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This story was printed from CdrInfo.com,
located at http://www.cdrinfo.com.
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Appeared on: Thursday, May 19, 2005
NEC ND-3530A


1. Introduction

NEC, the well known burner manufacturer, recently announced their newest model, the NEC ND-3530A. Although there are already many NEC models that can burn DVD+R and DVD-R media at 16x, which is considered the maximum speed that single layer media can achieve, the new ND-3530A has even more to offer. Re-Writing speed is increased to 8x for DVD+RW and 6x for DVD-RW media. The drive supports both -R DL and +R DL media at 4x and 6x burning speeds respectively.

- Features

As with any other NEC based burner, WOPC is introduced to further improve burning quality. You can see a simple WOPC schematic here. The drive can also use overspeed burning for a wide range of media to support higher burning speeds than any disc's given speeds.

- Specifications

Drive NEC ND-3530A
Media DVD CD
Transfer Rate Write +R

16x (9 - 22MBytes/sec)

-R 48x (3000-7200kBytes/sec)
+R9 6x (8.2MBytes/sec)
4x (5.5 MBytes/sec)
2.4x (3.3 MByte/sec)
+RW 8x (11 MBytes/sec)
-RW 32x
-R 16x ( 9 - 22MBytes/sec)
-R9 4x (5.5 MBytes/sec)
-RW 6x (8.2MBytes/sec)
Transfer Rate Read DVD-R 16x CAV (max 22000 kb/s) CD-R 48x CAV (max 4800 kb/s)
DVD+R 16x CAV (max 22000 kb/s) CD-RW 40x CAV
DVD+R9 4X CLV (5500 KByte/s)
Mechanism motorized Tray load mechanism for horizontal and vertical use
Interface IDE / ATAPI
Burst Transfer Rate PIO mode 4 / Ultra DMA 33
Cache Memory 2MB
Audio digital-out and line-out at the back (MPC compatible)
Modes supported DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-Video, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, CD-Audio, CD Extra, CD Text, CD-IReady, CD-Bridge, Photo-CD, VideoCD, Hybrid CD
Writing methods DAO(disc at once), SAO(session at once), TAO(track at once) with zero gap, variable or fixed packet, multi-session
Compatibility MPC Level 3, MultiRead, PC2001
Weight 1.01 kg
Dimensions 148mm x 42mm x 190mm

Unfortunately, Mount Rainier is not supported and the drive cannot read/write DVD-RAM media. The RPC II region control is used, allowing a user to change the drive's region at most 5 times. Below are the drive's main specs as given by NeroInfoTool, VSO Inspector and DVDInfoPro:

- The Drive

We received the bulk version of the drive in our labs and as you can see below, the drive is black in colour.

The drive unit uses the same casing that former NEC models did. You can see the eject button, the activity led and the eject hole.

On the rear panel you will find the analogue and digital audio outputs (SPDIF), the IDE master/slave/cs selector pins, the IDE connector and the power input.

Opening the device case will void the warranty, so we advise against it. Instead, use the photos in this review for a closer look under the hood. Clicking on the image below will reveal a high resolution image.

click to enlarge!

Bad news for all ND-3500A owners is the fact that the drive uses a new NEC D6364 chipset series, which is known for its good burning quality capabilities.

- Installation

The drive we received came with firmware version 2.10. Since there was a firmware update available, we updated the drive to firmware version 3.01 with no problem. Below you can see the writing strategies that this latest firmware supports.

The device was connected to our test PC and was identified as "NEC DVD_RW ND-3530A" under WinXP, with firmware version 2.10. Below is a screenshot of Nero Burning Rom's specs for the drive.

In this review, we will compare the new NEC ND-3530A with the Plextor PX-716A and the Pioneer DVR-109 drives, since all these burners have similar specifications.

You can always post your opinion about this burner by clicking here.

- Testing software

In order to perform our tests, we used:

  1. Nero CD-DVD Speed v3.70
  2. CDVD Benchmark v1.21
  3. Nero Info Tool v3.00
  4. PlexTools v2.21
  5. DVDInfoPro v2.63
  6. Nero Burning Rom v6.6.1.2
  7. CopyToDVD 3.0.51

2. Transfer Rate Reading Tests

- CD Format

Reading speed for both pressed CDs and CD-Rs is very good, almost reaching the Plextor PX-716A. The Pioneer burner was the slowest.

