVD media. This time, a set of SL and DL DVD media was used. The drive is capable of reading at 12X maximum speed for single layer and at 8X for dual layer media.

DVD-ROM SL media -

PTP DVD-ROM -

The two layers of a PTP DVD-ROM disc are read sequentially with the drive starting reading from the inner part of the disc, which is the beginning of each layer, progressing towards its outer range.

OTP DVD-ROM -

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 of 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 and progresses towards the inner part of the disc.

- DVD-R /-RW

A 16X CAV reading strategy for DVD-R and DVD-RW media:

- DVD+R /+RW

- DVD+R DL

-DVD-R DL

-DVD-RAM

The drive had some problems reading Maxell's DVD-RAM disc we used in our test. In addition to the speed glitches in the transfer rate graph, the full seek time result is also increased.

- DVD Ripping speed.

Average - 11.632 KB/S (8.4x)
Maximum - 17.285 KB/s (12.5x)

The test was performed with a DVD-9 commercial DVD Video title. The ripping speed wit the LiteOn drive is quite satisfactory.


3. CD Error Correction

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: 1306052
Errors (Loudness) Num:46269 Avg: -71.3 dB(A) Max: -11.7 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples Num:3848 Avg: 1.0 Samples Max: 7 Samples
Skips Samples Num: 0 Avg: 0.0 Samples Max: 0 Samples
Total Test Result 76.7 points (of 100.0 maximum)

This is average performance with the specific disc from the LiteOn drive .

- ABEX TCD-726

Errors total Num: 585
Errors (Loudness) dB(A) Num:42 Avg: -55.6 dB(A) Max :-19.8 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples Num: 4 Avg: 1.0 Samples Max: 1 Samples
Skips Samples Num: 2 Avg: 234.0 Samples Max: 234 Samples
Total Test Result 78.6 points (out of 100.0 maximum)

The LiteOn drive produces errors quite early, revealing either problems in the optics or the error correction implementation. Some of the spikes are quite high, which means that unwanted noise or clicks may reach the speakers of a sound system when you playback this audio disc.

The performance in this test is not as good as it should be, since competitive drives in the main, do not produce any errors at all in the specific test.

- 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 (e.g. 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
LiteOn LH-20A1P
5/5
5/5
5/5
0/5
0/5

The drive achieved flawless reading with the first 3 tracks. Playing the fourth and fifth track produced audible sound interruptions and clicks.

- Summary

Overall, the drive appears to have average CD Error correction capabilities.


4. DVD Error Correction

In the following tests, we examine the DVD reading capabilities of the drive 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 picture comes from the CDVD Benchmark v1.21 transfer rate test.

Very good reading with no read errors from the LiteOn drive.

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 between 65 and 75 micrometers.

No issues for the LiteOn SH-16A7S drive, continuing its good performance. The drive dropped the reading speed while reading the data area between the defected ones, although no read error was reported.

- 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.

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.

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 upon 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.

There were no errors and the drive read the disc flawlessly at 12X CAV.

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 also has 65 - 75 micrometer fingerprints.

- Summary

Overall, excellent error correction mechanism with DVD media.


5. Daxon CDR

For this test, each CD-R disc was burned to its maximum capacity and at its maximum speed. Then the same disc is read with the CDSpeed software, and the disc scanned for digital errors (BLER, C1 and C2) with our system provided by Clover Systems. To simplify the presentation, we present the BLER, E31 and E32 error rates for each disc, which unveil the most serious errors.

Disc Info

We weren't able to retrieve information about the inserted media through CDSpeed,

so we checked the disc using another drive and we got the following output:

Manufacturer
Daxon
MID
97m22s67f
Capacity

79:59.74

703 MB

Writing strategy - 37.25X Average
Writing time - 2:39 min

Reading strategy - 37.05X Average


Writing Quality - Clover Systems

Despite a FAILED rating, the disc produced low E31 and no E32 (uncorrectable) errors.

- About Clover Systems

The Clover Systems CDX Compact Disc Analyzer is a tool to quantitatively measure the quality of a CD. It will analyze CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, CD-I, CD-R, Photo-CD, Enhanced CD and CD-RW discs at 4X, 8X, 24X, 32X or 40X speed. It effectively measures disc quality by examining the quantity and severity of CIRC errors generated during playback. It also provides the capability to measure signal parameters related to pit geometry, such as asymmetry and reflectivity. Together, all these bits of information provide a thorough analysis of disc quality. The Clover Systems Analyzers can also perform various format-checking tests on data discs, and do bit-for-bit data comparison on all types of CDs. All tests are carried out at the speed of 4X.

