In the following tests, we check the DVD reading capabilities of the SONY DW-Q30 with scratched / defective DVD media. For our tests, we used CDVD Benchmark and Nero CDSpeed . The reference test media comes from ALMEDIO.

ABEX TDR-821

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

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

A very smooth and steady reading graph. Excellent performance.

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, the only difference being that there are no scratches on it. Instead, there are defective areas, ranging in dimensions from 0.5 to 1.1 mm.

There are also fingerprints sized between 65 and 75 micrometers.

In this case there were some hiccups at the start of the disc and then at the start of the second defect area where the reading speed was reduced from 12X down to 4X. However, no errors were reported and the process finished successfully.

- Dual Layer media

ABEX TDR-841

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

The scratches on this particular test disc are not a problem for the Q30A drive.

ABEX TDR-845

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

Good performance with a near smooth graph. Again, no errors were reported. The only speed drops occurred at the same spot in both layers, at the start of the fingerprint defects.

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 was designed to inspect and adjust DVD-VIDEO players. The disc checks the layer switch operation from layer 0 to layer 1 and also includes test pictures and test signals on DVD sound files.

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

Very good error correction, without any deviations in speed.

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 metre fingerprints.

Excellent reading from the SONY drive. The artificial dots and fingerprints were no problem for the drive's error correction mechanism.

- Summary

Overall, DVD error correction from the SONY DW-Q30A drive is quite good.