As with pressed CDs and CD-Rs, so too with Ultra-Speed ReWritable media, the reading speed was good, slightly lower than the Plextor drive.

- DVD Format

All three burners can read single layer media at 16x, so the reading speed of all three drives is very similar. Speed differences are not significant here.

The two layers of a PTP DVD-ROM disc are read sequentially with the drive starting reading from the inner part of the disc, which is the beginning of each layer, progressing towards the outer range for each layer. Again, all three drives performed in a similar way, since their reading speed for this type of media is the same.

The first layer of an OTP dual layer DVD-ROM is read exactly the same way as the first layer of the PTP disc we tested previously. The difference here is the reading strategy of the second layer on the disc. The beginning of the second layer is located in the outer part of the disc, so the drive starts reading from the outer tracks towards the inner part of the disc. It should be noted that this new NEC model can read this kind of media faster than any former NEC model, reporting almost the same speed as the other two burners.

The ND-3530A shows its teeth with DVD-R/+R and DVD-RW/+RW media. It is the fastest of the three drives here and in this case, the speed difference is significant. The NEC burner reached almost 12x reading speed with write-once discs, while the Plextor PX-716A and the Pioneer DVR-109 burners could only achieve 9x~9.5x average reading speeds.

Most optical storage enthusiasts would already know about the "rip-lock" function that NEC uses with all their burners. This makes the drive very slow when ripping DVD-Video. The Plextor burner dominates the comparison chart with an outstanding 13329kb/sec ripping speed.

-Appendix

Nero CD-DVD Speed Graphs


3. CD Error Correction Tests

In the following tests we check the drive's behavior when reading scratched / defective audio discs. The test discs used were the ABEX series from ALMEDIO.

- ABEX TCD-721R

Errors total Num: 1521355
Errors (Loudness) dB(A) Num: 160568 Avg: -77.5 dB(A) Max: -16.0 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples Num: 6098 Avg: 1.5 Samples Max: 554 Samples
Skips Samples Num: 90 Avg: 6.0 Samples Max: 6 Samples
Total Test Result 71.0 points (out of 100.0 maximum)
C2 Accuracy 97.2 %

Not the best performance from the ND-3530A. The maximum error loudness level was -16.0dB, which is high enough, and the total error count is also high at 1,521,355 while there were 90 skipped samples.

- ABEX TCD-726

Errors total Num: 8595
Errors (Loudness) dB(A) Num: 6602 Avg: -81.0 dB(A) Max: -14.9 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples Num: 158 Avg: 10.9 Samples Max: 462 Samples
Skips Samples Num: 1 Avg: 6.0 Samples Max: 6 Samples
Total Test Result 77.5 points (out of 100.0 maximum)
C2 Accuracy 98.3 %

Although there was only one skipped sample, the total score of 77.5 was low enough to indicate poor CD error correction capabilities. Most drives manage a score close to 100 for this test.

- CD-Check Audio Test Disc

The CD-Check Test Disc is a very useful tool for evaluating the Sound Reproduction / Error correction capabilities of a CD player. The disc offers a signal combination with disc error patterns to rate the drive's abilities to read music and reproduce it completely. Five tracks on the disc contain a sequence of progressively more difficult tests. These tracks are referred to as Check Level-1 through Check Level-5.

The tracks are reproduced through a software multimedia player (i.e. Windows Media Player). Each level is considered as passed, if the tone is smooth, continuous without interruptions, skipping or looping. The higher the Check Level passed, the more reliable the sound reproduction of the tested drive.

Error Level 1 2 3 4 5
NEC ND-3530A
5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 0/5

With this test disc, the drive reported good results, managing to read flawlessly 4 out of 5 tracks. We should add that with most NEC based burners, track No4 and up have always posed a problem.

- Summary

Although the drive performed better than other NEC drives, CD error correction capabilities can be further improved with a future firmware update. In any case, this burner is not recommended for scratched CD reading.


4. DVD Error Correction Tests

In the following tests we examined the DVD reading capabilities of the NEC ND-3530A drive with scratched / defective DVD media. For the tests, we used CDVD Benchmark and Nero CDSpeed . The reference test media comes from ALMEDIO.

