1. CyberDrive CW078D
40x CD-RW Roundup Vol. 2 -
Page 1
- Introduction
After the first 40x recorder from Plextor, many manufacturers introduced other
40x recording solutions. At this time, June of 2002, almost all manufactures
released their 40x recording proposals. In this roundup we attempt to examine
each drive specs and compare them with the competition. In our first roundup
we compared drives from LiteOn, Cendyne and ASUS, in this roundup we compare
six new drives from CyberDrive, LG, Mitsumi, Samsung, TDK and Waitec. Which
one is the faster recorder? What new recording technologies are offered in this
platform? Let's find out
- CyberDrive CW-078D
The
drive supports 40x writing (Z-CLV), 16x re-writing, 2MB Buffer and "ExacLink"
as the main buffer underrun technology. The maximum reading speed of the drive
is 48x (CAV). The exact writing speeds are 4x, 8x, 12, 16x, 20x (CLV), 24x,
28x, 32x, 36x and 40x (Z-CLV). The re-writing speeds are 4x, 8x, 12x and 16x.
The drive doesn't support the Mt. Rainier format with current firmware, but
since the OAK chipsets are Mt. Rainier ready, CyberDrive plans to release Mt.
Rainier compatible firmware around August of 2002. The drive supports RAW reading/writing
and doesn't support any hardware but only software EFM correction, with the
proper software solution.
The drive utilises a quality media detection system, which automatically lowers
the maximum recording speed, according to the inserted media condition. The
drive will reduce the maximum writing speed down to 36x, 28x or even 16x in
case it detects low quality media. As our recording test have shown, there are
cases in which even 40x writing had been speed can be selected, the actual recording
speed was lower, since the drive lowered its recording speed during the writing
process.
- 40x CD-R writing speed
The CyberDrive supports the 40x writing speed adopting the Z-CLV writing technology.
Below it's the Nero CD Speed writing graph that illustrates the use of Zone-CLV:
The 40x writing speed range is divided in 5 zones: The drive starts writing
at 20x from the lead-in area till 6mins, shifts up to 24x at 10mins, up to 28x
at 22mins, to 32x at 32mins, up to 36x at 44mins and lastly shifts to 40x at
58mins and stays there until the end. The average recording speed is 31.68X,
as Nero CD Speed shows. If you notice the drive doesn't write at exactly 20x
but 20.56x making it also faster in lower recording speeds (at 16x writes at
16.35X).
- CyberDrive's 16x HS-RW writing speed
The CW078D is the first ever recorder that supports 16x re-writing speed. The
Orange Book standard describes only the 4-10x re-writing speeds. However several
manufacturers shifted the supported speeds from 10x to 12x and CyberDrive adopted
first the 16x re-writing speed. Below is the Nero CD Speed writing graph that
illustrates the 16x Re-writing speed:
Not much to comment here. Just notice that the drive actually writes at 16.32X
and not at 16.00X making it even faster than you might have expected. The drive
supports 16x HS-RW for both normal and packet writing modes. CyberDrive said
that discs written at 16x re-writing speed are compatible with drives that support
the "MultiRead" logo. In other words you should expect the same compatibility
with normal HS-RW media. You may face problems with older drives (24x and below
readers).
For now, the CW078D, supports 16x only with the following media, else only
the 12x writing speed will be available:
When 16x certified media is inserted, Nero displays the 16x recording speed
under the drive's properties, at the erase dialogue and the write tab
- The package
The package supplied was the retail European version. This included: the drive,
an installation guide, audio cable, one CD-R pen, 1 piece of CyberDrive 80min
40x CD-R blank (actual manufacturer Ritek), 1 piece of CyberDrive 16x 74min
HS-RW (manufacturer Plasmon) and mounting screws. The software supplied with
the drive was Nero v5.5.8.1 and InCD v3.27. We don't know if the drive has a
2-year warranty (for Europe). The complete package will be available at €126
including 16% VAT. (s.r.p.).
The front of the drive is very 'clean', including CyberDrive logo and drive's
features - "40x/16x/48x". You will also find only one led, the eject/stop/play/next
buttons and the headphone input jack/volume selector:
At the back of the drive we will find the usual connectors (IDE interface,
power), the jumpers for setting the drive as a Master/Slave, the SPDIF output
connector and the analog/digital output connectors:
- Installation
The
CyberDrive CW078D was installed as Master in the secondary IDE Bus, it worked
under UDMA33 mode and under WinXP, DMA was activated automatically. The drive
is a May 2002 model with firmware revision v1.00E installed. You can find the
supported media list for CD-R and HS-RW media at CyberDrive's
European website.
2. LG GCE-8400B
40x Roundup Vol. 2 - Page
2
- LG GCE-8400B
The
LG GCE-8400B is one of the few drives that support the P-CAV 40x writing technology.
The drive supports 40x writing, 12x re-writing, 8MB Buffer and "SuperLink"
as the main buffer underrun technology. The maximum reading speed of the drive
is 40x (CAV), making it slower than its competitors. The exact supported writing
speeds are 8x, 12, 16x (CLV), 24x, 32x, and 40x (P-CAV). The re-writing speeds
are 4x, 10x and 12x. The drive doesn't support the Mt. Rainier format with current
firmware, but LG mentioned that a firmware upgrade should support it. There
are two versions of the same drive. One comes with a 8MB buffer and one with
a 2MB buffer. There has been lot of talk about this, and the bottom line is
that lower buffer means less cost for each manufacturer. The drive supports
RAW reading/writing with hardware EFM correction.
- 40x CD-R writing speed
The LG GCE-8400 supports the 40x writing speed with the use of the Partial-CAV
writing technology. Below it's the Nero CD Speed writing graph that illustrates
the use of P-CAV:
The drive starts writing at 20.30X and gradually increases its writing speed,
reaching the 40x (CLV) speed at 54mins. The use of P-CAV technology gives higher
average writing speeds and lower noticeable noise compared to Zone-CLV solutions.
The average theoretical recording speed is 33.41X, making it the faster
40x recorder around, according to the Nero CD Speed test. Real life recording
tests, showed slightly different results with various media.
With the use of some media, the drive lowers its initial recording speed, coming
to lower average writing speed (33.34X):
Lastly if you use Imation 80min 32x certified media you will notice a dropdown
in the recording speed as the following graph illustrates:
The LG GCE-8400B starts writing at 20.28X and increases the speed up to 32X.
At 66minutes detects problem and lowers its recording speed down to 24x to avoid
recording errors.
- The package
The
package supplied was the retail European version that includes: the drive itself,
a quick installation guide for Nero/InCD, a printed manual, a printed warranty
card in 5 languages, audio cable and mounting screws. The software supplied
with the drive was Nero v5.5.7.6 and InCD v3.23. The drive includes two years
of warranty for the European territory. The complete package is available at
€.... including 16% VAT. (s.r.p.). Notice anything missing? The retail
package doesn't include any CD-R or HS-RW media. LG's answer was that users
could easily find CD-R/RW media now days at low prices. Even this is correct;
we still feel that retail packages should come complete, including at least
HS-RW media.
The front of the drive includes LG, 'HS-RW' logos and the drive's features
- "40x/12x/40x". You will also find two leds (Read/Write), the eject
button and the headphone input jack/volume selector:
At the back of the drive we will find the usual connectors (IDE interface,
power), the jumpers for setting the drive as a Master/Slave, the SPDIF output
connector and the analog/digital output connectors:
- Installation
The LG GCE-8400B was installed as Master in the secondary IDE Bus, worked
at PIO-Mode4 and under WinXP, DMA was activated automatically.
The drive is an April 2002 model with firmware revision v1.00 installed. A
newer firmware revision is already available (v1.01) and was installed for all
the recording/reading tests.
3. Mitsumi CR-485C
40x
Roundup Vol. 2 - Page 3
- Mitsumi CR-485C TE
The
drive supports 40x writing (Z-CLV), 12x re-writing, 2MB Buffer and "ExacLink"
as the main buffer underrun technology. The maximum reading speed is 48x (CAV).
