CDR Tests - Page 3

- Comparison of different writing technologies

The above graph shows the main differences between the five 32x Z-CLV recorders. Despite the fact that all drives support the same recording technology (Z-CLV) the final recording times are much different. The main reason is the implementation of each manufacturer and how good the firmware is developed. We all expected Philips PCRW3210 to be the faster recorder at this roundup but real life tests showed the opposite.

The Cyberdrive CW058D ,with 74min CDs, is:

- 25secs faster than AOpen CRW3248
- 17secs faster than Mitsumi CR-480ATE
- 15secs faster than LiteOn LTR-32123S
- 8secs faster than Philips PCRW3210

With 80min CDs, the time differences with rest of the recorders are now different:

- 17secs faster than AOpen CRW3248
- 13secs faster than Mitsumi CR-480ATE
- 14secs faster than LiteOn LTR-32123S
- 4secs faster than Philips PCRW3210

What the tests results showed, compared to our first 32x CD-RW roundup, is that LiteOn improved the LTR-32123S various recording times, while Mitsumi with the final mass retail firmware (1.0b) made the drive slower by a few seconds. The CyberDrive CW-058D does offer increased writing speed compared to what a 24x Z-CLV (PleXWriter PX-W2410A) and a 24x P-CAV (Yamaha 3200E) offers:

The CyberDrive CW058D with 74min CDs is faster by 27secs from PleXWriter PX-W2410A and 22secs from Yamaha CRW3200E. With 80min CDs the time differences lower down to 31secs from PleXWriter PX-W2410A and 22secs from Yamaha CRW3200E.

- Overburning Tests

Using Nero, we saw that the AOpen/LiteOn/Mitsumi and CyberDrive drive(s) can overburn up to 99mins, while Phillips PCRW3210 stops around 93mins.

- CD-Text Results

We created several AudioCDs with CD-Text enabled. The AOpen/Philips and CyberDrive can read/write CD-Text AudioCDs without any problems.

- 8cm Media Tests

For this proposed we used a 8cm RW media and we burned up to 185MB. None of the tested drive had problems writing/reading from the 8cm disc.

- CloneCD Writing Tests

The CloneCD v3.3.4.1 reports that all drives support the DAO-RAW feature. We performed our usual tests and we confirmed that both drives support the DAO-RAW writing mode at the following CD protections: SafeDisc 1.0, LaserLock 1/2 and SecuROM 2. Note that the both AOpen CRW3248 and Philips PCRW3210 write only at 16x when DAO-RAW writing mode is selected. The Philips PCRW3210 tends to lock at the end of writing (however CDs working just fine).

- SD2 Support

For the SD2 test we used the "No One Lives For Ever", "Max Payne" and "Emperor Battle of Dune" game titles. We used each drive both as reader/writer at maximum reading/recording speed. The results are posted below:

- The AOpen CRW3248/Philips PCRW3210/Mitsumi CR-480ATE and CyberDrive CW058D cannot produce SD2 working backups
- The LiteOn LTR-32123S can produce working SD2 backups