- Single Layer media
ABEX TDR-821

This is a single sided, single layer DVD-ROM with a 4.7GB capacity, and its surface has an artificial scratch of dimensions varying from 0.4 to 3.0 mm.

The following transfer rate picture comes from the CDVD Benchmark v1.21 transfer rate test.

Some minor speed deviations over the last portion of defective area as well as at the end of the disc, but this test disc was not a problem for the NEC ND-3530A, which managed to read the disc, without producing any errors.

ABEX TDR-825

This is also a single sided, single layer DVD-ROM of 4.7GB capacity. The data structure of the disc is exactly the same as that of the TDR-821, with the difference that there are no scratches on it but instead, defective areas of dimensions ranging from 0.5 to 1.1 mm.

There are also fingerprints sized between 65 and 75 micrometers.

Again, the drive read the disc without problems. With both single layered test discs, the ND-3530A reached its maximum 16x reading speed. Very good error correction capabilities with single layered DVD media.

- Dual Layer media

ABEX TDR-841

This is an 8.5GB dual layer single sided DVD-ROM disc with artificial scratches of dimensions ranging from 0.4 to 3.0mm, on both layers.

In this case, the drive needed to lower its speed over the defective areas to read the disc. The second layer was particularly troublesome, but on the other hand, no read errors were produced.

ABEX TDR-845

The disc is a single sided, dual layer DVD-ROM disc of a capacity of 8.5GB. The only difference between the TDR-845 and the TDR-841 is that the first includes defective areas and fingerprints.

The dimensions of the defective areas range from 0.5 to 1.1 mm and the fingerprints are sized from 65 to 75 micro meters.

Very good correction with this disc where drive easily bypassed the defective areas and fingerprints without the need to lower its speed. Very good performance from the NEC drive.

ABEX TDV-541

The TDV-541 is a single sided, dual layer DVD-VIDEO disc, with a capacity of 8.5GB. The disc is based on the TDV-540 series which is designed for inspection and adjustment of DVD-VIDEO players. The disc checks the layer switch operation from layer 0 to layer 1 and also includes test pictures and test signals for DVD sound files.

The current TDV-541 also checks the error correcting capabilities of the drive and includes scratches from 0.4 to 3.0 mm.

click to enlarge!

The scratched area was read without any errors. This indicate excellent DVD error correction capabilities.

ABEX TDV-545

The TDV-545 disc is based on the TDV-540 series. It is a single sided, dual layer DVD-VIDEO disc with a capacity of 8.5GB. The TDV-545 includes artificial black dots on the data surface, sized from 0.4 to 1.0 mm. It has also 65 - 75 micro meter fingerprints.

click to enlarge!

Again, the ND-3530A proved to be a very good reader when it comes to problematic media. Black dots and fingerprints were not a problem.

- Summary

As you can see from all the graphs above, the ND-3530A managed to pass all these demanding tests without problems. However, it is not the fastest reader around but it sure does the job. After all, with these tests, we aim to see DVD error correction capabilities, and not reading speed performance. As many of you may think,: better late than never from NEC.


5. Protected Disc Tests

- Reading Tests

To create the image of the various protected titles to the hard disk, we used Alcohol 120% software and the appropriate settings, according to the protection type of the inserted discs. Below you can see the duration of each process as well as the transfer rate in each case.
Game Title Protection Scheme Duration Reading speed
PSX "NBA Jam Extreme" Lybcrypt 00:55 min 1643 sectors/sec
Serious Sam The Second Encounter v1.07 SafeDisc v.2.60.052 32:28 min 172 sectors/sec
VRally II SecuROM v.2 2:36 min 2204 sectors/sec

SafeDisc v2 protected discs was a major headache for the NEC ND-3530A burner, while the PX-716A reported outstanding, high speed reading. On the other hand, SecuROM v2 copy protection will not bother you anymore, and PSX ripping speed was even faster than the Plextor drive. In general, the NEC burner showed very good performance concerning SecuROM and PSX ripping.

- Writing Tests

The NEC ND-3530A supports the DAO-RAW writing mode. For checking the drive's EFM correction status, we used 5 different game titles with different SafeDisc 2 versions having the latest software patches installed. After making the images of the various titles onto the hard disk, we burned them (maximum speed) with Alcohol 120% v1.9.2.1705. Two different discs were created for each title; one with the "Bypass EFM error" enabled and one more with the function disabled.

