1. Package - Installation
SAMSUNG SH-W08A
DVD±R/RW
recorder -
Page 1
Samsung's
new 8x DVD dual format optical disc drive is compatible with all current
formats such as DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW media and CDs.
- Features
The drive features 8x DVD+/-R writing, 4x DVD+/-RW rewriting, 32x
CD-R writing, 16x CD-RW rewriting, 40x CD-ROM reading, 24x CD-RW reading and
12x DVD-ROM reading. Buffer underrun protection and DVD-RAM
reading (only) are supported.
- Specifications
Host/Interface |
ATA
/ ATAPI, PIO mode 4, Ultra DMA Mode 2
|
Disc Data Capacity |
CD: 74min/650MB,
80min/700MB
DVD: 4.7GB |
Usable Discs
|
CD: CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, CD-DA, CD+E(G)
CD-MIDI, CD-TEXT, CD-ROM XA, Mixed Mode CD,
CD-I, CD-I Bridge (Photo-CD, Video-CD), Multisession CD (Photo-CD, CD-EXTRA,
Portforio)
DVD: DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-ROM,
DVD-Video, DVD-RAM (Read Only) |
Write data transfer speed |
DVD+R: ZCLV 8X (Max 10.8MB/sec)
DVD+RW: CLV 4X (Max 5.4MB/sec)
DVD-R: ZCLV 8X (Max 10.8MB/sec)
DVD-RW: CLV 4X (Max 5.4MB/sec) CD-R: ZCLV 32X (Max 4.8MB/sec)
US-RW: ZCLV 16X (Max 2.4MB/sec)
HS-RW: CLV 10X (Max 1.5MB/sec)
CD-RW: CLV 4X (Max 0.6MB/sec) |
Read data transfer speed |
DVD+R: CAV
8X (10.8MB/sec)
DVD+RW: CAV
4.8X (6.3MB/sec)
DVD-R: CAV
8X (10.8MB/sec)
DVD-RW: CAV
4.8X (6.3MB/sec)
DVD-RAM: ZCLV 2X (2.7MB/sec)
DVD-ROM(Single): CAV 12X (16.2MB/sec)
DVD-ROM(Dual): CAV 8X (10.8MB/sec)
CD-ROM: CAV 40X (6.0MB/sec)
CD-R: CAV 40X (6.0MB/sec)
US-RW: CAV 24X (3.6MB/sec)
HS-RW: CAV 24X (3.6MB/sec)
CD-RW: PCAV 6X (0.9MB/sec |
Access time |
DVD-ROM: 130ms
CD-ROM: 110ms |
Buffer memory |
2 MB with Buffer Underrun Protection |
Mounting Method |
Horizontal/Vertical (cannot use 80 mm discs) |
Audio output |
Digital and Analogue output |
Weight |
1.0kg |
Dimensions (WxHxL) |
146mm x 41.5mm
x 189.5mm |
The drive uses a 2MB buffer memory store and supports RAW DAO 96 writing
(CD). The drive does not support DVD-RAM, DVD+R DL and Mount Rainier writing
features as well as DVD+R DL reading feature.
The drive 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) and that's the reason for the 4 times left in the screenshot
above.
- The drive
The
retail package includes a 40-pin interface cable, audio cable , four screws
to install the drive, installation
instruction
sheets
and software program (Pinnacle's Instant CD/DVD 8.0).
The drive's front panel color is white.
On the tray loader, at
left we can see the Samsung logo and on the right side the DVD R/RW logo,
RW DVD+ReWritable logo, ultra Speed
Compact disc Rewritable
logo. Below the tray
from left to right we can also see the power led, the eject
button and
the emergency eject
hole
On the rear panel you can find 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. Click on the photos
for
an enlarged view.
The drives PCB and chipset are manufactured by Toshiba.
The main chipset is also manufactured by Toshiba.
- Installation
The device was connected to our test PC and was identified
as "SAMSUNG DVD R/RW SH-W08A" under
WinXP. All tests were done with firmware revision 1S30.
The following pages include test
results for the Samsung drive, in comparison with the Toshiba SD-R5272 and
the TDK 880N,
since all have about the same features.
2. Data CD Reading Tests
SAMSUNG SH-W08A DVD±R/RW recorder - Page 2
Data CD Reading Tests
- Pressed CD results (Click for
CDSpeed results)
In the graph above we can see that the drive has a good transfer rate
compared with the other two drives, where there is very little between them.
