In the following tests we examined the DVD reading capabilities of the Samsung SH-W162C drive with scratched / defective DVD media. For the tests, we used CDVD Benchmark and Nero CDSpeed. The reference test media comes from ALMEDIO. These tests were made prior to the release of the 1.01 firmware upgrade and were not re-tested, as the latest firmware does not improve error correction capabilities.

ABEX TDR-821

This is a single sided, single layer DVD-ROM with a 4.7GB capacity, and its surface has an artificial scratch of dimensions varying from 0.4 to 3.0 mm.

The following transfer rate picture comes from the CDVD Benchmark v1.21 transfer rate test.

The behaviour of the SH-W162C drive with the DVD error correction tests remains consistent in all cases. As can be seen from the above graph, the reading was completed successfully and the drive managed to read over the defective area, reaching a final, maximum speed over 12X. One thing that is apparent is the faint, second line at around 1X that spans all the way from start to finish. This however, is not due to the defects but appears to be a characteristic of the drive itself.

ABEX TDR-825

This is also a single sided, single layer DVD-ROM of 4.7GB capacity. The data structure of the disc is exactly the same as that of the TDR-821, with the difference that there are no scratches on it but instead, defective areas of dimensions ranging from 0.5 to 1.1 mm.

There are also fingerprints sized between 65 and 75 micrometers.

In this case, the final speed reached was 16X but once again we have the ghost line hovering around 1X.

- Dual Layer media

ABEX TDR-841

This is an 8.5GB dual layer single sided DVD-ROM disc with artificial scratches of dimensions ranging from 0.4 to 3.0mm, on both layers.

Again the drive managed to read over both defective areas in both layers. The second, ghost line is again present but more pronounced. There's also a major region of activity over the second defect where the drive obviously found it rough going.

ABEX TDR-845

The disc is a single sided, dual layer DVD-ROM disc of a capacity of 8.5GB. The only difference between the TDR-845 and the TDR-841 is that the first includes defective areas and fingerprints.

The dimensions of the defective areas range from 0.5 to 1.1 mm and the fingerprints are sized from 65 to 75 micro meters.

Same performance here as well and the drive seems to be more sensitive with defective areas in the second layer.

ABEX TDV-541

The TDV-541 is a single sided, dual layer DVD-VIDEO disc, with a capacity of 8.5GB. The disc is based on the TDV-540 series which is designed for inspection and adjustment of DVD-VIDEO players. The disc checks the layer switch operation from layer 0 to layer 1 and also includes test pictures and test signals for DVD sound files.

The current TDV-541 also checks the error correcting capabilities of the drive and includes scratches from 0.4 to 3.0 mm.

Excellent performance in this case. The SH-W162C managed to read flawlessly, all the way to the end, producing this smooth graph without any speed drops during the layer change as is the case with most drives.

ABEX TDV-545

The TDV-545 disc is based on the TDV-540 series. It is a single sided, dual layer DVD-VIDEO disc with a capacity of 8.5GB. The TDV-545 includes artificial black dots on the data surface, sized from 0.4 to 1.0 mm. It has also 65 - 75 micro meter fingerprints.

Last test with defective media and the 545 test disc was no match for Samsung's error correction mechanism. Great performance once more.

- Summary

The Samsung SH-W162C DVD Recorder may be a bit slow in reading but surely gets the job done. Expect it to read over almost any kind of bad quality - defective media. Good error correction with DVD media but we didn't like the multiple speed falls while reading.