1. Introduction - Package
Duet
CD-R2-U2 slim
CD-RW/DVD combo -
Page 1
We
have in our hands the new Duet CD-R2-U2 drive. It is a slim portable CDRW/DVD
combo drive, provided by Dynamic System Electronics Corp.
Dynamic System Electronics Corp was first established in 1998, and is specializing
in research and development, manufacturing and selling of computer accessories.
The company mainly produces external cases for optical storage drives,
card readers, flash memory drives, external CDRW/DVD combo's, as well as other
PC accessories.
The Duet is a portable slim combo drive, which offers CD-R/RW writing along
with DVD reading capabilities. As all the devices of this type, the drive
is
an alternative solution for Notebook and desktop PC use.
- Drive features
The supported writing speeds are 4x and 8x (CLV), 12x, 16x, 20x and
the maximum 24x (Z-CLV). The 24x (CAV) speed is the supported reading speed
for the CD-R
and the
HS-RW media, which can be written at 12x (Z-CLV). The maximum reading speed
for DVD-ROM is 8x CAV ( 1.7x ~ 8x ).
All the supported reading/writing speeds are illustrated below:
The Duet drive supports the USB 2.0 interface.
For writing/rewriting, the SMART-BURN® function and the 2MB cache
buffer
both help
avoiding
buffer
under
run. These functions can also help getting the best writing quality by smartly
adjusting the writing strategy. Besides, the SMART-X function smartly adjusts
CD-DA/VCD/DVD data extraction to
a faster speed according to both data request rate from the host and the disk
quality. The drive is compliant to the RPCII regulations, allowing the user to
change
the region code of the drive at most 5 times.
The supported disc formats are: DVD-ROM (single layer/dual layer), DVD-R,
DVD-RW DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-ROM/XA , Photo-CD, Multi-session,
Karaoke-CD, Video-CD, CD-I FMV, CD Extra, CD Plus, CD-R , and CD-RW. The supported
writing formats are the DAO, SAO, TAO (Disk-Session-Track at once respectively)
and fixed/variable packet writing.
- The package
The
retail package includes the 24x combo drive, a USB 2.0 cable, and a Power
AC Adapter.
The attached CD-ROMs contain the USB storage drivers for Win98
users, Nero Ver.5.5 for Windows, In CD packet writing software and a User
manual in English.
The package does not include any blank CD-R/RW media or any software for
DVD playback.
The dimensions of the drive are 20.4 x 148 x 151 mm (WxLxH) and its weight
is approximately 500gr.
The severe design of Duet provides a stylish overall appearance, combined
with its very slim structure. The basic colors of the drive are the black
and white. As you can see in the picture above, the "Duet" and
CD-R/DVD-ROM logos are stamped on the top panel. From this view the power/status
LED is also visible.
On the front panel of the drive there is the disc loading tray,
the eject button, the emergency eject hole and the busy LED indicator.
On the rear panel there is the USB 2.0 interface and
the power adapter ports.
- Installation
The Duet drive was connected to our test PC through the USB 2.0 interface,
and was identified as "Slimtype COMBO LSC-24081" under WinXP.
The drive came with firmware v3M06 installed and it was
used
to make
all the reading/writing tests.
In the test graphs, we compare the new drive with an already tested slim
combo drive, the INcoder TS24C-C1.
2. Data CD Reading Tests
Duet
CD-R2-U2 slim CD-RW/DVD combo -
Page 2
Data CD Tests
- Pressed CD results (Click
to see the CD Speed Graph)
Duet LSC-24081 supports 24x CAV reading for CD-ROM/R media.
The drive read the inner part of the disc at 11.44x and gradually accelerated
to finish the task at 24.33x, resulting to an average speed of 18.6x. The INcoder
TS24C-C1 also performed well and gave a slightly lower average reading speed.
In the same task the Duet drive gave low seek times, as you can see in
the above chart. In the Random and 1/3 modes the drive gave the same results
as the competitive INcoder TS24C-C1, but in the Full seek mode it performed
even better with only 165msec for the Full seek job.
