1. Retail Package - Installation
Ricoh MP5308D DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 1
as a member of the DVD+RW Alliance produced one of the first DVD+R/RW recorders,
the MP5120A. Its successor, the MP5125A was a hot selling drive for quite
long time,
until
most
manufacturers developed their own DVD recording solutions. In the meantime,
Ricoh made several alliances (Funai Electric etc) in order to further develop
DVD recording
technology. However, for quite sometime Ricoh did not produce any other drive,
at least not with any interesting features.
After this year's CeBIT, we had the chance to see a new 8X DVD±R/RW
recorder from Ricoh with the codename "MP5308D". The drive's specs
were promising and we soon had the drive in our labs and under the microscope
for testing.
Today we present a review of the drive, with the usual basic information and
results from our burning tests for both CD/DVD formats.
- Drive specifications
The
MP5308D is an 8X DVD±R, 4X DVD±RW, 32X CD-R and 16X CD-RW writer.
In addition, it supports 12X DVD-ROM and 40X CD-ROM reading specifications.
The
specs are more or less the same with other well known models on the market,
so it would be interesting to see how it compares with the competition.
But first lets take a look at the full specs:
| Interface |
ATAPI |
| Supported media for writing |
DVD+RW, DVD+R,CD-R, CD-RW, High Speed CD-RW |
| Write speed |
(DVD+RW) 2.4x, 4x speed
(DVD-RW) 1x, 2x, 4x speed
(DVD+R) 2.4 x, 4 x, 8x speed
(DVD-R) 2x, 4x, 8x speed
(CD-R) 4x, 8x, 16x, 24x, 32x speed
(CD-RW) 4x, 10x, 16x speed |
| Read speed |
(DVD-ROM/DVD+RW/DVD+R) Max. 12x speed
(CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW) Max. 40x speed
|
| Recording capacity |
(DVD+RW/DVD+R) 4.7GB
(CD-R/CD-RW) 650MB,700MB |
| Data transfer speed (on the interface) |
Max. 33MB/s (Ultra DMA Mode 2) |
| Average access time |
(DVD) 140 ms (8x)
(CD) 120 ms (32x) |
| Buffer memory |
2MB |
| Write mode |
(DVD+RW) Random Access Write, Sequential Write
(DVD+R) Sequential Write
(CD-R/CD-RW) Disc At Once, Session At once, Track At Once, Multi-Session,
Packet Write |
| Write format |
(DVD+RW/DVD+R: DVD-ROM, DVD-Video
(CD) CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, CD Extra, CD-I*3, Mixed-ModeCD, VideoCD,
Photo-CD, CDTEXT, Bootable CD |
| Installation |
Horizontal/vertical |
| Power supply |
DC +5V/+12V |
| Weight |
1.02 kg |
| Dimensions ( W x D x H) |
148 X 190 (including front panel) X 42mm |
NeroInfoTool gives us a quick look at the drive's capabilities. The drive
uses a 2MB buffer memory, supports buffer underrun technology for both the
CD and DVD
formats, RAW DAO 96 writing (CD), and
its firmware is v1.B2 that was used for all the recording tests. Mount Rainier
support is excluded as happens in most cases of late, since it appears this
technology will probably
not
be developed further.
DVDInfoPro gave us some additional details about the drive's abilities:
- The package
The drive arrived at our labs without cables, software or media.
The retail package includes Nero 6.0 OEM, InCD4 and Nero Vision Express 2.
The price of the drive is around €140 according to Ricoh's website.
The price in retail shops is expected to be lower.
The drive itself looks like an ordinary "Ricoh" drive with the
brand name, codename and CD-RW, DVD-R/RW and DVD+RW logos.
There's a single activity led for reading/writing indication, along with
the emergency eject hole.
On the label of the drive can be seen the manufacturing date (February
2004) and the manufacturing line (Made in Malaysia)
After removing the bottom plate, we can see the internal structure of
the drive. The main chipset comes from NEC and the whole design looks very
similar
to
the NEC 2500A drive. You might notice the label "2100" on
the board, that indicates the basic board used to develop the 2500A series.
