We at CDFreaks would like to present a preview of one of the latest DVD-ReWriter from Plextor - the PX-760A. The Plextor PX-760A supports 18x DVD±R, 8x/6x DVD+RW/DVD-RW and 10x/6x DVD+R DL/DVD-R DL writing technology, allowing Double/Dual Layer discs of 8.5Gb to be written. So far this DVD-Burner is the world's first official released burner that will allow 18x writing speed on the DVD±R format.

Company Information:

Let us take a look at some of the company information found at the Plextor Website:

Corporate Profile:

Corporate Highlights:

There are three Plextor companies in the world. Mission of each company is marketing and
sales of:

1. Plextor Co., Ltd. (Plextor Japan)
   • Business Audio Equipment, including Professional CD Players for background
     music, etc.
   • Digital talking book for people with visual impairments
   • Computer Peripherals, including CD-ROM, CD-RW drives, and CD-Tower Systems
   • Printing Press Equipment, including IC Card Offset Printing Systems
2. Plextor Corporation (Plextor USA):
   Computer Peripherals, including CD-ROM, CD-RW drives, and CD-Tower Systems
3. Plextor S.A. (Plextor Europe):
   Computer Peripherals, including CD-ROM, CD-RW drives

SHINANO KENSHI is a global leader in providing integrated motion control solutions, multi-media solutions, printing solution and textile solutions. The company is organized into four divisions, each dedicated to a specific market. They are:

• Electrical Division - Small precision motors.
• Electronic Equipment Division - CD-ROM, and CD-R/RW optical disk drives, and Professional Audio Equipment.
• Printing Equipment Division - Offset printing presses.
• Textile Division - Spun silk yarn.

SHINANO KENSHI was founded in 1918 to manufacture Spun Silk Yarn, which at the time, was one of the most "High-Tech" industries in the world. As the years passed, SHINANO KENSHI embarked on other industrial markets that would grow more progressively, while maintaining its proud history in the Silk Industry. These ventures insights led to the successful expansion into technology-driven, knowledge-intensive fields, such as Electrical Division, Electronic Equipment Division, and Printing Equipment Division. While maintaining and strengthening its core competencies, Shinano Kenshi has continued its global expansion by establishing subsidiary companies and promoting its products on a worldwide basis. These subsidiaries are chartered with the continual growth of Resellers and OEM's in their respective territories, who have come to rely upon Shinano Kenshi for performance, quality oriented and technically superior optical peripheral products. Marketing base toward abroad.

PLEXTOR is the worldwide brand for all products manufactured by the Electronic Equipment Division and Printing Equipment Division of SHINANO KENSHI.

The Electronic Equipment Division introduced its first CD-ROM optical disk drive under the TEXEL brand name in 1989. Faced with the prospects of a healthy and ever-increasing demand for its products, Shinano Kenshi identified the importance of this segment with the Professional and IT markets demanding performance-oriented products. Through every generation of optical disk drive, Plextor has continually sought ways in which its CD-ROM's and CD-RW's could stimulate market demand by offering higher speed and higher reliability devices, while winning numerous awards worldwide.

PLEXTOR CD-R/RW drives were introduced in 1998 with technologies developed by the corporation in support of the market growing demand for CD-ROM's. High performance drives enable our users to write and re-write data on a stable platform that has evolved throughout the years. Plextor has also invested heavily on the certification of CD-RW media to give our users a wide range of compatibility between the various manufacturers.

Plextor's CD-R & CD-RW optical disk drives have been tested worldwide and evaluated as the "Professional Choice" to satisfy even the most discerning customers. Plextor products have been adopted by financial institutions and government agencies, which require highly reliable data storage technology. Recording studios have come to regard the Plextor products as the "drive of choice", which they can rely upon for the accurate extraction and creation of Digital Audio.

PLEXTOR background music systems have achieved the number 1 position in the worldwide market. Unique data compression technologies help to achieve long playback times, while maintaining high quality sound in professional background music systems for restaurants and stores. Technology leadership has been maintained based on high performance, superior electro-mechanical technology of Plextor's in-house motor technology, robust structure and audio orientation are the distinct signs of a market leader. PLEXTALK is a CD-ROM based talking book developed by Plextor for users that are visually impaired. Over fifty hours of audio information can be recorded on a single CD by Plextor's DAISY operating system. PLEXTALK offers a bookmark function that allows the user to search for the spot where a reader wants to begin.
Plextor's Printing Equipment Division manufactures compact offset printing machines with a combination of sophisticated mechanical and electronic technology. It enables the user to achieve the same quality of printing that was formally available only with the craftsmanship of highly skilled workers. CARD PLEX printing systems provide IC card and single card printing solutions, while maintaining only the highest quality possible.

Plextor's subsidiary companies are responsible for maintaining the customer database, while simultaneously adding more value-add products than ever before.

* DAISY: Digital Audio-based Information System. A set of hardware and software to record, store, transfer and read digital audio books.

If you are interested in reading more company information, please visit: Plextor

Drive specifications:

These are the specifications of this drive, found at the Plextor webpage:

Write & Read speed:

Technical Specifications:

System Requirements:

Compatible Formats:

DVD

DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, Multi-Border, Multi-Session, DVD+VR, DVD-VR, DVD+MRW (by firmware upgrade), DRT-DM

CD

CD-DA (CD-DA/CD+G/CD-TEXT), CD-ROM (Mode1/Mode2), CD-ROM XA (Mode2 Form1/2), Audio CD, Data CD, Photo CD, Video CD, CD-I, CD-I Ready, Mixed CD, CD-Extra, Multi-Session CD, Packet Write CD (Mount Rainier by firmware upgrade)), Bootable CD

Performance:

Included Software (Only for retail versions):

What's inside the box?

In this section, we will take a look at what the drive came shipped with, and look at the drive and its technology.

Front

Back

Top

Bottom

Right Side

Left Side

Below you will see the contents of the retail pack:

• The internal drive
• Drive Support Disc (DVD)
• Bonus Disc (DVD)
• IDE Cable
• Black Bezel  
• Extra jumper
• Mounting screws
• Emergency eject tool
• Brochure containing:
  • Installation
  • Fast Warranty Service
  • Support
  • Caution
• Front Bezel Replacement Guide

Now it's time to take a look at the drive itself:

Beige bezel

Black bezel

A typical Plextor bezel - it has an eject button, an emergency eject hole and an operation LED (green and amber). The logos located on the bezel include: the AS (Auto Strategy) logo, a DVD Alliance DVD+R DL logo, a DVD Alliance DVD+RW High Speed logo, a DVD-R/RW Forum logo, and a CD-RW Ultra Speed logo.

Top

On the top of the drive we found one sticker, and we can read it was manufactured in China, February 2006 with the TLA (Top Level Assembly) number 0000.

Side

Bottom

On the rear of the drive starting from the left, we can see a digital audio connector, analogue audio connector, jumpers for cable select, slave, and master, IDE connector, and finally the power connector. We can also see some ventilation holes located on the back of the drive. (The Plextor PX-755A only had the 5 ventilation holes located in the middle).

Now, let us install the drive and check out the features on the next page…