The reported seek times for the Samsung drive are good for all modes except
the
full seek time which is slightly high.
- CD-R results (Click for
CDSpeed results)
We made a copy of the previous, pressed CD in order to test the drive's
behavior with CD-R media. As with the previous test, the Samsung and the other
two drives exhibit similar results.
The results with pressed CD are similar to those with the pressed
CD seek times.
- ReWritable Media (Click for
CDSpeed results)
For the reading test
we used 24x Ultra Speed rewritable media from Mitsubishi Chemicals.
3. CD Error Correction Tests
SAMSUNG SH-W08A
DVD±R/RW recorder - Page 3
Error Correction Tests
In the following tests we check the drive's behavior when reading
scratched / defective audio discs. The test discs used were the ABEX series
from ALMEDIO.
- ABEX TCD-721R
Errors
total
|
Num:
1011388
|
Errors
(Loudness) dB(A)
|
Num: 48656 |
Avg:
-72.4 dB(A) |
Max:
-17.5 dB(A) |
Error
Muting Samples
|
Num: 7370 |
Avg:
2.3 Samples |
Max:
236 Samples |
Skips
Samples
|
Num: 4 |
Avg:
6.0 Samples |
Max:
6 Samples |
Total
Test Result |
68.8
points (out of 100.0 maximum) |
The drive exhibited average performance. The total error
count is not all that high but the maximum loudness
error level could be better. There were four skipped samples and
the total score of 68.8 is
an average score.
- ABEX TCD-726
Errors total
|
Num:
13
|
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)
|
Num: 4 |
Avg:-86.8 dB(A) |
Max:-63.6 dB(A) |
Error Muting Samples
|
Num: 0 |
Avg: 0 Samples |
Max:
0 Samples |
Skips Samples
|
Num: 0 |
Avg:
0 Samples |
Max:
0 Samples |
Total Test Result
|
94.2
points (out of 100.0 maximum) |
The Abex TCD-726 test disc is a usually a simpler case for error correction.
The Samsung drive performed well here. The total
error
count isn`t high, while there aren`t any skipped samples or
muted samples. The total score of 94.2 out of 100 is good.
- 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 being reproduced through a software multimedia player (i.e.
Windows Media Player). Each level is considered as passed, if the tone
is smooth, continuous without interruptions, skipping or looping. The higher
the Check Level passed, the more reliable the sound reproduction
of the tested drive.
Error Level
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
Samsung
SH-W08A
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
3/5
|
0/5
|
The drive performed slightly better than average. It managed to playback
5 out of attempts for the first three of the five levels. The fourth level
sounded good
for three
of the five attempts while the fifth level did not play well at all.
The attempt can be considered slightly better than average since most drives
manage to play only up to the third level, failing all attempts in the fourth
and fifth levels.
- Summary
Test Disc
|
Reading Speed
|
Score
|
ABEX TCD-721R
|
Max
|
68.8
|
ABEX TCD-726
|
94.2
|
Average Score
|
81.5
|
The total average score with both test discs for the drive is satisfactory.
4. DVD reading tests
SAMSUNG SH-W08A
DVD±R/RW recorder- Page 4
DVD reading tests
- Single Layer DVD-ROM (Click
for CDSpeed results)
Again, as was the case with CD media, the Samsung drive's reading speed
is very close to that of the other two drives.
The seek times are also good but again the full seek is a little high.
- 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.
The DVD dual layer speed results reach a high level.
The seek times continue to be good.
- 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 disc's second layer. 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.
As can been seen from the following screenshot, the OTP dual layer DVD
test disc had the same speed as the PTP. The seek times are at about the
same
levels.
- DVD Ripping Tests
We measured the DVD-Video ripping speed of the Samsung drive using the
latest version of DVD Decrypter. The DVD Video title is the "Matrix" pressed
DVD-Video.
Here, the Samsung drive was the slowest. The reported
3015 kb/s is a good deal slower than the other two drives.
- DVD Recordable / Rewritable reading Tests
The chart below shows the Nero CDSpeed average reading speed results with
the following media:
-DVD-RAM
Samsung supports DVD-RAM reading and the company
reports that the drive can read DVD-RAM media
with Z-CLV mode at 2x speed (2.7MB/sec). The tested discs were
a Panasonic DVD-RAM type 2 and a Maxell 3x DVD-RAM Ver2.1. Both of
them gave us read errors a little bit before the end.
The
disc was read at 2x CLV. Below is the same disc read with the Toshiba SD-R5272
drive.