CIRC error correction uses two principles to detect and correct errors. The first is redundancy (extra information is added, which gives an extra chance to read the disc), and the second is interleaving (data is distributed over a relatively large physical area). The CIRC error correction used in CD players uses two stages of error correction, the well known C1 and C2, with de-interleaving of the data between the stages.

The error type E11 means one bad symbol was corrected in the C1 stage. E21means two bad symbols were corrected in the C1 stage. E31 means that there were three or more bad symbols at the C1 stage. This block is uncorrectable at the C1 stage, and is passed to the C2 stage. Respectively, E12 means one bad symbol was corrected in the C2 stage and E22 means two bad symbols were corrected in the C2 stage. E32 means that there were three or more bad symbols in one block at the C2 stage, and therefore this error is not correctable.

BLER (Block Error Rate) is defined as the number of data blocks per second that contain detectable errors, at the input of the C1 decoder. Since this is the most general measurement of the quality of a disc, you will find BLER graphs for all media tested below. If you click on the images you can see a more detailed table, indicating error levels. The Red Book specification (IEC 908) calls for a maximum BLER of 220 per second averaged over ten seconds. Discs with higher BLER are likely to produce uncorrectable errors. Al low BLER shows that the system as a whole is performing well, and the pit geometry is good. However, BLER only tells us how many errors were generated per second, and it does not tell us anything about the severity of those errors.


6. Verbatim CDR

Disc Info

Again, we weren't able to retrieve information about the inserted media with CDSpeed,

so we checked the disc using another drive and got the following output:

Manufacturer Verbatim
MID

97m34s23f

Capacity

79:59.73

703 MB

Writing strategy - 37.21X Average
Writing time - 2:38 min

Reading strategy - 37.04X Average

Writing Quality - Clover Systems

No uncorrectable errors, excellent results.


7. Ritek CDR

Disc Info

We weren't able to retrieve information about the inserted media with CDSpeed,

so we checked the Memorex CD-R disc using another drive and got the following output:

Manufacturer
Ritek
MID
97m15s17f
Capacity

79:59.70

703 MB

Writing strategy - 37.07X Average
Writing time - 2:40 mins

Reading strategy 36.90X Average

Writing Quality - Clover Systems


8. Taiyo Yuden CD-R

Disc Info

Again, we weren't able to retrieve information about the inserted media with CDSpeed,

so we checked the disc using another drive and got the following output:

Manufacturer
Taiyo Yuden
MID
97m24s01f
Capacity

79:59.72

703 MB

Writing strategy - 37.07X Average
Writing time - 2:38 mins

Reading strategy 36.90X Average

Writing Quality - Clover Systems

Nearly perfect writing quality with the Taiyo Yuden CD-R disc.


9. Verbatim US-RW

Disc Info

We weren't able to retrieve information about the inserted media with CDSpeed.

The disc is a 32x US-RW from Mitsubishi Chemicals, commercially available under the Verbatim brand.

Writing strategy - 24.47X Average
Writing time - 3:52 mins

Reading strategy 26.19X Average

Writing Quality - Clover Systems


10. The DaTARIUS DVD Analyzer R 2x

The DaTARIUS DVD Analyzer R 2x is one of the cornerstones in DVD quality control equipment, and is truly unique in the industry. It allows checking of replicated DVDs with single and dual layer structure (DVD-5, DVD-9, DVD-10, DVD-14, DVD-18) and written DVD recordable, at 1X and 2X speed. It is based on the Pulstec Reference Pickup and Drive, developed in close co-operation with Pulstec and according to the standards of the DVD Forum.

In short, the device's features include:

An explanation of the various parameters the DaTARIUS DVD Analyzer R 2x offers is available here. At the same page, you can read more details about the error signals and a brief analysis the possible meaning of its parameter in the overall quality of each burn.

In the following pages, we present the writing quality measurements of various DVD recordable and rewritable media, burned with the LiteOn LH-2B1S.