The table below shows the results of the attempted backups and whether they worked (game installed / played normally), or not.

Drive

FIFA 2004
SD v3.1

Sims Superstar SD v2.9 Sims Unleashed SD v2.8 Serious Sam-Second Encounter
SD v2.51.051
Max Payne
SD v2.51.020
EFM OFF EFM ON EFM OFF EFM ON EFM OFF EFM ON EFM OFF EFM ON EFM OFF EFM ON
Toshiba
SD-M1502
No No No Yes No
Creative CD5233E
No No Yes No

NEC ND-3530A

Yes No Yes Yes

Like most NEC based drives, the ND-3530A cannot produce working backups with the newest v2.8x, v2.9x and v3.1x builds. Partially working backups were produced for SafeDisc v2.51.051 & v2.51.020.


6. DAE Tests

- Pressed and CDR Audio CD results

The ND-3530A supports up to 40X CAV DAE speed. The following results were reported when using Exact Audio Copy software.

The Plextor PX-716A supports up to 40X DAE speed, but it seems that it reaches its maximum reading speed earlier than the NEC model. This is why it is the fastest reader in this comparison chart. However, for 40X DAE speed, the NEC performed quite well.

The NEC ND-3530A drive can report C2 errors, but caching is not supported, just like most NEC based drives.

- Advanced DAE Quality

In this test, the Pioneer DVR-109 was the slowest burner, and the ND-3530A almost reached the speed of the PX-716A. The quality score for the NEC was not 100, but again, considering the quality score from other NEC burners, this is a big improvement.

The ND-3530A cannot read Leadin data or Leadout data, but it can read CD Text and Subchannel data. The reported average speed was 29.21X. Although it is not the fastest reader, performance has increased from former NEC burners, such as the ND-3520A and ND-3500A models.

- Ripping 90mins Audio CDs

click to enlarge!

Although reading speed was reduced near the 67 min mark, the disc was successfully read, reporting 24.77X average reading speed while reaching a maximum speed of 37X.

- Ripping 99mins Audio CDs

With 99min Audio CDs, the burner could not even start the reading process, giving the following error message.

click to enlarge!

It should be noted that 99min Audio CDs have been a problem with all NEC based drives.


7. Protected AudioCDs

For the test procedure we used three audio discs with different audio copy protections. The ripping process on all protected Audio discs was carried out with Exact Audio Copy v0.9 beta5.

The tested protected Audio discs were:

The Cactus Data Shield 200, contains artificial errors that are not easily bypassed by the reader, while the Key2Audio contains a second session causing problems for readers when trying to read the Table Of Contents (TOC).

The tested tasks are:

The drive recognized up to the 12th Audio track of the CDS200 disc,

and with the "Retrieve Native TOC" option removed, the drive recognized the 13th track.

The test results are shown in the following table:

NEC ND-3530A Key2Audio CDS200
Ripping process completed, EAC reports no problems, Read&Test CRC comparison successful for all tracks Ripping process completed, EAC reports no problems, Read&Test CRC comparison successful for all tracks

According to the table above, the ND-3530A can rip 100% accurately both CDS200 and Key2Audio protected discs. It should be noted that this is the first NEC based model that can actually copy flawlessly CDS200 discs, since with ND-3520A and ND-3500A, the Read&Test CRC check comparison was not the same for corresponding tracks between the original and backup CDs.

This is a "special" CDS200 build, since it doesn't contain any artificial errors which create problems during the ripping process. Most problems occur when trying to write the ripped wav files, since the produced CD-R disc contains C2 and CU errors! This "problem" is rumored to be connected to specific chipset weaknesses.

We ripped the disc contents with EAC and burned the wav file produced from the Cactus Data Shield 200.0.4 - 3.0 build 16a disc with the latest Nero version as Audio CD+CD-Text. The burned media was checked for C1/C2 errors and for BETA/Jitter errors with PlexTools software using Plextor PX-716A (firmware v1.05).

NEC ND-3530A CDS 200.0.4 - 3.0 build 16a
Reading performed without any errors.

The C1/C2 error graphs show that the ND-3530A managed to produce a 100% error free disc.

We then tried to extract all wav files with the Plextor PX-716A and PlexTools DAE Error Correction 5th Level enabled:

No errors were reported after extracting all files. The drive can backup the disc 100% accurately.


