1. Specs - Installation
Pacific Digital U-30201 DVD±RW recorder -
Page 1
Pacific
Digital is a well-known supplier of storage and multimedia solutions. Established
in 1996, Pacific Digital Corporation provides complete solutions with a focus
on CD-ReWritable optical technology.
Located in California, Pacific Digital is developing technologies aiming towards
the efficiency
improvement of mass storage subsystems. The company expanded its product line
lately with new storage controllers, Combo drives and DVD recorders. We present
the new Mach -8 multi DVD recorder, supporting recording on all DVD/CD formats.
- Features
Mach-8
offers 8x DVD+R and 4x DVD-R writing speeds. Buffer Underun protection for CD/DVD
as well as writing strategy controll mechanism are included in the drive's
features, making your life easier when creating your CD/DVD compilations.
- Specifications
DVD Family
|
Writing
|
DVD-R |
1x, 2x, 4x max. |
DVD+R
|
1x, 2x, 6x, 8x max.
|
Rewriting |
DVD-RW |
2x ( 2700KB/sec ) CLV |
DVD+RW
|
4x (5400KB/sec) CLV
|
Reading Speed
|
|
12x (16200KB/sec) maximum CAV
|
DVD+R/-R, DVD-RW/+RW
|
max. 8x
|
Access Time |
160 ms |
CD Family
|
Writing Speed CD-R
|
16x, 24x, 32x, 40x max.
|
ReWriting speed CD-RW |
4x, 10x, 16x, 24x max. |
Reading |
CD-R/-ROM max. 40x, CD-RW max. 32x |
Access Time |
140 ms |
Buffer Size |
2MB |
Interface
|
E-IDE/ATAPI MMC compliant |
Writing methods |
Track at Once, Disc at Once, Session at Once,
Multi-Session, Packet Writing (Variable & Fixed),
Multi-track Reservation |
Supported media formats |
DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, CD-R, CD-RW
(CD) CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, CD-Extra, CD-I,
Mixed-Mode CD, Video CD, Photo CD, CD-TEXT,
Bootable CD, CD-R, CD-RW, Multi-Session |
Transfer mode |
PIO mode 4, DMA mode 2 and Ultra DMA mode 2 |
From the specification table above, it can be seen that the Pacific Digital U-30201
supports writing of DVD±R/RW and CD-R/RW media. The new drive offers
8x DVD+R (6-8x Z-CLV)
recording, DVD+RW and DVD-R at 4x CLV, while DVD-RW can be burned at 2x CLV.
The maximum CD writing speed for CD-R is 40x CAV and 24x P-CAV when using
Ultra Speed CD-RW media. Reading of CD-ROM/-R/RW can be done at 40x CAV maximum.
Single layer DVD-ROM media can be read at 12x CAV, while DVD±R/RW discs
can be read at 8x.
The drive uses a 2MB buffer. It also
supports RAW DAO 96 writing (CD).
The Pacific Digital U-30201 uses the RPC II region control, allowing a user to change
the drive's region at most 5 times. For our tests, we set the region
code to 2 (Europe).
- The drive
The
complete retail package, includes two CD-ROMs,
containing the Sonic MyDVD CD/DVD authoring software,
CyberLink
PowerDVDXP
player, installation drivers and a pdf manual.
One blank CD-R discs is also included.
A quick installation quide, audio cable and mounting screws and warranty
card complete the retail package contents.
The drive's front panel has the usual features. The tray door has the
RW DVD+ReWritable, DVD R/RW, and Compact disc ReWritable logos located on the
left, centre and right respectively. On the lower half of
the drive's faceplate, below the tray door, starting at left there
are
the
headphones
jack,
volume control and power/activity led, and on the right the eject button.
The emergency eject hole is located just above the volume control. The activity
LED lights up green when busy and red when reading/writing is in progress.
On the rear panel (schematic included above for clarity) there are
the analogue and digital audio outputs (SPDIF), the IDE connector
and the power input.
Removing the screws and opening the drive's cover voids the drive's warranty.
For reference reasons, we post the following pictures.
The LSI chip shown above, located on the upper side of the controller
circuit board, is from Kyoto-based semiconductor
manufacturer ROHM CO., LTD. This IC contains
a 3-phase Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) spindle motor driver, PWM driver for
feed motor, and BTL driver
for actuators. It is specifically designed for half-inch
high disc drives which need to address
the challenges of high speed and low heat generation in
restricted spaces such as those imposed by notebook PCs.
The Pacific Digital U-30201 further incorporates (located on the underside
of the controller circuit board), a high-speed DVD dual Optical Disk Controller
chipset
from MediaTek
Inc. consisting of two
CMOS
ultra-scale
integrated
circuits,
the MT1816E
and MT1818E. The MT1816E is the
front-end analog signal processor and MT1818E is the servo control and Endec
IC.
