detail information

Test machine:

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

Hardware:

• Motherboard: ECS Elitegroup N2U400-A with Nvidia nForce 2 Ultra-400 and nForce MCP chipset.
•  Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (Barton) 333 MHz FSB.
• RAM: 1 GB Infineon PC2700 DDR
•  GFX: ATI Radeon 9600 XT
•  Sound: SoundBlaster Audigy
• Hard disk: Samsung SP1614N 160 GB.

System set-up:

The drive was connected to the USB2.0 interface and identified itself as HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-5160D. Autorun was enabled for all devices.

We also connected the LG GSA-5160D to the FireWire IEEE 1394 interface as you can see on the picture above. (During our review we decided to use the USB 2.0 interface).

Software:

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

• Ahead Nero Burning ROM version 6.6.0.3
• Ahead Nero CD/DVD Speed v3.61
• Ahead Nero Info Tool v2.27
• Slysoft CloneCD v5.0.4.5
• DVD-Identifier 3.6
• Exact Audio Copy v0.95 pre-beta 5
• K-Probe v2.4.2

Now it's time to take a closer look at the write technology used by the LG GSA-5160D:

CD-Recordable:

The LG GSA-5160D uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 40X. The drive wrote the last zone at 40.41X and this gives an average speed of 31.70x. Two drives for comparison are found below.

The Philips DVDR1640 uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 40X. This gives an average speed of 29.86x.

The Samsung TS-H552B uses P-CAV (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) to write at its rated speed of 40x. This gives an average speed of 34.27x.

 For comparison we have made the following table: 

As we can read from the table, the LG GSA-5160D got an average writing time on CD-R's.

CD-Rewritable:

The LG GSA-5160D uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity), to write at its rated speed of 24x, this gives an average speed of 23.31x. Below are some other drives for comparison:

The Samsung TS-H552B uses P-CAV (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) writing technology to write at 32X for CD-RW discs, the average speed is 30.21x.

The LaCie d2 DVD±RW Double Layer uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) writing technology to write at 16X for CD-RW discs, the average speed is 16x. For a better overview we present the following comparison table:

As we can see from the table, the LG GSA-4150D takes third place - compared with the others that also write CD-RW at 24x.

16X DVD+R / 8X DVD-R Writing speed:

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.

The LG GSA-5160D uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-R at 8x. The average speed is 7.80x and total writing time is 8 minutes and 2 seconds.

The LG GSA-4163B uses P-CAV, (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD-R at 16x. The average speed is 12.90x and total writing time is 5 minutes and 20 seconds.

The Samsung TS-H552B uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. The average speed is 12.03x and total writing time is 5 minutes and 58 seconds.

The Philips DVDR1640P uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write at 16x. The average speed is 11.56x and total writing time is 5 minutes and 48 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 BenQ DW1600A also uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write at 16x. The average speed is 11.32x and total writing time is 6 minutes and 7 seconds. Below, we made a comparison table:

*Actual writing speed was 12X in these areas for the Pioneer A08.

From the table above, we can see that the LG GSA-5160D is one of the lowest drive writing DVD+R at 16x, due to the Z-CLV Technique. The writing time on DVD-R 8x is good though.

Features and techniques:

What is double layer recording technology?

Introduced by Philips and Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (MKM) in 2003, double layer recording technology offers two recordable layers on a single DVD disc, providing nearly double the capacity of 4.7GB single layer DVDs. The two individual layers are separated by a transparent buffer layer and are accessible from the same side of the disc, so recording can occur completely uninterrupted.

When a double layer disc is inserted into a compatible drive, the laser will focus on one of the layers and attempt to read an ADIP (Address in Pregroove) signal. From this signal, the drive is able to detect if the disc is a double layer DVD+R disc and which layer it's focusing on. Once the media type and layer are determined, the laser can adjust its range of focus to read one of the two recordable layers.

Book type (bitsetting).

The LG GSA-5160D supports Bitsetting and can write DVD+R and DVD+R9 DL media with DVD-ROM book type.

In our tests we used the Bitsetting option in Nero CD-DVD Speed to change the book-type:

Or you can use Nero Burning ROM (V.6.6.0.3) under the option 'Choose Recorder" to change the booktype:

Here is how you could check if your discs are really written with DVD-ROM booktype:

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

DVD+R with book type DVD-ROM

DVD+R9 DL with Book type 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, which is reading performance test…