The exact writing speeds are 4x, 8x, 16x CLV), 24x, 32x and 40x (Z-CLV). The
re-writing speeds are 4x, 10x and 12x. There will be a limited amount of drives
with increased buffer (up to 16MB), but the major amount of drives will include
2MB buffer.
The CR-485CTE supports Mitsumi's AEGIS WRITE technology with the following
features:
-
Automatically check media quality and set limit to writing speed.
- Automatically optimize to OPC method and select the optimum write strategy
from the large capacity database.
- Monitor writing condition and optimize writing speed to achieve the safe speed
automatically.
- Monitor the writing condition and compensate for optimum write laser power
by Mitsumi WPC (Write Power Compensation) technology.
Additional and essential knowledge is required for successful high-speed CD
recording sessions.
· Understanding of CD media characteristics
· Knowledge of various types of CD media
· Identifying and determining the best recording speed for the media
· Identifying and determining the best recording method
· Understanding of CD recording conditions
AEGIS WRITE is designed with CD recording intelligence so the user can focus
on what to record onto CD, while AEGIS WRITE focuses on providing a successful
CD recording session each time.
Below
you can find a presentation of Mitsumi's "AEGISWRITE" system. In Greek
mythology, AEGIS is the name of the shield Zeus gave to his daughter Athena.
AEGIS means The shield that protects from all evil.. To provide
users with the best in recording speed and quality, Mitsumi combined its
already popular high-quality recorders with Mitsumis original safe and
easy recording technology, and created AEGIS WRITE.
A nti-coaster: AEGIS WRITE is equipped with Exac-Link buffer under-run
protection technology; enabling successful CD recording sessions and eliminating
CD coasters.. Buffer under-runs occur when the data transfer speed
from the PC cannot keep up with the recording speed of the CD recorder. The
CD recording session fails thus creating a coaster. AEGIS WRITE
can temporarily stop data transfer BEFORE the buffer under-run occurs, protecting
the CD recording session.
E asy: AEGIS WRITE makes CD recording easier with its ability to detect
disc quality. Insert the disc into the CD recorder and AEGIS WRITE does the
rest.
G uard: AEGIS WRITE monitors the CD recording session with its Write
Condition Monitoring System. This enables AEGIS WRITE to adjust the recording
speed based on the changing conditions of the recording process, thus providing
additional protection to guard against CD recording failure.
I ntelligent: AEGIS WRITE has an extensive database of CD media profiles
based on Mitsumis research and studies of media recording characteristics.
AEGIS WRITE refers to the database to select the most suitable laser shape and
power to insure a high quality CD recording.
S ystem
- Mt. Rainier
The drive does support the Mt. Rainier format, and Mitsumi says that it is
the only drive compatible according to Philip's EasyWrite testing suite. The
following test results come from the last Mt. Rainier Plugfest.
- 40x CD-R writing speed
The Mitsumi drive supports the 40x writing speed with the use of the Z-CLV
writing technology. Below it's the Nero CD Speed writing graph that illustrates
the use of Zone-CLV:
The 40x writing speed range is divided in 4 zones: The drive starts writing
at 20x from the lead-in area till 6mins, shifts up to 24x at 10mins, up to 32x
at 32mins and lastly shifts to 40x at 60mins and stays there until the end.
The average recording speed is 29.63X, as Nero CD Speed shows. The average
writing speed of the Mitsumi drive makes it slower than what the competition
offers. According to CDR software the drive doesn't seem to lower its maximum
recording speed but judging from the final recording time, you can understand
if the drive dropped its recording speed during the write process.
- 20x HS-RW writing speed
The CR-485C TE is the first ever recorder that supports 20x writing speed with
blank HS-RW media. Keep the last sentence in your mind. The 20x (CLV) writing
speed is only valid with brand new HS-RW media. If you insert already used HS-RW
media, the maximum writing speed will be 12x. Even if you perform a full erase
you cannot have the 20x recording speed. Again the 20x (CLV) speed is not described
at the Orange Book, but Mitsumi engineers felt it can be accomplished with current
media/technology. Mitsumi calls this mode "SSW" (Super Speed Write).
For writing a full 74min task at this speed you will need 4:21mins:
Below it's the Nero CD Speed writing graph that illustrates the 20x Re-writing
speed:
The drive starts writing at 20x (CLV) the whole disc. Mitsumi CR-485E TE with
current firmware (1.0B) supports the following media for 12x and 20x. As you
can see almost all HS-RW media can be written at 20x, at least once:
Inside Nero, when a brand new blank HS-RW media is inserted, you will see the
20x recording speed under the writing tab:
- The package
The package supplied was the not the final European retail kit, but a special
test version. This included: the drive, a printed supported media list for CD-R/RW
media, 2 pieces of Verbatim's 4-10x HS-RW media and one piece of Hitachi-Maxell
80min 40x CD-R blank. The software supplied with the drive was Nero v5.5.8.2D,
InCD v3.82, EasyWrite and some additional utilities. The retail kit includes
2 years of warranty (only for Europe) and will cost €... including 16%
VAT. (s.r.p.).
The front of the drive changed from previous drives and now contains only
the "HS-RW" logo and drive's features - "40x/20x/48x". You
will also find only one led, the eject buttons and the headphone input jack/volume
selector. Mitsumi has placed the 20x re-writing spec in the front of the drive,
which may be kind of confusing, since it works only with brand new HS-RW media:
At the back of the drive we will find the usual connectors (IDE interface,
power), the jumpers for setting the drive as a Master/Slave, the SPDIF output
connector and the analog/digital output connectors:
- Installation
The Mitsumi CR-485C TE was installed as Master in the secondary IDE Bus, worked
under UDMA33 mode and DMA was activated automatically under WinXP. The drive
is a May 2002 model with firmware revision v1.0B installed.
4. WAITEC Storm40
40x Roundup Vol. 2
- Page 4
- WAITEC STORM 40
The
drive supports 40x writing (Z-CLV), 12x re-writing, 4MB Buffer and "SafeLink"
as the main anti-buffer underrun technology. The maximum reading speed of the
drive is 48x (CAV). The exact supported writing speeds are 4x, 8x, 16x, 20x
(CLV) and 24, 32x and 40x (Zone-CLV). The re-writing speeds are 4x, 10x and
12x.
Even WAITEC advertises the compliance with "EasyWrite" format,
the drive doesn't support the Mt. Rainier format, with current firmware. A firmware
upgrade that will add Mt. Rainier compatiblity is on its way and hopefully next
month , after the next PlugFest, will be available. The drive includes C2 error
reporting and supports all the known writing modes (DAO, SAO, TAO and RAW).
- Embedded Technologies
Apart from SafeLink, the drive supports:
FlexSS-BP
technology, which automatically selects the optimum recording speed for each
disc.
technology which detects shock and prevents a writing mistake.
which detects recording error due to irregular mechanical characteristics. "Safe-BP"
is the function which stops the recording at the occurrence of disarrangement
making error of recording performance, and restarts the recording with changing
the recording speed with monitoring pickup servo in real time. You can enjoy
the comfortable high-speed recording without being concerned about deterioration
of recording quality and interrupt of recording.
There is also an utility
that can enable/disable the 'Safe-BP checking' for each media. This way you
can be sure that the drive will write at the maximum speed all inserted media.
You can also set the polling interval timer of the Safe-BP from 1, 5 and 10
secs or of course disable polling. By default, Safe-BP is ALWAYS turned on every
time a CD-R media is inserted:
The following graph comes from Nero CD Speed with Servo Detection Control
enabled. The average writing speed is 30.17X:
With the special utility you can de-activate the "Servo
Detection Control" and gain small increase in the recording speed:
This time the drive wrote a little faster and the average writing speed is
30.24x. The gain with 'Servo Detection Control' would be around 4-6secs with
specific media.
- 40x writing speed
The WAITEC Storm40 supports the 40x writing speed with the use of the Z-CLV
writing technology. Below it's the Nero CD Speed writing graph that illustrates
the use of Zone-CLV:
The 32x writing speed range is divided in 4 zones: The drive starts writing
at 20x from the lead-in area till 12mins, shifts up to 24x at 10mins, up to
32x at 30mins and lastly shifts to 40x at 56mins and stays there until the end.
