detail information

Drive Specifications

Multi Function: (X MULTI)

Max Write:  5X BD-ROM/R/RE Read

Max Write:  12X DVD+R/6X DVD+RW/6X DVD-RW/4X DVD+R (DL) Write

Max Read:  32X CD-R/24X CD-RW Write

Max Write:  12X DVD-ROM/32X CD-ROM Read

Max Write:  5X DVD-RAM Write/Read

Liquid Crystal Tilt Technology – Precision on Uneven Discs

LCT (Liquid Crystal Tilt) technology provides enhanced pick up head accuracy during recording and playback on discs with uneven curvature and thickness.

FlextraLink™ Buffer Under-run Errors Prevention Technology

Built-in FlextraLink prevents users from buffer under-run problems and eliminates the creation of unusable discs.  Throughout the recording process, FlextraLink consistently monitors the data buffer status to ensure best recording quality under high-speed operation.

FlextraSpeed™

Built-in FlextraSpeed and AI Auto Speed Adjustment Tech. enhance accuracy and reliability when reading/writing/re-writing across a broad range of certified media in different formats.  FlextraSpeed continuously monitors the recording media and sets the optimal writing speeds to ensure best recording quality.  The ASUS proprietary FlextraSpeed occupies minimal system resources so the PC remains full operational and available for other applications even during recording process.

Superior Stability with DDSSII

The DDSSII technology is designed to minimize the vibration caused by the spindle motor and resonance between components as well as the drive and PC cases.  The ASUS patented DDSSII stabilizes, both horizontally and vertically, the pick-up head, achieving more precise tracking and focusing, with reducing vibration and noise caused by high-revolution spindle motors.

Smart laser Driver Technology

The smart laser driver technology is to combine the strategy circuit into the laser driver in the OPU.  The main PCB only sends the data and clock signal through the connectors and cables.  Even there is distortion in the data and clock signal, the strategy circuit in the OPU will correct them back to normal status and would not let the distortion effect the recording quality.  Especially for high speed recording drive, the smart laser driver technology is the key to get stable recording quality.

Compatible with Wide Range of Disc Formats

Operates on Horizontal or Vertical Mounting

ASUS Unique Live Firmware Update Tool

Bundle Burning Software

Windows XP/NT/2000/Vista Supported

Drive Specifications

What’s inside the box?

The drive we received was a retail package that comes with all you need for an easy and quick installation.  The retail package includes the following:

• BC-2305PT ASUS BD Combo Drive
• CyberLink BD Solution CD
• Quick installation guide

Retail Package Contents

Moving right along, let’s take a closer look at the Package Details.

Box Front

Box Rear

Now let’s take a closer look at the drive itself:

Drive Front

Drive Rear

Drive Left

Drive Right

Drive Bottom

Drive Top

Drive Sticker

Test machine

For this review we are testing the ASUS BC-1205PT mounted inside of our Intel based system with the following components:

• Motherboard: ASUSTek, P5K Deluxe
• Processor:  Intel Core 2 Duo E6600, 2.4GHz
• Memory:  4GB G-SKILL  DDR2-800
• Video: GeForce 8600 GTS
• Sound:  SoundMAX integrated Digital HD Audio, onboard
• Hard Disks: 250GB Seagate SATA-II, X2
• Optical Drives: Lite-On DH20A3P, LG GSA-H62L, ASUS BC-1205PT, Optiarc DVD RW AD 7170A,  BenQ DW1650, Samsung SH-S203B, Lite-On CD-RW SOHR-5239V, and the ASUS DRW-2014L1T

System set-up:

The drive identifies itself as: ASUS BC-1205PT and is installed SATA, with firmware 1.03 with a 4MB buffer.

Software

Windows Vista Business 32bit installed on our test system; we will also be using the following software for this review:

• Nero Burning Rom 8 Ultra Enhanced
• Nero CD-DVD Speed
• Nero InfoTool
• Slysoft CloneCD
• K-Probe 2.5.2

Included Software with the Drive

The ASUS BC-1205PT is shipped with the CyberLink BD Solution CD, containing the following programs:

• Power Producer 4
• Power Director 5
• PowerDVD 7.3
• Instant Burn 5
• Power 2Go 5.5

As we can see from the below screenshot from the CyberLink install; these package contains everything a new owner of the BC-1205PT will need to get started.

