Plextor PX-708A dual DVD±RW recorder - Page 23

Conclusion

After having finished almost all tests for the PX-712A, one thing crossed my mind..."Swiss Army Knife". What exactly does Plextor offer with the new PX-712A series? Many unique features, along with the good writing quality that most Plextor drives include. Currently, the drive is the fastest DVD burner at 12X but other 12X recorders are just around the corner. Of course, none of them support what Plextor offers, but most of them offer what Plextor didn't offer, and maybe play a big role for many users..."Double Layer" burning feature. We know the media isn't out yet, we know that the initial DL media prices would be high, but ...we would love to see PX-712A having this feature. Unfortunately dreams don't always come true so lets get back down to earth :-)

Usually, we start with the positive, this time we will start with the negative. What is the most negative point of the PX-712A? We said it before, we will say it again, the lack of DVD+R DL burning format. If this doesn't bother you much, the price is another negative, but as someone said, "you get waht you pay for". Plextor offers unique features and developing costs. There are several other negative points (doesn't support SD2 v2.8+ builds, no BookType bitsetting, doesn't support Premium's special writing mode for SecuRom games and CD Error correction could be better) but at the end, we are judging the drive too harshly, although the Plextor name demands it.

Returning to the question at hand, why should you buy PX-712A? There are many good reasons. It has FAST DVD reading/ripping speeds, supports many media (especially DVD+R) at 8X, has no problems with protected Audio titles and offers many unique features (Q-Check, GigaRec, etc...) along with overburning ability for DVD+R media!

The Plextor PX-712A is expected to hit the market at a price of around 180 Euros. We know the price is high, but all CD/DVD recording fans should buy this drive, it's a one of a kind.

- The Good

• Currently, fastest DVD recorder, due to P-CAV writing technology
• 8MB Buffer
• Supports many "working" unique features (GigaRec, VariRec, SecuRec, SilentRec)
• Q-Check functions (C1C2/PIPO/BETA Jitter) comply according to DVD standards
• PlexTools Proffesional offer unique control and burning/ripping functions of the drive
• Reading mechanism provides accurate and precise Q-Check scans
• Burns most 4X DVD+R media at 8X
• Supports overburning with DVD+R media
• Very good DVD writing quality, even at 12X, with recommended media
• Big DVD±R/RW supported media list
• Can backup SafeDisc2 v2.8x protected discs
• Very fast DVD reader & very good DVD error correction
• Supports protected Audio discs (CDS200, Key2Audio)
• Compliant with Philips Mt. Rainier Test Suite (CD Format)
• 2 year warranty (applies only for Europe) and frequent firmware updates

- The Bad

• Higher retail price than already selling 8X DVD burners
• Doesn't support writing of DVD+R Double Layer media
• Medium CD error correction (could be fixed with firmware upgrade?)
• Doesn't backup SafeDisc2 v2.9x+ protected discs
• Doesn't support Premium's writing method for SecuROM v4.8xx protected discs
• Doesn't support reading of DVD-RAM media (could be fixed with firmware upgrade?)
• Doesn't support BookType setting for DVD+R/RW media (could be fixed with firmware upgrade?)
• Retail package doesn't include any DVD recordable/re-writable media

- Like to be fixed

• Reading problems with ABEX TDV-541
• Sometimes recognition of DVD-R media takes too long (up to 1minute!)
• High C1/C2 errors with specific media at 48X
• Recognize process of burned DVD+R9 Double Layer media
• Improved functionality of Q-Check tests