The average recording speed is 30.13X, which makes slower than the competition
in this category.
With some media, the drive will avoid writing at the maximum recording speed
and will lower its writing speed down to 32x, producing higher quality discs:
- The package
The
package supplied was the retail European version. This included: the drive itself,
an installation guide, audio cable, mounting screws, one piece of WAITEC 80min
40x CD-R blank (actual manufacturer Plasmon Data Systems) and one WAITEC HS-RW
media. The supplied software comes from Ahead, Nero v5.5.8.1 and InCD v3.27.
The drive has a 2-year warranty (only in Europe). The price of the retail kit
is expected around 140Euro plus 16% VAT.
The front panel of the drive includes 2 leds (busy, write), the manual eject
hole, the headphone jack/volume control and the logo of "WAITEC" among
with the codename of the drive (STORM40):
At the back of the drive we will find the usual connectors (IDE interface,
power), the jumpers for making the drive Master/Slave, the SPDIF output connector
and the analog / digital output connectors. There are 3 jumpers at the left
of the back. The 2 jumpers on the left are not used (factory reserved), and
the third is being used for making the drive working at UDMA33 mode. If you
remove the third jumper, the drive works at PIO-Mode4 mode.
- Installation
The drive was installed as a Master in the secondary IDE Bus. The drive worked
in UDMA33 mode and after booting, identified itself as "WAITEC STORM".
We used WinXP for the recording tests. WinXP activated automatically the
DMA for the drive; however we noticed some problems during the test process,
especially with VIA chipset system. Even WinXP activated DMA, after some tests;
the drive lost the DMA function, epsecially after reading LaserLock 2 discs.
Installing latest VIA 4in1 drivers didn't help much and after some research
we found out that there is a registry key that must be deleted in order to re-gain
the DMA option. Open the Regegit software and search for the: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0001
(or 0002 if you have installed the drive in secondary IDE channel). Now delete
the MasterIdDataCheckSum string, reboot and now DMA should be re-enabled ;-)
The drive is a March 2002 model with firmware revision v1.00 installed. We
upgraded the drive with a newer firmware (v1.01
+ firmware
upgrade utility) and used Nero (5.5.8.2), InCD (3.28) and CloneCD (4.0.1.3)
for the recording tests.
The following media are suggested for maximum writing quality:
Company
|
R/RW
|
Product No.
|
CMC
|
CD-R
|
CDR80LH (40x media use.)
|
DAXON
|
CD-R
|
ACER40R80, DAXON40R80 (40x media use.)
|
HITACHI-MAXELL
|
CD-R
|
CDR74MIX-1P10S, CDR74MIX-1P20S, CDR80MIX-1P10S
(The disc is specified as 32x supported media on the package.)
|
MBI
|
CD-R
|
CDR-80MBI (40x media use.)
|
MITSUI CHEMICAL
|
CD-R
|
CDRV80MG-10P, CDRV80US-10P, CDRV74MG-10P,
CDRV74US-10P00040379, 00040383, 00041118, 00041130, 00040882, 00041202,
00041133, 00041044, 00041035, 00041117, 00041232, 00041018
|
RITEK
|
CD-R
|
CD-R80JS (40x media
use.)
|
TAIYO YUDEN
|
CD-R
|
CDR-80TY10PR, CDR-80WPY10PR, CDR-80AC5Y10SR
|
5. TDK CyClone 401248B
40x Roundup Vol. 2
- Page 6
- TDK CyClone 401248B
The
drive supports 40x writing (Z-CLV), 12x re-writing, 2MB Buffer and anti-buffer
under run technology. The maximum reading speed of the drive is 48x (CAV). The
exact writing speeds are 4x, 8x, 12, 16x (CLV), 20x, 24x, 32x and 40x (Z-CLV).
The re-writing speeds are 4x, 8x, 10x and 12x (CLV). The drive is Mt. Rainier
ready and can author AudioCDs up to 40x recording speed. Lastly, the drive supports
all the known writing modes (DAO, SAO, TAO and RAW) including hardware EFM correction.
It is quite possible that with a newer firmware upgrade drive to adopt the P-CAV
as the main recording technology.
- 40x writing speed
The drive supports the 40x writing speed with the use of the Z-CLV writing
technology. Below is the Nero CD Speed writing graph, which illustrates the
use of Zone-CLV writing technology:
The 40x writing speed range is divided into 4 zones: The drive starts writing
at 20x from lead-in till the 4mins, shifts up to 24x at 8mins, shifts up to
32x at 28mins and lastly shifts to 40x at 54mins and stays there until the end.
The theoretical average recording speed is 30.58X making it faster than
some other drives in the same category.
- The package
The
package supplied was the European retail version. This included: the drive itself,
a quick set-up guide, a techical support printed guide, 1 piece of TDK 80min
CD-R blank (actual manufacturer Ritek), 1 piece of TDK 80min 4-12x High-Speed
RW blank (unknown manufacturer - 97m 10s 00f - Cyanine), audio cable, mounting
screws and a CD-R pen.
The software supplied with the drive was Nero Burning ROM v5.5.7.5, Ahead
InCD v3.22 (for packet writing use) and TDK's Digital MixMaster v1.2.2.13. There
is also an electronic PDF manual which user may want to take a look before start
using the drive. The drive includes 2 years of warranty (applies only for the
European territory).
The front of the drive is very simple and according to the previous CyClone
series. In the front contains only the "HS-RW" logo and the drive's
features (40x12x48x). You will also find only one led, the eject button and
the headphone input jack/volume selector:
In the back of the drive we will find the usual connectors (IDE interface,
power), the jumpers for making the drive Master/Slave, the SPDIF output connector,
3 factory reserved jumpers and the analogue/digital output connectors.
- Installation
TDK CyClone 401248B was installed as a Master in the secondary IDE BUS. The
drive worked in UDMA33 mode and after booting, identified itself as the "TDK
CDRW401248B". We used WinXP for the recording/reading tests. DMA was automatically
activated from the operating system. The drive is a March 2002 model with firmware
revision vZ7S4 installed.
If
you use low quality media, the drive automatically lowers its recording speed
down to (even down to 16x) before it starts writing. There is a way for end
user to overpass it with de-activating "Smart-Burn" technology.
Inside the recording software (in our case Nero under CD Recorder properties),
you can un-check the "Smart-Burn" function and write ANY media at
ANY recording speed (even at 40x). After un-checking the "Smart-Burn",
Nero will display the following warning you notify you about the risk. Turning
the Smart-Burn off can also decrease the writing time with higher quality media
but there are questions about the quality of the written discs, so it advised
from our side to leave 'SmartBurn' always on!
6. Samsung SW-240B
40x Roundup Vol. 2
- Page 6
- Samsung SW-240B
The
drive supports 40x writing (Z-CLV) max speed among with "JustLink"
and "JustSpeed" technologies, using Ricoh's chipsets. The supported
writing speeds are 4x, 8x, 12x, 16x (CLV), 24x, 32x and 40x (Z-CLV). The re-writing
speeds 4x, 10x and 12x (CLV). The drive includes 8MB of buffer and supports
all available writing modes (TAO, SAO, DAO, Multisession and Packet Writing).
There is no support for Mt. Rainier format even Samsung had announced it would
be supported with this model :(.
- 40x Writing speed
In order to achieve the 40x writing speeds Samsung has chosen the Z-CLV writing
technology. When a recorder uses the Zone CLV recording method, the CD is divided
into zones from the inner to the outer side of the CD, and within each these
zones the recording speed varies but it's always constant (CLV). The recording
process starts from the beginning of the disc in a constant speed in the first
zone. After a pre-defined time (when the next zone starts) the recording speed
automatically elevates to a higher speed. At the speed switching point, the
anti-buffer underrun technology (in our case JustLink) is used to assure the
transition with no data loss or corruption.
Samsung starts writing at 16x in the lead-in area, shifts up to 20x at 4mins,
shifts up to 24x at 12mins, shifts up to 32x at 30mins finally shifts up to
40x at 56mins and continues to write until the end of the disc at that speed.
The drive's theoretical average writing speed is 29.84X making it slower
than other 40x recorders.