The drive was installed as a secondary master and under WindowsXP recognized
as "RICOH
DVD+RW MP5308D". Below is a picture from Nero Burning Rom, showing the
drive's specs.
- Testing software
In order to perform our tests we used:
- Nero CD-DVD Speed v2.20
- Nero Info Tool v2.11
- KProbe
v2.1.0 (Reader: LiteOn SOHW-812S firmware vUSOJ, Reading speed 4X CLV)
- PlexTools v2.14 (Reader:
Plextor Premium firmware v1.05, Reading speed 8X CLV)
- DVDInfoPro v2.47
- Nero Burning Rom v6.3.1.10
2. Transfer Rate Reading Tests
Ricoh MP5308D DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 2
Transfer Rate Reading Tests
- CD Format
The Ricoh drive supports up to 40X reading speed. Below are the transfer
rate graphs compared with two more drives:
As we can see from our tests, the drive behaves similarly to
the other two, having acceptable transfer rates and seek times.
- DVD Format
The drive offers good transfer rates with SL (Single Layer) DVD-ROM media.
The two layers of a PTP DVD-ROM disc are read sequentially with the drive
starting reading from the inner part of the disc, which is the beginning of
each layer, towards the outer range, for each layer. Ricoh has a good average
transfer rate.
The first layer of an OTP dual layer DVD-ROM is read exactly the same way
as the first layer of the PTP disc we tested previously. The difference here
is the reading strategy of the second layer of the disc. The beginning of the
second layer is located in the outer part of the disc, so the drive starts
reading from the outer tracks toward the inner part of the disc. The average
reading speed is 5.40X.
Again the Ricoh drive performed similarly to the
other two drives, offering acceptable transfer rates with DVD media.
DVD video DL ripping performance wasn`t quite so good, offering
only 3044 kb/s.
- Appendix
Nero CD-DVD Speed Graphs
3. CD Error Correction Tests
Ricoh MP5308D DVD±R/RW
Recorder - Page 3
CD Error Correction Tests
In the following tests we check the drive's behavior when it comes to reading
scratched / defective discs. The test discs we use are the ABEX series
from ALMEDIO.
- ABEX TCD-721R
|
Errors total
|
Num: 3205447
|
|
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)
|
Num: 149658
|
Avg: -75.2 dB(A)
|
Max: -18.1 dB(A)
|
|
Error Muting Samples
|
Num: 9769
|
Avg: 1.0 Samples
|
Max: 5 Samples
|
|
Skips Samples
|
Num: 20
|
Avg: 6.0 Samples
|
Max: 6 Samples
|
|
Total Test Result
|
65.0 points (out of 100.0 maximum)
|
C2 Accuracy |
99.6 % (out
of 100.0% maximum) |
Ricoh performed poorly with the ABEX TCD-721R. The drive's
average error loudness was at -75.2 dB(A) and the total score of 65 points
isn`t good. The total error count of 3205447 is very high and there were 20
skipped samples. We must also note that C2 accuracy reached 99.6%, an almost
perfect score.
- ABEX TCD-726
|
Errors total
|
Num: 4278
|
|
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)
|
Num: 7856
|
Avg: -83.1dB(A)
|
Max: -56.5 dB(A)
|
|
Error Muting Samples
|
Num: 72
|
Avg: 1.0Samples
|
Max: 1 Samples
|
|
Skips Samples
|
Num: 0
|
Avg: 0.0Samples
|
Max: 0 Samples
|
|
Total Test Result
|
82.3 points (out of 100.0
maximum)
|
C2 Accuracy |
100 % (out
of 100.0% maximum) |
Ricoh had better performance with ABEX 726 disc with total score of
82.3 %.
- 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
difficult tests. These tracks are referred as Check Level-1 through Check Level-5.
The
files 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 device.
|
Error Level
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
|
Plextor PX-708A
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
0/5
|
0/5
|
0/5
|
The drive passed only the first two Check Levels of the test. The performance
reveals lower than average sound reproduction and error correction. The fifth
level includes an error size of 1.500mm, where the drive produced many audible
clicks.
- Conclusion
The overall performance of the Ricoh MP5308D was rather poor, since when
the drive encounters even small scratches produces large spikes
and can't correct them. NEC should really improve the drive's
performance, by fine tuning the firmware.
