detail information

Test machine:

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

Hardware:

• Motherboard: Asus A8V Deluxe
• Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (Venice) 1000 MHz Hyper Transport
• RAM: 1 GB Corsair Kit PC3200 DDR
• GFX: MSI GeForce 6600 GT
• Sound: Onboard Realtek AC'97
• Hard disk: Seagate Barracuda ST3250823A 250 GB

System set-up:

The Samsung SH-W162L was connected as Secondary Master and identified itself as TSSTcorp CD/DVDW SH-W162L. DMA (Direct Memory Access) and autorun was enabled for all devices.

Firmware Update:

The Samsung SH-W162L firmware can be updated using the supplied 'live update" software; all that is required is an Internet connection. The drive was shipped with firmware TS01 and was during the course of this review updated to version TS02 and TS03. See the screenshots below on the firmware update process.

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:

• Nero Burning ROM
• Nero CD/DVD Speed
• Nero Info Tool
• Slysoft CloneCD
• Exact Audio Copy v0.95 beta 4
• K-Probe

Features and techniques:

The Samsung SH-W162L is based on the new Mediatek MT1888LE chipset.

The Drive also features 'Double Optimum Power Calibration Technology". The Double OPC constantly monitors the sensitivity of the media and adjusts the laser strength to achieve the best possible results. It does this by analyzing the reflection from the media's surface.

Disc Quality Scanning:

With a small edit to the Windows system registry, the Samsung SH-W162C can be used along with Nero CD-Speed for 'Disc Quality Scanning".

Scanned at 4x

Scanned at 8x

Below a scan made at 12x by using KProbe:

BookType (bitsetting):

The Samsung SH-W162L supports bit-setting, and is capable of writing DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD+R DL media with DVD-ROM book type.

This feature can be changed with the Bitsetting option in Nero CD-DVD:

Or in Nero Burning ROM under the Choose Recorder option:

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

DVD+RW with book type DVD-ROM

DVD+R 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.

Now it's time to take a closer look at the write technology used by the Samsung SH-W162L:

CD-Recordable:

The Samsung SH-W162L 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 2 minutes and 52 seconds.

For comparison we have made the following table: 

As we can see from the table, the Samsung SH-W162L is the fasted drive when it comes to writing CD-R's.

CD-Rewritable:

The Samsung SH-W162L uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) writing technology to write at 32X for CD-RW discs, the average speed is 28.44x and the total time 3 minutes and 35 seconds.

For a better overview we present the following comparison table:

As we can see from the table, the Samsung SH-W162L performed average on writing CD-RWs.

16X DVD+R/-R Writing speed:

The Samsung SH-W162L uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at the maximum supported speed of 16x. This gives an average write speed of 11.93x and a writing time of 5 minutes and 35 seconds.

The Samsung SH-W162L uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD-R at its maximum speed of 16x. This gives an average write speed of 11.83x and a writing time of 5 minutes and 54 second.

Below are some write graphs from some other drives for comparison:

The NEC 3540A uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. This gives an average writing speed of 11.81x and a writing time of 5 minutes and 58 seconds.

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 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. Below, we made a comparison table:

*1 - Actual writing speed was max 14x due to USB-Bridge limitations.
*2 - Actual writing speed was max 13x due to USB-Bridge limitations.

8X DVD+R DL writing speed:

The Samsung SH-W162L supports 8x writing speed on DVD+R DL media.

The Samsung SH-W162L uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+R DL at 8x. The average speed is 6.39xx and total writing time is 19:06 minutes.

4X DVD-R DL writing speed:

The Samsung SH-W162L supports 4x writing speed on DVD-R DL media.

The Samsung SH-W162L uses CLV, (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-R DL at 4x. The average speed is 4.02x and total writing time is 27:26 minutes.

8X DVD+RW writing speed:

The Samsung SH-W612L uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+RW at 8x. The average speed is 6.99x and total writing time is 9:09 minutes.

6X DVD-RW writing speed:

The Samsung SH-W162L uses CLV, (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-RW at 6x. The average speed is 5.68x and total writing time is 10:59 minutes.

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:

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…