Sanyo CRD-BP4/1400P CDR-W - Page 5

CDR Tests

The Sanyo CRD-BP4/1400P models are the first, which support 16x CLV writing. The difference with partial CAV 16x writing supposed to be less than 15sec but as you will read later it's not. Using CD Speed v0.8 we confirmed that the drive has 16x writing speed (16.01x average):

- Procedure

We tested both Sanyo drives with Nero v5.0.3.1, CloneCD v2.8.3.1 software and with the following media: Princo 74min (12x) & 80min (16x), Ricoh Platinum 80min (12x), Verbatim 74min (16x), TDK 74min (12x), Ricoh and Plextor 74min HS RW. You will notice that we didn't use 16x rated 74min media. We searched for such media in the local market but we were unlucky. We hope soon get 16x rated 74min media and re-do the tests.

- CD-R Tests:
For most of our tests we used Nero v5.0.3.1. We made a Data CD job with data slight higher than 74mins (74:03:65). We burned the same job with all 4 CDR-W drives:

As you see all 3 drives (BP4, BP1400P, CRW2100E) gave the same exact burning time. The Plextor model wants 3 more seconds to finish the task. The CPU usage is increased over the new Sanyo models even in the SCSI one.

- 80min CDs

As previous we created a DataCD with Nero 5.0.3.1 and used the same media for all burns:

The Sanyo drives gave the lower burning time in this test. The competition wants 4 (CRW2100E) and 6 extra seconds ( PX-W1210S) to finish the task. Let's head over to the most interesting part..The 16x write speed!

- 16x CLV against 16x partial CAV writing

Hmm. Have you noticed something weird here? How come the BP4 model takes 2 less secs to finish the task from the CRW2100E model when it supposed to be faster? The answer is that both Sanyo drives take about 8-10secs to perform the power calibration with all media we tested. Also the BP4 takes 8more secs(!) to finish the task than BP1400P do (using Verbatim 16x rated media). The same thing happened with 80min CDs tests. The BP4 model had again higher time than BP1400P model. Below are our test results for 16x and 12x certified media, both 74 and 80min tasks, written at 16x with the 3 fastest CDR-W drives around (all results include the lead-in and lead-out writing times):

Notice that with both Verbatim and Princo media all 3 drives gave back the same time, which of course is far away from what simulation gave. When we used the new Colorless media the time were much different for the 3 drives. The BP4 model gave back lower time(!), BP4 and CRW2100E much higher time. The same thing happens with the 80min CDs.. If Sanyo can improve the power calibration times for both SCS and IDE model then we could reach the 5mins barrier. As it seems the quality of the media will make a great deal for 16x recording speed.

- Overburning Tests

We used 90 and 99min CDs (from Medea International) and using Nero we were able to write up to 92minutes. Both drives stop writing at 93mins so you will not be able to use fully the increased capacity of 99min CDs. The 90min media can be written entirely:

- AudioCD Tests

We created several Audio CDs (including CD-Text). All of the CDs we created, were tested with the Plextor PX-40TS and Plextor's CD-Text compatible CD player. From what we saw, everything worked just fine.

- CloneCD Tests:
Both Sanyo drives support DAO-RAW writing according to the CloneCD v2.8.3.1. We used Yamaha CRW2100E as the read source and we backuped up VRally 2 Expert without any problems. Remember that the backup plays only from CD-Rom drive.

Another interesting point is that the drive support simulates writing with DAO-RAW mode (which for example Plextor models doesn't). Last the CloneCD doesn't display the 16x write speed option but if you set the write speed at "MAX" it will do the job ;)

- Buffer Underrun tests

Both Sanyo drives include the improved BURN-Proof technology which eliminates buffer underruns and of course coasters. The drives worked fine even under heavy pressure from our side (100% CPU Usage). The BURN-Proof technology really changed the way we see high-speed recording.

Verdict of CDR Results

The Sanyo 16x models worked very good with most of our tests. The increased writing speed (16x) is not working as fast we expected since both drives take a lot of time to adjust the laser power in order to complete the task. The Yamaha CRW2100E seems to handle slight better the 12x and 16x rated media than both Sanyo drives do. Remember that both Sanyo tested drives are not FINAL products and there is time for improvement. We should sraw definite conclusions when other manufacturers (TDK, Plextor) releases their 16x retail drives.

The overburning feature will please you since it supports fully 90min CDs but not 99mins media. The DAO-RAW feature works great so you will be able to backup your favorite CDs without any problem. Last the BURN-Proof feature will protect your burns from possible buffer underruns (and coasters).