Test machine:

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

Hardware:

• Motherboard: Asus A8V Deluxe
• Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (Toledo)
• RAM: 1 GB Corsair Kit PC3200 DDR
• GFX: MSI GeForce 6600 GT
• Sound: Onboard Realtek AC'97
• Hard disk: Maxtor 6V300F0 300 GB (S-ATA)

System set-up:

The Plextor PX-B900A was connected as Secondary Master and identified itself as PLEXTOR BD-R  PX-B900A. DMA (Direct Memory Access) and autorun was enabled for all devices.

And another screenshot from Nero InfoTool below:

From the screenshot from Nero InfoTool above, we can see the Plextor PX-B900A does not support CD+G and Mount Rainer. The drive came shipped with firmware version 1.00. Furthermore, the drive uses 2MB buffer for DVD and 8MB for BD and it’s reported as AACS compliant.

Installed Software:

Windows XP Professional 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 CD/DVD Speed
• Nero InfoTool  
• KProbe v2.5.2

Features and techniques:

The internals

The drive uses the Panasonic MN103S98HBA Chipset

An Introduction to Blu-Ray:

Until recently, optical disc technologies such as DVD, DVD±R, DVD±RW, and DVD-RAM relied on a red laser to read and write data, the Blu-Ray format uses a blue-violet laser, which explains the name Blu-ray.

Blu-ray drives can also be made backwards compatible with CDs and DVDs through the use of a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical pickup unit.

A blue-violet laser (405nm) has a shorter wavelength than a red laser (650nm); this makes it possible to focus the laser with even greater accuracy. This will allow data to be packed more tightly, so it's possible to squeeze more data on the disc even though it's the same size as a CD/DVD. This together with the change of numerical aperture to 0.85 enables Blu-ray discs to hold 25GB/50GB.

Now let’s take a look at the track pitch and compare them with that of DVD:

 As we can see in the above screenshots, the storage density of Blu-Ray is much higher than DVD. The Blu-Ray laser beam spot is also much narrower than that of DVD.

Blu-Ray Error specification:

In the above table we present some of the specifications for reported errors on Blu-Ray media. At present we have no equipment or software available for measuring these errors.

Writing Technology:

In the following tests, we take a look at the disc writing technology used by the Plextor PX-B900A.

For these tests we simply burned a disc with Nero CD-Speed’s “create data disc” function.

CD-Recordable:

The Plextor PX-B900A uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 24X. This gives an average speed of 19.50x and writing time of 4 minutes and 43 seconds.

CD-Rewritable:

The Plextor PX-B900A uses Z-CLV (Zone - Constant Linear Velocity) to write CD-RW media at its maximum speed of 16x, with an average write speed of 15.57x and writing time of 5 minutes and 35 seconds.

8x DVD+R Writing speed:

The Plextor PX-B900A 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 6.77x and a writing time of 9 minutes.

8X DVD-R Writing speed:

The Plextor PX-B900A 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 and 9 seconds.

8X DVD+RW writing speed:

The Plextor PX-B900A uses Z-CLV (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+RW at 8x. The average speed is 6.86x and total writing time is 9 minutes and 12 seconds.

6X DVD-RW writing speed:

The Plextor PX-B900A uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-RW at 6x. The average speed is 5.89x and total writing time is 10 minutes and 16 seconds.

4X DVD+R DL writing speed:

The Plextor PX-B900A uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+R DL at 4x. The average speed is 3.93x and total writing time is 27 minutes and 7 seconds.

4X DVD-R DL writing speed:

The Plextor PX-B900A uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-R DL at 4x. The average speed is 3.93x and total writing time is 27 minutes and 34 seconds.

5x DVD-RAM writing speed:

According to the specifications the Plextor PX-B900A 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 Plextor PX-8900A uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-RAM at its maximum speed of 5x. This resulted in an average write speed of 4.94x and a total write time of 11 minutes and 10 seconds.

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

According to the specifications the Plextor PX-B900A should be able to write BD-R 25GB Single Layer media at 2x.

The Plextor PX-B900A 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 minutes and 20 seconds.

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

According to the specifications the Plextor PX-B900A should be able to write BD-RE 25GB Single Layer media at 2x.

The Plextor PX-B900A 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 minutes and 6 seconds.

Book type (bitsetting):

The Plextor PX-B900A does not support bitsetting on DVD+R, DVD+RW nor on DVD+R DL.

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

Introduction

Reading performance