detail information

DVD+R Double Layer writing speed and compatibility:

The Toshiba SD-R5372 supports the DVD+R9 DL standard for writing Double Layer discs with a size of 8.5 GB, at a writing speed of 5x. First let us take a look at the DVD+R DL writing technique used by the SD-R5372.

Verbatim (MKM001) DVD+R DL written at 5x.

The Toshiba SD-R5372 writes to DVD+R DL at 5x using P-CAV (Partial-Constant Linear Velocity).  Notice that there were some slight slowdowns in the writing speed near the transition from Layer 0 to Layer 1.

We also tested with 2 other types of DVD+R DL media by writing a DVD ISO image in Nero 6 using the Disc-at-once writing method: 

Memorex (RITEKD01) DVD+R DL written at 2.4x. Total writing time is 42:41.

Fujifilm (RICOHJPND00) DVD+R DL written at 2.4x. Total writing time is 49:14.

Next we will examine the writing quality on these DVD+R DL discs.

DVD+R DL Write quality:

The PI/PIF levels look good but there are a large amount of errors reported in the Kprobe test, which could be an indication of a quality problem. The reading curve on the Toshiba had some trouble at the layer break, but the LiteOn SOHW-1633S had no trouble reading the entire disc smoothly in the transfer rate test.

An acceptable PI/PIF graph and a perfect reading curve on both drives!

Unfortunately the Toshiba did very badly with these Fujifilm DVD+R DL discs. The PI/PIF levels are way out of spec and the disc was unreadable in multiple drives.

Let's compare the Toshiba SD-5372 with other DVD+R DL capable drives.

* Verbatim DVD+R9 DL
** Philips DVD+R9 DL
*** Traxdata DVD+R9 DL

The Toshiba SD-R5372 is the fastest DVD+R DL writer in our chart and the quality also appears to be one of the best. However, don't forget that our Kprobe test contained some errors and the reading curve had some trouble, so the quality might not be the absolute best.

Standalone DVD-Player compatibility:

We tested with three different standalone DVD players to check the playback abilities of our DVD+R DL discs. The players we tested with are:

⋅        Philips DVP-642
⋅        Koss KD365
⋅        Toshiba SD-2300

The Toshiba SD-R5372 automatically sets a Book Type of DVD-ROM on DVD+R DL discs, which should help to ensure maximum compatibility with standalone devices.

Both layers of the Verbatim DVD+R DL disc played fine on all three of our standalone players.  The RITEKD01 disc also played back fine on all players. The Fujifilm DVD+R DL disc froze up the screen and was unplayable in all of the standalone players.

DVD+R9 DL Summary: The Toshiba SD-R5372 drive can write to Verbatim DVD+R DL media at 5x, producing discs with a DVD-ROM Book Type that can be played without hassle in a range of standalone DVD players. Results on Memorex (Ritek) DVD+R DL media are ok. The Fujifilm DVD+R DL disc (RICOHJPND00) was burned with very bad quality and resulted in an unuseable disc. Toshiba needs to improve the support for these RICOH DVD+R DL discs.

Before we round off this review, let us run the drive through some advanced tests at next page…