4. DVD Error Correction Tests
Ricoh MP5308D DVD±R/RW
Recorder - Page 4
DVD Error Correction
Tests
In the following tests we examined the DVD reading capabilities of
the Ricoh drive with scratched / defective
DVD media.
For the tests we used CDVD Benchmark and Nero CDSpeed . The reference test
media
come
from
ALMEDIO.
- Single Layer media
ABEX TDR-821
This is a single sided, single layer DVD-ROM with 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 Ricoh MP5308D read
the disc at 12X CAV and the scratched area did not affect the process. The
disc was read accurately and no read errors
were
reported.
The performance reveals high error correction capabilities with scratched single
layer DVD-ROM discs.
ABEX TDR-825
This is also a single sided, single layer DVD-ROM of a 4.7GB capacity. The
data structure of the disc is exactly the same as that of the TDR-821, with
the difference that there are no scratches on it but defected areas of dimensions
ranging from 0.5 to 1.1 mm. There are also fingerprints sized between 65 and
75 micrometers.
As in the previous test, the disc was read without any "read errors".
The test was finished successfully without errors.
- Dual Layer media
ABEX TDR-841
This is a 8.5GB dual layer, single sided DVD-ROM disc with artificial scratches
of dimensions ranging from 0.4 to 3.0mm, in both layers.
The drive didn't have any major problems as the above graph shows.
ABEX TDR-845
The disc is a single sided, dual layer DVD-ROM disc of 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 range
from 0.5 to 1.1 mm and the fingerprints are sized from 65 to 75 micro meters.
The test was
finished successfully without 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 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 correcting capabilities
of the drive and includes scratches from 0.4 to 3.0 mm.
The reading process started at 3.42X and reached 4.59X at the 4.0GB point,
where the drive changed layer and reduced its reading speed till the end. No
serious problems were noticed and the result is good.
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.
Black dots and fingerprints on the disc's surface did not create any reading
problems, and the drive finished the task successfully.
5. Protected Disc Tests
Ricoh
MP5308D DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 5
Protected Disc
Tests
- Reading Tests
To create the image of the various protected titles to the hard disk, we
used Alcohol 120% software and the appropriate settings, according to the protection
type of the inserted discs. Below you can see the duration of each process
as well as the transfer rate in each case.
Game Title |
Protection Scheme |
Duration |
Reading speed |
PSX "NBA Jam Extreme" |
Lybcrypt |
0:67 min |
1348 sectors/sec |
Serious Sam The Second Encounter |
SafeDisc v.2.50.051 |
34:05 min |
164 sectors/sec |
VRally II |
SecuROM v.2 |
4:13 min |
1358 sectors/sec |
The Ricoh drive had satisfactory performance.
- Writing Tests
The Ricoh MP5308D 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 v3.1x
- The Sims Superstar - Safe Disc v2.9x
- The Sims Unleashed - Safe Disc v2.8x
- Serious Sam Second Encounter - Safe Disc v2.51.021
- 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
SD v2.51.051
|
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
|
Yes |
No |
Creative CD5233E
|
No |
Ricoh
MP5308D
|
Yes
|
No
|
Yes |
The drive's Safedisc2 backup capabilities reached only up to v2.51.x.
The drive doesn`t produce working backups with the newest v2.8x, v2.9x and
v3.1x
builds and produced partially working backups with EFM off and SafeDisc v2.51.051
but full support with SafeDisc v2.51.020 and EFM off.
6. DAE Tests
Ricoh
MP5308D DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 6
DAE Tests
- Pressed and CDR AudioCD
The Ricoh MP5308D supports up to 40X CAV DAE speed. When using a pressed
AudioCD and its CD-R copy, with EAC, we logged the following results:
Ricoh was slower than the other drives with the test discs. As
EAC reports,
the drive can`t cache DAE but supports accurate stream and reports C2 error
information.
- Advanced DAE Quality
Ricoh received a score 99.1% in the Nero CD Speed
Advanced DAE test. CDSpeed showed that the average reading speed is 24.2X,
and
that
the drive supports reading of
CD Text and SubChannel
data. Read Leadin / Leadout data are not supported.