- The package
The
tested drive was the retail European package and included: the drive, a printed
manual in 4 languages, 1 piece (40x certified) of Samsung 80min CD-R blank,
1 piece of Samsung 74min 4-10x High-Speed RW Blank, audio and IDE cables and
mounting screws. The attached software was Ez CD Creator 5.1 Basic and Direct
CD v5.1 (for packet writing use). There is also an alternative package with
Nero and InCD as the attached software.
The front of the drive includes the "Samsung", "High-Speed
RW" and the "RW40-12-40" logos, that show up the drive's features.
You will also find only one small led, the eject button and the headphone input
jack/volume selector. Both the led and the eject button are back lighted with
a green colour:
In the backside of the drive we will find the usual connectors (IDE interface,
power), the jumpers for making the drive Master/Slave, the SPDIF output connector
and the analog/digital output connectors:
- Installation
The Samsung SW-240B was installed as a Master in the secondary IDE BUS. The
drive worked in PIOMode4 mode and after booting, identified itself as the "Samsung
CD-R/RW SW-240B". Under WinXP, DMA was activated automatically.
The drive was a May 2002 model with firmware revision vR401 installed. Using
Samsung's Live Firmware updater we upgraded the drive to vR402 that was used
for all recording/reading tests. The drive includes "JustSpeed" recording
technology that can be de-activated in order to get the full recording speed
of the drive.
7. Data Reading Tests
40x
Roundup Vol. 2 - Page 7
Data Reading
Tests
- SCSI Mechanic v3.0x results
The CyberDrive CW078D gets the first place with 5383Kb/s. TDK CyClone 401248B
follows with 5378Kb/s, Waitec STORM40 comes third with 5352Kb/s and Mitsumi
CR-485C forth with 5280Kb/s. The LG GCE-8400B and Samsung SW-240B get the last
two places since both support only 40x (max) reading speed. The LG GCE-8400B
comes fifth with 4589Kb/s and Samsung SW-240B last with 4574Kb/s. Mitsumi CR-485C
gets the first place in the "Random I/O" test with 930Kb/s, LG GCE-8400B
second with 925Kb/s, WAITEC STORM40 third with 860Kb/s, TDK CyClone 401248B
forth with 860Kb/s, Samsung SW-540B fifth with 782Kb/s and CyberDrive CW078D
last with 725Kb/s.
- Pressed CD results: (Click to see graphs for CyberDrive,
LG,
WAITEC, Mitsumi,
Samsung
and TDK)
In the Nero CD Speed test, CyberDrive come first with 36.77X, TDK CyClone
401248B follows with 36.72X, WAITEC Storm40 third with 36.66X , Mitsumi CR-485C
forth with 36.17X, LG GCE-8400B fifth with 31.43X and Samsung SW-240B last with
31.32X.
In the same test, the seek time results are very interesting. CD Speed reported
very low results with the Mitsumi CR-485C, which we are not so sure they are
correct. Mitsumi gives 100ms for access time. The Samsung SW-240B has seek times
down to 89ms, TDK CyClone follows with 90ms, LG GCE-8400B comes third with 90ms,
CyberDrive CW078D forth with 114ms and WAITEC Storm40 last with 115ms.
- CDR Media: (Click to see graphs for CyberDrive,
LG,
WAITEC, Mitsumi,
Samsung
and TDK)
With CDR media, the TDK drive comes first with 37.54X, WAITEC STORM40 comes
second with 37.43X, CyberDrive CW078D third with 37.41X. The Mitsumi CR-485C
lowers its maximum reading speed down to 40X with CD-R media. The Samsung SW-240B
comes forth with 31.99X, LG GCE-8400B fifth 31.81X and Mitsumi CR-485C last
with 31.16X.
- HS-RW media: (Click to see graphs for CyberDrive,
LG,
WAITEC, Mitsumi,
Samsung
and TDK)
For the RW tests we used the Mitsubishi Chemical HS-RW written at 10x. The
faster reader comes from TDK with 32.27X:
8. CloneCD Reading Tests
40x
Roundup Vol. 2 - Page 8
CloneCD
Reading Tests
- Procedure
We used CloneCD (v4.0.1.3) and 4 original CDs - Serious Sam 2 (SafeDisc 2),
Desperados (LaserLock 2), V-Rally 2 Expert (SecuROM 2) and NBA Jam Extreme (PSX)
- in order to test the reading time of the drives. We also tested the reading
performance with backups of the original CDs, since the reading speed varies
between original and backup media. Click to see the CloneCD reading properties
for each drive: CyberDrive,
LG,
Mitsumi,
Waitec,
Samsung
and TDK.
- PSX Pressed Media
The faster reader for PSX media comes from LG. The drive needs only 55secs
to end the task. The slower drive comes from CyberDrive with 367sec:
- SafeDisc 2 Results
The faster readers for SafeDisc 2 discs are the Samsung SW-240B and the Mitsumi
CR-485C.
- LaserLock 2 Results
With LaserLock v.2 protected CDs, the best reader comes from TDK. The LG
GCE-8400B needed 3hours and 41mins to end the task with original disc, while
with backup disc, we interrupted the read process after 4hours...
- SecuROM 2 Results
All tested drives can read SubChannel data from Data/Audio tracks. The faster
reader comes from CyberDrive with 2664.86 Sectors/second.
9. DAE Tests
40x
Roundup Vol. 2 - Page 9
DAE Reading Tests
- DAE features
CyberDrive CW078D/
WAITEC STORM40
|
LG GCE-8400B/
TDK CyClone 401248B
|
Samsung SW-240B
|
Mitsumi CR-485C
|
|
|
|
|
- Pressed AudioCD results
The CyberDrive CW078D has the highest average reading speed of 34.6X and WAITEC
STORM40 comes close with 34.3X. TDK CyClone 401248B comes third with 33.7X and
Mitsumi CR-485C forth with 33.4X. The LG and Samsung drives get the last two
places with 27.9X and 26.3X respectively.
- CDR AudioCD Results
With CDR media, results are different. WAITEC's STORM40 comes first with 34.6X
, TDK CyClone 401248B second with 33.1X, CyberDrive CW078D third with 32.7X.
Again Mitsumi CR-485C lowers its maximum reading speed to 40x and that affects
the average DAE speed. The only drive that produced errors while reading was
the CW078D. Although the amount of errors is low, errors were reported with
all the media we used.. CyberDrive engineers should consider these results.
- EAC Secure Extract Ripping mode
After many requests from numerous visitors we have added the EAC's secure
extract ripping mode results, which ensures maximum produced WAV quality. Below
are the test results:
Tested Drives
|
Average DAE Speed (X)
|
Pressed
|
CDR
|
CyberDrive CW078D
|
8.5
|
8.8
|
WAITEC STORM40
|
5.5
|
5.7
|
Mitsumi CR-485C
|
5.7
|
5.2
|
LG GCE-8400B
|
5.9
|
6.2
|
TDK CyClone 401248B
|
11.1
|
11.2
|
Samsung SW-240B
|
9.7
|
9.9
|
- Advanced DAE Quality
All drives expect from the CyberDrive CW078D got a perfect (100) score in the
Nero CD Speed Advanced DAE test. The drive reported 13930 data errors with only
18.13X average reading speed and got a near perfect score of 99.6. Click to
see the Advanced DAE Quality results for CyberDrive,
LG,
Mitsumi,
Samsung,
TDK
and Waitec
drives.
- Bad CDR Media results
Despite the fact that Nero CD Speed Advanced DAE test stretches drive's mechanism
to the max, we decided to do real life tests with a scratched disc. The disc
was dirty, and with some light scratches, enough in order cause problems to
most of the tested drives. We used CD DAE software to rip the whole disc (756539616
sectors) and the results were very interesting:
|
Average Speed (X)
|
Errors
|
Errors Of Total Disc (%)
|
CyberDrive CW078D
|
.3.7
|
509053
|
0.07
|
WAITEC STORM40
|
Cannot recognize disc contents
|
Mitsumi CR-485C
|
Stops ripping at 94%
|
LG GCE-8400B
|
Stops ripping at 78%
|
TDK CyClone 401248B
|
11.2
|
95021416
|
15.56
|
Samsung SW-240B
|
13.2
|
152005
|
0.02
|
As the test results show, only 3 drives managed to rip entirely the disc.