- Installation
The Pacific Digital U-30201 was connected to our test PC and was identified
as "LITE-ON DVDRW LDW-811S" under
WinXP. This is not unusual as this drive appears to be exactly the same as
the LiteOn drive, except that it is manufactured in China whereas the LiteOn
is manufactured in Taiwan. All tests were done with firmware revision vHS0E.
Note that our drive has a serial number starting from 4323...
This indicates that the drive is based on LiteOn LDW-811S. In different case
where the serial starts with a P, then the drive is based on the BTC 1008IM
burner.
The following pages include the test results for the Pacific Digital drive
in comparison with two other dual DVD burners, the Optorite DD0401 DVD and
the LiteOn LDW 811S. The comparison with the LiteOn drive should prove quite
interesting, to see just how close the results between them are.
2. Data CD Reading Tests
Pacific Digital U-30201 DVD±RW recorder - Page 2
Data CD Reading Tests
- Pressed CD results (Click for
CDSpeed results)
The Pacific Digital U-30201 drive supports 40x CAV reading
speed with both CD-ROM and CD-R media. The maximum speed reached in our CD-ROM
reading test was 41.65x on the outer tracks of the disc, with
an overall average speed of 31.43x. The results are quite good, although the
LiteOn drive
was slightly faster.
On the seek times test, the Pacific Digital drive performed quite well
being only slightly slower than the Optorite drive as can be seen from the
graph above.
The average reading speed was 108 ms which is good, however again the Optorite
DD0401 proved to be the best performer with 84msec for a random seek.
- CD-R Media results (Click for
CDSpeed results)
In the transfer rate test for CD-R media, the Pacific Digital drive returned
results very similar to those for the transfer rate test for CD-ROM media,
as was the case with the other two drives. The start speed was 18.02x,
end speed
41.61x
and average of 31.32x. Here, the Pacific Digital drive had the fastest average
speed among the drives although there was very little between them.
The seek times for the Pacific Digital drive were very close to and
slightly better that those for the LiteOn and a little slower than its comparative
times
for CD-ROM media. In
contrast, the Optorite drive had faster
CDR-Media seek times than for CD-ROM media and was overall with seek times.
- ReWritable Media (Click for
CDSpeed results)
The Pacific Digital U-30201 supports a maximum reading speed of 24x CAV
with rewritable media. For the reading test
we used 24x High Speed rewritable media from Mitsubishi Chemicals.
The reading speed with CD-RW media was quite good although slower than
that with either CD-R and CD-ROM media. The drive returned an average read
speed of 25.39x while only managing a final speed of 33.67x. Only the Optorite
drive managed to surpass 40x (40.64x) and appears to be the fastest reader from
the three.
3. CD Error Correction Tests
Pacific Digital U-30201 DVD±RW recorder -
Page 3
Error Correction Tests
In the following tests we check the drive's behaviour when reading
scratched / defective audio discs. The test discs used were the ABEX series
from ALMEDIO.
- ABEX TCD-721R
Errors total
|
Num:
970413
|
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)
|
Num:
50326
|
Avg:
-73.6 dB(A)
|
Max:
-36.0 dB(A)
|
Error Muting Samples
|
Num:
3124
|
Avg:
1.0 Samples
|
Max:
11 Samples
|
Skips Samples
|
Num:
0
|
Avg:
0 Samples
|
Max:
0 Samples
|
Total Test Result
|
76.8 points (out of 100.0 maximum)
|
C2 Accuracy |
99.7 points (out
of 100.0 maximum) |
The drive performed very well with the ABEX TCD-721R
test disc, returning a very low count on the number of loudness errors
with an average of -73.6 dB. Muting error count was also negligible and there
were no samples skipped. The total score of 76.8 is quite good as is the
C2 accuracy
score
of 99.7.
- ABEX TCD-726
Errors total
|
Num: 0
|
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)
|
Num:18
|
Avg:
-174.0 dB(A)
|
Max:
-174.0 dB(A)
|
Error Muting Samples
|
Num: 0
|
Avg: 0.0 Samples
|
Max: 0 Samples
|
Skips Samples
|
Num:
0
|
Avg:
0 Samples
|
Max:
0 Samples
|
Total Test Result
|
100.0
points (out of 100.0 maximum)
|
The Abex TCD-726 test disc is much easier for drives in general to read,
and as such, the Pacific Digital U-30201 drive corrected almost all
errors with a perfect quality
score
of 100 points. Any loudness errors recorded were too low ( average
of -174.0 dB) to register on the graph.
- 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 (played) through a software multimedia player (i.e.
