detail information

DVD+R Double Layer writing speed and compatibility:

The ASUS DRW-1604P supports the DVD+R9 DL standard for writing Double Layer discs with a size of 8.5 GB, at a writing speed of 2.4x or 4x.

Testing procedure:

We wrote a DVD ISO image in Nero 6 using the Disc-at-once writing method: 

Verbatim 2.4x DVD+R9 Double Layer, written at 4x. Total writing time is 26 minutes and 58 seconds. 

RiDATA 2.4x DVD+R9 Double Layer, written at 2.4x. Total writing time is 44 minutes and 18 seconds.

Testing results:

The PI/PIF levels are acceptable and the disc is perfectly readable. Notice that the ASUS DRW-1604P can read DVD+R DL discs at approximately 8x CAV. This is faster than many other drives that are locked to 6x maximum for DVD+R Double Layer reading.

There is a slight elevation in PI errors near the end of the graph, but the Average PI/PIF values look good. This Double Layer disc was also fully readable on both of our transfer rate testing drives without any problems.

Here are the comparison results obtained with Verbatim DVD+R DL discs, measured against other drives:

Standalone Playability:

Both the Verbatim and the Ritek DVD+R9 DL discs written by the ASUS DRW-1604P were tested in our standalone players. Players that we tested on include the Philips DVP642, Koss KD365 and an older model: the Toshiba SD-2300. The ASUS DRW-1604P burns DVD+R DL discs with a DVD-ROM Book Type by default, which is a positive and helps to improve compatibility with standalone players. We ran into a problem with the Ritek DVD+R9 DL disc when testing on the older Toshiba SSD-2300 standalone DVD Player. The player would not recognize the Ritek DL disc, but it had no problems playing the Verbatim DL disc. For best results with older standalone units, stick with using Verbatim DVD+R DL discs on this drive.

DVD+R9 DL Summary: The ASUS DVD+R DL drive can write to Verbatim DVD+R DL media at 4x, producing discs with a DVD-ROM Book Type that can be played without hassle in a range of standalone DVD players. Results on Ritek DVD+R DL media are ok, but this media type might have trouble on older standalone units.

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