detail information

Test machine:

For this review we will be using a computer with the following configuration:

Hardware:

System set-up:

The LG GSA-4166B was connected as Secondary Master and identified itself as HL-DT-ST DVDRRW GSA-4166B. DMA (Direct Memory Access) and autorun is enabled for all devices.

Software:

Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 is installed on the computer. We will be using the following software in this review:

• Nero Burning ROM version 6.6.1.4
• Nero CD/DVD Speed V4.11
• Nero Info Tool v3.07
• Slysoft CloneCD v5.2.8.1
• Exact Audio Copy v0.95 prebeta 5
• K-Probe v2.4.2
• SureThing CD/DVD Labeler SE LightScribe Edition 4.3.0192

Features and techniques:

Features of the Super Multi:

BookType (Bitsetting):

The LG GSA-4166B supports Bitsetting for DVD+R and DVD+R DL. The drive does not support Bitsetting for DVD+RW media. This feature can be controlled/changed with the Bitsetting option in Nero CD-DVD Speed or in Nero Burning Rom 6 as well as with various other applications. See below:

Now let's take a closer look at the write technology used by the LG GSA-4166B:

CD-Recordable:

The LG GSA-4166B uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write at its maximum speed of 48X that gave this burn an average speed of 36.71x.

Two other drives are shown for comparison:

The Pioneer DVR-110D uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write at its maximum speed of 40X that gave this burn an average speed of 30.05x.

The Samsung TS-E552U uses P-CAV (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) to write at its maximum speed of 40x that gave this burn an average speed of 34.39x.

The following table shows some comparative stats: 

What we see from the table is evidence that the LG GSA-4166B is very fast when it comes to writing CD-R.

CD-Rewritable:

The LG GSA-4166B uses Z-CLV (Zone Constant Linear Velocity) to write CD-RW media at its maximum speed of 32x that gave this burn an average speed of 25.89x.

Two other drives are shown for comparison:

The NU DHW-164 uses P-CAV (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) to write CD-RW media at its maximum speed of 24X that gave this burn an average speed of 23.16x.

The LaCie d2 DVD±RW Double Layer uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write CD-RW media at its maximum speed of 16X that gave this burn an average speed of 16.00x.

The following table shows some comparative stats:

What we see from the table is evidence that the LG GSA-4166B turns in a respectable time when it comes to writing CD-RW.

16X DVD+R/-R Writing speed:

The LG GSA-4166B uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at the maximum supported speed of 16x. This gives an average write speed of 11.88x and a writing time of 5 minutes 46 seconds.

The LG GSA-4166B uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD-R at its maximum speed of 16x. This gives an average write speed of 11.90x and a writing time of 5 minutes and 44 seconds.

Below are some write graphs from some other drives for comparison:

The NEC 3540A uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. This gives an average writing speed of 11.81x and a writing time of 5 minutes and 58 seconds.

The Philips DVDR16LS uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. The average speed is 11.33x and total writing time is 6 minutes and 8 seconds. The average speed is lower and the writing time is higher than it could have been due to the Walking OPC generation 2 using some time to constantly adjust the writing quality, we could see this as constant dips in the speed curve.

The LG GSA-5160D uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. The average speed is 11.60x and total writing time is 6 minutes and 12 seconds. Below, we made a comparison table:

*1 - Actual writing speed was max 14x due to USB-Bridge limitations.
*2 - Actual writing speed was max 13x due to USB-Bridge limitations.

From the table above, we can see that the LG GSA-4166B is amongst the fastest drives when writing DVD+R and DVD-R.

8X DVD+R DL writing speed:

The LG GSA-4166B supports 8x writing speed on DVD+R DL media.

The LG GSA-4166B uses Z-CLV, (Zone Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+R DL at 8x. The average speed is 5.16x and total writing time is 23:26 minutes.

*Reviewers note: We never achieved a full 8x burn on the tested media, the best we could achieve was 8x until the layer break then 4x throughout the second layer.

4X DVD-R DL writing speed:

The LG GSA-4166B supports 4x writing speed on DVD-R DL media.

The LG GSA-4166B uses CLV, (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-R DL at 4x. The average speed is 3.97x and total writing time is 27:22 minutes.

8X DVD+RW writing speed:

The LG GSA-4166B uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+RW at 8x. The average speed is 7.46x and total writing time is 9:19 minutes.

6X DVD-RW writing speed:

The LG GSA-4166B uses Z-CLV, (Zone Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-RW at 6x. The average speed is 5.63x and total writing time is 11:19 minutes.

Book type (Bitsetting):

The LG GSA-4166B supports Bitsetting, and can write DVD+R DL and DVD+R media with DVD-ROM book type.

Here is how you can see if your discs were really written with DVD-ROM book type:

Start Nero CD-DVD Speed and click the Disc info button and you should get something like this:

DVD+R DL with book type DVD-ROM

DVD+R with book type DVD-ROM

Another quick test is to start Nero CD-DVD Speed and look at the disc information:

This should say DVD-ROM.

Included software:

Now it's time to look at the included software and to comment if needed. Notice that we may not use the included software in our performance testing part of the review.

LG DVD Writer Solution:

Cyberlink PowerDVD:

Cyberlink PowerProducer Gold:

Nero Express 6:

In CD:

Now that we have finished examining the drive and its writing strategies, it's time to head on to next page, where we do the reading performance tests…