Windows Media Player). Each level is considered as passed, if the tone coming
out
from the speakers 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
|
Pacific Digital U-30201
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
0/5
|
0/5
|
The drive succesfully passed the first 3 check levels for this
test. Playing the 4th and 5th tracks produced a constant noise in the background.
It appears that the drive is capable of "correcting" errors
created by scratches with size less than the 1.125 mm present on the 4th check
level although
it was a little surprising that it couldn't pass the
4th check level
considering the good results returned in the tests with the ABEX TCD discs
previously. The 5th check level, which has a scratch a size of 1.500 mm, is
difficult to read with most drives.
- Summary
Test Disc
|
Reading Speed
|
Score
|
ABEX TCD-721R
|
Max
|
76.8
|
ABEX TCD-726
|
100.0
|
Average Score
|
88.4
|
Combining the two scores from the ABEX tests gives an average total
score of 88.4 points out of 100. This is a very good overall
score. Not surprisingly, it is the exact same score achieved by the LiteOn
LDW 811S, and in fact, the graphs and figures are nearly identical for the
two
drives.
4. DVD reading tests
Pacific Digital U-30201
DVD±RW recorder -
Page 4
DVD reading tests
- Single Layer DVD-ROM (Click
for CDSpeed results)
In the DVD single layer read test, the Pacific Digital drive was neck
and neck with the LiteOn drive. Noting that all three drives support
a maximum reading speed of 12x for DVD-ROM media,
the Pacific Digital U-30201
is quite fast
with
an average
speed of 9.28x while it managed to reach a final reading speed of 12.44x.
The manufacturer's specifications give the drive as having a seek
time of 160msec for DVD media. NeroCDSpeed reports that the drive needed 163ms
for full seek time, 92 ms for 1/3 seek and 87 ms random. The drive performed
quite well and the times are quite fast.
- Dual Layer PTP DVD-ROM (Click for
CDSpeed results)
The two layers of a PTP DVD-ROM disc are read sequentially with the drive
starting the read process from the inner tracks on the disc, which is the beginning
of each layer,
and progressing outwards towards to the outer tracks for each layer.
According to the manufacturer, the Pacific Digital U-30201 has a maximum
reading speed of 8x CAV with dual layer DVD-ROM discs. The drive managed to
reach
a maximum reading speed of 8.41x and was slightly slower than the Optorite
drive. Here there is not much between the three drives. Looking at the CDSpeed
resultant graph shows that the drive performed very smoothly over both
layers with no glitches when swapping from one layer to the other.
Except for the random seek time, which is quite fast (88ms), both the 1/3
and full seek times are a little higher than we would have expected, especially
the
full seek time which is almost double that of the other two drives.
However, what is more surprising is the difference with the LiteOn drive. Up
to this point, both drives have given nearly identical figures and this is
the first test in which one has outperformed the other so dramatically.
- Dual Layer 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 on the disc. The beginning of the second layer is located
in the outer part of the disc, so the drive starts reading from the outer tracks
inwards towards the inner tracks of the disc.
Both layers were read
flawlessly with only a minor glitch at the swap-over. The speed remained constant
throughout and maximum reading speed passed the 8x mark.
Here too we witness a difference with the OptoRite drive's graph which showed
the problem the OptoRite had when switching between layers.
- DVD Ripping Tests
We measured the DVD-Video ripping speed of the Pacific Digital U-30201 using the
latest version of DVD Decrypter. The DVD Video title is the "Matrix" pressed
DVD-Video.
The drive
ripped the DVD movie to the hard disk
at 9360 KB/s (6.8x) average.
The performance is quite high and was fastest among the three drives.
- DVD Recordable / Rewritable reading Tests
The chart below shows the Nero CDSpeed average reading speed results with
the following media:
The Pacific Digital U-30201 returned satisfactory average times. But once
again the Optorite drive proved to be the most capable reader, this time with
DVD media.
There isn't a lot of difference in the times of each drive with the the
various DVD media. The Pacific Digital drive had
times
of from
4.63ms up to
4.70ms
overall. And here once again, we notice how close the times are with those
of the LiteOn.
5. DVD Error Correction Tests
Pacific Digital U-30201
DVD±RW recorder -
Page 5
DVD Error Correction
Tests
Once again, it should
be mentioned that the drive is identified as Lite-On DVDRW LDW-811S, and
hence the titles appearing at the top of each test graph.
In the following
tests we examined the DVD reading capabilities of the Pacific Digital U-30201 drive
with scratched / defective DVD media. For the tests we used CDVD
Benchmark and Nero CDSpeed. The reference test media
came
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.
The drive read the 821 test disc without reporting any read errors.
Yellow, stray dots indicate that the drive gave back different reading speeds
for each reading retry, due to scratches on the media's surface, and here
we can see that the drive performed extremely well. The disc was read accurately
and exceeded 12x CAV.
