4x DVD+R/RW Roundup - Page 16

Conclusion

After finishing the tests we could safely say that both Plextor and Mitsumi DVD recording solutions share the same position in the performance charts. They both support the faster DVD recording speeds available (4x DVD+R and 2.4x DVD+RW). This means that you can write up to 4.7GB in less than 15 minutes, with 4x media. Currently, not many DVD+R media manufacturers support the 4x writing, but it is expected that the media list will be longer, soon.

The retail packages are complete and include all the necessary CD/DVD writing/authoring software, applications for DVD editing and playback, and blank 4x DVD+R and 2.4x DVD+RW media. In addition, in the Plextor package you can find the PlexTools utility set.

In the reading part, the drives are fast and support 12X CAV speed for single layer DVD-ROM, while the access times are also adequate. Reading of dual layer DVD-ROMs is slower but this cannot be a problem for the users. Reading of DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW discs is supported at a maximum speed of 5x CAV. However, tests showed that both drives have reading problems with DVD+RW media, especially after the half of the disc, where the drives reduced the reading speed until the end of the disc.

What is interesting is the low performance of both drives in the DVD error correction tests with the ABEX discs. Although the drives could easily read the defected test disc, they had serious problems with the scratched one, and reading was terminated as soon as the scratch became larger than 2mm. The situation is the same for both single and dual layer and DVD-Video test discs. Error correction should definitely be improved in this area. In the weak points, we could also mention the average DVD ripping speed of the drives which is less than 2850 KB/sec.

For the CD format, the drives offer the 16x CD-R recording speed, 10x rewriting and 40x reading. The supported DAE speed is less than 25x, reading of Subchannel data and CD-Text is available, and the CD-R writing quality is high. Audio protected discs can be accurately read by both drives, and overburning up to 90min is also included in their capabilities. On the other hand, backups of SafeDisc v2.xx discs will not work in most cases, along with PSX discs, which are not even recognized by both drives. Last, the CD error correction capabilities are not high, especially for the Mitsumi drive, and the retrieved C2 accuracy could be higher.

This is the first DVD recorders for Plextor and Mitsumi. What we could say is that judging is always the easy part but developing of a product is not an easy task. We welcome both new drives and expect more from both of them in their next model, as they have showed in the past. According to the companies, their next DVD recorder will likely support both DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW formats. The retail price of both drives is $230-250. Mitsumi offers one year warranty for the DW-7801TE, while the warranty for Plextor PX-504A is 2 years for Europe, Middle-East and Africa.