detail information

Test machine:

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

Hardware:

Motherboard: ASUS P5W DH Deluxe WI-FI/AP
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz with Hyper Threading support
Memory: 2 GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800 PC2-6400
Video: Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT / ATI X850XT Platinum Edition
Display: Dual Dell 1704FPT (DVI)
Sound: Realtek ALC882 High Definition
Hard disks: 160GB Seagate SATA-II, 300GB Seagate SATA-II, 300GB Maxtor SATA.

System set-up:

The Panasonic SW-5582 was connected as Primary Master and identified itself as MATSHITA BD-MLT SW-5582. DMA (Direct Memory Access) was enabled for all devices.

The Panasonic SW-5582, which is connected as Primary IDE Channel in Device 0 (Master), supports the faster type of DMA transfer mode of 'Ultra DMA Mode 4."

Software:

Windows XP Professional is installed on the computer along with Service Pack 2 for Windows XP. We will be using the following software in this review:

• Nero Burning ROM 7.2.3.2b
• Nero CD/DVD Speed 4.51.3/4.53.3 beta/4.60.1 beta
• Nero Info Tool v4.03
• DVD Identifier 4.3.0
• Slysoft CloneCD v5.2.9.1
• Exact Audio Copy v0.95 beta 3
• K-Probe v2.5.2

Installation and supported features:

We installed the drive without any problems and here is a screenshot from Nero InfoTool:

The drive came with firmware B096 and for this review we flashed the drive using a newer firmware, version BZC3. The drive uses a 2MB buffer for DVD and 8MB for BD. It is reported as AACS compliant.

And another shot from Nero Burning ROM:

Disc Writing Technology:

Now it's time to take a closer look at the write technology used by the Panasonic SW-5582:

CD-Recordable:

The Panasonic SW-5582 uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 24X. This gives an average speed of 19.54x and writing time of 4 minutes and 43 seconds.

CD-Rewritable:

The Panasonic SW-5582 uses Z-CLV (Zone - Constant Linear Velocity) to write CD-RW media at its maximum speed of 16x, with an average write speed of 15.59x and writing time of 5 minutes and 14 seconds.

8x DVD+R Writing speed:

The Panasonic SW-5582 uses Z-CLV (Zone - Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+R at the maximum supported speed of 8x. This gives an average write speed of 6.78x and a writing time of 9 minutes 7 seconds.

8X DVD-R Writing speed:

The Panasonic SW-5582 uses Z-CLV (Zone - Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-R at the maximum supported speed of 8x. This gives an average write speed of 6.79x and a writing time of 9 minutes 8 seconds.

8X DVD+RW writing speed:

The Panasonic SW-5582 uses Z-CLV (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+RW at 8x. The average speed is 6.87x and total writing time is 8:32 minutes.

6X DVD-RW writing speed:

The Panasonic SW-5582 uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-RW at 6x. The average speed is 5.93x and total writing time is 10:04 minutes.

4X DVD+R DL writing speed:

The Panasonic SW-5582 uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+R DL at 4x. The average speed is 3.93x and total writing time is 27:08 minutes.

4X DVD-R DL writing speed:

The Panasonic SW-5582 uses CLV, (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-R DL at 4x. The average speed is 3.94x and total writing time is 27:40 minutes.

5x DVD-RAM writing speed:

According to the specifications the Panasonic SW-5582 should be able to write DVD-RAM media at 5x.

For this test we used Nero CD-DVD Speed to create a test disc. To test the drives maximum write speed, we turned off 'Write and verify."

The Panasonic SW-5582 uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-RAM at its maximum speed of 5x. This resulted in an average write speed of 4.95x and a total write time of 11 minutes and 9 seconds.

2x BD-R (Single Layer) writing speed:

According to the specifications the Panasonic SW-5582 should be able to write BD-R 25GB Single Layer media at 2x.

The Panasonic SW-5582 uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write BD-R at its maximum speed of 2x. This resulted in an average write speed of 1.99x and a total write time of 45:12 minutes.

2x BD-RE (Single Layer) writing speed:

According to the specifications the Panasonic SW-5582 should be able to write BD-RE 25GB Single Layer media at 2x.

The Panasonic SW-5582 uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write BD-R at its maximum speed of 2x. This resulted in an average write speed of 1.99x and a total write time of 45:15 minutes.

Book type (bitsetting):

The Panasonic SW-5582 does not supports bitsetting on DVD+R, DVD+RW nor DVD+R DL. Hopefully this can be fixed via firmware update.

Bitsetting is not supported

Let's continue to the next page where we will examine the reading performance...

Introduction

Reading Performances