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 the surface and instead
defective areas ranging in dimensions from 0.5 to 1.1 mm. There
are also fingerprints with height
between
65 and
75 micrometers.
As in the previous test, no read errors occured with this disc. The drive
again managed to reach maximum reading
speed
slightly in excess of 12x CAV.
- 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.
Here too, the drive managed to read both layers without fuss and passed the
8x reading speed for dual layer DVD media.
ABEX TDR-845
This disc is a single sided, dual layer DVD-ROM disc with capacity of 8.5GB.
The only difference between the TDR-845 and the TDR-841 is that the first includes
both defective areas and fingerprints. The dimensions of the defective areas
range from 0.5 to 1.1 mm and the fingerprints have height sized from 65
to 75 microns (micrometres).
As with all the reading tests for DVD media, this one did not prove to be
a problem for the Pacific Digital drive.
ABEX TDV-541
The
TDV-541 is a single sided, dual layer DVD-VIDEO disc, with a capacity of 8.5GB.The
disc is based on the TDV-540 series which is designed for inspection
and adjustment of DVD-VIDEO players. The disc checks the layer switch operation
from layer 0 to layer 1 and also includes test pictures and test signals for
DVD sound files. The current TDV-541 also checks the error correcting
capabilities of the drive and includes scratches sized from 0.4 to 3.0 mm.
Reading the first layer did not prove a problem, with the drive reaching a
maximum of just over 8x CAV. The increase in speed is fairly constant and linear,
starting
at
3.57x
and
reaching 8.45x by the end of the first layer (outer tracks). The velocity (yellow
line on the graph above) also remained fairly constant. The second layer however
proved to be a lot more difficult, where at the beginning
(outer tracks on the disc's surface), both transfer speed and velocity
fluctuated.
A little after the 5GB mark reading returned to normal.
Since the point of the TDV-541 test disc is to test a drive's ability to
switch operation from layer
0 to layer
1,
it is evident
that the Pacific Digital drive had a few problems.
ABEX TDV-545
The
TDV-545 disc is based on the TDV-540 series. It is a single sided, dual layer
Video/S-2 disc with a capacity of 8.5GB. The TDV-545 includes artificial
black dots on the disc's surface, sized from 0.4 to 1.0 mm. It also has 65
- 75 micrometre high fingerprints.
The drive showed no problems reading this disc.
Continuing our comparison with the LiteOn drive, it is evident that there
are some characteristics that are almost identical, such as the TDV 541 test
disc where both drives showed the same behaviour when switching layers. On
the other hand, the TDV 545 produced no problems on the Pacific Digital drive
where we notice a near perfect, linear graph (the same graph for the LiteOn
drive produced some problems at the change-over to the second layer). The LiteOn
also had a few problems reading the TDR 841 test disc with artificial scratches
on the second layer. In general, the Pacific Digital drive appears to give
better overall performance with fewer problems on the second layer.
6. Protected Disc Tests
Pacific Digital U-30201
DVD±RW recorder -
Page 6
Protected Disc
Tests
- Reading Tests
To create an image of the various protected titles onto a hard disk, we
used CloneCD v.v4.3.1.9 software and the appropriate settings, depending on
the protection type of the inserted discs. Below are summarized the capabilities
of the Pacific Digital drive, according to CloneCD
software. The drive supports writing of CD+G under RAW DAO:
The game titles we used for each protection scheme are given in the
table below:
Game Title
|
Protection Scheme
|
PSX "NBA Jam Extreme"
|
Lybcrypt
|
Serious Sam The Second Encounter v1.07
|
SafeDisc v.2.60.052
|
VRally II
|
SecuROM v.2
|
PSX Pressed Media
SafeDisc v.2
SecuROM v.2
Except for PSX pressed media where performance was adequate, in general the
drive was very fast with all of the protection schemes.
- Writing Tests
The Pacific Digital U-30201 supports the DAO-RAW writing mode.
For checking the drive's EFM correction status, we used 3 different game titles
with different SafeDisc 2 versions with the latest software patches installed.
After making the images of the various titles to the hard disk, we burned them
(maximum speed) with CloneCD. Two different discs were created for each
title; one with the "Amplify Weak Sectors" enabled and one more with
the
function disabled.
The table below shows the results of the attempted backups and whether
they ran (game installed / played normally), or not.
Drive |
Game Title |
SD2 Build |
Settings |
Amplify Weak Sectors On |
Amplify Weak Sectors Off |
Pacific Digital 8xDVD |
Max Payne |
v2.51.020 |
Yes |
Yes |
Serious Sam - The Second Encounter
v1.07
|
v.2.60.052 |
Yes |
Yes |
The Sims Unleashed |
v.2.8 |
Yes |
Yes |
The Sims Superstar |
v2.9 |
No |
No |
The backups were tested in many CD-RW and DVD-ROM drives, and both installation
and playability worked flawlessly. Only Sims Superstar failed which uses the
SafeDisc v2.9 protection scheme.
