NU COMBI DBW-521 - Page 4

DVD reading tests

- Single Layer DVD-ROM (Click for CDSpeed results)

To check the reading performance of NU with single layer DVD-ROM media, we used NeroCDSpeed and the 820A test disc from Abex.

Both the LiteOn and the NU combo writer, returned similar results, as shown on the above graph. The NU started off relatively fast at 6,72x ( CAV reading strategy), and finished with an end speed of 16.42X.

Again, both drives had similar times.

- Dual Layer PTP DVD-ROM (Click for CDSpeed results)

The two layers of a PTP DVD-ROM disc are read sequentially, with the drive starting the read process from the inner tracks on the disc, where lies the beginning of each layer and progressing outwards towards to the outer tracks for each layer. The tools for this test are Nero CDSpeed and Abex 840 test disc.

The NU combo drive, used CAV reading strategy for the Dual layer DVD-ROM reading process. The drive finished the task with an end speed of 8.27X.

The seek times for the NU drive with dual layer DVD-ROM media are quite fast.

- Dual Layer OTP DVD-ROM

The first layer of an OTP dual layer DVD-ROM is read exactly the same way as the first layer of the PTP disc we tested previously. The difference here is the reading strategy of the second layer on the disc. The beginning of the second layer is located in the outer part of the disc, so the drive starts reading from the outer tracks inwards towards the inner tracks of the disc.

The NU used CAV reading strategy and reached 8.19X reading speed at the end of the first layer. The above screenshot shows smooth reading and no problems during the layer switch operation

- DVD-RAM

The above test shows that the NU supports 2X DVD-RAM reading speed and used CLV reading strategy during the test.

- DVD Ripping Tests

We measured the DVD-Video ripping speed of the drive using the latest version of DVD Decrypter. The DVD Video title is the "Matrix" pressed DVD-Video.

The previous DVD-ROM media tests reported similar reading speeds for both the NU and LiteOn drives. Nonetheless, the above graph shows that the LiteOn is by far faster (almost twice as fast) than the NU with DVD ripping tasks. According to DVD Decrypter, the NU combo drive finished the ripping task with an Average Read Rate of 4.573 KB/s (3.3x) while the - Maximum Read Rate was 5.733 KB/s (4.1x)

- DVD Recordable / Rewritable reading Tests

The chart below shows the Nero CDSpeed average reading speed results for the following formats with media from MC:

• 8x DVD+R
• 4x DVD+RW

• 8x DVD-R
• 4x DVD-RW

We ran several tests in order to give the most accurate results regarding the reading speed of the NU with writable and rewrittable DVD media. Firstly, we ran the tests with firmware vGX01 and the drive returned only 3.03X average reading speed for the -RW format. This was simply a firmware issue since the drive managed more appropriate reading speeds with latest firmware at 6.2X.