detail information

Test machine:

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

Hardware:

• Motherboard: ECS Elitegroup N2U400-A with Nvidia nForce 2 Ultra-400 and nForce MCP chipset.
• Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (Barton) 333 MHz FSB.
• RAM: 1 GB Infineon PC2700 DDR
• GFX: ATI Radeon 9600 XT
• Sound: SoundBlaster Audigy
• Hard disk: Samsung SP1614N 160 GB.

System set-up:

The Philips DVDR16LS was connected as Secondary Master and identified itself as Philips DVDR16LS. DMA (Direct Memory Access) and autorun was enabled for all devices.

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:

• Ahead Nero Burning ROM version 6.6.0.8 with LightScribe
• Ahead Nero CD/DVD Speed v3.70
• Ahead Nero Info Tool v3.00
• Slysoft CloneCD v5.1.0.0
• DVD-Identifier 3.6.2
• Exact Audio Copy v0.95 pre-beta 5
• K-Probe v2.4.2
• SureThing CD/DVD Labeler SE LightScribe Edition v4.3.0192

Now it's time to take a closer look at the write technology used by the Philips DVDR16LS:

CD-Recordable:

The Philips DVDR16LS uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 40X. This gives an average speed of 29.51x. Two drives for comparison are found below.

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.Two drives for comparison are found below.

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 Philips DVDR16LS is one of the slowest drives, writing CD-R's.

CD-Rewritable:

The Philips DVDR16LS uses P-CAV (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) writing technology to write at 24X for CD-RW discs, the average speed is 23.15x. 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 Philips DVDR16LS performed around average.

16X DVD+R / 8x DVD-R Writing speed:

The Philips DVDR16LS uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. The average speed is 11.33x and total writing time is 6 minutes and 8 seconds. The average speed is lower and the writing time is higher than it could have been due to the Walking OPC generation 2 using some time to constantly adjust the writing quality, we could see this as constant dips in the speed curve.

The Philips DVDR16LS uses P-CAV, (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD-R at 8x. The average speed is 7.80x and total writing time is 8 minutes and 12 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 can see that the Philips DVDR16LS performed average on DVD+R at 16x.

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.

What is WOPC 2 (Walking Optimum Power Control)?

The Philips DVDR1640P is equipped with WOPC 2 (Walking Optimum Power Control - Generation 2) technology, witch constantly adjust the writing quality. We can recognize this as constant dips in the writing curve.

Book type (bitsetting):

The Philips DVDR16LS 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 and look at the disc information:

This should say DVD-ROM.

Change Book type (bitsetting):

You can use BenQ's Book Type Management to change the BookType settings.

Or the Bitsetting option in Nero CD/DVD Speed.

LightScribe:

The Philips DVDR16LS is one of the first drives to support the LightScribe feature/technique. Please see its own dedicated pages in this review to learn more about it.

Quality Scans:

The Philips DVDR16LS can be used to measure/scan burned discs for their quality. This can be handy to check and get an impression of which state/condition the burned discs are in. However, the reporting of PIF is not active - if the reason for this is the firmware or the program itself is at the time being not known.

 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.

Nero OEM Suite 6SE LightScribe Edition:

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…