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Lite-On SOHR-5238S Review
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Posted by Wendy Collins
Posted on 12/08/05 17:20
Number of views 11311
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CD R Writing performance
 

Writing Data CD-R Discs:

A glance at the specifications of the Lite-On SOHR-5238S states that the drive is able to write CD-R discs at 52x. Now it is time for us to find out how the drive really performs in speed and quality.

For our data writing tests, we set up a new compilation of 702Mb using Nero Burning ROM software. Writing method used is DAO (Disc At Once), and the disc is set up as a non-multisession disc with 'finalise disc" enabled. The screenshot below shows how long it takes to write a disc at the highest speed. (52x):

As we can see from the screenshot above, the Lite-On SOHR-5238S took 2 minutes 33 seconds to complete the burn at 52x.

Write Quality:

For these tests we will be using 10 CD-R media from 9 different manufacturers.

To really measure the write speed, we used the 'create data CD" function in Nero CD-Speed. The discs were written at the maximum speed that the drive supports.

For the quality test, we used K-Probe 2 which is a tool developed by a Lite-On employee. It runs under Windows and works with drives made by Lite-On. Also note that different drives and different reading speeds may affect the results obtained when scanning the discs. We used our review drive and scanned the discs at 48X speed.

A written CD-R disc will always have some C1 errors; C1 errors are easily corrected by the drive's error correction capabilities. The next level of errors is C2, while C2 errors could also be corrected by most drive's error correction capabilities; they are not wanted on a good quality disc.

A good disc should not contain any C2 errors and preferably have an average C1 error amount of below 2.0 for the best discs. This should be at least below 10.0 for good quality discs.

After C2 errors, there are only un-correctable errors that will make a disc unusable.

Below Are The Test Results:

Brand:

EMGETON Qauarelle - Thanks to Bell Technology (CZ) for sending us this media.

Manufacturer:

Fornet International Pte. Ltd.

Code:

97m26s07f

Disc Type:

CD-R

Recording Layer:

Dye Type 7: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)

Capacity:

79:59.71 (703 MB)

Certified Speed:

56x

Write Speed:

52x (CAV)

Write Time:

2m:33s

C1 Average/Sec:

4.05

C2 Average/Sec:

0.0

K-Probe shows that C1 errors are on the increase at the end of the disc, with a C1 average of 4.05, this is still quite a good quality burn, and there are no C2 errors.

Brand:

Infiniti Professional White Top Printable - Thanks to Medea International (UK) for sending us this media.

Manufacturer:

CMC Magnetics

Code:

97m26s66f

Disc Type:

CD-R

Recording Layer:

Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)

Capacity:

79:59.71 (703 MB)

Certified Speed:

52x

Write Speed:

52x (CAV)

Write Time:

2m:31s

C1 Average/Sec:

2.79

C2 Average/Sec:

0.00

Very good result with the average of C1 errors at 2.79 and no C2 errors. This places this disc in the 'good quality disc" category.

Brand:

Infiniti Samurai Lava Red - Thanks to Medea International (UK) for sending us this media.

Manufacturer:

SKC

Code:

97m26s26f

Disc Type:

CD-R

Recording Layer:

Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)

Capacity:

79:59.09 (703 MB)

Certified Speed:

52x

Write Speed:

52x (CAV)

Write Time:

2m:38s

C1 Average/Sec:

3.64

C2 Average/Sec:

0.0

Another fast burn and good quality with a C1 average of 3.64 and no C2 errors. Once again this places this burn in the 'good quality disc" category.

 

Brand:

MMORE - Thanks to MMORE (NL) for sending us this media.

Manufacturer:

Moser Baer India Limited

Code:

97m17s06f

Disc Type:

CD-R

Recording Layer:

Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)

Capacity:

79:59.74 (703MB)

Certified Speed:

1x-52x

Write Speed:

52x (CAV)

Write Time:

2m:36s

C1 Average/Sec:

1.72

C2 Average/Sec:

0.0

The MMORE media - manufactured by Moser Baer India Limited produced a very good quality burn with its C1 error average of 1.72 it goes in the 'best quality discs" category.

 

Brand:

Plextor

Manufacturer:

Taiyo Yuden

Code:

97m24s01f

Disc Type:

CD-R

Recording Layer:

Dye Type 1: Long Strategy (Cyanine, AZO)

Capacity:

79:59.72 (703MB)

Certified Speed:

48x

Write Speed:

48x (CAV)

Write Time:

2m:37s

C1 Average/Sec:

0.43

C2 Average/Sec:

0.0

Taiyo Yuden has a great reputation for quality media and this burn is no exception, a fast burn with great quality and with a C1 error average of only 0.43, it goes into the group 'best quality discs". Highly recommended!

Brand:

That's Write! - Thanks to That's Write! (NL) for sending us this media.