The Samsung performed well with 0.02% errors of the total disc with 13.2X average
reading speed. The CyberDrive comes second with 0.07% and TDK last with 15.56%.
- CD-Check Audio Test Disc
Error Level
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
CyberDrive CW078D
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
WAITEC STORM40
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
4/5
|
0/5
|
Mitsumi CR-485C
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
3/5
|
LG GCE-8400B
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
0/5
|
TDK CyClone 401248B
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
0/5
|
Samsung SW-240B
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
0/5
|
0/5
|
The only drive that passed the forth level of CD-Check test disc test comes
from CyberDrive. The drive didn't produce any pops during the playback process.
- Ripping 90 and 99mins AudioCDs
Tested Drives
|
Ripping up to
|
CyberDrive CW078D
|
96mins
|
WAITEC STORM40
|
Cannot recognize disc contents
|
Mitsumi CR-485C
|
98mins
|
LG GCE-8400B
|
99mins
|
TDK CyClone 401248B
|
99mins
|
Samsung SW-240B
|
99mins
|
- Reading/Ripping Protected AudioCDs
For the test procedure we used 2 protected AudioCDs, which we
tested in both recognition and ripping (with CD DAE & EAC) processes:
* Pressed AudioCD with Sony Key2Audio (Celine Dion - New Day Has
Come)
* Pressed AudioCD with Cactus Data Shield 200 (Natalie Imbruglia - White Lilies
Island)
|
Key2Audio
|
CDS200
|
CyberDrive CW078D
|
Can rip disc contents without any issues
|
Can rip disc contents without any issues
|
WAITEC STORM40
|
Can rip disc contents without any issues
|
Can read the disc contents, cannot rip
the first track but the rest without any issues
|
Mitsumi CR-485C
|
Can rip disc contents without any issues
|
Can rip disc contents without any issues
|
LG GCE-8400B
|
Cannot recognize the disc contents
|
Can recognize the disc contents but cannot
rip!
|
TDK CyClone 401248B
|
Cannot recognize the disc contents
|
Can recognize the disc contents but cannot
rip!
|
Samsung SW-240B
|
Cannot recognize the disc contents
|
Can rip disc contents but the extracted
files contain errors
|
The CyberDrive and Mitsumi drives had no problem to recognize and rip the contents
of Key2Audio and CDS200 protected discs. The WAITEC STORM40 has some issues
with CDS200 protection, while both LG and TDK drives cannot either recognize
or rip the disc contents of both Key2Audio/CDS200.
10. CDR Tests - Page 1
40x
Roundup Vol.2 - Page 10
CDR Tests - Page 1
- Procedure
We tested all five drives with latest version of Nero/CloneCD. We used various
media for our tests: Mitsubishi Chemicals 80min 40x certified, Mitsui 80min
32x/40x certified, Prodisc 80min 32x certified, Taiyo Yuden 74/80min 24/32x/40x
certified. We burned CDs at almost all recording speeds from 16x up to 40x using
the SAME amount of data for all drives. The posted recording times are the
best we had from our test results. Using other media can increase the final
burning time.
- Comparison
Before starting the recording tests, let's see how three Zone-CLV drives are
compared in the writing/rotation speeds:
The above chart displays the different approaches towards the 40x Zone-CLV
recording strategy. All three drives start writing at 20x, and shift at 24x
in the same time, however CyberDrive drops lower its writing speed. The CyberDrive
continues to shift writing speeds with the minimum drop of recording speed,
and the recording tests confirm the results. The Mitsumi CR-485C reaches the
40x recording speed later than the rest two drives so it is expected to have
the highest recording speeds. The WAITEC drive does reach the 40x earlier than
the two other drives, however in all the shifting positions the drive lowers
enough its recording speed.
All drives have the same rotation speeds in the beginning. The CyberDrive keeps
its rotation speeds higher than the competition in order to achieve higher recording
speeds.
- 74min CD-R Tests
We created a "DataCD" job with data slightly more than 74mins (74:03:65).
We burned the same job with all five tested drives. The faster drive at the
16x writing test comes from CyberDrive. The drive doesn't write exactly at 16X
but at 16.32X producing a lower recording time. The drive needs 296secs to finish.
The second best drive comes from TDK with 304secs and the slowest drive is Samsung
SW-240B with 315secs:
The faster recorder at the 20x writing speed comes again from CyberDrive
with 244secs while the TDK needs 252secs. Note that the Waitec, Mitsumi, Samsung
and LG drives do not support the 20X writing speed.
CyberDrive CW078D has the lowest recording times for the 24x recording speed.
Its difference between other competitors is around 11secs and ends the task
at 213secs. The LG GCE-8400B comes second with 221secs. Remember that CyberDrive
is a Z-CLV and the LG a P-CAV drive. The TEAC and TDK drives have the same performances
with 222secs, WAITEC needs 227secs and Mitsumi CR-485C 238secs.
At the 32x writing speed the faster drive comes from LG, as expected.
P-CAV is faster than Zone-CLV but only by one second. The CyberDrive comes second
with 184secs. The slowest drive comes from Mitsumi with 221secs. The difference
between the first the last drive is 38secs.
At the maximum writing speed of 40x, CyberDrive CW078D ends
first with 2:56mins. Although the CW078D has only a 31.68X average writing speed,
it overpasses the LG drive. The LG drive needs 2:59mins. The third faster drive
comes from TDK with 3:09mins. The Mitsumi CR-485C comes last with 3:27mins.
Below is the screenshot of CyberDrive and LG drives of writing
a full 74 disc in less than 3 minutes!
11. CDR Tests - Page 2
40x Roundup
Vol. 2 - Page 11
CDR Tests - Page 2
- 80min CD-R Tests
In our normal burning tests the 80min CD contains slightly more than 80min
data (80:01:46). With 80min CDs, the CyberDrive CW078D gets the first place
with 313secs:
The faster recorder at the 20x writing speed comes again from
CyberDrive with 263secs. The TDK CyClone 401248B is very close with 268secs:
At the 24x writing speed, CyberDrive needs 229secs to end the task. The second
faster drive comes from TDK and the LG GCE-8400B third with 235secs. The Mitsumi
CR-485C comes last with 255secs:
The LG GCE-8400B again leads the race for the 32x recording speed with 195secs.
The CyberDrive CW078D follows with 196secs and Mitsumi CR-485C comes last with
232secs.
At the maximum writing speed, CyberDrive CW-078D completes
the task first with 184secs. The LG GCE-8400B follows with 186secs and Mitsumi
CR-485C comes last with 217sec.
The following pictures show the faster drives from LG and CyberDrive:
12. CDR Tests - Page 3
40x Roundup Vol. 2
- Page 12
CDR Tests - Page 3
- Comparison of different writing technologies
The above graph shows the main differences between 24x Z-CLV, 24x P-CAV,
32x Z-CLV and 40x Z-CLV recording technologies. The CyberDrive CW078D is currently
the faster recorder and its time differences at 74min CDs are:
- 54secs faster than PleXWriter PX-W2410A
- 49secs faster than Yamaha CRW3200E
- 27secs faster than Mitsumi CR-480ATE
With 80min CDs, the time differences with rest of the recorders are now higher:
- 65secs faster than PleXWriter PX-W2410A
- 56secs faster than Yamaha CRW3200E
- 34secs faster than Mitsumi CR-480ATE
Judging from other 40x Z-CLV recorders, the most of us expected that the
LG GCE-8400B using P-CAV to be the faster recorder, especially at the maximum
40x recording speed. Test results showed that a Zone-CLV recorder can be faster
than P-CAV with the proper implementation. The time differences from a 24x Zone-CLV
are now over 60secs for 80min CDs, which cannot be neglected. However almost
all newest recorders require specific media for maximum performance which might
disappoint users who wish to use cheap media for their burns.
