OPTORITE DVD RW DD0405 - Page 14

Conclusion

The new Optorite DD0405 has no basic differences from the previously released DD0401. This means that the new Optorite is a trusted device for DVD and CD writing tasks but not a good solution as a game protected backup writer.

The retail version of the drive does not include much except from the writer. We believe that all drives should include in their retail packages some blank media, something that was not the case with the Optorite.

The new DD0405 was fast on the reading tests of all CD-R media we tested but what was really a plus for the dual writer were the reported seek times. With all tested media, the Optorite was the fastest in all seek times among the drives used in the comparison.

With the CD error correction tests, the Optorite DD0405 returned the best results possible with the Audio CD-Check test disc. The drive managed to pass successfully all five levels of the test and that means that users who will choose the drive will be able to playback old and scratched audio CD-R media. The other two drives of the roundup, Memorex True-8x and Nec ND-2500A reached up to 4th and 2nd level respectively.

The Abex CD Error correction discs did not produce acceptable results and awarded the drive with a below average score.

The results with the DVD reading tasks were simply acceptable, since the Optorite managed to reach the manufacturers specifications. The seek times for all tested DVD media were very fast, just as with CD-R media, and this is another plus for the drive.

One of the weakest points of the Optorite DD0405 was with DVD error correction. Although some improvements have been implemented in comparison with the previous Optorite drive, the new drive exhibited problematic behavior especially with Dual Layer DVD-ROM media, focused in the second defective layer. Despite the fact that all tests ended without errors, the Optorite needed much more time to complete these tasks. The behavior, however, will not affect normal play back of DVD-Video (movies). On the other hand there were no reading problems during the switch layer operation.

In comparison with the previous Optorite DD0401, the new version of the Optorite has no changes with regard to the backup capabilities of protected games. The ripping process of the games lasted much more that we expected while on the writing part, the Optorite DD0405 managed to backup successfully only the oldest version of Safedisc protected game we tested and this was done only when we used the Amplify option of the recording software.

To mention some of the good points of the Optorite, we will report the performance with the DAE tests. The reading speed for DAE media is 40x and that was confirmed from all tests. Optorite was also fast on the ripping tasks, with support for reading CD-Text, Subchannel Data and Lead In/Lead out information. The drive was awarded with a perfect score on the DAE tests and managed to rip the audio protected discs.

With CD-R writing, the 40x maximum writing speed is the current maximum available for a dual 8x DVD writer. The user will be able to record a full data disc in about 3:10 minutes with the the quality of the disc being fair. The quality check showed increased Pit and Land values, which were confirmed by the C1 / C2 error measurements, at least with specific CD-R media. Here, a new firmware should contribute to improve this behavior.

The HD-Burn function had no changes from the earlier DD0401. The ISO compilation fitting 1.4Gb on a single 80min CD-R, was written successfully with the Optorite drive, but the disc was not readable with other drives.

As a DVD writer, the Optorite wrote all certified 8x tested media at the maximum available speed of 8x, while the quality measurements were slightly increased being borderline, especially with the PI measurements. Despite this, all discs were fully readable. Here we should add the contribution of the latest firmware release, v150E, that offered the drive very low recording times for DVD+R (8x P-CAV).

Available on the market for less than $100, the DD0405 is a good solution for DVD recording.