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Lite-On 40/12/48X CD-RW
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Posted by Robin
Posted on 23/06/02 16:00
Number of views 11059
Menu
 Conclusion
 Introduction
 Package content
 The specifications
 Data reading tests
 Music reading tests
 Reading scratched discs
 Writing tests
 Write Quality
 Backing up protected data discs
 CD-ReWriting Performance
 Special CD-R disc tests
 General & Conclusion
Text Size  Text Size
Special CD R disc tests
 

Special CD-R disc tests

Now let us see if the drive is able to write 99min CD-R discs. The discs we used was Infiniti compax 99min discs. Here is the manufacturer information:

  • ATIP: 96m 43s 37f
  • Disc Manufacturer: Unknown Disc Identification Code
  • Reflective layer: Dye (Short strategy; e.g. Phthalocyanine)
  • Media type: CD-Recordable
  • Recording Speeds: min. unknown - max. unknown
  • Nominal Capacity: 702.83MB (79m 59s 74f / LBA: 359849)
Since CD-R identifier was unable to identify these pretty new discs we used the CD-R identifying tool from Lite-On, and here is what it could tell us:
  • This Disc is designed for CD-RW/COMBO Drive Only.
  • Disc Type, Material = CD-R, Phthalocyanine
  • ATIP Lead-in = 96m 43s 37f
  • Norminal Capacity = 702.83MB (79m 59s 74f)
  • Disc Manufacturer maybe = RiTEK,Extra-Long
As we could see the disc is manufactured by ritek, it was even identified as extra long type.



A picture of the disc type we used.

First we used the overburn test in Nero CD-Speed. And here is the result we got from both drives/all firmware versions:



As this shot shows the drive should in theory be able to write 99minutes discs, let us now try it in practical use. We used nero to create a disc with 99minutes with data and then wrote it at the max speed the drive allowed (which was 32X). Here is the result from Nero:



During this test we had some failed writes, not because of the writer but because of the media! The infinity discs (produced by ritek) seems to be very low quality or the discs in this batch was defective, we even opened a new spindle of discs but the problem stayed the same. When it was reaching about 1 cm from the edge of the discs it started having problems. There was a spot on the discs that it would not write, we saw it since this spot got darker and darker closer to the edge and finally the writer was unable to write data to this area of the disc and failed. The discs are 32X certified but we had problems all the way down to 16X and even at 16X this spot gave writing problems. All drives was locked to 32X recording when SMART-BURN was enabled. Even if we had problem with 32X recording and rarely succeed we did disable SMART-BURN and tried to write at 48X:



Unbelievable enough, but the write process completed successfully. But the writer slowed down the write speed to 24X automatically at the end because of the low quality discs. This also shows that SMART-BURN can't be completely disabled as it's still reducing the writespeed if needed. This could also be seen out from the total write time, as it should have been lower if it wrote at 48X on the whole disc.

Now it's time to test the readability of the discs:



The green line indicates the read speed.
The yellow line indicates the rotation speed (rpm) that the disc have.

Even if the read curve is a bit bumpy and dropped a bit at the end the drives had no problems with reading the discs. All drives and firmware versions gave the same results. To round it off we also ran a scandisc check on one of the created 99min discs..



Not that bad, compared to the Writing Quality test earlier in this review the result is around average.

Time to try a credit card CD-R disc, here is the manufacturer information:

  • ATIP: 97m 31s 07f
  • Disc Manufacturer: Ritek Co.
  • Reflective layer: Dye (Short strategy; e.g. Phthalocyanine)
  • Media type: CD-Recordable
  • Recording Speeds: min. unknown - max. unknown
  • Nominal Capacity: 52.441MB (06m 00s 00f / LBA: 26850)



We used Nero to write 50Mb of data to the disc, and the drive had no problems with doing it but the write speed was locked to 8X max. We read the disc back with Nero CD-Speed:



The green line indicates the read speed.
The yellow line indicates the rotation speed (rpm) that the disc have.

As we could see the read speed is also locked to 8X.

Summary

The drive had no problems with reading and writing these special CD-R discs. For this usage the drive is excellent.

Now it's time to round off this review, head on to the last page to read the conclusion…
CD-ReWriting Performance
General & Conclusion
Want to submit your own review? Click here
Posted by MP|3 on Thursday 27 June 2002 03:10
Complete review uploaded! Have fun with this great review :p
Posted by OC-Freak on Thursday 27 June 2002 21:52
PLEASE comment this review. Over 5000 views and no comments?

Both positive and negative comments wanted. Quetions welcomed as well.
Posted by on Friday 28 June 2002 06:34
Great review, already own the drive, wanted to see where you had it rated. Speed is great, even though I think its not as loud as listed, but other than that and its boring looks, this drive rocks! Good tests, indepth and professional, keep up the good work!
Mike
Posted by ExSport on Saturday 29 June 2002 01:59
Very good review. But I don't understand why Lite-on has only 9.5 and Teac 10. In 90% of tests Liteon was the best and TEAC was second. LITEON has best price,speed,game backup,and so on).I think it's minimally the same as TEAC, maybe better. I have LITE-ON, I know what I say.
Posted by on Saturday 29 June 2002 21:42
If you want more comments how about fixing the pull down menu code so it works in netscape6/mozilla/opera so people can create a login, or better still allow anonymous posting.

