detail information

Test machine:

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

Hardware:

System set-up:

The Mad Dog MD-16XDVD9-8X was connected as the secondary slave and identified itself as Mad Dog MD-16XDVD9A4. DMA (Direct Memory Access) and autorun was enabled for all devices.

Software:

Windows XP Professional is installed on the computer along with Service Pack 1 for Windows XP. We will be using the following software in this review:

• Nero Burning ROM version 6.6.0.16
• Nero CD/DVD Speed v4.04
• Nero Info Tool v3.03
• Slysoft CloneCD v5.1.0.0
• DVD-Identifier 3.6.2
• 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 Mad Dog MD-16XDVD9-8X:

CD-Recordable:

The Mad Dog MD-16XDVD9-8X uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write at its maximum speed of 48X. This gives an average speed of 36.63x. Two drives for comparison are found below.

*Reviewers note: The drive actually used P-CAV even though CD-DVD Speed reports CAV.

The Samsung TS-E552U uses P-CAV (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) to write at its rated speed of 40x. This gives an average speed of 34.39x.

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.

 For comparison we have made the following table: 

As we can read from the table the Mad Dog MD-16XDVD9-8X performs to spec writing CD-R.

CD-Rewritable:

The Mad Dog MD-16XDVD9-8X uses P-CAV (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) writing technology to write at 32X for CD-RW discs, the average speed is 23.10x. Below are some other drives for comparison:

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.

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 Mad Dog MD-16XDVD9-8X is a fast CD-RW writer.

16X DVD±R Writing speed:

DVD+R

The Mad Dog MD-16XDVD9-8X uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. The average speed is 11.81x and total writing time is 6 minutes and 06 seconds.

DVD-R

The Mad Dog MD-16XDVD9-8X uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD-R at 16x. The average speed is 11.71x and total writing time is 5 minutes and 56 seconds.

Below are some other drives for comparison:

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-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. Below, we made a comparison table:

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

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

From the table above, we see that the Mad Dog MD-16XDVD9-8X performed above average on DVD±R at 16x

Features and techniques:

Book type (bitsetting):

The Mad Dog MD-16XDVD9-8X supports bitsetting, and will as default write DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD+R9 DL media with DVD-ROM book type.

Here is how you could check if your discs are 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 with book type DVD-ROM

 
DVD+RW with book type DVD-ROM 

DVD+R9 DL with book type DVD-ROM.

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.

Change Book type (bitsetting):

You can use the Bitsetting option in Nero CD/DVD Speed.

Quality Scans:

The Mad Dog MD-16XDVD9-8X can be used for burn quality scanning with Nero CD-DVD Speed.

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.

Complete with a powerful software package, suitable for beginners as well as for advanced/experienced users.

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…