7. AudioCD/DAE Tests
Pacific Digital U-30201
DVD±RW recorder -
Page 7
DAE Tests
- Pressed and CDR AudioCD results
The Pacific Digital U-30201 uses 40x CAV strategy for CD-DA.
Below is the resultant output from the CDSpeed transfer rate test with a pressed
audio CD:
According
to CDSpeed, the average reading speed with this disc was 30.89x, achieving
a final speed of 40.08x while the reported seek times were quite satisfactory.
We ripped the contents of the same audio disc to the hard disk with CDDAE
software. The drive gave an average ripping speed (burst mode) of
27.6x:
For the same test, the LiteOn and Optorite drives gave 39.9x and 28.5x
average speeds respectively.
The same pressed audio disc was copied onto a CD-R and was
read again with CDspeed. The Pacific Digital drive returned an
average speed of 27.5x.
In both tests, the Pacific Digital drive was substantially
slower than the LiteOn.
- Advanced DAE Quality
In the Nero
CD Speed Advanced DAE test, the Pacific Digital drive posted an average speed
of 28.23 and a quality score
of 100. CDSpeed
reports that the drive can read Leadin, Leadout data, Cd Text
and Subchannel Data.
- Support of 90/99mins AudioCDs
Supports 99min disc
- Reading/Ripping Protected AudioCDs
For the test procedure we used two audio discs with different
audio protection schemes. We tested for both recognition and
ripping to the hard disk. The software used was Exact Audio Copy.
* Pressed Audio disc protected by Sony Key2Audio (Celine
Dion - New Day
Has Come)
* Pressed Audio disc protected by Cactus Data Shield 200 (Natalie
Imbruglia - White Lilies Island)
|
Key2Audio |
CDS200 |
EAC |
Pacific Digital 8xDVD
|
OK
|
OK
|
LiteOn LDW-811S
|
OK
|
OK
|
Optorite DD401
|
OK
|
Recognized the disc.Ripped and played
all tracks on the disc except the first.
|
The Pacific Digital U-30201 presented no problems with either ripping or playback
of the two pressed discs and their respective protection schemes.
8. CD Recording Tests
Pacific Digital U-30201
DVD±RW recorder - Page
8
CD Recording Tests
- CD-R Writing Tests
The Pacific Digital U-30201 supports 8x, 16x, 24x, 32x and the maximum 40x CAV
writing speeds. Below you can see the CDSpeed writing simulation graph with
Taiyo Yuden
48x CD-R
media.
The
writing speed at the start of the disc is 18.42x and increases linearly to
the end of the disc reaching a maximum of 41.51x. According to CDSpeed,
the average writing speed with an 80min disc was 31.42x. The velocity throughout
the whole writing process remained quite steady.
- Recording Times
For the burning tests we created an 80min data compilation with Nero Burning
Rom and recorded the data on a 700MB disc. The Pacific Digital drive
completed the task in
3:08 minutes, with 40x writing speed selected. The
performance is quite good for 40x recording speed.
Below are the best writing times at 8x, 16x,
24x, 32x and 40x. In each case, the Seamless Link feature was enabled:
The above times with various media, shows that the drive seems
to have consistent times regardless of disc manufacturer.
- CD-RW Writing Tests
The
Pacific Digital U-30201 supports 24x P-CAV maximum rewriting speed,
with High Speed rewritable media. The drive also writes at 4x CLV with NS CD-RW.
Below
are the results from the CDSpeed writing simulation test with blank
10x HS-RW media from Ricoh.
The drive starts the writing task at 18.53x and reaches the
maximum 24x around the 14:00 min address mark on the disc. According to CDSpeed,
the average writing speed was 25.20x and final speed of 26.49x.
We also used Nero Burning Rom to burn a data disc using 24x US-RW
media from MC. The data compilation burnt had a size of 651 MB and the
duration of the recording process was 3:43 minutes.
- Packet Writing Tests
Using InCD and Mitsubishi Chemicals 24x US-RW media for all Packet Writing
tests, quick format took 38sec. The formatted disc had
530mbs of free space. We copied a 403 MB file (403.147 KB) from Hard Disk
(on the same PC as the recorder) to the formatted RW media through Windows
explorer (drag and drop).
Operation
|
Duration
|
Average speed
|
Read
|
2:34 min
|
17.9X
|
Write
|
2:44 min
|
16.8X
|
The Pacific Digital drive gave an average writing speed of 17.9x and average
reading speed of 16.8x.