Book type (bitsetting):   

The ASUS BC-1205PT supports automatic bit-setting and is capable of writing DVD+R DL media with the book type of DVD-ROM.  However, bitsetting of DVD+R/RW is not supported.

You can check if your discs are in fact written with DVD-ROM book type by starting Nero CD-DVD Speed and open the Disc Info Tab and you should see something like this:

Writing technique     

Now it’s time to take a closer look at the write technology used by the ASUS BC-1205PT:

For these tests we used CD-Speed and wrote a full disc at the drives maximum speed.

CD Recordable:

According to the specifications of the ASUS BC-1205PT, it should be able to write CD-R media at a maximum speed of 24X on supported media.

The ASUS BC-1205PT used Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 24X.  This gives an average speed of 20.89X with a total write time of 4 minutes and 41 seconds.

For comparison we have made the following table: 

The AUSU BC-1205PT performs on average when comparing write times.

CD-Rewritable

The ASUS BC-1205PT uses Z-CLV (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write CD-RW media at its maximum speed of 24x, with an average write speed of 21.96x and writing time of 4 minutes 22 seconds.

For comparison we have made the following table: 

The ASUS BC-1205PT is one of the fastest of our test drives at writing CD-RW.

12x DVD+R

The ASUS BC-1205PT should be able to write DVD+R media at a maximum speed of 12X.

The ASUS BC-1205PT uses Z-CLV (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+R at the maximum supported speed of 12x. This results in an average write speed of 9.44x and a writing time of just 7 minutes and 22 seconds.

Here we have prepared a table to show how the ASUS BC-1205PT compares with other Blu-ray drives:

The BC-1205PT is right in the mix of things when we look at overall write times.

12x DVD-R

The ASUS BC-1205PT should be able to write DVD-R media at a maximum speed of 12X.

The ASUS BC-1205PT uses Z-CLV (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-R at the maximum supported speed of 12x. This results in an average write speed of 9.45x and a writing time of just 7 minutes and 09 seconds.

Here we have prepared a table to show how the ASUS BC-1205PT compares with other Blu-ray drives:

As you can see the ASUS BC-1205PT performs on average looking at write times when compared with our other tested drives.

6x DVD+RW

According to the specification of the ASUS BC-1205PT it should be able to write to DVD+RW at a maximum of 6X.

The ASUS BC-1205PT uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+RW at 6x. The average speed is 6.01x and total writing time is 10 minutes and 20 seconds.

For comparison we have made the following table: 

The ASUS BC-1205PT performs on average with other 6X capable drives.

6x DVD-RW

According to the specification of the ASUS BC-1205PT it should be able to write to DVD-RW at a maximum of 6X.

The ASUS BC-1205PT uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-RW at 6x. The average speed is 6.01x and total writing time is 10 minutes and 14 seconds.

For comparison we have made the following table: 

As you can see the ASUS BC-1205PT performs on average when compared with the other drives we have tested.

Let’s take a look at DVD±R DL writing techniques……

4x DVD+R DL 

According to the specifications of the ASUS BC-1205PT, it should be able to write DVD+R DL at a maximum speed of 4X.  Here are our results.

The ASUS BC-1205PT uses CLV, (Constant Linear Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 4X. This gives an average speed of 3.96X and a total writing time of 27 minutes and 06 seconds.

4x DVD-R DL

According to the specifications of the ASUS BC-1205PT, it should be able to write DVD-R DL at a maximum speed of 4X. 

The ASUS BC-1205PT uses CLV, (Constant Linear Velocity), to write at 2X with this media with an average speed of 1.97X and a total write time of 53 minutes and 37 seconds.

For comparison we have made the following table:

The ASUS BC-1205PT performed on average with our other tested drives for DVD+R DL; and the slower writing to DVD-R DL is most likely due to the review team not having additional –R DL media to test with at this time.

DVD-RAM  

The specifications for the ASUS BC-1205PT state that the drive is capable of writing DVD-RAM at 5X.  Let’s take a look at the write strategy for this media.

5X DVD-RAM Writing

The ASUS BC-1205PT uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity), to write at is maximum speed of 5X.  This gives an average speed of 4.98X and a total writing time of 11 minutes and 08 seconds.

Summary

The ASUS BC-1205PT performed well with our writing tests.  We regret that we do not have any DVD-R DL capable of writing at the drives rated speed to test with at this time. Let’s move on ahead and check out the reading performance on the next page….. 

Introduction

Reading Performances