- Overburning Tests
Tested Drives
|
Writing up to
|
CyberDrive CW078D
|
99mins
|
WAITEC STORM40
|
93mins
|
Mitsumi CR-485C
|
99mins
|
LG GCE-8400B
|
98mins
|
TDK CyClone 401248B
|
99mins
|
Samsung SW-240B
|
99mins
|
- CD-Text Results
All tested drives can read/write CD-Text without any problems.
- CloneCD Writing Tests
The
CloneCD v4.0.1.3 reports that all drives support the DAO-RAW feature. For the
EFM correction (SD2 test) we used 'Serious Sam - The Second Encounter"
game titles. We performed both software/hardware EFM corrections test. The only
drives that support hardware EFM correction are the TDK CyClone 401248B and
LG GCE-8400B, while with the proper software, you could backup all protected
discs with the "Amplify Weak Sectors" setting:
Tested Drives
|
DAO-RAW writing speed
|
Software EFM Correction
|
Hardware EFM Correction
|
CyberDrive CW078D
|
40x
|
Yes ( v2.50.021+)
|
No
|
WAITEC STORM40
|
16x
|
No
|
Samsung SW-240B
|
24x
|
No
|
Mitsumi CR-485C
|
32x
|
No
|
LG GCE-8400B
|
32x
|
Yes ( v2.50.021+)
|
TDK CyClone 401248B
|
40x
|
Yes ( v2.50.021+)
|
13. Writing Quality of CyberDrive
40x Roundup Vol. 2
- Page 13
Writing Quality Tests
for CyberDrive CW078D
We used many media, including 40x certified, and burned them at various recording
speeds with CyberDrive CW078D. The produced CDs, were measured from DigitalDrives
and results are illustrated in the following tables:
- 32x writing speed
Brand
|
C1
|
C2
|
Average Burning Time (mins)
|
Max
|
Average
|
Max
|
Average
|
Taiyo Yuden 74min (24x)
|
29
|
1.2
|
0
|
0
|
3:04
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mitsui 80min (40x)
|
31
|
0.4
|
99
|
0
|
3:16
|
The drive produces low C1 error rate with Taiyo Yuden 74min (24x) and also
very good recording times. With Mitsui 80min (40x) media, the recording quality
is very good but C2 error is also present.
- 36x writing speed
Brand
|
C1
|
C2
|
Average Burning Time (mins)
|
Max
|
Average
|
Max
|
Average
|
Taiyo Yuden 74min (24x)
|
11
|
0.4
|
0
|
0
|
3:00
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mitsui 80min (40x)
|
23
|
0.3
|
93
|
0
|
3:09
|
Again the recording quality is very good with Taiyo Yuden 24x media and the
average C1 error rate with Mitsui 40x even its low, C2 error are also present.
- 40x writing speed
Brand
|
C1
|
C2
|
Average Burning Time (mins)
|
Max
|
Average
|
Max
|
Average
|
Mitsui 74min (40x)
|
20
|
0.2
|
0
|
0
|
2:56
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Taiyo Yuden 80min (40x)
|
282
|
7.0
|
384
|
3.8
|
3:33
|
Prodisc 80min (32x)
|
36
|
2.4
|
24
|
0
|
3:04
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 80min (40x)
|
21
|
1.1
|
0
|
0
|
3:06
|
Imation 80min (32x)
|
46
|
3.7
|
73
|
0
|
3:17
|
Vivastar 80min (16x)
|
3830
|
547.7
|
1932
|
121.1
|
3:29
|
Hitachi Maxell 80min (32x)
|
24
|
1.8
|
46
|
0
|
3:10
|
Mitsui 80min (40x)
|
26
|
0.7
|
97
|
0
|
3:10
|
The recording time tests from the 40x speed are very good with specific media.
The drive gives the absolute recording times but not with the perfect quality.
The drive needs improvement in that area since even with high quality media
C2 errors are present. When using Vivastar 80min media, the results are very
bad, since the drive doesn't lower enough its recording speed. As it seems the
lower recording times comes with a price in writing quality.
The following picture comes from Taiyo Yuden 74min write at the 24x recording
speed. The writing quality is very good until 50mins. Then the drive produces
high error rate.
The following graph comes from Hitachi-Maxell 80min 40x media written at the
40x recording speed. The writing quality is very good but a C2 error occurs
at the end of the disc. This also happened with several other media:
The following graph comes from Taiyo Yuden 80min 40x media written at 28x recording
speed. The writing quality above 60mins seems lower and high C1 and C2 errors
occur:
The following graph comes from Taiyo Yuden 80min 40x media written at 40x recording
speed. The writing quality above 60mins is decreased and high C1 and C2 errors
occur:
14. Writing Quality of WAITEC
40x Roundup Vol. 2
- Page 14
Writing Quality Tests
for WAITEC STORM40
We used many media, including 40x certified, and burned them at various recording
speeds with WAITEC STORM40. The produced CDs, were measured from DigitalDrives
and results are illustrated in the following tables. The most interesting results
comes from the maximum recording speed of 40x.
- 40x writing speed
Brand
|
C1
|
C2
|
Average Burning Time (mins)
|
Max
|
Average
|
Max
|
Average
|
Taiyo Yuden 80min (40x)
|
29
|
0.7
|
|
3:25
|
Prodisc 80min (32x)
|
41
|
2.4
|
3:22
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 80min (40x)
|
17
|
1.3
|
3:24
|
Imation 80min (32x)
|
63
|
4.4
|
4:26
|
Vivastar 80min (16x)
(Servo Contro Detection On)
|
5038
|
1120.6
|
3248
|
228.5
|
4:31
|
Vivastar 80min (16x)
(Servo Contro Detection Off)
|
5249
|
659.7
|
3928
|
307.7
|
3:23
|
Hitachi Maxell 80min (32x)
|
26
|
2.1
|
|
3:22
|
Mitsui 80min (40x)
(Servo Contro Detection On)
|
24
|
1.7
|
3:27
|
Mitsui 80min (40x)
(Servo Contro Detection Off)
|
27
|
1.4
|
3:23
|
The writing quality of WAITEC Storm40 is quite good in general. The drive doesn't
have any serious problems, except with Vivastar 80min 16x. When the Servo Control
(Safe-BP is enabled, the recording speed lowers to 20x but the writing quality
is pretty bad. When the Servo control is disabled, the writing occurs at 40x
speed and as it is expected the disc almost un-readable.
15. Writing Quality of MITSUMI
40x Roundup Vol. 2
- Page 15
Writing Quality Tests
for Mitsumi CR-485C
We used many media, including 40x certified, and burned them at various recording
speeds with Mitsumi CR-485C TE. The produced CDs, were measured from DigitalDrives
and results are illustrated in the following tables. The most interesting results
comes from the maximum recording speed of 40x.
- 40x writing speed
Brand
|
C1
|
C2
|
Average Burning Time (mins)
|
Max
|
Average
|
Max
|
Average
|
Mitsui 74min (16x)
|
46
|
2.6
|
0
|
3:59
|
Taiyo Yuden 74min (24x)
|
16
|
0.2
|
3:27
|
Taiyo Yuden 74min (32x)
|
10
|
0.2
|
3:28
|
|
|
|
|
Taiyo Yuden 80min (40x)
|
22
|
0.6
|
3:38
|
Prodisc 80min (32x)
|
23
|
1.5
|
3:51
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 80min (40x)
|
21
|
0.9
|
3:37
|
Imation 80min (32x)
|
35
|
3.3
|
4:15
|
Vivastar 80min (16x)
|
1161
|
202.1
|
82
|
0.3
|
5:38
|
Hitachi Maxell 80min (32x)
|
34
|
1.9
|
0
|
3:37
|
Mitsui 80min (40x)
|
18
|
0.7
|
3:38
|
The following graph comes from Mitsui 74min (16x) and we tried to burn at the
maximum speed. The drive didn't burn the disc at the maximum recording speed
and lowered it, however the graph shows high C1 errors at the speed shift points.
When we used Vivastar 80min 16x media, the drive produces high C1 error rate
after 80mins and also C2 errors at the end of the disc. Even when the drive
lowered its recording speed down to 16x (5:38mins) it didn't avoid producing
high error rate:
16. Writing Quality of LG
40x Roundup Vol. 2
- Page 16
Writing Quality for LG
GCE-8400B
We used many media, including 40x certified, and burned them at various recording
speeds with LG GCE-8400B. The produced CDs, were measured from DigitalDrives
and results are illustrated in the following tables. The most interesting results
comes from the maximum recording speed of 40x.