- Reading 90/ 99mins AudioCDs
7. Protected AudioCDs
Ricoh
MP5308D DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 7
Protected AudioCDs
For the test procedure we used three audio discs with different audio copy protections. The ripping process performed for all protected Audio discs performed with Exact Audio Copy v0.9beta5.
The tested protected Audio discs were:
- Sony's Key2Audio from "Celine Dion - New Day Has Come"
- Cactus Data Shield 200 from "Natalie Imbruglia - White Lilies Island"
- Cactus Data Shield 200.0.4 - 3.0 build 16a (Aiko Katsukino - The Love
Letter)
The Cactus Data Shield 200, contains artificial errors that are not easy to bypassed from the reader, while the Key2Audio contains a second session, causing problems to readers when try to read the Table Of Contents (TOC).
The tested tasks are:
- Recognition of the inserted disc (Yes/No)
- Ripping all wavs (with EAC's Burst Mode) to the hard disk with copy&compare function.
- Listening to the produced wavs for any click/skips.
Ricoh recognized up to the 12th Audio track of CDS200 disc,
and with the "Retrieve Native TOC" option removed the 13th Data track.
The test results are shown in the following table:
|
Key2Audio |
CDS200 |
Ricoh MP5308D |
Ripping process completed, EAC reports
no problems, Read&Test CRC comparison successful for all tracks |
Ripping process completed, EAC reports
no problems, Read&Test CRC comparison not the same for all
tracks |
The Ricoh will rip both
Key2Audio and CDS200 protected audio discs. Both discs were recognized
and their contents were
ripped
at the maximum speed. However, the drive may not rip 100% accurately, the
CD200 discs since Read&Test
CRC check comparison was not the same for all tracks. No problems were
noticed with Key2Audio discs.
- Cactus Data Shield 200.0.4 - 3.0 build 16a (Aiko Katsukino - The Love Letter)
This
is a "special" CDS200 build, since it doesn't contain any artificial
errors during the ripping process. Most problems occur when trying to write
the ripped wav files, since the produced CD-R disc contains C2 and CU errors!
This "problem" is rumored to be connected with specific
chipset weaknesses..
We ripped the disc contents with EAC and burned the produced wav with the
latest Nero version as AudioCD+CD-Text. The burned media was checked for
C1/C2 errors with PlexTools/KProbe software using Plextor PX-712A (firmware
v1.01).
|
CDS 200.0.4 - 3.0 build 16a |
Ricoh MP5308D |
Reading and writing performed without
any error |
- C1C2 Error rate from PleXWriter PX-712A (8X CLV reading speed)
- BETA/Jitter Error rate from PleXWriter PX-712A
The C1/C2 error graphs shows that the drive manage to produce
a 100% error free disc.
Lets try to extract all wav files with the Plextor PX-712A and PlexTool DAE Error Correction 5th Level enabled:
No errors were reported after extracting all files. The drive's error correction
mechanism corrected
all errors.
8. CD Recording Tests
Ricoh MP5308D DVD±R/RW
Recorder - Page 8
CD Recording Tests
The Ricoh MP5308D supports 32X CD-R and 16X US-RW recording speeds.
The drive
supports 4X, 8X, 16X, 20X, 24X and 32X writing speeds.
Below
are
the recording speeds as detected by Nero Burning Rom.
According to Nero CDSpeed, the drive reached the maximum 32X
speed. The test started at 15.99X and finished at 32.07X having an average
speed of 27.35X.
Click on the image below to see the whole graph.
For the burning tests we created an 80min data compilation through Nero Burning
Rom, recording the data on a 700MB disc. Ricoh finished the
task in
3:39 minutes, for the maximum 32X writing speed.
The
writing performance varies according to the inserted media, as our tests
showed. Below is a chart demonstrating
all recording times with various media.
The best performance came with Mam 80min 52X & CMC Magnetics
80min 48X media with 219secs (3:39mins).
The highest recording time comes with TraxData 80min 52X media
with 224secs (3:44mins).
- Other features
|
Overburning writing
|
No
|
|
CD text reading/writing
|
Yes
|
The MP5308D supports the 4X, 8X and 16X rewriting speeds, with Ultra Speed Rewritable Media
(US-RW).
