detail information

• Supports DVD±R/+R DL/-R DL writing at 16x/8x/6x
• Supports CD-R/RW writing at 48x/32x
• Can write DVD±R/±R DL certified media at higher speed
• Excellent writing quality on all media
• Good media support and compatibility on DVD±R
• Supports bitsetting for DVD+R DL (sets auto. BookType to DVD-ROM)
• Supports disc quality scanning
• Can read DVD±R/RW at 16x/13x
• Can copy/rip copy-protected Audio-CDs
• 'Two sheep" writer
• Supports DAO-RAW writing
• Can overburn CD-Rs (apx. 92 minutes)
• Supports Mini DVD-R/RW discs
• Very good user community support with several programs and modifications to get the most out of the drive.
• Good retail and software package
• The hardware components are 'lead-free"

Negative:

• Does not support Mt. Rainier
• No support for DVD+RW 8x media with RiTEK MID
• Burned 2 popular 16x DVD media at lower speed (12x)
• 48x media compatibility on CD-R could been improved
• Reads SL and DL DVD-Video discs at only 8x
• Can't read Audio-CD/CD-RW/Video-CD higher then 40x/40x/22x
• Can't write/read 99/100 minutes CD-R's
• No bitsetting support (BookType - DVD-ROM) on DVD+R/RW media

Conclusion:

Let us summarize the most important positive and negative points below:

The main positive points: This burner is one of the first burners to support the DVD-R DL media with a writing speed of 6x. But the burner also supports the DVD+R DL media format at 8x. As it is more common nowadays the burner supports DVD+R/RW at 16/8x and DVD-R/RW at 16x/6x. Meaning this DVD Writer can write all DVD±R/RW/R DL formats at the maximum writing speed available on the market at the time being.

This burner really impressed us with its excellent write quality and the very fast read abilities on DVD±R/RW media (16x/13x). Together with that the burner is capable to burn some DVD±R/±R DL media at higher speed then certified.

Another interesting point for some of us - the drive's feature to test the disc quality and condition. By using the Disc Quality feature in Nero CD-DVD speed. (Please note - these scans can not be compared with scans done on other DVD-Writers). This feature can be handy to check and get an impression of which quality state the burned discs are in.

DVD+R DL media will be burned with the BookType set to DVD-ROM by default, which will make the DVD+R DL media more compatible with DVD Standalone devices.

Another interesting feature that can be handy, is the burners ability to copy/rip Copy-protected Audio-CDs. This burner also qualified as a 'two sheep" burner plus it supports the DAO-RAW writing mode - meaning the drive can be used to backup copy protected CDs.

This DVD writer is also one of those burners that has a very good user community support with several programs and modifications to get 'the most out of the drive". (Be aware, that most of these programs and modifications will VOID the drives warranty).

In the advanced tests we could see that the burner can write CD-Rs up to 92 minutes, but also that the burner can read and write MINI DVD-R/RW.

The retail version on this burner is also very good, meaning it includes hardware accessories that are basically needed to install the drive. The software package is also very good.

As a last point we would like to mention that this DVD burner are a 'lead-free" product, which will meets the recycling standards that will come into effect on the 1^st of January 2006.

The main negative points: Like every other DVD-Writers, this burner also has a few negative points. One of them is the lack of bitsetting support on DVD+R/RW media, which would have made the media more compatible with DVD Standalone devices.

The media compatibility on CD-R media at 48x needs some improvements. Meaning, (with the current firmware) there are some popular CD-R brands that will not be writeable at 48x.

Another point is that DVD+RW 8x media with RITEK MID is not supported (with the current firmware). Hopefully this media will be implanted in the next firmware update.

As this burner showed an excellent read speed on DVD±R/RW media, it was somehow disappointing to see that the read speed on SL and DL Video-DVDs are low. But also together with the read/riplock on Video-CD/Audio-CD and CD-RWs.

As a last point we would like to mention that this drive can not be used to read or write 99/100 minutes CD-Rs.

To sum it all up, this is what we would say: 'An excellent choice for those who are interested in quality and needs a very fast DVD±R/RW drive".

We would like to give this DVD-Writer our 'Safe Buy" award, because of its quality, performance and features.

By using our price grabber feature cdfreaks.pricegrabber we found the drive (OEM/bulk) listed at $ 46.90 and at getprice the drive (RETAIL) is listed at 58,58 EUR (June 2005).

You may discuss/comment this review below or in this forum thread.

Thanks to:

 Bell Technology spol s.r.o. - Czech Republic for providing the media used in this review.

Conrexx Technology B.V./RITEK Europe - The Netherlands for providing the media used in this review.

Medea International - United Kingdom for providing the media used in this review

EMTEC (MPOTEC GmbH) - Germany for providing the media used in this review.

E-Net Distribution - United Kingdom for providing the media used in this review.

MMORE International B.V. - The Netherlands for providing the media used in this review.

NewStar Digital - South Korea for providing the media used in this review.

Ricoh Europe B.V - Germany for providing the media used in this review.

Sky Media Manufacturing sa - Switzerland for providing the media used in this review.

Verbatim - Germany and United Kingdom for providing the media used in this review.