Manufacturer:

Sony Corporation

Code:

97m24s16f

Disc Type:

CD-R

Recording Layer:

Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)

Capacity:

79:59.74 (703MB)

Certified Speed:

52x

Write Speed:

40x (CAV)

Write Time:

3m:01s

C1 Average/Sec:

7.16

C2 Average/Sec:

0.0

The Lite-On SOHR-5238S did not burn this normally good quality media very well. K-Probe shows there are problems at the start of the burn with high C1 errors and C2 errors. This is a pity as the C1 average of 7.16 would have classified this disc as a 'good quality disc".

Brand:

Verbatim Super AZ0+Crystal DL

Manufacturer:

Verbatim

Code:

97m34s23f

Disc Type:

CD-R

Recording Layer:

Dye Type 3: Long Strategy (Cyanine, AZO)

Capacity:

79:59.70 (703MB)

Certified Speed:

52x

Write Speed:

52x (CAV)

Write Time:

2m:33s

C1 Average/Sec:

0.34

C2 Average/Sec:

0.0

This an outstanding quality burn from this extremely good quality media. With a C1 error average of 0.34, this puts this media in the 'Best Quality Disc" category. Highly recommended!

 

Brand:

Verbatim - Thanks to Verbatim (D) for sending us this media.

Manufacturer:

CMC Magnetics

Code:

97m34s23f

Disc Type:

CD-R

Recording Layer:

Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)

Capacity:

79:59.73 (703MB)

Certified Speed:

52x

Write Speed:

52x (CAV)

Write Time:

2m:29s

C1 Average/Sec:

4.29

C2 Average/Sec:

0.0

Another Verbatim, this time the disc was manufactured by CMC Magnetics. A good quality burn with a C1 average of 4.29, puts this disc into the 'good quality disc" category.

Brand:

Traxdata 52X Printable

Manufacturer:

RITEK

Code:

97m15s17f

Disc Type:

CD-R

Recording Layer:

Dye Type 7: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)

Capacity:

79:59.73 (703MB)

Certified Speed:

52x

Write Speed:

52x (CAV)

Write Time:

2m:30s

C1 Average/Sec:

0.67

C2 Average/Sec:

0.0

An excellent quality burn. As we can see, the C1 average of 0.67 is extremely good and places this disc into the 'best quality disc" category.

Brand:

Traxdata 16X

Manufacturer:

Prodisc Technology

Code:

97m32s19f

Disc Type:

CD-R

Recording Layer:

Dye Type 9: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)

Capacity:

79:59.73 (703MB)

Certified Speed:

16x

Write Speed:

40x (CAV)

Write Time:

3m:04s

C1 Average/Sec:

1.54

C2 Average/Sec:

0.0

This disc threw up a bit of a surprise as the disc was an old one and as we can see from the media picture the disc is actually rated at 16x. When we saw that the drive rated this media at 40x we was sure if we burned the disc at this speed it would have been a coaster.

As we can see from the K-Probe result, the disc has burned at 40x and still managed outstanding results. With an average of C1 errors of 1.54, this places this disc into the 'best quality disc" category. It's such a pity this disc is no longer on sale.

This concludes our CD-R write tests.

Overall thoughts:

Its quite clear that the Lite-On SOHR-5238S can burn CD-R media quickly, and in most cases with very good quality.

Let us now move onto our CD-RW write tests on the next page
Reading Performance
CD-RW Writing performance
Want to submit your own review? Click here
Posted by Scour on Tuesday 09 August 2005 12:17
Good drive with CD-R and very fast. But I have see some DVD-writer that had lower C1 with same media.
And CD-RW-quality is pathetic :(

Posted by wildies on Tuesday 04 October 2005 15:51
using it from sometime now , doesnt have any problem till now.

but still cant find the media thats give the best results with this drive till now..
Posted by pablo (guest) on Monday 19 February 2007 04:07
After recording no more than 100 CDRs at speeds slower than 32x, the recorder no longer reads CDs just recorded, an the reading of a regular CD is never over 5x. I had bad luck? :c
Posted by pablo (guest) on Monday 19 February 2007 04:09
After recording no more than 100 CDRs at speeds slower than 32x, the recorder no longer reads CDs just recorded, an the reading of a regular CD is never over 5x. I had bad luck? :c
Posted by zliv (guest) on Saturday 11 August 2007 08:07
Very good and reliable. Reads problematic data cd's with no problem unlike my dvd recorders. The review says it reads Cactus data shield 100, but I have several Cactus data shield 200 discs, which can't be read by SOHR-5238S.
Posted by ahmed (guest) on Thursday 22 November 2007 08:02
ahmed karem
Posted by dola8 on Saturday 19 January 2008 03:42
AYUDA
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