Below you can see the Nero CD-DVD Speed writing simulation test with blank
24X US-RW media from Mitsubishi Chemicals.
The drive starts the writing task at 15.99X under CLV mode.
We also used Nero Burning Rom in order to burn a data disc with 24X US-RW
media from MCC. The data compilation we burned had a size of 651 MB and the
duration of the recording process was 5:12 minutes.
- CD-RW Mount Rainier
The Ricoh MP5308D doesn`t support the Mount Rainier feature.
9. 3T Jitter Tests
Ricoh
MP5308D DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 9
3T Jitter Tests
On this page you can
see the 3T
Pit & Land Jitter graphs using various media burned at 32X CAV writing
speed.
- 3T Pit results
The Ricoh drive performed satisfactorily with most media used.
The highest average 3T Pit jitter reached 51.44 nsec with TraxData media,
which is way above the Red Book limit
(35nsec).
The best results came with CMC 48X CD-R media.
- 3T Land results
The average 3T Land results were also low. The maximum avarage 3T Land Jitter
reached was 48nsec with TraxData and again CMC 48X CD-R media produced the
best results.
On the following page we check the C1 and C2 error rates of the same discs,
to come up with more specific conclusions.
10. C1 / C2 Error Measurements
Ricoh
MP5308D DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 10
C1 / C2 Error Measurements
We measured the C1 / C2 error rate on the recorded discs we burned at the
various supported writing speeds. The software we used is PleXTools Professional
v2.14, and particularly the built-in Q-Check utility. The reader was the Plextor
PX-712A (firmware v1.01)
Maxell 80min 48X CD-R @ 32X (SmartBurn Enabled)
CMC Magnetics 80min 48X @ 32X (SmartBurn Enabled)
Mam Golden Dye 80min 52X @ 32X (SmartBurn Disabled)
TraxData 80min 52X @ 32X (SmartBurn Enabled)
TY 80min 48X @ 32X (SmartBurn Enabled)
- Summary
The MP5308D needs to improve its writing quality with CD-R media.
With specific media we noticed high C1/C2 errors,
while with Taiyo Yuden 48X & Mam 52X the C2/CU errors were incredibly
high. CMC 48X & TraxData 52X had best results.
- Appendix
Media Label |
ID Code |
Manufacturer Name |
Lead Out TIme |
Maxell 80min 48X |
97m15s 17f |
Ritek |
79m59s70f |
CMC Magnetics 80min 48X |
97m26s66f |
CMC Magnetics |
79m59s71f |
Mam 80min 52X |
97m27s58f |
Mitsui Chemicals |
79m59s74f |
TY 80min 48X |
97m24s 1f |
Taiyo Yuden |
79m59s72f |
TraxData 80min 52X |
97m15s17f |
Ritek |
79m59s70f |
11. DVD Recording Tests
Ricoh MP5308D DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 11
DVD Recording Tests
- Writing Performance
The Ricoh MP5308D supports
DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW writing. The maximum supported speed for the DVD±R
is
8X P-CAV and 4X CLV for DVD±RW
media. Nero Burning Rom reported speeds, are shown below.
Below are listed the media codes supported for the ±R/RW
formats with recording speeds:
- DVD-R
[MCC
01RG20 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[FUJIFILM02 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0
[TYG01 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[TYG02 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[TYG03 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[TYG04 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[SONY08D1 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[SONY08D2 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[[MXL RG03 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[MXL RG04 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[RITEKG05 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[RITEKG06 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[PVCR001002 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[PVCR001003 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[PVCR002001 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[FUJIFILM03 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[MCC 02RG20 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[MCC 03RG20 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[TTG02 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[TTG03 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
- DVD+R
[YUDEN000T00
] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[TDK 001 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[MAXELL 001 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[YUDEN000T01 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[RICOHJPNR02 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[MCC 003 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[SONY D11 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[PRODISC R03 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[MAXELL 002 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[CMC MAG E01 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[Philips 081 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
- DVD-RW
[MCC 01RW4X ] 2.0 4.0
[JVC0VictorD7] 2.0 4.0
- DVD+RW
PRODISC W02] 2.4 4.0
[DAXON D41] 2.4 4.0
[INFODISCA10] 2.4 4.0
[CMC MAG W02] 2.4 4.0
[RITEK 004] 2.4 4.0
[SONY S11] 2.4 4.0
[PHILIPS 041] 2.4 4.0
[MKM A02] 2.4 4.0
[RICOHJPNW11] 2.4 4.0
By using Nero CD-DVD Speed's "create disc" function with Plextor's
8X DVD-R media, we are able to see the 8X Z-CLV recording technology being
used by the MP5308D recorder.