- CDR Media results (Click
to see the CD Speed Graph)
CD-R media was also read fast, with the Duet drive giving
a 18.39x average speed. Although the INcoder drive finished reading at
a higher speed than the Duet, it started at 10.23x and this had a negative
cost in the average
reading speed. We can say that both drives performed very well.
In the seek test, the results for the Duet LSC-24081
were almost the same as in the pressed CD test. On the other hand, the INcoder
drive was improved giving better performance.
- HS-RW media (Click
to see the CD Speed Graph)
For the RW tests we used the Ricoh HS-RW media.
The Duet drive supports 24x HS-RW reading speed. The drive was fast and finished
the test with 18.59X average speed. The INcoder drive behaved in a similar way
and achieved at the average 18.79x.
3. CD-R Error Correction Tests
Duet
CD-R2-U2 slim CD-RW/DVD combo -
Page 3
Error Correction Tests
In the following tests we examined the error correction capabilities of the
Duet LSC-24081 when reading recorded CD-R's.
- EAC CD-R Test Disc
| Errors total |
Num: 174938590 |
| Errors (Loudness) dB(A) |
Num: 853104 |
Avg: -25.1 dB(A) |
Max: -2.1 dB(A) |
| Error Muting Samples |
Num: 922088 |
Avg: 17.3 Samples |
Max: 3584 Samples |
| Skips Samples |
Num: 356 |
Avg: 43.9 Samples |
Max: 2934 Samples |
| Total Test Result |
47.2 points (of 100.0 maximum) |
Duet LSC-24081 gave back many errors. Most of them resulted to output muting.
This means that the errors were uncorrectable, or even skipped. The performance
is low and the average score is only 47.2 points out of 100.
- ABEX TCD-721R
| Errors total |
Num: 1354115 |
| Errors (Loudness) dB(A) |
Num: 57624 |
Avg:-70.2 dB(A) |
Max: -8.4 dB(A) |
| Error Muting Samples |
Num: 4430 |
Avg: 3.0 Samples |
Max: 1149 Samples |
| Skips Samples |
Num: 10 |
Avg: 16.8 Samples |
Max: 48 Samples |
| Total Test Result |
65.1 points (of 100.0 maximum) |
This time the drive gave less errors than previously, but the score is still
lower than average. The Loudness errors reached the -8.4 dB(A) and had an average
value of -70.2 dB(A). In addition, 4430 samples were muted.
- ABEX TCD-726
The drive gave an average of 76 points out of 100. This time the "errors
loudness" occurred were less, and their average level is low, -39.7dB(A) average.
No samples were muted but 6 of them were skipped.
| Errors total |
Num: 43 |
| Errors (Loudness) dB(A) |
Num: 64 |
Avg: -39.7 dB(A) |
Max: -14.3 dB(A) |
| Error Muting Samples |
Num: 0 |
Avg: 0.0 Samples |
Max: 0 Samples |
| Skips Samples |
Num: 6 |
Avg: 538.0 Samples |
Max: 588 Samples |
| Total Test Result |
76.0 points (of 100.0 maximum) |
- Conclusion
| Test Disc |
Reading Speed |
Score |
| EAC CD-R |
Max
|
47.2 |
| ABEX TCD-721R |
65.1 |
| ABEX TCD-726 |
76.0 |
| Average Score |
62.76 |
The Duet LSC-24081 gets an average score of 62.1 out of
100 at the reading error correction tests.
- C2 Information accuracy
The drive missed 46342 C2 marks and gave 411 sync errors.
The quality score is 71.9 which is an average score, and the C2 accuracy is
97.33%.
4. DVD Reading tests
Duet
CD-R2-U2 slim CD-RW/DVD combo -
Page 4
DVD reading tests
- Single Layer DVD-ROM reading: (Click for
CDSpeed results )
Duet LSC-24081 supports 8x CAV maximum reading speed for the DVD format.
The drive reached the 8.28x reading speed by the end of the task, and gave
an average speed of 6.19x. The INcoder TS24C-C1 gave almost the same average
speed (6.10x).
The seek times of the Duet drive are very good. The random seek test gave
an 103 msec result, and the Full seek around 180 msec. The INcoder drive seems
to
be faster in the Full stroke seek test.
