BTC DRW1008IM

Review Pages

1. Retail Package - Installation
2. Data CD Reading Tests
3. CD Error Correction Tests
4. DVD Reading Tests
5. DVD Error Correction Tests
6. Protected Disc Tests
7. CD-DA - DAE Tests
8. CD Recording Tests
9. 3T Jitter Tests - Page 1
10. 3T Jitter Tests - Page 2
11. C1 / C2 Error Measurements
12. DVD Recording Tests
13. KProbe PI/PO Error Measurements
14. Conclusion

BTC DRW1008IM DVD±RW recorder - Page 1

After the success of its DRW 1004IM dual recorder, BTC enters the 8x DVD+R battle with the release of the DRW1008IM. The promising model is capable of recording on all availiable media formats in the market, except DVD-RAM.

The drive can burn DVD+R/RW media at 8x and 4x respectively. It also supports 4x for DVD-R and 2x for DVD-RW. The maximum writing speed for CD-R media is 40x, while for CD-RW it is 24x. The manufacturers specifications are given below.

- Specifications

Model name	DRW 1008IM
Interface	E-IDE/ATAPI , MMC compliant
Disc data capacity	(CD) 74min/650MB, 80min/700MB (DVD) 4.7GB
Supported media for writing	DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, CD-R, CD-RW
Writing formats	(DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW) DVD-ROM, DVD-Video(CD) CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, CD-Extra, CD-I, Mixed-Mode CD, Video CD, Photo CD, CD-TEXT, Bootable CD, CD-R, CD-RW, Multi-Session
Writing methods	(DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW) Random Access Write, Sequential Write(CD-R/RW) Track at Once, Disc at Once, Session at Once, Multi-Session, Packet Writing
Writing speed	(DVD+R) 1x, 2x, 4x,6x,8x (DVD-R) 1x, 2x, 4x (DVD+RW) 1x, 2x , 4x (DVD-RW) 1x, 2x (CD-R) 16x, 24x, 32x, 40x (CD-RW) 4x, 10x, 16x, 24x
Reading speed	DVD+R-R 8x DVD-RW/+RW 6x DVD-ROM 12x CD-ROM/-R 40x CD-RW 32x
Data transfer rate	Max. 33MB/sec
Access time	(DVD) 160 ms (12X) (CD) 130 ms (40X)
Data buffer	2 MB
Disc loading	Tray loader, dust sealed
Weight	1 Kg
Mounting method	Horizontal
Dimensions (WxHxD)	148.6 x 41.8 x 193.3 mm

The drive uses a 2MB buffer memory. The RAW DAO 96 writing (CD) is supported while Mount Rainier is not.

The BTC DRW1008IM 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).

- The drive

BTC's retail package includes two CD-ROMs, containing Ahead's Nero complete package for recording, authoring and editing, plus PowerDVD with Power Producer and MediaShow also included.

The warranty, an audio cable and mounting screws complete the retail package contents.

The drive's front panel is colored light grey and has more than the usual markings and logos displayed. On the tray door on the left we have the "dual" logo signifying that this is a dual recorder, and on the right the 8x marking. Below, from left to right are the internet address for a driver update site where you can keep your drive's firmware up to date, the activity/power LED, the DVD RW, RW DVD-ReWritable, and Compact Disc ReWritable logos, and finally the eject button. Above and a little to the left of the eject button is the emergency eject hole. The activity LED lights up green when busy and blinking orange when recording is in progress.

On the rear panel (schematic included above for clarity) there are 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.

Mediatek's MT1818E chip used on this recorder, is from the same series as the one used on theLiteOn LDW-811S and Pacific Digital U-30201 drives.

- Installation

The BTC DRW1008IM was connected to our test PC and was identified as "DVDRW IDE1008" under WinXP. All tests were done with firmware revision v0055 (available soon).

The following pages include the test results of the BTC drive in comparison to two other dual DVD burners, the LiteOn LDW-811S and the Optorite DD0401.