detail information

⋅         Hard disks: Maxtor 6Y080P0 80GB and Western Digital WD1600JB-00EVA0 160GB.

System set-up:

The Mad Dog MD-16XDVD9 was connected as Secondary Master and identified as MAD DOG MD-16XDVD9. DMA (Direct Memory Access) and autorun was enabled for all devices.

Software:

Windows XP Professional SP1 is installed on this computer. We will be using the following software in this review:

⋅         DVDIdentifier 3.5
⋅         Ahead Nero Burning ROM version 6.6.0.1
⋅         Ahead Nero CD/DVD Speed v3.42
⋅         Ahead Nero InfoTool v2.27
⋅         Slysoft CloneCD v5.0.2.2
⋅         Exact Audio Copy v0.95 prebeta 5
⋅         K-Probe v2.4.2

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.

Active OPC (Optomized Power Control).

We found some information regarding AOPC on NECs' website. The MD-16XDVD9 uses AOPC Technology to ensure consistent writing quality across different types of media and for media with variable sensitivity, i.e. the medium becomes less sensitive from inside to outside. Active OPC constantly monitors the sensitivity of the media and adjusts the laser strength to achieve the best possible results. It does this by analysing the reflection from the media's surface.

Book Type modification tool (bitsetting).

According to our information, the MD-16XDVD9 should support bitsetting with firmware version 2.F9 or newer. We found that the drive burns DVD+R DL discs with a DVD-ROM book type by default. DVD+R discs are burned with a DVD+R book type by default. Fortunately, Mad Dog allows you to choose what book type you would like to use on a DVD+R or DVD+R DL disc through the use of their bitsetting utility. We recommend using the DVD-ROM booktype on all of your DVD+R and DVD+R DL discs because it will increase the discs' compatibility with standalone DVD players. Mad Dog gets a big plus for supporting this feature.

The utility for changing the book type is downloadable from http://www.mdmm.com/support/drivers.asp  . The file that we downloaded was named WinBTypeV2.exe, listed as version 4.0.0.1 and had a Private Build Description of 09/21/04.

We found it very easy to change the booktype with this tool.

Note: Further testing with firmware 2.F9/2.FA and the booktype utility revealed that it was only able to change the booktype on brand new 'never been burned" DVD+RW discs. Attempts to change booktype on previously burned DVD+RW media were not successful.

Included software:

Now it's time to look at the included software, and comment it if needed. Notice that we may not use the included software in our performance testing part of the review.

Nero OEM suite:

The Nero program suite is owned and developed by Ahead Software; it contains programs for creating most types of CD/DVD discs, a packet writing program, a media player etc. This is one of our preferred writing program suites, and thus Mad Dog gets a plus in our book for including it.

Now that we have finished examining the features, techniques and bundled software, it's time to head on to the next page. Reading performance tests…