- 40x writing speed
Brand
|
C1
|
Average Burning Time (mins)
|
Max
|
Average
|
Mitsui 74min (24x)
|
16
|
0.9
|
3:03
|
Hitachi Maxell 74min (40x)
|
24
|
0.8
|
2:59
|
Taiyo Yuden 74min (32x)
|
15
|
0.2
|
3:04
|
|
|
|
|
Plasmon Data 80min (40x)
|
60
|
9.4
|
3:18
|
Taiyo Yuden 80min (40x)
|
23
|
0.5
|
3:07
|
Prodisc 80min (32x)
|
21
|
1.6
|
3:14
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 80min (40x)
|
22
|
0.9
|
3:11
|
Philips 80min (40x)
|
18
|
1.2
|
3:37
|
Hitachi Maxell 80min (32x)
|
23
|
1.4
|
3:06
|
Mitsui 80min (40x)
|
27
|
0.8
|
3:09
|
The writing quality of LG GCE-8400B is very good. The drive produces 0.5 C1
error rate with Taiyo Yuden 80min 40x but the best recording times come with
Hitachi-Maxell 40 media in both 74 and 80min tasks.
17. Writing Quality of Samsung
40x Roundup Vol. 2
- Page 17
Writing Quality for Samsung
SW-240B
We used many media, including 40x certified, and burned them at various recording
speeds with Samsung SW-240B. The produced CDs, were measured from DigitalDrives
and results are illustrated in the following tables. The most interesting results
comes from the maximum recording speed of 40x.
- 40x writing speed
Brand
|
C1
|
Average Burning Time (mins)
|
Max
|
Average
|
Mitsui 74min (24x)
|
77
|
10.4
|
3:30
|
Mitsui 74min (40x)
|
21
|
1.0
|
3:20
|
Taiyo Yuden 74min (24x)
JustSpeed on
|
12
|
0.3
|
4:01
|
Taiyo Yuden 74min (24x)
JustSpeed off
|
16
|
0.3
|
3:54
|
|
|
|
|
Taiyo Yuden 80min (40x)
JustSpeed On
|
13
|
0.7
|
4:13
|
Taiyo Yuden 80min (32x)
JustSpeed Off
|
15
|
0.7
|
4:06
|
Prodisc 80min (32x)
JustSpeed Off
|
31
|
2.0
|
4:06
|
Samsung 80min (40x)
JustSpeed Off
|
79
|
21.6
|
3:30
|
TDK 80min (32x)
JustSpeed On
|
131
|
7.0
|
3:30
|
Hitachi Maxell 80min (32x)
JustSpeed On
|
23
|
2.0
|
3:31
|
The writing quality of the Samsung drive changes according to the JustSpeed
function and the inserted media. With Maxell 80min 32x at 32x it produced an
un-readable disc with very high C1 and C2 errors:
We also experienced some coasters either with JustSpeed enabled or disabled:
18. Writing Quality of TDK
40x Roundup Vol. 2
- Page 18
Writing Quality of TDK
CyClone 401248B
We used many media, including 40x certified, and burned them at various recording
speeds with TDK CyClone 401248B. The produced CDs, were measured from DigitalDrives
and results are illustrated in the following tables. The most interesting results
comes from the maximum recording speed of 40x.
- 40x writing speed
Brand
|
C1
|
C2
|
Average Burning Time (mins)
|
Max
|
Average
|
Max
|
Average
|
Taiyo Yuden 80min (40x)
|
18
|
0.7
|
|
3:19
|
Prodisc 80min (32x)
|
32
|
2.1
|
3:17
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 80min (40x)
|
20
|
1.2
|
3:17
|
Imation 80min (32x)
|
24
|
2.7
|
3:18
|
Vivastar 80min (16x)
|
|
|
|
Hitachi Maxell 80min (32x)
|
22
|
2.0
|
3:19
|
Mitsui 80min (40x)
|
2002
|
126.1
|
9
|
0
|
3:18
|
The writing quality of TDK CyClone 401248B is very good with an exception with
Mitsui 80min 40x media. The following graph shows the C1 error rate in the full
length of the disc. The TDK drive produces high error rate till 8mins.Afterwards
the C1 error rate drops to normal levels.
19. HS-RW/Packet/Mt. Rainier Tests
40x Roundup Vol. 2
- Page 19
HS-RW / Packet Writing
Tests
- HS-RW Writing Tests
As we described in our introduction of each drive, the CyberDrive CW078D supports
16x writing speed, while all the rest drives 12x. As expected the CyberDrive
CW078D is the faster re-writer with 306secs. The TDK CyClone drive comes second
with 404secs and Samsung SW-240B last with 411secs.
- Packet Writing Tests
We used Ahead InCD v3.28 for the packet writing tests. The CyberDrive CW078D
was tested with bulked 16x certied media and the rest drives with normal 4-10x
media from Verbatim. The formatted disc had 534mbs of free space. We copied
a 403 MB file (403.147 kbs) from a Hard Disk (on the same PC as the writers)
to the formatted RW media using Windows Explorer (we dragged and dropped) and
we completed the test twice to eliminate any possible time measurement faults
and user errors:
The CyberDrive CW078D is the faster re-writer under packet writing format.
The average writing speed is 11.45X, while other drives stay at 8.65X. The WAITEC
Storm40 had the lower writing and reading performance with 7.09X. The faster
reader under packet writing format is the TDK drive with 23.02X, while CyberDrive
follows with 11.45X.
- Mt. Rainier Tests
For testing the Mt. Rainier performance of the Mitsumi CR-485C and TDK CyClone
401248B, we performed two types of tests. The software we used was WriteCD-RW!
by Software Architects.
First Test
After the format process, we immediately start the recording process (drag
& drop). When the drive finishes, we start the reading process back to the
HD. At this mode, the drive writes, reads the quality of the written data and
background formats the disc at the same time. The recording performance of each
drive is displayed in the below table:
Drive
|
Average Writing Speed (X)
|
Average Reading Speed (X)
|
TEAC CD-W540E
(v1.0b firmware)
|
3.45
|
3.77
|
Mitsumi CR-480ATE
(v1.0E firmware)
|
2.38
|
5.40
|
Yamaha CRW3200E
(v1.0d firmware)
|
2.55*
|
-
|
Mitsumi CR-485C TE
(v1.0B firmware)
|
1.88
|
5.26
|
TDK CyClone 401248B
(ZS74 firmware)
|
8.09
|
7.69
|
The results with both drives are totally different. The Mitsumi
CR-485C has the lowest writing performance, while the TDK CyClone 401248B doesn't
seem to work correctly since the recording speed is not according to wha the
rest drives can give.
Second Test
At the second test, we left the drive alone to complete the background formatting
and afterwards, we repeated the above tests. The recording/reading performance
in this case is higher for all the drives, since now only record & read
are performed. The disc has been scanned for bad sectors during the format process:
Drive
|
Average Writing Speed (X)
|
Average Reading Speed (X)
|
TEAC CD-W540E
(v1.0b firmware)
|
2.65
|
7.03
|
Mitsumi CR-480ATE
(v1.0E firmware)
|
3.34
|
8.76
|
Yamaha CRW3200E
(v1.0d firmware)
|
3.89
|
18.32
|
Mitsumi CR-485C TE
(v1.0B firmware)
|
7.05
|
15.58
|
TDK CyClone 401248B
(ZS74 firmware)
|
8.06
|
19.58
|
The TDK CyClone 401248B continues to have the higher reading/recording
speeds than other drives. The Mitsumi CR-485C follows, while the rest drives
that support Mt. Rainier stay behind.