- Dual Layer DVD-ROM reading: (Click
for CDSpeed results)
The drive supports 6x CAV reading speed for the dual layer DVD-ROM discs.
The average reading speed for each layer is 4.33x, while the INcoder drive
is slower with just 3.17x reading speed.
The Duet drive gave higher seek times with CD-R discs than
with pressed ones. However, the performance is still quite good. In the
same test, the Incoder drive is faster in the Random and 1/3 seek tests.
- DVD Ripping Tests
We measured the DVD Ripping speed using the "Matrix" DVD Video
title and the DVD Decrypter software.
The ripping speed of Duet drive is very low. The average speed is
only 1,996KB/sec which is approximately 1.4x. The INcoder drive is much faster
with 4,628 KB/s.
- DVD reading Tests
The chart below shows the Nero CDSpeed results with the following media.
The Duet LSC-24081 read all the inserted discs at an average speed of 4.3x,
except of the DVD+R discs, where it was faster (5.55x). The INcoder drive is
slower with the DVD-R/RW media but faster with the DVD+R.
5. DVD Error Correction Tests
Duet
CD-R2-U2 slim CD-RW/DVD combo
- Page 5
DVD Error Correction
Tests
In the following tests we examined the DVD error correction capabilities of
the Duet LSC-24081. For the tests we used CDVD Benchmark v1.21 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, in which
there are scratches with dimensions ranging from 0.4 to 3.0 mm. The following
transfer
rate picture comes from CDVD Benchmark v1.21.
The Duet seems to have no problem finishing the reading task with no
errors. The drive lowered the reading speed to an average of 5x when
it reached the 500,000th sector, according to the software. The reading
speed was kept
at
5x until the end of the reading process. No read errors occurred.
ABEX TDR-825
This is also a single sided, single layer DVD-ROM with a 4.7GB capacity.
The data structure of the disc is exactly the same as of the TDR-821, with
the difference
being that there are no scratches on it, but defected areas with dimensions
ranging from 0.5 to 1.1 mm. There are also fingerprints sized from 65
to 75 micro meters.
The drive did not have any problems to read the disc contents. The yellow
dots correspond to the current speed in each area of the disc. The CDVD software
reads each sector multiple times and decides the average value for the main
graph. No read errors were reported.
- Dual Layer media
ABEX TDR-841
This is a 8.5GB dual layer, single sided DVD-ROM disc with artificial scratches
with dimensions ranging from 0.4 to 3.0mm, in both layers.
Again no read errors occurred, but looking
at the graph you can see that the drive read each sector in many different
speeds (yellow dots). This means that the task was not very easy for the drive
but the result is adequate.
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
defected areas and fingerprints. The dimensions of the defected areas rang
from 0.5 to 1.1 mm and the fingerprints are sized between 65 to 75 micro
meters.
As in the corresponding test with the ABEX TDR-825
(defected single layer DVD-ROM), the drive had no problems to finish the task
successfully. The reading speed was again set to 5x by reaching the middle
of the capacity of each layer.
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 discs check the layer switch operation
from layer 0 to layer 1 and also include test pictures and test signals
for
DVD sound files. The current TDV-541 checks also the error correction capabilities
of the drive and includes scratches from 0.4 to 3.0 mm.
The drive gave a 4.36x average reading speed for the DVD-Video format. The
scratched areas forced the drive to slow down momentarily, but it seems that
there were no reading problems.
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 meters fingerprints on the reading surface.
Black dots and fingerprints were not a problem for the drive. The test was
successful, at a 4.42x average speed .
6. CloneCD Reading Tests
Duet CD-R2-U2 slim CD-RW/DVD combo
- Page 6
CloneCD Reading
Tests
- Procedure
We used CloneCD and 3 original CDs - Serious Sam 2 (SafeDisc 2), V-Rally
2 Expert (SecuROM 2) and NBA Jam Extreme (PSX) - in order
to test the reading time of the drives. The following pictures show the drive
reading/writing capabilities as CloneCD reports them:
- PSX Pressed Media
For this test we used the PSX game 'NBA Jam Extreme' and we ripped the image
to the HD with CloneCD. Duet LSC-24081 needed more time than expected
to finish the task. The 352sec needed is less than the average performance we
usually get from the drives. The INcoder TS24C-C1 is faster and finished in
122sec.
