detail information

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

System set-up:

The Memorex F16 was connected as Secondary Master and identified as Memorex DVD+/-DLRWL1 F16. 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 v3.55
⋅         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.

Book Type modification tool (bitsetting).

According to our information, the Memorex F16 should support bitsetting. 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, Memorex allows you to choose what book type you would like to use on a DVD+R disc through the use of CD-DVD Speeds' 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. Memorex gets a big plus for supporting this feature. You can download CD-DVD Speed at http://www.cdspeed2000.com/

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

We tested this functionality by burning a DVD+R disc afterwards. We found that the drive was able to write the DVD-ROM book type without any problems.

Quality Scans:

Since the Memorex F16 drive is based on the Lite-On SOHW-1633S, it can be used to measure and scan burned discs for their quality. This feature is useful because it allows you to determine what media works best with your drive and also give you an impression on the quality or state of the resulted burned disc. We tested this feature by launching Nero CD-DVD Speed and launching the Disc Quality Test from the "Extra" drop-down menu. You have the option to scan at 1x, 2x, 4x, 6x or 8x with this drive. We quickly tested a 4481MB DVD+R disc at 8x speed.

As you can see, the Memorex F16 drive had no problems performing the Disc Quality Test.

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 Nero (formerly 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 Memorex gets a plus in our book for including it. We can also see that Nero has created a custom Memorex splash screen for the Nero software installation.