detail information

DVD+R Dual Layer writing speed and compatibility:

The AOpen DUW1608/ARR supports the DVD+R9 DL standard for writing Dual Layer discs with a size of 8.5 GB. Let us first take a look at the media's we will use:

Let's find the manufacturer and media information too, for this we will use DVD Identifier 3.4:

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Unique Disc Identifier: [DVD+R-DL : MKM-001-000]
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Disc Type:              [DVD+R DL]
Manufacturer ID:        [MKM]
Manufacturer Name:      [Mitsubishi Kagaku Media]
Media Type ID:          [001]
Product Revision:       [Not Specified]
Disc Application Code:  [General Purpose]
Recording Speeds:       [1x , 2.4x]
Blank Disc Capacity:    [4,173,824 Sectors = 8,152.0MB = 7.96GB (8.55GB)]
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[DVD Identifier - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com]
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Full media code:
0000 : e1 0f 32 10 00 03 00 00  00 fc ff ff 00 22 d7 ff   ..2.........."..
0010 : 00 00 00 4d 4b 4d 00 00  00 00 00 30 30 31 00 40   ...MKM.....001.@
0020 : 25 25 37 0c 02 2f 63 02  2f 63 21 23 0d 0e 14 14   %7../c./c!#....
0030 : 02 01 01 10 00 21 23 0d  0e 14 14 02 01 01 10 00   .....!#.........

This media is manufactured by Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (Made in Singapore). Thanks to Verbatim (Germany) for sending us this media.

Manufacturer and media information:

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Unique Disc Identifier: [DVD+R-DL : RITEK-D01-001]
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Disc Type:              [DVD+R DL]
Manufacturer ID:        [RITEK]
Manufacturer Name:      [Ritek Co.]
Media Type ID:          [D01]
Product Revision:       [001]
Disc Application Code:  [General Purpose]
Recording Speeds:       [1x , 2.4x]
Blank Disc Capacity:    [4,173,824 Sectors = 8,152.0MB = 7.96GB (8.55GB)]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
0000 : e1 0f 32 10 00 03 00 00  00 fc ff ff 00 22 d7 ff   ..2.........."..
0010 : 00 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b  00 00 00 44 30 31 01 40   ...RITEK...D01.@
0020 : 25 25 37 00 00 28 64 00  28 64 19 1b 0b 0b 0e 0f   %7..(d.(d......
0030 : 01 00 00 00 00 19 1b 0b  0b 0e 0f 01 00 00 00 00   ................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[DVD Identifier - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The media is made by Ritek (Made in Taiwan).  Thanks to Conrexx Technology B.V. (The Netherlands) for sending us this media.

Testing procedure: We created an ISO Image of the largest DVD-Video disc we had (Nemo, 7.91 GB (8.495.888.384 bytes)) using DVD-Decrypter. Then we wrote this image file using Nero Burning ROM 6. Below are the results:

Verbatim branded DVD+R9 DL media.

Traxdata branded DVD+R9 DL media.

The AOpen DUW1608/ARR used 44 minutes and 01 seconds for writing the Verbatim DVD+R9 DL at 2.4x. The Traxdata branded DVD+R9 DL media, failed short after it started to write Layer 2. Let us take a look at the K-Probe result:

Verbatim branded DVD+R9 DL media.

The KProbe result is very good. And now it's time to take a look at some reading tests with various DVD-Writers and DVD-ROM drives.

First we will try to read the discs back in the AOpen DUW1608/ARR drive:

Verbatim branded DVD+R9 DL media.

As we could see, the AOpen drive could not read the media. It stopped right before the 2^nd layer. Let us try some other drives to read the Dual Layer discs:

Verbatim branded DVD+R9 DL media.

The Plextor DVDR PX-712A shows a perfect reading curve, but sadly it stopped just before the layer change. The only drive that would read the disc back was the Lite-On SHOW-1633s and we have included the reading curve of it below:

Verbatim branded DVD+R9 DL media.

Let's compare the AOpen DUW1608/ARR with other DL capable drives.

* Verbatim DVD+R9 DL
** Philips DVD+R9 DL
*** Traxdata DVD+R9 DL

Standalone DVD-Player compatibility:

We only have 3 standalone DVD-Players available to test the DVD+R9 DL media (Book Type: DVD-ROM - is done automatically by the firmware).

• Aiwa DVD Player XD-DV370
• Medion DVD/Div-X Player MD7457
• Red Star DVD-Player 230G

Compatibility results:

All 3 DVD standalone devices played the Verbatim branded DVD+R9 media, but the DVD devices skipped/hanged at the layer change.

Summary: Questionable quality and compatibility results.

Before we round off this review, let us run the drive through some advanced tests at next page…