- Other features
Overburning
|
Up to 99min
|
CD text reading/writing
|
Yes
|
9. 3T Jitter Tests 1
Pacific Digital U-30201
DVD±RW recorder -
Page 9
Writing Quality Tests - 3T Jitter Tests
On 80min 48X CD-R disc media from Taiyo Yuden we burned the same AudioCD
project at 8x, 16x, 24x and 40x. The 3T
Pit & Land Jitter graphs are presented here.
- 3T Pit results
The drive introduced high 3T pit jitter levels (i.e. above 35ns) with the
specific media at all speeds.
In general, there doesn't appear to be a speed that is more ideal than another.
For example, at 40x while it is almost always above the 35nsec level, it doesn't
exceed
it
by much and remains fairly constant, whereas at 24x it begins quite low and
towards the end reaches 45nsec, which was also the highest
level reached.
The average
3T Pit Jitter values for all recording speeds are illustrated in the following
table.
- 3T Land results
Land jitter on the other hand was very good with the exception being 40x which
was the only speed to go above the Red Book limit of 35nsec. At all other speeds,
the jitter was well within limits.
The average jitter for all speeds presented in the
graph below show that the land jitter values w.
Recording Speed
|
Average 3T Pit Jitter (ns)
|
Average 3T Land Jitter (ns)
|
> 35ns
|
Max 3T jitter values (ns)
|
8X
|
33.59
|
30.05
|
No
|
32 Pit, 32 Land
|
16X
|
33.83
|
26.56
|
Yes
|
40 Pit, 29Land
|
24X
|
34.27
|
26.93
|
Yes
|
45 Pit, 29 Land
|
32X
|
33.44
|
29.20
|
Yes
|
41 Pit, 32 Land
|
40X
|
35.44
|
29.95
|
Yes
|
38 Pit, 38 Land
|
- Summary
The Pacific Digital U-30201 did not return good jitter
values or at least not as good as we would have expected,
considering that the LiteOn drive for the same set of tests was particularly
good.
The table above further shows that the drive did go over the 35nsec Red Book
limit
for all speeds excepting 8x.
The following page where we check the jitter levels produced on various
manufacturers discs, should give a better indication
of the
writing
quality
level
of
the
drive.
10. 3T Jitter Tests 2
Pacific Digital U-30201
DVD±RW recorder -
Page 10
Writing Quality Tests - 3T Jitter Tests
Here we used 80min CD-R media from various manufacturers and burned the same
AudioCD project at 40x. The following graphs show the 3T Pit & Land Jitter
results.
- 3T Pit results
While all media, except for Ritek, exceeded the 35nsec level, most managed
to stay within limits, exceeding only towards the end. The worst was with Fujifilm
media which was consistently at or above 35nsec while Ritek media was the
best by far. As with Taiyo Yuden media in the previous set of tests, so here
we have
a difference in performance
between
the Pacific Digital and LiteOn drives.
The average 3T Jitter values for all manufacturers discs are illustrated in
the following graph. Notice the difference between Ritek and the other manufacturers
media, and especially Fujifilm media which has an average value of 36.29.
- 3T Land results
As was the case with the LiteOn drive, so too here there is an almost
steady increase in land jitter as writing progresses from inner to outer tracks.
The Ritek media was again the only media that managed to stay below the critical
35nsec.
The average values are presented below. This time SKC media returned a high
average value.
Recording Speed
|
Average 3T Pit Jitter (ns)
|
Average 3T Land Jitter (ns)
|
> 35ns
|
Max 3T jitter values (ns)
|
MAM 48x
|
34.83
|
34.83
|
Yes
|
43 Pit, 43 Land
|
Hispace 48x
|
31.80
|
33.37
|
Yes
|
39 Pit, 43 Land
|
Ritek 40x
|
25.59
|
28.22
|
No
|
29 Pit, 33 Land
|
Fujifilm 48x
|
36.29
|
30.73
|
Yes
|
38 Pit, 40 Land
|
SKC 48x
|
33.29
|
36.95
|
Yes
|
40 Pit, 45 Land
|
- Summary
It is quite evident that the drive gave best results with Ritek media. It
was the only media that did not go over the Red Book limit. In general, while
the
results are not that bad, they are not as good as we would have expected,
especially considering the good results returned for these same tests by the
LiteOn LDW-811S drive.
On the following page we check the C1 and C2 error rates for the same discs.
These are the last of the quality tests.
11. C1 / C2 Error Measurements
Pacific Digital U-30201
DVD±RW recorder -
Page 11
Writing Quality Tests - C1 / C2 Error Measurements
The C1 / C2 error rate was measured for the recorded discs burned during
the previous writing tests (jitter). The software used was UMDoctor Pro II,
and the reader the Optorite DD0203 drive.