11. CMC MAG E01

We start our DVD writing quality measurements with DVD+R media. A variety of different MIDs were selected and were burned at the maximum allowed speed. In each of the following pages you can find detailed information about each disc, the burning and reading procedure as well as the related signal measurements that construct the overall quality picture for each disc.

You can always navigate across the different MIDs of this test, using the page navigation drop down menu.

Media Info -

Click For larger Image

Writing - 8X (7.81X average) in 8:24

Click For larger Image

Reading - 16X (12.20X average)

Click For larger Image

DaTARIUS Scans -

 

The measurements are summarized in the below table. You can see the limits for each signal, the average and maximum value as it was reported by the DaTARIUS equipment and the values at three specific positions on the disc (radius 25.0mm, 40.0mm and 55.0 mm).

Click For Larger Image

Very good results with the CMC MAG E01 disc at 8x.


12. CMC MAG M01 000 (00)

Media Info -

Writing - 16X (12.06X average) in 5:52 mins

Click For larger Image

Reading - 16X (12.20X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

Click For Larger Image

Despite good CD-DVD Speed graphs, the DaTARIUS system reveals not so good writing with especially high PISum8.


13. MAXELL 003 000 (00)

Media Info -

Writing - 16X (12.09X average) in 5:50 mins

Reading - 16X (12.20X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

Click For Larger Image

No uncorrectable errors, but relatively high Jitter. Still a good result for 16X recording.


14. DAXON AZ3 (000)

Media Info -

Writing - 16X (11.80X average) in 6:42

Reading - 16X (12.08X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

Click For Larger Image

Near excellent writing quality with the DAXON AZ3 disc.


15. MCC 004 (000)

Media Info -

Writing - 16X (12.07X average) in 5:50 mins

Reading - 16X (12.19X average)

DataRIUS Scans -

Click For Larger Image

The quality of the specific burn could be considered as satisfactory, despite the PISum8 error rate which has exceeded the limits.


16. OPTODISC OR8

Media Info -

Writing - 8X (7.80X average) in 8:54 mins

Reading - 16X (12.19X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

Click For Larger Image

Very bad writing quality with very high PISum8. Seems like the LiteOn drive is not well tuned to this MID.


17. YUDEN000 T03

Media Info -

Writing - 16X (12.06X average) in 5:51 mins

Reading - 16X (12.18X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

Very good quality.


18. RICOHJPN R03 (004)

Media Info -

Writing - 16X (12.07X average) in 5:51 mins

Reading - 16X (12.21X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

Bad writing quality, with the PISum8 error rate exceeding the limit.


19. OPTODISC R016

Media Info -

Writing Quality - Almedio AEC-1000

Writing - 16X (12.07X average) in 5:55 mins

Reading - 16X (12.15X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -


20. DAXON016S

Media Info -

Writing Quality - Almedio AEC-1000

Writing - 16X (11.97X average) in 6:00 mins

Reading - 16X (12.18X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -


21. InfodiscR20

Media Info -

Writing Quality - Almedio AEC-1000

Writing - 8X (7.74X average) in 8:27 mins

Reading - 16X (12.18X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

A good burn for the INFODISCR20 disc, with low digital errors.


22. MBI 01RG40

Media Info -

Click For Larger Image

Writing - 16X (12.09X average) in 5:52 mins

Reading - 16X (12.17X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -


23. MCC 03RG20

Media Info -

Click For Larger View

Writing - 16X (12.09X average) in 5:54 mins

Reading - 16X (12.19X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -


24. Prodisc F02

Media Info -

Writing - 16X (11.96X average) in 6:03 mins

Reading - 16X (12.17X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -


25. RitekF1

Media Info -

Writing - 16X (11.97X average) in 6:02 mins

Reading - 16X (12.21X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

The PISum8 value has exceeded the limit.


26. TTH02

Media Info -

Writing - 16X (9.51X average) in 7:14 mins

Reading -

The drive was unable to read the disc.

DaTARIUS Scans -


27. MKM 01 RD30

Media Info -

Click For Larger View

Writing - 4X (3.97X) in 28:20 mins

Reading - 12X (9.19X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

Layer 0

 

Layer 1

 

Very good writing quality on both layers.