5. DVD Error Correction Tests
SAMSUNG SH-W08A
DVD±R/RW recorder- Page 5
DVD Error Correction
Tests
In the following
tests we examined the DVD reading capabilities of Samsung drive
with scratched / defective DVD media. For the tests we used CDVD
Benchmark and Nero CDSpeed. The testing media
referred, come
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 contents of the 821 test disc without reporting any read
errors. At the point on the disc's surface where we have the largest scratches
(just before the 1.5 GB mark), the graph shows a large number of
speed changes (yellow dots) as the drive tries to read past this difficult
part of the disc.
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 of the TDR-821, with
the difference that there are no scratches on the surface but defective areas
ranging in dimensions from 0.5 to 1.1 mm. There are also fingerprints with
height
between
65 and
75 micrometers.
Again, the drive managed to read the defective areas on
the disc without problems.
- 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 disc was read without any read errors.
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 from 65
to 75 microns (micrometers).
The test finished successfully without reporting any errors.
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 testing pictures and 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.
The reading
speed of the drive increased smoothly in the first layer and decreased similarly
during the second. The test ended successfully without read errors.
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 micrometer high fingerprints.
No errors or speed drops were reported.
This disc was not a problem for the Samsung drive.
6. Protected Disc Tests
SAMSUNG SH-W08A
DVD±R/RW recorder- Page 6
Protected Disc
Tests
- Reading Tests
To create an image of the various protected titles onto a hard disk, we
used Alcohol v.1.9.2.1705 software and the appropriate settings, depending
on the protection type of the inserted discs. Below, the capabilities
of the Samsung drive are summarized, according to CloneCD
software. As can be seen, 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
Samsung managed to rip the contents of all test discs successfully. The
Toshiba
drive had the fastest times especially with SafeDisc where it was way faster
than either the Samsung and TDK drives.
- Writing Tests
The Samsung 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 having the latest software patches installed.
After making the images of the various titles onto the hard disk, we burned
them (maximum speed) with Alcohol 120% v1.9.2.1705. Two different discs were
created for each
title; one with the "Bypass EFM error" enabled and one more with
the
function disabled.
- Fifa 2004 - Safe Disc v3.1
- The Sims Superstar - Safe Disc v2.9
- The Sims Unleashed - Safe Disc v2.8
- Serious Sam Second Encounter v1.07 - Safe Disc v2.60.052
- Max Payne - Safe Disc v2.51.020
The table below shows the results of the attempted backups and whether
they worked (game installed / played normally), or not.
Drive |
Fifa 2004
SD v3.1 |
Sims Superstar SD v2.9 |
Sims Unleashed SD v2.8 |
Serious Sam-Second Encounter
v1.07
SD v2.60.052 |
Max Payne
SD v2.51.020 |
EFM OFF |
EFM ON |
EFM OFF |
EFM ON |
EFM OFF |
EFM ON |
EFM OFF |
EFM ON |
EFM OFF |
EFM ON |
Toshiba
SD-M1502
|
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Creative CD5233E |
Yes |
Samsung
SH-W08A
|
Yes |
While the drive managed to make working backups of all the
game titles we tried, with SafeDisc version 3.1
(Fifa 2004), the burned CD played only on the Samsung itself. With SafeDisc
versions 2.9 and 3.1, working backups were possible only with EFM on.
7. DAE Tests
SAMSUNG SH-W08A
DVD±R/RW recorder- Page 7
DAE Tests
- Pressed and CDR AudioCD results
The Samsung drive uses 40x CAV reading strategy for CD-DA.
Below you can see the results from the CDSpeed transfer rate test
with a pressed audio CD:
According
to Nero CDSpeed, the average reading speed was 31.50x, while at the end
of the reading process it reached a maximum speed of 41.62x. The seek
times are also
good.
We ripped the contents of the same audio disc to our hard disk, using the
CDDAE software. The average ripping speed (burst mode) of
17,5x, is satisfactory.
The same pressed audio disc was copied onto a CD-R and was
read again with CDspeed.
Again,
the Samsung returned an acceptable extraction speed.
- Advanced DAE Quality
In the Nero CD Speed Advanced DAE test, the Samsung drive returned
an average speed of 17.39x, which is a good performance,
and a quality score
of 100. According to CDSpeed, the drive
can read Cd Text and Subchannel Data but doesn`t support Leadin and
Leadout.
- Support of 90/99mins AudioCDs
The Samsung drive managed to playback a full 99min audio CD without
problems, but
didn`t managed to play the 90min test disc, having read
problems with the last tracks.