- SafeDisc v.2 Results
Contrary to the PSX reading test, the SafeDisc v2.0 protected
disc was read faster than the INcoder drive. The Duet LSC-24081 finished
the tasks
in approximately 12min .
- SecuROM Results
Both drives can read SubChannel data from Data/Audio tracks, but the TS24C-C1
does not support 96 bytes of Subchannel data (CD+G). 4:16 minutes were enough
for the drive to make the image file to the hard disk. The average reading
speed is 17.1x, and the Incoder drive is slightly slower in this case.
7. DAE Tests
Duet
CD-R2-U2 slim CD-RW/DVD combo
- Page 7
DAE Tests
- DAE features
EAC reports that the Duet drive supports caching of data, "Accurate
Stream" and that it is not able to retrieve any "C2" error
info.
- Pressed AudioCD results
In this test we examine the DAE speed of the drive. The Duet LSC-24081 ripped
the audio files at an average of 17.5x. The ripping speed is not bad for a
24x reader. The Incoder drive is slower at 10x average reading.
- CDR AudioCD results
With CD-R media, the average ripping speed again is 17.5x.
- EAC Secure Extract Ripping mode
EAC's "secure extract mode", ensures maximum produced
WAV quality for ripping audio discs. Note that for each drive we used the
build-in detection function:
| Tested Drives |
Average DAE Speed (X) |
| Pressed |
CDR |
| Duet LSC-24081 |
2.5 |
2.6 |
| INcoder TS24C-C1 |
9.6 |
9.7 |
The Duet drive was slow in this task, mainly because of the "Caching" feature
supported by the drive. This affects the reading speed under the EAC "secure" ripping
mode. The Incoder drive is faster in this task with a 9.6x ripping speed on
pressed discs and 9.7x for recorded ones.
- Advanced DAE Quality
Duet LSC-24081 got a 100 score (perfect) in the Nero CD Speed Advanced DAE
test. The CDSpeed showed that the average reading speed is 17.16x, and that
the drive can also
read
SubChannel
data and CD
Text.
On the other hand, the INcoder drive had some problems and it produced
7,050 data
errors.
- Ripping of 99mins AudioCD's
|
Tested drives |
Ripping up to |
| Duet LSC-24081 |
OK |
|
INcoder TS24C-C1 |
Up to 88min |
- Reading/Ripping Protected AudioCD's
For this test procedure we used 2 protected AudioCD's, which
we tested in both recognition and ripping (using the respective EAC features):
* 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 |
|
EAC |
| Duet LSC-24081 |
Cannot recognize disc |
Recognizes disc contents but cannot rip them |
|
INcoder TS24C-C1 |
Recognize disc contents, but rips the
first 5 tracks only |
Recognizes disc contents but not all
files have high quality |
Duet LSC-24081 is not a good solution to backup your Key2Audio and Cactus
Data Shield 200 protected discs. The drive cannot recognize the Key2Audio discs
at all , while in the case of the CDS200, it cannot again rip the disc contents,
although they are recognized.
8. Recording Tests
Duet
CD-R2-U2 slim CD-RW/DVD combo - Page
8
CDR Tests
We tested the drive using the latest version of Nero/CloneCD. The Duet
LSC-24081 supports the 24x (Z-CLV) maximum writing speed.
The writing strategy is divided in 5 Zones, starting from 8x in the first
minutes of the disc, accelerating to 12x@11min, up to 16x@21min, shifting to
20x@42min, and finally to 24x@67min until the end of the process. Due to the
large number of steps for reach the 24x speed, the average
writing speed is kept below 17x (16.27x). This is expected to result in high
recording times.
- Recording Tests
We created a 80min data compilation disc under Nero Burning Rom (burning
700MB of data). As you can see, the drive needed 407 seconds to finish
the task, and the
duration
is large in comparison to
a 24x
recorder.