Great review, very thorough.

I must stress that the drive is ugly looking and the loader try is very loud and cheap feeling. I prefer the LG 40X over the Lite-On 40x because of this although technically they both perform well.
Posted by Fish3669 on Saturday 29 June 2002 22:09
I thought the review covered the drive very well, as do the other reviews here. I already have this drive and I like it :7
Posted by cj2304 on Sunday 07 July 2002 12:09
Good, indepth & informative review. Well done! I have this drive myself and can't fault it.
Posted by on Friday 12 July 2002 19:59
Fantastic review. I will have to read your reviews about other drives as well. I like the speed and performance of this drive, but there was one aspect which seemed unclear. These discs that are written with SmartBurn, shouldn't they be completely free of all bad sectors or damaged sectors? I can understand that some CD-R's are crap, but I would think that the Smart-Burn would be able to lower the speed to the point where one could expect 100% perfect burns. I have an old Plextor 8X, and am looking to upgrade, these fast burners are great, but what I still want is 100% perfect recording, even if the drive drops to 24X writing, I would expect that if the media is good enough (certified 24X), it would always write perfectly.

I want to check the rest of your reviews to see which drive writes perfectly every single time, whenever it's "active-media detection" technology is engaged.
Posted by on Friday 19 July 2002 21:25
Great review. I went right out and bought one. What is the difference between thew S and W models? Do you lose anything?
Posted by on Monday 29 July 2002 04:15
Australian PC User has reviewed the 40125W the "best buy". They found it both cheap and reliable. I checked with the elby CloneCD 4 web site (http://elby.ch/english/products/clone_cd/writers/l.html#liteon) and it says it supports DAO96.

So there you go. Looks like this will be the first CD-burner for this newbie. :4
Posted by on Sunday 04 August 2002 13:26
Great review. I was trying to decide whether to get the Asus 4816A or the Lite-On 40125S after my Acer 4x4x32 finally died :4. Thanks for making my mind up :) I'm going to buy the Lite-On this week.
Posted by MythosGR on Tuesday 03 September 2002 13:55
Great review as always. But I had the teac in my mind till now and Im more confused cause of the score you gave both!
Posted by on Friday 06 September 2002 04:49
first thang first...CD Freaks!? mega indepth and wicked review you've got here! LTR-40125S IS THE KING!!! it's a supurb burning machine! i bought the drive five days before reading the review, mainly cuz a friend told me that it can be overclocked. on the first day i got it, i burned more than 20 perfect cds consecutively. i very much enjoy it's lightning speed. i believe that your review should give it 9.9 (cuz nothing is perfect in the world) for the time being as there will be more great drives in the near future, and teac should only get 9 outta 10. i'm not being bias or anything..as i have never used teac before, but the review clearly speaks for itself, that the performance of liteon surpassed teac. the best part is flashable firmware enabling anyone to overclock it and still running rock solid. sometimes, overclocking isn't all that bad cuz it can show what a hardward is capable of. for me the strongest factor which makes liteon superior to other brands is "value of money". it's not the cheapest rw in town, but it surely has one of the lowest caparable price on today's market. especially when overclocked it will make 40125S the cheapest 48X drive available..so worthy you can even buy a spare in case you wreck the first one. the noise the tray makes and the plainess and dullness of the front to me are bearable. i simply just luv everything about my 40125S. LITEON RULES MAN!!!
Posted by on Wednesday 30 October 2002 09:34
gr8 review. made me buy the Liteon.
Please explain on the possiblity to use a x48 firmware on this machine.
although not legal/voids warranty / with risks, is it simple to do? possible?
Any elaboration is welcomed. Thanks.
Posted by theunbeatable on Friday 06 December 2002 23:31
For better support on copy-protected cd's you could use the newest firmware ZS0P. So makes that a 10 out of 10 ;)
Posted by megod on Tuesday 10 December 2002 06:32
Just did a Quick test burning a Simulated 699mb file 588 solid Win RAR File & a 111mb Video file on a 16x Certified Go Tech "Cheap shit media",
LTR-48125w Safeburn off 48x "2.43min"
LTR-48125w Safeburn on 40x "3.09min"
Yamaha CRW3200e Write speed Off 24x "3.52min"
Yamaha CRW3200e Write speed On 24x "3.53min"
I must say I am Impressed with the LiteOn.
Cheers
megod:9

Posted by on Friday 21 February 2003 23:25
I've got this LTR-48125S. Whenever overburning is involved, any speed higher than 16x will be successful, but Scandisc shows Unreadable sectors! How could the reviewer managed to get a fully readable burn on a 99min CDR with 48X?!?! This drive must be something!

Besides, my drive shows success on overburning test using this CD Speed, even @ 99min using an 80min CD-R
Brand: Arita
Manuf: RiTEK
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