detail information

Test machine:

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

Hardware:

System set-up:

The Lite-On SHM-165H6S was connected as Secondary Master and identified itself as LITE-ON DVDRW SHM-165H6S. 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 V4.50
• 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:

BookType (Bitsetting):

The Lite-On SHM-165H6S supports bitsetting for DVD+R/W and DVD+R DL. 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:

Another quick test is to start Nero CD-Speed, change the option under 'User Interface" to show 'Book Type' and then look at the disc information:

This should say DVD-ROM.

Also, using Nero CD-DVD Speed you can click the Disc info button and you will see something like this:

DVD+R DL with book type DVD-ROM

DVD+R with book type DVD-ROM

Now let's take a closer look at the write technology used by the Lite-On SHM-165H6S:

CD-Recordable:

The Lite-On SHM-165H6S uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write at its maximum speed of 48X giving this burn an average speed of 37.12x.

Two other drives are shown for comparison:

The Pioneer DVR-110D uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write at its maximum speed of 40X giving 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 giving 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 Lite-On SHM-165H6S is very fast when it comes to writing CD-R.

CD-Rewritable:

The Lite-On SHM-165H6S uses Z-CLV (Zone Constant Linear Velocity) to write this CD-RW media at 24x giving this burn an average speed of 22.56x.

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 giving 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 giving this burn an average speed of 16.00x.

The following table shows some comparative stats:

Our Verbatim certified 32x CD-RW media is only supported at 24x with the tested firmware as noted previously, this excludes us from showing write speed comparisons against the comparative drives at 32x.

16X DVD+R/-R Writing speed:

The Lite-On SHM-165H6S uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at the maximum supported speed of 16x giving this burn an average write speed of 11.89x and a writing time of 6 minutes 09 seconds.

The Lite-On SHM-165H6S uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD-R at its maximum speed of 16x giving this burn an average write speed of 11.93x and a writing time of 6 minutes and 11 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 giving this burn 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 Lite-On SHM-165H6S is a relatively fast drive when writing DVD±R but does not break the 6 minute mark.

8X DVD+R DL writing speed:

The Lite-On SHM-165H6S supports 8x writing speed on DVD+R DL media.

The Lite-On SHM-165H6S uses Z-CLV, (Zone Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+R DL at 8x. The average speed is 6.86x and total writing time is 17:24 minutes.

4X DVD-R DL writing speed:

The Lite-On SHM-165H6S supports 4x writing speed on DVD-R DL media.

The Lite-On SHM-165H6S uses CLV, (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-R DL at 4x. The average speed is 4.02x and total writing time is 28:01 minutes.

8X DVD+RW writing speed:

The Lite-On SHM-165H6S uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+RW at 8x. The average speed is 7.24x and total writing time is 8:22 minutes.

6X DVD-RW writing speed:

The Lite-On SHM-165H6S uses Z-CLV, (Zone Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-RW at 6x. The average speed is 5.82x and total writing time is 10:38 minutes.

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.

Nero 6.6 OEM Suite:

Cyberlink PowerDVD:

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…