The explanation
for this can be found in the CDSpeed graph above, where you can see the
Z-CLV implementation of the drive. The INcoder TS-24C-C1 was faster, but the
burned data was 79min, since the drive does not support overburning.
The following picture comes from Nero after
a successful
burning at 24x:
Writing at 16x also gave long writing times. Below
is a screenshot of Nero writing at 16x:
The Duet drive is slower than INcoder TS24C-C1 in all the
available writing speeds:
- Other features
|
Overburning |
Up to 99min |
|
CD text reading/writing |
Yes |
- CloneCD Writing Tests
The CloneCD software reports that the drive supports the DAO-RAW feature.
For checking the drive's EFM correction status, we used 3 different game
titles (based on different SafeDisc 2 versions) with the latest software
patches installed. We used the drive as both a reader/writer at the maximum
attainable reading/recording speeds. Two discs
were burned for each game (Amplify Weak Sectors On/Off). The results are posted
in the table below:
|
Game Title |
Tested Drive |
SD2 Build |
Settings |
|
Amplify Weak Sectors On |
Amplify Weak Sectors Off |
|
Max Payne v1.05 |
Creative 52X
CD-ROM |
v.2.50.020 |
OK |
|
TEAC 40X
CD-ROM |
|
BTC DV316
DVD-ROM |
|
Serious Sam - The Second Encounter v1.07 |
Creative 52X
CD-ROM |
v.2.60.052 |
No |
|
TEAC 40X
CD-ROM |
|
BTC DV316
DVD-ROM |
|
The Sims - Unleashed |
Creative 52X
CD-ROM |
v2.80.010 |
|
TEAC 40X
CD-ROM |
|
BTC DV316
DVD-ROM |
The Duet LSC-24081 cannot handle all the versions of the SafeDisc
2 protections. It created working backups of SD v2.50.0.20 that played in all
the drives we tried them. The backups worked with or without the "Amplify
Weak Sectors"
feature. However, the latest Safe Disc versions were hard to be overpassed.
9. Writing Quality Tests
Duet
CD-R2-U2 slim CD-RW/DVD combo -
Page 9
Writing Quality Tests
We used Taiyo Yuden 80min 48x CD-R media and burned the same AudioCD project
(with CD-Text) at all available recording speeds between 12x-24x. Below
you can see the 3T
Pit & Land Jitter graphs.
- 3T Pit results
As we can see from the above graphs, the 3T Pit Jitter stays below the 35ns
RED book limit for all the available recording speeds, except from the case
of the 16x speed. In this speed, the jitter value reached 36nsec by the end
of the disc. However, the value is not very high. Also notice that the jitter
is increased as the drive jumps to the 16x writing speed. Generally, the
results are adequate
and it seems that there will be no problem writing
even
at the
maximum
supported 24x
speed.
The average 3T Jitter values for all recording speeds are illustrated in the
following table.
The 12x writing speeds gave the lowest average jitter values, and the 16x
the highest. The average value of jitter is less than 35nsec for all the recording
speeds. We
could say
that you can safely burn your favorite audio discs in any available speed.
- 3T Land results
The average 3T Land results are slightly increased over the the previous
measurements of the 3T Pit Jitter. The maximum jitter values reported were
33ns, and came
from the measurements at 16x and 24x recorded disc.
- Conclusion
|
Recording Speed |
3T Pit Jitter (ns) |
3T Land Jitter (ns) |
> 35ns |
Max value (ns) |
|
12x |
25.66 |
26.39 |
No |
28 Pit, 33 Land |
|
16x |
32.02 |
31.59 |
Yes |
36 Pit, 33 Land |
|
20x |
30.51 |
30.63 |
No |
34 Pit, 32 Land |
| 24x |
29.61 |
30.23 |
No |
32 Pit, 33 Land |
The average 3T Pit and Land jitter values are below the 35nsec standard for
all the recording speeds. The 16x recorded discs gave some slightly increased
values but it seems that they cannot influence the overall quality. The combination
of low writing speeds and the CLV writing technology seems to guarantee the
quality
results.
Moreover,
the
Z-CLV
technology adopted for 16x and 32x speeds does not affect the writing quality.
