AOpen CRW4850 CD-RW

Review Pages

1. Introduction/Installation
2. Data Reading Tests
3. CD Error Correction
4. CloneCD Reading Tests
5. DAE Tests
6. CDR Tests
7. Writing Quality Tests
8. HS-RW/Packet Writing Tests
9. Conclusion

AOpen CRW4850 IDE CD-RW - Page 9

Conclusion

Positive (+)

Negative (-)

- Supports 48X (CAV) writing speeds
- Supports "JustLink" and "JustSpeed" technologies
- Under 'Turbo' mode, gets the first place in data/DAE reading tests
- Good CD Error correction capabilities
- Average writing quality
- Good packet writing performance
- Can rip CDS200 protected Audio discs
- Supports reading/writing of SubChannel Data
- Supports CD-Text (reading/writing)
- Supports Overburning (up to 99mins)
- Supports UDMA33 connection interface
- Retail package contains Nero, 48X CD-R, 12X US-RW media at low price of <$60

- Drive is slower at all recording speed, except the maximum compared with other recorders
- Competition offers 24X US-RW re-writing speeds
- Doesn't support Mt. Rainier format
- Cannot backup protected discs!
- Low CloneCD reading performance
- C2 error information is present but not with high accuracy
- Cannot rip Key2Audio protected Audio discs
- Drive make noise under 'Turbo' mode

The CRW4850 is AOpen's proposal for the 48X recording speed. The CRW4850 has been around for quite sometime and the newest firmware has fixed some of the problems of the initial release. The drive supports 48X CAV recording technology, making it equally fast as competitive 48X recorders. In addition, it offers the 50X reading speed, under a 'turbo' mode. AOpen and many other manufacturers support 40X reading as the default reading speed to avoid noise and possible explosions of the inserted discs. The activation of 'Turbo' mode is easy and the drive will work at that speed unless you reboot the computer.

Let's now pass over the positives. The AOpen CRW4850 is a very fast drive under the 'Turbo' mode. Of course in such a high speed, the drive produces a lot of noise but that's the price of the max speed. The EAC results revealed good CD Error correction capabilities with some errors but with no skipped samples. The audiophiles will like the drive's ability to rip CDS200 protected Audio discs and the reading/writing of CD-Text. The writing quality seems average, compared with PX-W4824A and the overburning function up to 99mins is present.

On the negative side, the drive is slower in all the recording speeds with an exception in the maximum supported, it doesn't offer 24X re-writing speed and Mt. Rainier format, cannot backup protected discs, cannot rip Key2Audio protected discs and although the C2 error information is present, the % accuracy is low.

Concluding, the drive can be found under $60 making it a cheap recorder for the amateur user. Experienced users may look elsewhere to get the maximum performance...