28. MKM 03 RD30

Media Info -

Click For Larger View

Writing - 8X (6.80X) in 18:24 mins

Reading - 12X (9.19X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

Layer 0

 

Layer 1

Again, both layers showed very good writing quality.


29. MKM 003 (000)

Media Info -

Click For Larger View

Writing - Failed

The drive failed to burn the disc.


30. RITEK S04 001

Media Info -

Click For Larger View

Writing - Failed

The drive failed to burn the disc.


31. MKM 01RW6X01

Media Info -

Writing - 6X (5.74X average) in 10:45 mins

Reading - 12X (9.22X average)

Writing Quality - Almedio AEC-1000

The quality test reported no POF.

About Almedio AEC-1000

The AEC-1000 consists of a DVD Drive and the "ALChecker" error measurement application which can check the written data quality. The application is capable of 1X CLV measurement as well as 4X CLV on DVD-Video/ROM and finalized DVD+R/-R media.

There are three measurement modes:

The checking status is shown graphically in real time while you can save the error graph at the end of the test. The reported errors are the PI and the UncPO. In the case of PI, it counts the number of rows corrected by the PI error correction in each group of eight consecutive ECC blocks. In the case of UncPO, it counts the number of ECC blocks in which more than one byte is uncorrectable in eight consecutive ECC blocks. For our quality scans, we set for 1X CLV and Fine Mode which is the slowest and with the safest results. Also, we chose to measure all the media burned at the maximum available writing speed.


32. RITEKW06

Media Info -

Writing - 6X (5.73X average) in 11:17 mins

Reading - 12X (9.21X average)

Writing Quality - Almedio AEC-1000

The quality test reported many digital errors.The quality of the burned disc is very bad.


33. MKM A03

Media Info -

Writing - 8X (7.21X average) in 8:20 mins

Reading - 12X (9.25X average)

Writing Quality - Almedio AEC-1000


34. RIDOHJPN W21 001(01)

Media Info -

Writing - 8X (7.22X average) in 8:19 mins

Reading - 12X (9.23X average)

Writing Quality - Almedio AEC-1000


35. MXL16 DVD-RAM

Media Info -

Writing - 5X (1.95X average) in 35:10 mins

Although the drive recognized the media as 5X compatible DVD-RAM media, the writing process never reached speeds greater than 2X.

Reading - 5X (4.47X average)


36. Media List

In the following table we have gathered the findings of the DVD quality measurements tests. Note that each disc was measured under the same conditions with the Datarius equipment. On the left side of the table you can find the discs that did not produce uncorrectable digital errors, while on the right side those that did. For detailed measurement data, visit the corresponding pages.

Media type
Digital errors within limits
Digital errors exceed limits
DVD+R

CMC MAG E01 (000) burned at 8X

CMC MAG M01 (000) burned at 16X
MAXELL 003 000 (00) burned at 16X MCC 004 000 (00) burned at16X
DAXON AZ3 000 (00) burned at 16X OPTODISC0R8 burned at 8X

YUDEN000 T03 (000) burned at 16X

RICOHJPN R03 004 (04) burned at 16X
DVD-R DAXON016S burned at 16X RITEKF1 burned at 16X
INFODISC-R20 burned at 8X TTH02 burned at 16X
OPTODISCR016 burned at 16X  
MBI 01RG40 burned at 16X  
MCC 03RG20 burned at 16X  
ProdiscF02 burned at 16X  
DVD-R DL MKM 01RD30 burned at 4X  
MKM 03RD30 burned at 8X  
DVD+R DL - -
DVD-RW MKM 01RW6X01 burned at 6X RITEKW04 burned at 4X
  RITEKW06 burned at 6X
DVD+RW   RICOHJPN W21 (001) burned at 8X
  MKM A03 000 (00) burned at 8X

- Burning times

Here we have gathered the results of the burning tests for DVD media. Numbers in bold indicate the best recording time for each format.

For more information about the test done with each disc, you can visit the corresponding pages of this review.