20. Conclusion
40x Roundup Vol. 2
- Page 20
Conclusion
This roundup includes six new 40x CD-RW drives from CyberDrive, LG, Mitsumi,
Samsung, WAITEC and TDK. The drives have several differences compared to what
we have so far tested. The main changes are the P-CAV writing technology (LG),
the 16x re-writing speed (CyberDrive) and 20x writing speed with blank HS-RW
media (Mitsumi). Let's now see each drive positive and negative points:
a) CyberDrive CW078D: Without any doubt, this is the faster 40x recorder at
this roundup, and generally in the 40x recorder category. The smart implementation
of Zone-CLV manages to overpass the P-CAV writing technology. The drive also
leads the race, providing the fastest re-writing speed of 16x (CLV). The DAE
reading speeds are high and Mt. Rainier will be supported with future firmware
upgrade. The price (120 Euros) is very attractive. On the negative side, the
drive needs major improvement in the writing quality and it's reading speed
with protected & PSX discs. Lastly, reading of Audio CD-R media needs further
tuning because the drive returns many reading errors.
b) LG GCE-8400B: This is second faster 40x recorder that uses P-CAV instead
of Zone-CLV recording technology. The drive could take the first place in the
recording tests if CyberDrive wasn't present. The media compatibility and writing
quality are very good, supports hardware EFM correction, it has a more quiet
operation than the rest drives when reading/writing and includes 2 years of
warranty offered. On the negative side, the drive is slower in the data/DAE
reading speeds - due to lower maximum reading speed (40x), is SLOW when reading
protected CDs and cannot 'handle' any protected Audio disc.
c) Mitsumi CR-485C: The drive supports 20x writing of blank HS-RW media, has
good writing quality, can read fast and data protected discs and 'handle' protected
Audio discs, offers Mt. Rainier out of the box and 2years of warranty. On the
negative side, the drive is slower than its competitors at both writing/reading
speeds, supports software EFM correction and lowers the maximum reading speed
to 40x with CD-R media.
d) TDK CyClone 401248B: A balanced solution that offers Mt. Rainier, hardware
EFM correction, writing of any media at 40x (with SmartBurn disabled) and good
DAE reading performance. On the negative side, it cannot handle protected Audio
discs, it is slow with protected data discs and produces low quality discs with
Mitsui 40x media. There is the possibility that soon a new firmware upgrade
will offer faster recording with the adoption of P-CAV writing technology, making
it even more appealing!
e) Samsung SW-240B: It has to compete drives with faster maximum reading speed
and higher average recording speeds. On the positive side we can say that drive
has a good DAE ripping quality, high speed when reading protected discs, can
'handle' some Audio protected discs and has a low operation noise. On the negative
side, it needs major improvement in the recording stability/quality and supports
only software EFM correction.
f) WAITEC Storm40: WAITEC's proposal for the 40x recording speed offers a very
high DAE reading speed, good writing quality, protected Audio discs ripping
(partly) a 2 year-warranty. On the negative side, the drive supports only software
EFM correction, RAW writing is performed at 16x and failed to recognize written
99min discs and our bad DAE test disc.
With so many different proposals at the 40x writing speed, the choice is for
sure difficult. Each user much balances its needs and decides which drive fits
best for him. As a final remark we list the retail prices of each drive as suggested
from manufacturers or found over www.pricewatch.com
CyberDrive CW078D: $115
LG GCE-8400B: $100-115
Mitsumi CR-485C: ???
Samsung SW-240B: ???
TDK CyClone 401248B: $125
WAITEC Storm40: $145
21. Positive And Negative Of Each Drive
40x Roundup Vol. 2
- Page 21
Positive and Negatives
CyberDrive
CW078D
|
Positive (+)
|
Negative (-)
|
- The faster recorder for the both CD-R
(40x) and CD-RW (16x) formats
- Supports ExacLink buffer underrun technology
- Mt. Rainier would be supported with a firmware upgrade
- Wide media support
- Very fast DAE speeds
- Supports DAO-RAW
- Supports reading/writing of SubChannel Data
- Can "handle" protected AudioCDs
- Supports CD-Text (reading/writing)
- Supports Overburning (up to 99mins)
- Supports Ultra-DMA 33 connection interface
- Retail package contains Nero/80min HS-RW media
|
- Writing quality needs improve, especially
for the 40x recording speed
- Very low PSX reading speed
- 16x re-writing needs special media
- Supports only software EFM correction (SD2)
- Drive's DAE performance with CD-R media needs improvement
- Low CloneCD reading performance
|
LG
GCE-8400B
|
Positive (+)
|
Negative (-)
|
- Uses P-CAV writing technology
- Writing quality is very good!
- Drive is quiter than Z-CLV recorders
- 8MB Buffer
- Supports "SuperLink" anti-buffer underrun technology
- Mt. Rainier would be supported with a firmware upgrade
- Supports HS-RW standard
- Supports DAO-RAW
- Supports reading/writing of SubChannel Data
- Supports hardware EFM correction (SD2 v2.51.x)
- Supports CD-Text (reading/writing)
- Supports Overburning (up to 99mins)
- Offers two years of warranty
|
- Drive's maximum reading speed is only
40X, making is slower than competition
- Retail package doesn't include CD-R/HS-RW media!
- Very LOW CloneCD reading performance
- Cannot "handle" protected AudioCDs
- Supports only PIO-Mode4 connection
|
Mitsumi
CR-485C TE
|
Positive (+)
|
Negative (-)
|
- Uses P-CAV writing technology
- 8MB Buffer
- Supports "ExacLink" anti-buffer underrun technology
- Supports Mt. Rainier out of the box
- Supports DAO-RAW
- Good CloneCD reading performance
- Can "handle" protected Audiodiscs
- Supports reading/writing of SubChannel Data
- Supports CD-Text (reading/writing)
- Supports Overburning (up to 99mins)
- Supports UDMA33 connection interface
- Retail package comes with Nero and offers two years of warranty
|
- Drive is slower than competition in
writing/re-writing/reading speeds
- With CD-R media, maximum reading speed is lowered at 40X
- 20x re-writing is allowed only with brand new HS-RW media
- Low PSX reading speed
- Supports only software EFM correction (SD2)
|
Samsung
SW-240B
|
Positive (+)
|
Negative (-)
|
- 8MB Buffer
- Supports "JustLink" and "JustSpeed" technologies
- Supports DAO-RAW
- Very good CloneCD reading performance
- Can "handle" some protected Audiodiscs
- Supports reading/writing of SubChannel Data
- Supports CD-Text (reading/writing)
- Supports Overburning (up to 99mins)
- Supports UDMA33 connection interface
|
- Drive's maximum reading speed is only
40X, making is slower than competition
- Limited media support for the 40x writing speed
- Drive procuces coasters/low quality media when Justspeed de-activated
- Doesn't support Mt. Rainier format
- Supports only software EFM correction (SD2)
|
TDK
CyClone 401248B
|
Positive (+)
|
Negative (-)
|
- "Smart-BURN" and "Smart-X"
technologies
- Build-in media quality detection system can de-activated
- Supports Mt. Rainier out of the box!
- Very good reading performance with both CDR/pressed media
- Good DAE speeds
- Supports DAO-RAW
- Supports reading/writing of SubChannel Data
- Supports hardware EFM correction (up to v2.51.x)
- Supports CD-Text (reading/writing)
- Supports Overburning (up to 99mins)
- Supports Ultra-DMA 33 connection interface
- Complete retail package (includes Nero/80min HS-RW media) and 2 years
of warranty
|
- Problems with Mitsumi 40x media
- Only 2Mb of buffer
- Low CloneCD reading performance
- Low PSX ripping speed
- Cannot "handle" protected AudioCDs
|
WAITEC
STORM40
|
Positive (+)
|
Negative (-)
|
- 4MB Buffer
- Supports "SafeLink" anti-buffer underrun technology
- Mt. Rainier would be supported with future firmware upgrade
- Very good DAE speeds
- Supports DAO-RAW
- Good CloneCD reading performance
- Can "handle" some protected AudioCDs
- Supports reading/writing of SubChannel Data
- Supports CD-Text (reading/writing)
- Supports Overburning (up to 93mins)
- Supports UDMA33 connection interface
- Retail package comes with Nero and offers two years of warranty
|
- RAW writing is performed only at 16X
- Cannot recognize written 99min CDs
- Didn't recognized our BAD DAE disc test disc
- Supports only software EFM correction (SD2)
|