- Reading/Ripping Protected AudioCDs
For the test procedure we used two audio discs with different
audio protection schemes. We performed the tests for both recognition and
ripping to the hard disk. The software used was Exact Audio Copy.
* Pressed Audio disc protected by Nec Key2Audio (Celine
Dion - New Day
Has Come)
* Pressed Audio disc protected by Cactus Data Shield 200 (Natalie
Imbruglia - White Lilies Island)
|
Key2Audio |
CDS200 |
EAC |
Samsung SH-W08A
|
Recognize the disc but cannot rip
or play the contents
|
OK
|
TDK 880N
|
OK
|
OK
|
Toshiba SD-R 5272
|
OK
|
Recognize the disc but cannot rip
or play the contents
|
The Samsung drive played back successfully only the CDS200 but failed
with the Key2AudioCD protected disc.
- Cactus Data Shield 200.0.4 - 3.0 build 16a (Aiko Katsukino - The Love
Letter)
The drive recognize the contents of the disc:
...but cannot rip them:
|
CDS 200.0.4 - 3.0 build
16a
|
Samsung SH-W08A
|
Recognize the disc but cannot rip
or play the contents
|
8. CD Recording Tests
SAMSUNG SH-W08A
DVD±R/RW recorder - Page 8
CD Recording Tests
- CD-R Writing Tests
The Samsung drive supports the 4x, 12x, 16x, 32x, writing speeds.
Below you can see the CDSpeed writing simulation graph with Taiyo Yuden
48x CD-R
media.
The
simulation test under Nero CD Speed, confirmed the manufacturer's specifications
of 32x P-CAV recording. The average speed was 23.24x.
- Recording Times
We created an 80min data compilation with Nero Burning
Rom and recorded it on a 700MB disc. The drive needed 4:14 to
conclude the burning procedure which was the second fastest time among the
three drives.
In the following graph you can see the recording times with
various media brands.
With MAM media, the drive needed needed 5:34min because the
drive did not support 32x writing with the MAM disc.
- CD-RW Writing Tests
The Samsung drive supports 16x Z-CLV maximum rewriting speed
with Ultra Speed rewritable media. Below
you can see the results from the CDSpeed writing simulation test with blank
24x US-RW media from Mitsubishi Chemicals.
The
test once again confirmed the drive's specifications for 16x rewriting. The average
speed at the end of the test was 15.76x.
We also used Nero Burning Rom software to burn a 24x US-RW media from
Mitsubishi Chemicals. The data compilation we burned onto the disc, had
a size of 651 MB.
The duration of the recording process was 5:08 minutes.
- Other features
Overburning |
No |
CD text reading/writing |
Yes |
9. CD Writing Quality - 3T Jitter Tests
SAMSUNG SH-W08A
DVD±R/RW recorder -
Page 9
Writing Quality Tests - 3T Jitter Tests
The same Nero compilation used in the previous jitter tests was used once
again, this time with media from different brands. The recording speed was
the maximum
in all cases. The following graphs indicate the 3T Pit & Land Jitter results.
- 3T Pit results
According to the results we took from the jitter measurements, the Samsung
performed well with some of the media brands we used. BenQ, MAM
and Taiyo Yuden proved to be very good combinations with the Samsung recorder,
whereas MMore and Traxdata media returned high jitter results.
The average 3T Jitter values for all manufacturers discs are illustrated in
the following graph.
- 3T Land results
The land jitter values were almost at the same levels as with
3T pit jitter, where once again only BenQ, MAM and Taiyo Yuden media produced
acceptable results.
Recording Speed
|
Average 3T Pit Jitter (ns)
|
Average 3T Land Jitter (ns)
|
> 35ns
|
Max 3T jitter values (ns)
|
MMore 52x |
35,78 |
33,17 |
Yes |
42 Pit, 40 Land |
BenQ 48x |
29,51 |
29,85 |
No |
31 Pit, 33 Land |
Traxdata 52x |
38,59 |
39,88 |
Yes |
52 Pit, 50 Land |
Mam 52x |
30,68 |
26,80 |
No |
38 Pit, 34 Land |
Taiyo Yuden 48x |
32,10 |
31,20 |
No |
36 Pit, 34 Land |
- Summary
The drive performed poorly with two of the media brands, MMore and Traxdata,
while with BenQ, MAM and Taiyo Yuden media it had very good values
On the following page we check the C1 and C2 error rates for the same discs.
