Error Correction Tests

In the following tests we check the drive's behavior when reading scratched / defective audio discs. The test discs used were the ABEX series from ALMEDIO.

- ABEX TCD-721R

Errors total	Num: 923800
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)	Num: 48784	Avg: -73.7 dB(A)	Max:-36.0 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples	Num: 2986	Avg: 1.0 Samples	Max: 11 Samples
Skips Samples	Num: 0	Avg: 0 Samples	Max: 0 Samples
Total Test Result	76.9 points (out of 100.0 maximum)

The LiteOn's results are quite good with the Abex 721R test disc, which is usually a hard disc to read accurately with most drives. There are relatively few total errors, maximum loudness is also low at -36.0 dB(A) and there were no skipped samples. The final score of 76.9 out of 100 is very good.

- ABEX TCD-726

Errors total	Num: 0
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)	Num: 0	Avg:-174.0 dB(A)	Max: -174.0 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples	Num: 0	Avg: 0 Samples	Max: 0 Samples
Skips Samples	Num: 0	Avg: 0 Samples	Max: 0 Samples
Total Test Result	100.0 points (out of 100.0 maximum)

The 726 Abex test disc is easier to reading with most drives. LiteOn had very good error correction performance with the previous test disc and it was to be expected that it would receive a very good average score in this test. When the reading process finished the software awarded the drive with a total score 100.0 points out of 100.0 (perfect).

- CD-Check Audio Test Disc

The CD-Check Test Disc is a very useful tool for evaluating the Sound Reproduction / Error correction capabilities of a CD player. The disc offers a signal combination with disc error patterns to rate the drive's reading music abilities and reproduce it completely. Five tracks on the disc contain a progressively difficult sequence. These tracks are referred to as Check Level-1 through Check Level-5.

The tracks are reproduced (played) through a software multimedia player (i.e. Windows Media Player). Each level is considered as passed, if the tone coming out from the speakers is smooth, continuous without interruptions, skipping or looping. The higher the Check Level passed, the more reliable the sound reproduction of the drive.

Error Level	1	2	3	4	5
LiteOn SOHW-812S	5/5	5/5	5/5	0/5	0/5

The LiteOn drive managed to playback only the first three tracks of the Audio check disc. Although most drives find it difficult to read the fifth track, most of them read the fourth without audiable clicks at least two or three times out of five. The performance of the LiteOn is on the borderline if it is to be considered as a good CD error correcting drive.

- Summary

Test Disc	Reading Speed	Score
ABEX TCD-721R	Max	76.9
ABEX TCD-726		100.0
Average Score		88.45

The average score for the LiteOn 812s with the Abex test discs is 88.45 points. The performance is very good although it would have been nice to see it do better in the Audio Test Disc Check, reaching at least the fourth level, which would have placed it amongst the best drives.