detail information

DVD+R/-R Double Layer writing speed and compatibility:

The Pioneer DVR-111 supports the DVD+R DL/-R DL standard for writing Double Layer/Dual Layer discs with a size around 8.5 GB at a writing speed of 8x. Let us first take a look at the media we will use:

Let's find the manufacturer and media information too, for this we will use Nero CD-DVD Speed version 4.50:

Verbatim 2.4x - Manufactured by Mitsubishi Kagaku Media. Thanks to Verbatim for sending us this media.

Ricoh JPN D00, manufactured by Ricoh. Thanks to Ricoh Europe for sending us this media.

Infiniti reference series - Manufactured by CMC Magnetics. Thanks to Medea International UK for sending us this media.

Testing procedure:
We created an ISO Image from a pre-authored DVD-Video compliant file set, with a total on-disc size of 8146 MB. We then wrote this image file using Nero Burning ROM 6. Below are the results:

Verbatim 2.4x Media

Nero reported a successful burn with the Verbatim 2.4x media in 17 minutes and 39 seconds. (write speed 8x)

Let us take a look at the K-Probe result:

The result is good, considering this 2.4x media was written at 4 times its rated speed.

Ricoh Media

Nero reported a successful burn with the Ricoh 2.4x media in 45 minutes and 23 seconds. (write speed 2.4x)

Let us take a look at the K-Probe result:

PI and PIF errors are high but within specification, the result is ok but could be better

Infiniti 2.4x Media

Nero reported a successful burn with the Infiniti 2.4x media in 45 minutes and 40 seconds. (write speed 2.4x)

Now let us take a look at the K-Probe result:

PI and PIF levels are fairly low, there is a group of PIF near at the end of the disc but they are within specification; the result is good.

Now let us try and read the Double Layer media back, first on the Pioneer DVR-111 and then the BenQ DW1640.

Pioneer DVR-111 read-back test (MKM 001)

BenQ DW1640 read-back test (MKM 001)

Pioneer DVR-111 read-back test (RICOH JPN D00)

BenQ DW1640 read-back test (RICOH JPN D00)

Pioneer DVR-111 read-back test (Infiniti CMC MAG D01)

Benq DW1640 read-back test (Infiniti CMC MAG D01)

As we can see from our results, both drives were able to read our test discs without any problems.

Let's compare the Pioneer DVR-111 with some other DL capable drives.

*1 Verbatim DVD+R DL (MKM001)
*2 Traxdata DVD+R DL (RITEK D01)
*3 Ricoh DVD+R DL (RICOH JPN D00)
*4 Infiniti DVD+R DL (CMC MAG D01)
*5 Verbatim DVD+R DL (MKM 003)
*6 Ricoh DVD+R DL (JPN D01)

DVD-R DL

As mentioned at the top of this page, the Pioneer DVR-111 supports the DVD-R DL standard at 8x. Let us first take a look at the media we will use:

Let's find the manufacturer and media information too, for this we will use CD-Speed 4.50:

This media is manufactured by Mitsubishi Kagaku Media. Thanks to SVP UK for sending us this media.

Again, we used Nero Burning Rom 6 to write the DVD Image:

The Pioneer DVR-111 took 17 minutes and 26 seconds to write the Verbatim DVD-R DL media at 8x.

Now let's take a look at the Kprobe result:

As we can see from our result, PI errors are quite high but within specification. PIF errors are fairly low except for a few worrying clusters after the layer break.

We will now check the read-back curves on two different drives.

Pioneer DVR-111 read-back test

BenQ DW1640 read-back test

As we can see from the above read-back tests; both drives were able to read the Verbatim DVD-R DL media without problems.

Standalone DVD-Player compatibility:

We only have 3 standalone DVD-Players available and 1 standalone DVD-RAM DVD-R recorder to test the DVD+R DL medias (Book Type: DVD-ROM) and the DVD-R DL media (Book Type: DVD-R):

• Panasonic DVD-RV32
• Panasonic SA-HT520
• Proline DVDP350
• Panasonic DMR-E50 recorder

Compatibility results: 

All our DVD Standalone devices played the DVD+R DL media burned by the Pioneer DVR-111 without any problems.

Only one DVD Standalone device would play the Pioneer DVR-111 burned DVD-R DL media without any problems.

We would like to mention, that the compatibility issue with standalone DVD Players/Recorders and the DVD-R DL media format is caused by incompatibilities with the standalone devices used in this review, and not the Pioneer DVR-111 or media format used.

Summary: The Pioneer DVR-111 burned our Double Layer media with good quality. All our test disc's were well within specification.

Let us take a look at DVD-RAM writing performance on the next page….