INcoder TS24C-C1 portable CD-RW/DVD drive - Page 1

- Introduction

INcoder is a Taiwanese company established in 1996. The company mainly focuses on external optical storage and external cases to extend existing Desktop PCs, Notebooks, workstations and servers, for professionals and business use mainly.

INcoder's goal is to provide stylish and objectively high quality tools in order to fully approach the user's need for reliable and user friendly products. As the company characteristically says "the "IN" (of "INcoder") means the concept of an interface bridging between human beings and machines (digital codes), which applies humanity-based thinking logic on technical products.

We have the chance to review a new INcoder product, the INC-TS24C-C1. This is a portable slim combo drive, which supports CD-R/RW writing among with DVD reading capabilities. The drive is an alternative solution for Notebook and desktop PC use.

- Drive features

The supported writing speeds are the 2X and 10X (CLV), and 16X and the maximum 24X (Z-CLV). The 24X speed the supported reading speed for the CD-R and the HS-RW media can be written at 10X. The maximum reading speed for DVD-ROM is 8X.

The INcoder TS24C-C1 offers a dual connection interface allowing user to select between the USB1.0/2.0 or IEEE1394 connections. The features mentioned above are valid for the USB 2.0 and IEEE1394 connections. By selecting the USB1.0 interface (12Mbits/sec), the reading /writing supported speeds are 4X for CD-R and CD-RW writing, 6X for reading and 0.7X for the DVD-ROM format.

The buffer underrun protection and the 2MB cache buffer will prevent any buffer underrun problems in CD-R/RW formats. The drive is compliant to the RPCII regulations, allowing user to change the region code of the drive 5 times.

The supported disc formats are: DVD-ROM (single layer/dual layer), DVD-R (General in case of writing), DVD-RW (Ver 1.o & 1.1), DVD-RAM, CD-ROM Mode 1, CD-ROM XA Mode 2, Photo CD, CD-DA, CD-Extra, CD-R/RW . The supported writing formats are the DAO, SAO, TAO and fixed/variable packet writing.

The dimensions of the drive are 144 X 153 X 23 mm (WxLxH) and its weight is 526gr.

- The package

The retail package included the 24X combo drive, a USB2.0 cable, a Firewire cable, 1 HS-RW disc and 1 CD-R blank disc. The software bundled is Nero Burning Rom for your writing tasks and the WinDVD software DVD player.

In addition, the package a quick installation guide, a multi-lingual operating instructions manual and a device driver floppy. The drive is powered through the provided AC/DC adapter (DC 5V, 2A).

A very stylish carrying pouch is also available in order to store the drive and carry it easily.

The INcoder TS24C-C1 operated in both horizontal and vertical positions. For vertical operation you will need the two metal foot-stands provided in the retail package. The foot-stands can be easily adjusted on the side panel of the drive, as you can see in the picture below. It is recommended to use the special rubber pad for horizontal usage, also bundled in the retail package. Just place the drive on the pad in order to avoid vibrations and to ensure stability during operation.

The silver drive looks very stylish and robust due to its complete metal case and structure. On the disc loading tray you can find the eject button, the emergency eject hole and the busy LED indicator. The "INcoder" logo is stamped on the top of the drive.

On the rear panel there are the power input and the USB and Firewire connectors. As we have mentioned the drive supports a dual build-in connection interface.

- Installation

The INcoder TS24C-C1 was connected to our test PC through the USB2.0 interface, and was identified as "TEAC DW-224E" under WinXP. The October 2002 model came with firmware version v1.0A installed, that was used to make all the reading/writing tests.

We compare the new drive with an already tested slim combo drive, the Plextor PX-208T.