The drive starts writing at 3.96X until 0.85GB where it shifts up to 6X,
until 2.2GB where it further shifts to 8X and stays there till the end. The
average writing speed is around 7.14X. This recording strategy is used
for both
DVD±R
formats.
- Burning Tests
We burned 4315MB of data on various DVD±R, DVD±RW media.
We used the maximum allowed writing speed for each disc.
The best recording times for the DVD-R format came from MKM/Verbatim 8X & MCC
4X media with 9:20mins.
With DVD+R media, best recording time came from Mitsubishi Kagaku 8X with
9:15mins. Also Ricoh didn`t managed to overburn DVDs.
Below are all the burning results with the various media types used.
Disc Label |
Disc Information |
Max Allowed Writing Speed |
Total Recording Time (mins) |
That's 8X
|
TYG02
|
8X
|
9:22
|
MKM/Verbatim 8X
|
MCC 02RG20
|
8X
|
9:20
|
CMC 4X
|
CMC MAG.AF1
|
4X
|
14:04
|
TraxData 4X
|
RITEKG04
|
4X
|
14:02
|
Maxell 4X
|
MXL RG02
|
4X
|
14:03
|
Vanguard 4X
|
VANGUARD
|
4X
|
14:02
|
MMore 4X
|
MBI 01RG20
|
4X
|
14:00
|
MCC 4X
|
MCC 01RG20
|
8X
|
9:20
|
BenQ 4X
|
SONY04D1
|
4X
|
14:00
|
Maxell 8X
|
MXL RG03
|
8X
|
9:21
|
Proformance 4X
|
PRODISCS03
|
4X
|
14:02
|
TDK 4X
|
TTG01
|
4X
|
14:01
|
Bulkpaq 4X
|
PRINCO
|
4X
|
|
N-Star 4x
|
VDSPMSAB 01
|
4X
|
14:00
|
Mirror Platinum 4X
|
AN31
|
4X
|
14:00
|
MKM 4X RW
|
MCC 01RW4X
|
4X
|
14:02
|
Disc Label |
Disc Information |
Max Allowed Writing Speed |
Total Recording Time (mins) |
Maxell 8X
|
MAXELL 002
|
8X
|
9:16
|
MCC 4X
|
MCC 002
|
4X
|
13:52
|
CMC 8X
|
CMC MAG E01
|
8X
|
9:21
|
MKM 8X
|
Philips 081
|
8X
|
9:15
|
Ricoh 8X
|
RICOHJPN R02
|
8X
|
9:16
|
BenQ 4X
|
DAXON AZ1
|
4X
|
13:51
|
MMore 4X
|
MBIPG101R03
|
4X
|
13:52
|
Mitsubishi Kagaku 4X RW
|
MKM A02
|
4X
|
14:01
|
- DVD Overburning Tests
In order to test the drive's DVD overburning capabilities, we used two media
types, one from CMC 4X DVD-R and one from Plextor's 8X DVD+R. As you can
see, the drive refused to start the test with DVD-R media,
while with DVD+R, the test started but when it reached 4.38GB, stopped with
an error message.
Thus Ricoh cannot overburn with either DVD±R formats.
- DVD+MRW Tests
Ricoh MP5308D doesn`t support the Mount Rainier feature.
12. KProbe/PlexTools Scans - Page 1
Ricoh MP5308D DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 12
KProbe/PlexTools Scans - Page 1
In the following screenshots you can see the PI/PIF scans for the DVD+R/RW
media we burned with the Ricoh MP5308D. The software we used for all measurements
is the KProbe v2.1.0, and the reader is the LiteOn LDW-811S with "HS0Q
patched" firmware, being able to read DVD±R/RW media up to 8X CAV.