10. HS-RW Writing Tests
Duet
CD-R2-U2 slim CD-RW/DVD combo - Page 10
HS-RW Writing Tests
We
used Nero Burning Rom for writing CDs in the maximum RW speed supported by
Duet LSC-24081. The drive supports 12x (Z-CLV) maximum rewriting speed. The
other
supported speeds are 10x, 8x and 4x, as you can see in the picture from
Nero on the
left.
The Duet LSC-24081 finished in 5:41 minutes, and needed 34 seconds to perform
the
"quick erase" task with Nero. The Incoder drive is slower since it
supports 8x maximum CD-RW speed.
- Packet Writing Tests
We used InCD and Ricoh HS-RW media for all Packet Writing tests. The formatting
of the media takes around 10min. The formatted disc had 530mbs of free space.
We copied a 403 MB file (403.147kbs) from a Hard Disk (on the same PC as the
writers) to the formatted RW media-using explorer (we dragged and dropped
it). We
completed the test twice to eliminate possible time measurement faults and
user errors.
In the writing part, both drives gave the same average speed. Reading was
faster for the Duet drive, with a 8.56x average speed.
11. Conclusion
Duet
CD-R2-U2 slim CD-RW/DVD combo -
Page 11
Conclusion
|
Positive
(+)
|
Negative
(-)
|
- 24/12/24/8x CDRW/DVD combo drive
- USB 2.0/1.1 supported interface
- Small dimensions, light weight
- Fast CD-R/RW/DVD-ROM reading
- Low CD/DVD seek times
- Supports DVD-R/RW, +R/RW, DVD-ROM formats
- Good error correction performance with DVD discs
- Good writing quality
- 24x maximum DAE speed
- Overburning up to 99min
- Supports CD-Text (reading/writing)
- Supports 99min discs
|
- Incomplete retail package
- Delicate CD tray
- Average CD-R error correction capabilities
- Low DVD-Video ripping speed
- Does not support audio protected discs
- Cannot create working SafeDisc v.2 backups
- Z-CLV implementation leads to increased recording
times
|
Duet
LSC-24081 is a fast portable CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive, supporting fast and
easy installation through the USB 2.0 interface. It is lightweight and of
small dimensions.
The retail package could be better, since it does not include any blank CD-R
or HS-RW media, or any DVD player software. Recording and packet writing applications
are included, however, along with manuals and installation drivers.
As we said the small dimensions and the low weight of the drive make it a
very handy solution for attaching it to your notebook or on your PC itself.
What could be improved is the delicate structure of the CD tray, and the
response of
the eject button.
The Duet LSC-24081 supports the 24x Z-CLV maximum recording speed for the
CD-R format. Our tests showed that the current implementation of the Z-CLV
technology does not allow the drive to achieve the lowest writing times among
the 24x category drives. However, the writing stability is very good and no
writing problems occurred while writing on various media. In addition, the
Jitter measurements on the recorded media showed a high writing quality. Overburning
up to 99min is included among the advantages of the external drive.
In the reading part, the drive is fast and the reading speed reached the supported
24x, both using pressed and CD-R media. The seek times for the CD and DVD format
is low, but the ability to correct possible faulty bits on defected and scratched
media (Almedio Abex) could definitely be higher. The drive also retrieves C2
error information while reading.
The maximum supported DAE speed is 24x. The drive cannot handle Key2Audio
and Cactus Data Shield 200 protected audio discs.
Reading of 96 bytes of SubChannel
data is supported, as it is also the reading /writing of CD-Text
on audio discs. In addition, the drive supports
the 99min CDs.
CloneCD users will not be satisfied by the lack of the drive's ability to
create working backups of the latest SafeDisc v.2 protected titles, although
the reading speed is adequate.
As for the DVD format, the drive supports reading of DVD-ROM (single layer)
at 8x CAV, and also supports reading of DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW discs at 4x-5x
on the average. In addition, the DVD error correction tests with ABEX test
media showed that the drive has no problems with scratched and defected DVD-ROM
discs, giving accurate reading output. Ripping of DVD Video contents is a weakness
of the drive, since it is very slow, giving an average ripping speed of 1.7x.
The suggested street price for Duet is about USD 180.