10. C1 / C2 Error Measurements
SAMSUNG SH-W08A
DVD±R/RW recorder- Page 10
Writing Quality
Tests - C1 / C2 / CU Error Measurements
The C1 / C2 / CU error rate was measured from the recorded discs burned during
the previous writing tests (jitter). The software used is PlexTools Professional
v2.11 and
the reader is the Plexwritter Premium drive.
MEDIA |
C1 |
C2 |
CU |
Taiyo Yuden |
Avg/Sec |
0.6 |
0 |
0 |
Max/Sec |
19 |
2 |
0 |
Total |
2771 |
2 |
0 |
MMore |
Avg/Sec |
5.8 |
0.1 |
0 |
Max/Sec |
68 |
34 |
0 |
Total |
27669 |
408 |
0 |
BenQ |
Avg/Sec |
2.4 |
0 |
0 |
Max/Sec |
31 |
0 |
0 |
Total |
11409 |
0 |
0 |
Traxdata |
Avg/Sec |
2.4 |
2.3 |
0 |
Max/Sec |
50 |
270 |
0 |
Total |
11579 |
10939 |
0 |
Mam |
Avg/Sec |
2.4 |
0 |
0 |
Max/Sec |
26 |
0 |
0 |
Total |
11536 |
0 |
0 |
Below we present information regarding the CD-R
media used in this test.
Disc
|
ID Code
|
Taiyo Yuden 48x |
TaiyoYuden 97m24s01f |
BenQ 48x |
Acer 97m22s67f |
MMore 52x |
Unknown 97m16s06f |
Traxdata 52x |
Ritek 97m15s17f |
Mam 52x |
Mitsui 97m27s58f |
- Summary
According to our measurements, the drive's CD writing quality was poor with
Traxdata and MMore media, whereas BenQ, Mam and Taiyo Yuden had
the best results.
11. DVD Recording Tests
SAMSUNG SH-W08A DVD±R/RW recorder- Page 11
DVD Recording Tests
- Writing Performance
The Samsung supports DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW writing. The maximum
supported speed for DVD+R and DVD-R is 8x Z-CLV and 4x CLV
for
DVD+/-RW media.
8x DVD+R
An
8x DVD+R disc from TraxData 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 4.02x, and ended at 8.05x with an average speed
of 6.44x.
CMC 8x DVD-R
The simulation with the 8x DVD-R was almost the same as with 8x DVD+R
media. In this test we used CMC media.
Mitsubishi Chemicals 4x DVD+RW
Mitsubishi Kagaku 4x DVD-RW
- Burning Tests
The best recording times are illustrated in the following table. The values
were taken 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
TDK 880N and Toshiba SD-R5272.
There is not much between the Samsung and Toshiba drives, their values
being very close.
The table below presents the writing speeds, media name and media code for
the various
discs used.
Media
|
Code
|
Speed |
MMore 4x DVD+R
|
MBIPG101
|
4x |
Mitsubishi Chemicals 4x DVD+R
|
MCC 002
|
4x |
Mitsubishi Kagaku 8x DVD+R
|
MCC 003
|
4x |
CMC 8x DVD+R
|
CMC MAG E01
|
4x |
Traxdata 8x DVD+R
|
RITEK R03
|
8x |
Traxdata 8x DVD-R
|
RITEKG05
|
8x |
Maxell 8x DVD-R
|
MXL RG03
|
8x |
CMC 8x DVD-R
|
CMCMAG.AE1
|
8x |
BenQ 4x DVD-R
|
SONY04D1
|
4x |
MMore 4x DVD-R
|
MBI 01RG20
|
4x |
Traxdata 4x DVD-R
|
RITEKG04
|
4x |
Traxdata 4x DVD+RW
|
RICOHJPN W11
|
4x |
Mitsubishi Chemicals 4x DVD+RW
|
MKM A02
|
4x |
Traxdata 4x DVD-RW
|
RITEKW04
|
4x |
Mitsubishi Kagaku 4x DVD-RW
|
MCC 01RW4X
|
4x |
12. KProbe PI/PO Quality Tests for DVD+R/RW
SAMSUNG SH-W08A DVD±R/RW recorder - Page 12
PI/PO
quality results for DVD+R/RW
The following screenshots present the PI/PO results for various DVD-/+R
and DVD-/+RW media, recorded with the Samsung drive at the maximum allowed
speed.