Throughout this preview, we have been able to compare the results of the Pacific
Digital drive to those of the LiteOn LDW-811S since they are basically the
same drive. While some tests have produced results that appear to be
carbon copies, others have shown the variations that can take place from one
drive to another, even though they may be of the same design. And certainly
this series of quality tests has produced the biggest differences between the
two drives.
- Taiyo Yuden 48x recorded at 8x
- Taiyo Yuden 48x recorded at 16x
- Taiyo Yuden 48x recorded at 24x
- Taiyo Yuden 48x recorded at 32x
- Taiyo Yuden 48x recorded at 40x
Below is presented information on the CD-R
media used in this test.
Disc
|
ID Code
|
Capacity
|
Taiyo Yuden 48X
|
TaiyoYuden 97m24s01f
|
79:59:72
|
Fuji 48x
|
Fuji 97m:26s45f
|
79:59:73
|
RITEK 48x
|
Plasmon 97m27s18f
|
79:59:71
|
MAM 52x
|
Mitsui 97m27s58f
|
79:59:71
|
Hi-Space 48X
|
MPO 97m25s07f
|
79:59:00
|
SKC 48X
|
SKC 97m26s26f
|
79:59:73
|
- Summary
The results are somewhat mixed. Firstly, there were no C2 errors
reported (red line in each of the graphs above). The C1 levels however, showed
that Taiyo Yuden media had the most problems, along with Fujifilm. Ritek,
as in the jitter tests, returned the best results while the remaining manufacturers
media also faired well.
12. DVD Recording Tests
Pacific Digital U-30201 DVD±RW recorder - Page 12
DVD Recording Tests
- Writing Performance
The Pacific Digital U-30201 supports DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW writing. The maximum
supported speed for DVD+R is 8x (6x~8x Z-CLV), 4x CLV for DVD-R, 4x CLV for
DVD+RW and 2x CLV for DVD-RW media.
Currently, only a few 8x certified DVD+R media are available on the market.
The supported 8x DVD+R media came from Mitsubishi Chemicals, CMC Magnetics,
Ricoh and Taiyo Yuden.
8x DVD+R
An
8x DVD+R disc from Mitsubishi-Kagaku was used to check the 8x writing strategy
of the drive. The software used was Nero CDSpeed with its "create disc" function.
The drive started writing at 6.11x. The resultant graph shown below, is
the same as that produced by the LiteOn LDW-811S, where there was a slight
glitch at the 1.25 GB address mark on the disc, with the drive's speed dropping
and then rising to
just
a bit
over 8x. Overall average speed was 7.49x.
The test was repeated with Mitsubishi 4x DVD-R and 4x DVD+RW media,
and Fuji 2x DVD-RW media. The end results, presented in consecutive graphs
further
below,
was a near perfect straight
line
on each occasion.
4x DVD-R
4x DVD+RW
2x DVD-RW
- Burning Tests
The best recording times are illustrated in the following table after burning
4315MB of data on various DVD±R, DVD±RW media, using the maximum
allowed writing speed for each disc. For
comparison, we
also include
the
writing
times for the
LiteOn LDW-811S and Optorite DD0401drives. The Pacific Digital
drive returned good overall times.
Mitsubishi 8x DVD+R media was burnt at 8x and gave the best writing
time (8:22 min). The drive finished the same writing task with
Ricoh 4x DVD+RW media in 14:41 min.
With DVD-R media the time taken was 14.34 mins while for DVD-RW media the time
required was 28.18 mins.
The following screenshots were taken from Nero, after successful
burnings with Mitsubishi 8x DVD+R, Taiyo Yuden 4x DVD+R, and Ricoh 4x DVD+RW
media. The
amount
of data
is the same for all the tests.
-
Mitshubishi Chemicals 8x DVD+R
-
Mitshubishi Chemicals 4x DVD-R
-
Mitshubishi Chemicals 4x DVD+RW
Media
|
Code
|
Speed |
Mitshubishi Chemicals 8x DVD+R
|
MCC003
|
8x |
Mitshubishi Chemicals 4x DVD+R
|
MCC002
|
8x |
Philips 2.4x DVD+R
|
RICOHJPN
|
2.4x |
Fuji Film 4x DVD-R
|
TYG01
|
4x |
Pony 4x DVD-R
|
RITEKG04
|
4x |
Mitshubishi Chemicals 4x DVD-R
|
MCC 01RG20
|
4x |
Mitshubishi Chemicals 4x DVD+RW
|
MKM A02
|
4x |
Sentinel 2.4x DVD+RW
|
SENTINELW01
|
2.4x |
Pioneer 2x DVD-RW
|
PVCW00V00245
|
2x |
TDK 2x DVD-RW
|
TDK502sakuM3
|
2x |
The table above presents the writing speeds of the drive for the various
media formats.