DVD+R BURNING RESULTS
  Media Manufacturer Manufacturer ID Average Burning Speed Burning Time (mins:secs)
LiteOn SH-16A7S CMC Magnetics DVD+R 8X CMCMAG E01 000 (00) 7.81X 8:54
CMC Magnetics DVD+R 16X CMCMAG M01 000 (00) 12.06X 5:52
Daxon DVD+R 4.7GB 16X DAXON AZ3 000 (00) 11.80X 6:42
Maxell DVD+R 4.7GB 8X MAXEL 003 000 (00) 12.09X 5:50
Verbatim DVD+R 4.7GB 16X MCC 004 000 (00) 12.07X 5:50
Optodisc DVD+R 4.7GB 8X OPTODISC 0R8 000 (00) 7.80X 8:54
Ricoh DVD+R 4.7GB 16X RICOHJPN R03 004 (04) 12.07X 5:51
Taiyo Yuden DVD+R 4.7GB 16X YUDEN000 T03 (000) 12.06X 5:51

DVD+R DL BURNING RESULTS
  Media Manufacturer Manufacturer ID Average Burning Speed Burning Time (mins:secs)
LiteOn SH-16A7S Ritek DVD+R DL 8x RITEK S04 001 (01) - -
Verbatim DVD+R DL 8x MKM 003 (000) - -

DVD+RW BURNING RESULTS
  Media Manufacturer Manufacturer ID Average Burning Speed Burning Time (mins:secs)
LiteOn SH-16A7S Verbatim DVD+RW 4.7GB 8X MKM A03 (000) 7.21X 8:20
Ricoh DVD+RW 4.7GB 8X RICOHJPN W21 (001) 7.22X 8:19

DVD-R BURNING RESULTS
  Media Manufacturer Manufacturer ID Average Burning Speed Burning Time (mins:secs)
LiteOn SH-16A7S BenQ DVD-R 4.7GB 16X DAXON016S 11.97X 6:00
Infodisc DVD-R 4.7GB 8X INFODISC-R20 7.74X 8:27
Moser Baer DVD-R 4.7GB 16X MBI 01RG40 12.09X 5:52
Verbatim DVD-R 4.7GB 16X MCC03RG20 12.09X 5:54
Optodisc DVD-R 4.7GB 16X OPTODISCR016 12.07X 5:55
Prodisc DVD-R 4.7GB 16X ProdiscF02 11.96X 6:03
Ritek DVD-R 4.7GB 16X RITEKF1 11.97X 6:02
TDK DVD-R 4.7GB 16X TTH02 9.51X 7:14

DVD-R DL BURNING RESULTS
  Media Manufacturer Manufacturer ID Average Burning Speed Burning Time (mins:secs)
LiteOn SH-16A7S Verbatim DVD-R DL 8.5GB 4X MKM 01RD30 3.97X 28:20
Verbatim DVD-R DL 8.5GB 8X MKM 03RD30 6.80X 18:24

DVD-RW BURNING RESULTS
  Media Manufacturer Manufacturer ID Average Burning Speed Burning Time (mins:secs)
LiteOn SH-16A7S Verbatim DVD-RW 4.7GB 6X MKM 01RW6X01 5.74X 10:45
Traxdata DVD-RW 4.7GB 6X RITEKW06 5.73X 11:17

- Booktype Settings

The SH-16A7S supports the Booktype feature only with SL media.

- DVD Overburning

The LiteOn drive does not support overburning with DVD recordable media, according to CDSpeed.


37. Conclusion

Lately we have been testing 18x and 20x DVD burners, which turn out to be mainstream as soon the major PC (HP, Dell, etc) makers decide to use them as a replacement for the 16x drives in their PCs. However, the 16x burning speed for recordable DVDs had been the limit and possibly not without a reason. Higher speeds push hardware to its limits and the overall control of the burning procedure is more difficult, while media are also required to perform satisfactorily and within specs while under extreme conditions. For many reasons therefore, a 16x DVD burner is a sane solution for your daily recording needs.

The LiteOn SH-16A7S comes with a SATA interface which is a positive point, considering that the latest motherboards offer better support for SATA compared to the traditional PATA interface.

To summarize the performance of the drive, we should mention its very good error correction capabilities with defected DVDs, the fast reading speed with CDs and DVDs, as well as the very good writing quality with specific recordable DVD media - something we have not seen when testing the faster DVD burners of late.

On the weak points, we should mention the average CD error correction, the strange behavior of the drive with a popular DVD+R DL brand where it refused to burn the disc, as well as some writing quality issues with DVD rewritable media.

The SH-16A7S can be found at around US$40-50.



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