NEC ND-3500A Recorder - Page 21

CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 7

In order to test the writing quality and readability of the burned media we are using two readers with two software applications:

• The LiteON SOHD-167T with patched firmware being able to read DVD5 up to 16X CAV and DVD9 up to 10X CAV. For the transfer rate tests we used the latest Nero CDSpeed version.
• The Plextor PX-712A with the latest available firmware. For scanning the disc, we used the latest PlexTools version at 2X CLV reading speed, BURST mode, with middle accuracy.

In general, a "perfect" disc should have a smooth reading curve, very low PIE/POE and zero (0) POF error rates. Most times however, even though a disc has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth containing dropoffs. Due to the fact that we oversped the reading capabilities of the LiteON SOHD-167T, such drops are expected, especially near the outer area of the disc.

The measurements below should be taken not as the absolute criteria of the burning quality, but as an indication level.

DVD+RW and DVD-RW Media

• CMC 4X DVD+RW @ 4X

• Traxdata 4X DVD+RW @ 4X

• Optodisc 4X DVD-RW @ 4X

• Traxdata 4X DVD-RW @ 4X

• MCC 4X DVD-R @ 4X

- Summary

We were expecting to see good quality performance with DVD+RW and DVD-RW media, since the writing speed is reduced to 4X. The NEC ND-3500A disappointed us at this point, since some discs were unreadable. The Plextor 712A drive kept on freezing near the end of the scanning process. However, all media that was readable gave very good quality scans.

We contacted NEC regarding this problem, as we thought that this might be caused by a buggy firmware version. We concluded that the problem occurs due to a problematic device, so we can only exclude the "reading" problems that some discs reported. In that case, the device seems to record +RW and -RW media, producing good quality discs. However, we will test burning quality for this media with the same device we received with future firmware releases. Please, check our forum for these quality scans.