The software used for the measurements was KProbe v2.1.0, ECC was
set to 8 and the reading drive was the LiteOn LDW-811S at 8x speed. The specific
methodology is very dependable on the
drive
used as a reader, while the reliability of the PI/PO provided output is
not also technically confirmed. Thus as a result, we cannot safely come up
with conclusive results,
although we do make a comparison
of the drive's behavior
when using
various
DVD recordable/rewritable
media.
The recording disc
types are presented below detailed.
-
Mitsubishi Chemicals 4x DVD+R
-
Mitsubishi Kagaku 8x DVD+R recorded
at 4x
Cannot access the disc. We repeat the recording in a different
disc and we measured again. The results were the same.
-
CMC 8x DVD+R recorded at 4x
Cannot access the disc. We repeat the recording in a different
disc and we measured again. The results were the same.
-
Mitsubishi Chemicals 4x DVD+RW
Media
|
Code
|
Plextor 8x DVD+R |
YUDEN000T02 |
MMore 4x DVD+R
|
MBIPG101
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 4x DVD+R
|
MCC 002
|
Mitsubishi Kagaku 8x DVD+R
|
MCC 003
|
CMC 8x DVD+R
|
CMC MAG E01
|
Traxdata 8x DVD+R
|
RITEK R03
|
Traxdata 4x DVD+RW
|
RICOHJPN W11
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 4x DVD+RW
|
MKM A02
|
13. KProbe PI/PO Quality Tests for DVD-R/RW
SAMSUNG SH-W08A
DVD±R/RW recorder - Page 13
PI/PO quality
results for DVD-R/RW
-
Mitsubishi Kagaku 4x DVD-RW
Media
|
Code
|
Traxdata 8x DVD-R
|
RITEKG05
|
Maxell 8x DVD-R
|
MXL RG03
|
CMC 8x DVD-R
|
CMCMAG.AE1
|
BenQ 4x DVD-R
|
SONY04D1
|
MMore 4x DVD-R
|
MBI 01RG20
|
Traxdata 4x DVD-R
|
RITEKG04
|
Traxdata 4x DVD-RW
|
RITEKW04
|
Mitsubishi Kagaku 4x DVD-RW
|
MCC 01RW4X
|
As you can see from the previous page and this one, the drive had a strange
behavior in the writing tests. We were unable to carry out measurements with
some media,
while some others could not be accessed at all. Media we managed to measure,
the writing quality was good in only one case, that of MC media. With the others,
the PI/PO levels were increased. A new firmware release will fix this.
14. BookType Setting Tests
SAMSUNG SH-W08A
DVD±R/RW recorder -
Page 14
BookType Setting
Unfortunately Samsung SH-W08A doesn't support the BookType setting option,
at least with the current firmware. We don't have any news
if this will be added
with
future firmware updates.
15. Conclusion
SAMSUNG SH-W08A
DVD±R/RW recorder - Page 15
Conclusion
The Samsung drive performed well with
low seek times in the CD reading tests, although full seeks were
a little high. The error correction test results showed better than an
average performance.
DVD reading is fast with both recordable and pressed
media, along with good seek times. The drive further displayed very good
error correction capabilities with the defective discs. The drive
managed to playback
all
of our
test
discs
without
reporting
any errors or problems, which means strong DVD error correction capability.
The drive managed to make partial working backups of all our protected
games CDs. All the backups were playable with the same drive but not in others
drives,
at least for the latest SafeDisk versions. The drive also gave us acceptable
ripping times for all game titles
we tried.
The Samsung returned good performance only with
the CDS200 protection scheme while with Key2Audio protection, the
drive recognizes the disc
but cannot play or rip the contents. It could play our 99min
AudioCD but had some reading problems with the 90min CD, during the last
tracks.
Writing with the Samsung drive CDs we had nice write quality with three
out of the five various media we used. The drive has compatibility problems
with MAM
media as it burns them at 16x maximum speed and we also suggest avoiding Traxdata
52x media with this drive as it gave us the highest jitter results and C2 errors.
The Samsung drive also failed to overburn CD-R (700MB), 90min (800MB) and 99min
(880MB). We expect that all this will be fixed with a new firmware upgrade.
DVD recording revealed that the drive has low media compatibility.
Certified famous 8X media were recorded at 4X. Maybe a firmware upgrade will
fix this also. As for the recording quality, the results speak for themselves,
where we were unable to measure half of the media brands used.
However, from what media we did manage to measure, we estimate that there were
many cases where the PI/PO levels were increased.
The drive aptly priced at about $92.