Toshiba SD-M1712 DVD-ROM

Review Pages

1. Introduction
2. Data CD Tests
3. CD Error Correction Tests
4. DVD reading tests
5. DVD Error Correction tests
6. CloneCD Reading Tests
7. DAE Tests
8. Conclusion

TOSHIBA SD-M1712 IDE DVD-ROM - Page 08

Conclusion

Positive (+)	Negative (-)
- 16X DVD-ROM /48X CD-ROM drive - Fast reader for CD-ROM/-R discs - Good seek times for CD/DVD - Reads DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW discs - Supports DVD-RAM format - Fast CloneCD reader - Good DVD error correction/reading quality - Supports reading of SubChannel data - Supports CD-Text	- Supported DVD-R/RW reading speed lowed than competition (4.8X CAV) - Supported reading speed for dual layer DVD-ROM limited to 10X - DVD ripping speed lower than competition - Average CD error correction capabilities - Cannot "handle" any audio protected disc - DAE speed could be higher (22X) - C2 error information is present with low accuracy according to the EAC test

Toshiba SD-M1712 performed adequately in the most of the tests and the results were confirmed by the drive's specifications. Concerning the DVD reading, the drive is fast and the 16X supported speed is high enough, while the seek times are low and compatible to other drives in the DVD-ROM market. The drive officially supports the DVD-R/RW formats but users will be able to read DVD+R/RW discs also. However, the drive did not give the fastest reading speeds in specific tests, compared to other drives. The dual layer DVD-ROM was read at 10X, while it could be higher, and the supported DVD-R/RW reading speed was 4.8X CAV. Ripping of DVD discs was also not very fast but this is commonly known to all users who already own a Toshiba drive. On the other hand, the performance cannot be evaluated considering the reading speeds only. The drive showed a very positive behavior in the DVD "error correction" tests with the ABEX defected discs.

The SD-M1712 series also supports the DVD-RAM format (2X). Unfortunately we did not have the chance to test the reading abilities of the drive but we will update this article shortly with more information on this area.

CloneCD users will find the Toshiba SD-M1712 as a very good solution for their reading tasks with protected discs, since the drive is very fast. The 48X reading speed for CD-R/RW is high enough and the seek times are very low for a drive of this category. As for the CDDA format, the drive is fast (22X) but the competition demands a higher performance. Staying in the reading part for the CD format, we could say that the error correction capabilities of the drive are average and the DAE quality should be also improved. As for the audio protections, the drive will disappoint users since it cannot handle the "Key2Audio" and "Cactus Data Shield 200" modes. The drive can also retrieve C2 error information but the reliability is not high.

The Toshiba SD-M1712 is generally a good DVD-ROM solution. The CD-ROM /DVD-ROM combination could be very handy for the candidate users among with the 2 year-warranty offered by Toshiba. The retail kit is priced at 50-60 Euro.