- Packet Writing Tests
DVD-RW
|
Duration
|
Average speed
|
Read
|
2:30 min
|
2X
|
Write
|
2:38 min
|
1.9X
|
DVD+RW
|
Duration
|
Average speed
|
Read
|
2:27 min
|
2X
|
Write
|
1:23 min
|
3.7X
|
13. PI/PO Error Measurements
Pacific Digital U-30201 DVD±RW recorder - Page 13
KProbe PI/PO
quality results
The following screenshots show the PI/PO scans for the various DVD-/+R
and DVD-/+RW media, recorded with Pacific Digital U-30201 at
the maximum permitted speed.
The software used for the measurements was KProbe v1.1.26, the reader
was LiteOn LDW-811s and the ECC was set to 8. The specific methodology is very
dependent on the drive
used as a reader, while the reliability of the PI/PO provided output is also
not technically confirmed. Hence as a result, we cannot safely come up
with conclusive results,
although we do make a comparison
of the drive's behaviour
when using
various
DVD recordable/rewritable
media.
The recordable discs used came from Mitsubishi
Chemicals, Philips, Pony, Fujifilm, Sentinel, Pioneer, and TDK. Further
details about each disc type are presented at the bottom
of
this page.
- Mitshubishi Chemicals 8x DVD+R (Recorded at 8x)
- Mitshubishi Chemicals 4x DVD+R (Recorded at 8x)
- Philips 2.4x DVD+R (Recorded at 2.4x)
- Ritek 4x DVD-R (Recorded at 4x)
- Mitshubishi Chemicals 4x DVD-R (Recorded at 4x)
- Mitshubishi Chemicals 4x DVD+RW (Recorded at 4x)
- Sentinel 2.4x DVD+RW (Recorded at 2.4x)
- Pioneer 2x DVD-RW (Recorded at 2x)
- TDK 2x DVD-RW (Recorded at 2x)
Media
|
Code
|
Mitshubishi Chemicals 8x DVD+R
|
MCC003
|
Mitshubishi Chemicals 4x DVD+R
|
MCC002
|
Philips 2.4x DVD+R
|
RICOHJPN
|
Fuji Film 4x DVD-R
|
TYG01
|
Ritek 4x DVD-R
|
RITEKG04
|
Mitshubishi Chemicals 4x DVD-R
|
MCC 01RG20
|
Mitshubishi Chemicals 4x DVD+RW
|
MKM A02
|
Sentinel 2.4x DVD+RW
|
SENTINELW01
|
Pioneer 2x DVD-RW
|
PVCW00V00245
|
TDK 2x DVD-RW |
TDK502sakuM3 |
14. Conclusion
Pacific Digital U-30201
DVD±RW recorder -
Page 14
Conclusion
Pros
|
Cons
|
- 8x DVD+R writing
- 4x DVD+RW/-R writing
- 40/24/40 CD-RW
- Good
CD/DVD error correction
- Supports audio protected discs
- Good CD-R writing quality
- Creates working backups of SafeDisc v.2.80
- Overburning up to 99min
- Supports CD-Text (reading/writing)
- Supports 99min audio discs
- Supports
DAE 40x
- Fast DVD ripping
- Fast DVD recording
|
- Limited media support for 8x DVD+R writing
- Slow CD seek times
- Reads 6x DVD+/-R, RW
- High
jitter and C1 error measurements
|
A lot of what applied for its twin brother, the LiteOn LDW-811s, can also
be said of the Pacific Digital drive although in the main it did not seem to
perform
quite as
well in the areas of jitter and quality. We make this comparison since
the Pacific
Digital and LiteOn drives are practically the same drive.
Like the LiteOn drive, it wasn't the fastest CD reader
and there were some slowish seek times when compared to the Optorite DD0401
which was the third drive used as a comparison during the
reading
tests.
Interestingly
enough,
while
there wasn't much between it and the LiteOn drive, in the main it managed
to produce slightly faster seek times. It also provided
very good audio error correction
capabilities.
Unfortunately, it did not manage to achieve the same performance
as the LiteOn LDW-811S when it came to DAE, however it's speed was satisfactory.
In any case, it appears to be a good CD writer achieving times similar to
those of the LiteOn. It also supports overburning up to 99 minutes, backups
of protected
audio CDs
and SafeDisc
protection scheme (except
v2.9).
As a DVD reader it performed quite satisfactorily, with a very good drive-to-hard
disk ripping time. In the DVD
error correction tests it performed very well and in the main can be regarded
as a good reader. DVD writing times were also good and here to it can be regarded
as a fast DVD recorder, there not being much between it and the other two drives
in the comparison (LiteOn and Optorite DD0401).
The drive has an attractive price tag, being somewhere in the vicinity of
$160.
Written and Edited by
Constantin Kioulafas