All scans have been performed at 8X with PI/PIF Sum8. Note that LiteOn drives
cannot report PO but PIF errors, despite what KProbe reports. In addition,
all discs have been scanned with PX-712A v1.02 using PlexTools v2.14 for comparison
levels.
Comparing the KProbe/PlexTools scans we can see major differences in the
reported PI/PIF error rates. The main explanation is that we have two different
readers, with different pickup/chipset combinations, scanning at different
reading speeds (8X CAV for KProbe, 2X CLV for PlexTools). It's interesting
to see the
disc scanned at low & high speed, since when error rate increases at a
specific disc area, it should appear in both scans...else it would be, perhaps,
a reading glitch of the tested reader.
Note: PI/PIF errors only give us a quick look at the error
rate of the burned media. Those scans should be taken not as the absolute criteria
of the burning quality but as an indication.
CMC 8X DVD+R @ 8X
MCC 4X DVD+R @ 4X
MMore 4X DVD+R @ 4X
BenQ 4X DVD+R @ 4X
Ricoh 8X DVD+R @ 8X
Mitsubishi Kagaku 8X DVD+R @ 8X
Maxell 8X DVD+R @ 8X
MKM 4X DVD+RW @ 4X
- Summary
The PI/PIF scans show that the Ricoh MP5308D performed
well with the used DVD+R/+RW media.
- Appendix
Disc Label |
Disc Information |
Max Allowed Writing Speed |
Total Recording Time (mins) |
Maxell 8X |
MAXELL 002 |
8X |
9:16 |
MCC 4X |
MCC 002 |
4X |
13:52 |
CMC 8X |
CMC MAG E01 |
8X |
9:21 |
MKM 8X |
Philips 081 |
8X |
9:15 |
Ricoh 8X |
RICOHJPN R02 |
8X |
9:16 |
BenQ 4X |
DAXON AZ1 |
4X |
13:51 |
MMore 4X |
MBIPG101R03 |
4X |
13:52 |
Mitsubishi Kagaku 4X RW |
MKM A02 |
4X |
14:01 |
13. KProbe/PlexTools Scans - Page 2
Ricoh MP5308D DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 13
KProbe/PlexTools Scans - Page 2
In the following screenshots you can see the PI/PIF scans for the DVD-R/RW media we burned with the LiteOn SOHW-832S. The software we used for all measurements is the KProbe v2.1.0, and the reader is a LiteOn LDW-811S with "HS0Q patched" firmware, being able to read DVD±R/RW
media up to 8X CAV. All scans have been performed at 8X with PI/PIF Sum8. Note
that LiteOn drives cannot report PO but PIF errors, despite what KProbe reports.
In addition, all discs have been scanned with PX-712A v1.02 using PlexTools
v2.14 for comparison
levels.
Comparing the KProbe/PlexTools scans we can see major differences at the reported PI/PIF error rates. The main explanation is that we have two different readers, with different pickup/chipset combination, scanning at different reading speeds (8X CAV for KProbe, 2X CLV for PlexTools). Its interesting to see the disc scanned at low & high speed, since when error rate increases at a specific disc area, it should appear at both scans...else it would be, perhaps, a reading glitch of the tested reader.
Note: PI/PIF errors only give us a quick look at the error
rate of the burned media. Those scans should be taken not as the absolute criteria
of the burning quality but as an indication level.
BenQ 4X DVD-R @ 4X
Maxell 4X DVD-R @ 4X
CMC Magnetics 4X DVD-R @ 4X
That's 8X DVD-R @ 4X
TraxData 4X DVD-R @ 4X
MKM/Verbatim 8X DVD-R @ 8X
Maxell 8X DVD-R @ 8X
Proformance 4X DVD-R @ 4X
TDK 4X DVD-R @ 4X
Bulkpaq 4X DVD-R @ 4X
N-Star 4X DVD-R @ 4X
Mirror Platinum 4X DVD-R @ 4X
MMore 4X DVD-R @ 4X
Mitsubishi Chemicals 4X DVD-R @ 8X
Vanguard 4X DVD-R @ 4X
MKM 4X DVD-RW @ 4X
- Summary
Ricoh creates DVD-Rs with low PI/PIF error levels and offers compatibility
with the majority of the media we use. Only with N-Star 4X & Vanguard 4X the
writing
quality isn`t acceptable with high PI/PIF error level.
