Test machine

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

Hardware:

System setup:

The Samsung SE-S184M was connected to one of the USB connectors on our test PC and identified itself as TSSTcorp CD/DVDW SH-S182M

From the above screenshot, we can see the IDE to USB bridge PCB is powered by an NEC chipset capable of supporting USB2. We will see later on in this review that the Samsung SE-S184M can reach 18x writing speeds on DVD±R media with ease.

And another screenshot from Nero InfoTool:

From the screenshot from Nero InfoTool above, we can see the Samsung SE-S184M supports DVD-RAM read/write and LightScribe and Mount Rainier. The drive came shipped with firmware version SB02. We checked for a firmware update but none was available.

Installed software:

Our review PC has Windows XP Professional installed along with Service Pack 2 for Windows XP.

• Nero Burning ROM 7
• Nero CD/DVD Speed
• Nero InfoTool
• Slysoft CloneCD
• Exact Audio Copy
• KProbe
• USB Info

Features and techniques

Software Bundle:

Now let’s take a look at the supplied software bundle. Please note, we may not use any of this software in this review.

In the above screenshot we can see the software installation splash screen.

The Samsung SE-S184M is supplied with the ever popular Nero 6 OEM suite.

• Nero 6
• NeroVision Express
• Nero Media Player
• InCD 4
• InCD Reader

Also included on the disc is the Samsung Live Firmware Update utility.

The Live Firmware Update utility will check for firmware updates over the Internet.

Disc Quality Scanning:

With a small edit to the Windows system registry, the Samsung SE-S184M can be used along with Nero CD-Speed for “Disc Quality Scanning”.

Disc Quality Scan at 8x scanning speed using CD-Speed.

The Samsung SE-S184M can also be used with KProbe.

8x KProbe PI/PIF scan

BookType (Bitsetting):

The Samsung SE-S184M supports bit-setting, and is capable of writing DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD+R DL media with DVD-ROM book type.

In the above screenshot, Nero Burning ROM has the option set to BookType DVD-ROM.

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 DL with book type DVD-ROM

Another quick test is to start Nero CD-Speed and look at the disc information:

Writing technique

Now it’s time to take a closer look at the write technology used by the Samsung SE-S184M:

For these tests we used CD-Speed and wrote a full disc at the drives maximum speed.

CD Recordable:

According to the specifications of the Samsung SE-S184M, it should be able to write CD-R media at a maximum speed of 48x.

The Samsung SE-S184M uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 48X. This gives an average speed of 37.21x and a total writing time of 3 minutes.

For comparison we have made the following table: 

As we can see, the Samsung SE-S184M was about average compared to our other drives when writing CD-R media.

CD Re-writable:

According to the specifications of the Samsung SE-S184M, it should be able to write CD-RW media at a maximum speed of 32x.

The Samsung SE-S184M uses Z-CLV, (Zoned Constant Linear Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 32X. This gives an average speed of 28.44x and a total writing time of 3 minutes and 27 seconds.

For comparison we have made the following table: 

As we can see, the Samsung SE-S184M was about average compared to our other drives when writing CD-RW media.

18x DVD+R/-R writing speed:

According to the specifications of the Samsung SE-S184M, it should be able to write DVD+R/-R media at a maximum speed of 18x.

DVD+R

The Samsung SE-S184M uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 18X. This gives an average speed of 13.48x and a total writing time of 5 minutes and 19 seconds.

DVD-R

The Samsung SE-S184M uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 18X. This gives an average speed of 13.49x and a total writing time of 5 minutes and 18 seconds.

For comparison we have made the following table: 

As we can see from our table, the Samsung SE-S184M was the fastest drive when writing DVD+R media and above average when writing DVD-R media.

8X DVD+RW writing speed:

According to the specifications of the Samsung SE-S184M, it should be able to write DVD+RW at a maximum speed of 8x.

The Samsung SE-S184M uses Z-CLV, (Zoned Constant Linear Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 8X. This gives an average speed of 6.93x and a total writing time of 9 minutes and 12 seconds.

For comparison we have made the following table: 

The Samsung SE-S184M was fairly slow at writing our test DVD+RW media.

6x DVD-RW writing speed:

According to the specifications of the Samsung SE-S184M, it should be able to write DVD-RW at a maximum speed of 6x.

The Samsung SE-S184M uses Z-CLV, (Zoned Constant Linear Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 6X. This gives an average speed of 5.67x and a total writing time of 10 minutes and 44 seconds.

For comparison we have made the following table: 

The Samsung SE-S184M was once again the slowest drive when writing DVD-RW media.

8x DVD+R DL writing speed:

According to the specifications of the Samsung SE-S184M, it should be able to write DVD+R DL at a maximum speed of 8x.

The Samsung SE-S184M uses Z-CLV, (Zoned Constant Linear Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 8X. This gives an average speed of 6.38x and a total writing time of 19 minutes and 06 seconds.

8x DVD-R DL writing speed:

According to the specifications of the Samsung SE-S184M, it should be able to write DVD-R DL at a maximum speed of 8x.

(insert burn)

For comparison we have made the following table: 

The Samsung was the slowest drive when writing DVD+R DL media.

12x DVD-RAM writing speed:

According to the specifications of the Samsung SE-S184M, it should be able to write DVD-RAM at a maximum speed of 12x.

The Samsung SE-S184M uses P-CAV, (Partial Constant Angular Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 12X. This gives an average speed of 10.11x and a total writing time of 5 minutes and 42 seconds.

For comparison we have made the following table: 

The Samsung with its 12x DVD-RAM writing method is easily the fastest drive.

Let’s head on to the next page where we will check reading performance….

Introduction

Reading performance