- Appendix
Disc Label |
Disc Information |
Max Allowed Writing Speed |
Total Recording Time (mins) |
That's 8X |
TYG02 |
8X |
9:22 |
MKM/Verbatim 8X |
MCC 02RG20 |
8X |
9:20 |
CMC 4X |
CMC MAG.AF1 |
4X |
14:04 |
TraxData 4X |
RITEKG04 |
4X |
14:02 |
Maxell 4X |
MXL RG02 |
4X |
14:03 |
Vanguard 4X |
VANGUARD |
4X |
14:02 |
MMore 4X |
MBI 01RG20 |
4X |
14:00 |
MCC 4X |
MCC 01RG20 |
8X |
9:20 |
BenQ 4X |
SONY04D1 |
4X |
14:00 |
Maxell 8X |
MXL RG03 |
8X |
9:21 |
Proformance 4X |
PRODISCS03 |
4X |
14:02 |
TDK 4X |
TTG01 |
4X |
14:01 |
Bulkpaq 4X |
PRINCO |
4X |
|
N-Star 4x |
VDSPMSAB 01 |
4X |
14:00 |
Mirror Platinum 4X |
AN31 |
4X |
14:00 |
MKM 4X RW |
MCC 01RW4X |
4X |
14:02 |
14. BookType Setting
Ricoh
MP5308D DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 20
BookType Setting
Ricoh MP5308D doesn`t support the BookType Setting for DVD-R/+RW formats.
15. Conclusion
Ricoh
MP5308D DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 21
Conclusion
The Ricoh MP5308D performed well having low seek times in the CD reading
tests. The error correction test results however, showed below 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 offers poor performance with our protected games CDs. The drive
doesn't support the latest SafeDisk2 versions and partially working backups
are playable with SafeDisc v2.51.051 and EFM off.
Full support occurs only with SafeDisc v2.51.020 and EFM off. Ripping times
of various protected game titles was acceptable.
The drive returned good performance with the CDS200 protection scheme as the
ripping process completed with no problems but reading & testing CRC comparison
was not the same for all tracks. Key2Audio protection ripping process completed
with no problems as well as reading & testing CRC comparison. Reading
and writing was performed without any error for Cactus Data Shield 200.0.4
- 3.0 build 16a (Aiko Katsukino - The Love Letter). The drive could not
play our 99min AudioCD but read the 90min CD.
When writing CDs with the Ricoh drive, we had poor writing quality with
three out of the five media we used. The drive creates CDs with high
C1/C2/CU
errors and we also suggest
avoiding
Taiyo Yuden 48X media with this drive as it gave us the highest jitter results
and C2/CU errors. We expect that all this will be fixed with a new
firmware upgrade. Best results with low jitters & C1/C2/CU were with
CMC 48X media.
DVD recording revealed that the drive has good media compatibility with all
media except with Bulkpaq 4X DVD-R burned at 4X speed, N-Star 4X DVD-R & Vanguard
4X DVD-R. The recording quality
is good with low PI/PIF error levels.
The drive priced at about $112.
- The Good
- Low priced 8X DVD Burner
- Good DVD writing quality for DVD±R media
- Very Good DVD error correction
- Almost 100% C2% accuracy
- Can backup most protected Audio discs (CDS200, Key2Audio)
- Can read DVD+R DL discs (DVD-ROM Booktype)
- The Bad
- Doesn't backup newer versions of SafeDisc2 protected discs
- Strict supported media list for 8X
- Poor CD Error Correction
- Doesn't support overburning
- Doesn't support Mount Rainier format
- Doesn't support reading of DVD-RAM media
- Doesn't support DVD overburning for DVD±R media
- Doesn't support BookType BitSetting for DVD+R/+RW/ formats
- Like to be fixed
- Allow 4X media to burned at 8X
- Ripping process of 99min Audio CDs
- High C1/C2 errors with the majority media at 32X
- Recognize process of burned DVD+R9 (DVD+R DL BookType)