8. CD Recording Tests

- CD-R Format

The drive supports 8X, 16X, 24X, 32X, 40X and 48X (CAV) writing speeds.

According to Nero CDSpeed, the drive clocked in an average speed of 36.50X.

click to enlarge!

- CD-R Recording Times

We created an 80min data compilation with Nero Burning Rom and recorded it on a 700MB disc. The writing performance varies according to the inserted media. Below is a chart depicting all recording times with various media.

A quick look at the above graph indicates that not all 48X or 52X certified discs can be recorded at the maximum 48X speed. However, this is a common problem with most high speed burners, such as the new ASUS DRW-1608P. The burner needed 3:01mins to complete a successfully burn at 48X and 3:33mins at 32X.

- Other features

Overburning writing Up to 90min
CD text reading/writing Yes

- CD-RW Format

The ND-3530A supports 4X, 10X, 16X (CLV), 24X (Z-CLV) and 32X (Z-CLV) rewriting speeds, with Ultra Speed Rewritable Media (US-RW).

Below you can see the Nero CD-DVD Speed writing simulation test with blank 32x US-RW media from Mitsubishi Chemicals.

click to enlarge!

- CD-RW Mount Rainier

The NEC ND-3530A does not support the Mount Rainier feature.


9. Writing Quality Tests - C1 / C2 Error Measurements

We measured the C1 / C2 error rate on the recorded discs we burned at the various supported writing speeds. The software we used is the latest PleXTools Professional and in particular the built-in Q-Check utility. The reader was the Plextor PX-716A.

BenQ 80min 52X @ 48X

Intenso 80min 52X @ 32X

MMore 80min 52X @ 48X

Philips 80min 52X @ 48X

SKC 80min 52X @ 32X

Traxdata 80min 52X @ 48X

Verbatim 80min 52X @ 48X

Waitec 80min 52X @ 24X

- Summary

5 out of 8 discs we burned reported C2 errors. This, of course, is not acceptable for a good quality burner. We think that CD writing quality should be further improved by NEC's engineers, with a new firmware release. It is strange that even A-Grade media like Verbatim produced such errors. On the other hand, SKC, Philips and MMore CD media reported very good results.


10. Writing Quality Tests - Clover System Tests

The Clover Systems CDX Compact Disc Analyzer is a high-speed tool to quantitatively measure the quality of a CD. It will analyze CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, CD-I, CD-R, Photo-CD, Enhanced CD and CD-RW discs at 4X, 8X, 24X, 32X or 40X speed. It effectively measures disc quality by examining the quantity and severity of CIRC errors generated during playback. It also provides the capability to measure signal parameters related to pit geometry, such as asymmetry and reflectivity. Together, all these bits of information provide a thorough analysis of disc quality. The Clover Systems Analyzers can also perform various format-checking tests on data discs, and do bit-for-bit data comparison on all types of CDs. All tests are carried out at the maximum speed of 40X.

CIRC error correction uses two principles to detect and correct errors. The first is redundancy (extra information is added, which gives an extra chance to read the disc), and the second is interleaving (data is distributed over a relatively large physical area). The CIRC error correction used in CD players uses two stages of error correction, the well known C1 and C2, with de-interleaving of the data between the stages.

The error type E11 means one bad symbol was corrected in the C1 stage. E21means two bad symbols were corrected in the C1 stage. E31 means that there were three or more bad symbols at the C1 stage. This block is uncorrectable at the C1 stage, and is passed to the C2 stage. Respectively, E12 means one bad symbol was corrected in the C2 stage and E22 means two bad symbols were corrected in the C2 stage. E32 means that there were three or more bad symbols in one block at the C2 stage, and therefore this error is not correctable.

BLER (Block Error Rate) is defined as the number of data blocks per second that contain detectable errors, at the input of the C1 decoder. Since this is the most general measurement of the quality of a disc, you will find BLER graphs for all media tested below. If you click on the images you can see a more detailed table, indicating error levels. The Red Book specification (IEC 908) calls for a maximum BLER of 220 per second averaged over ten seconds. Discs with higher BLER are likely to produce uncorrectable errors. Al low BLER shows that the system as a whole is performing well, and the pit geometry is good. However, BLER only tells us how many errors were generated per second, and it does not tell us anything about the severity of those errors.

BenQ 80min 52X @ 48X

Intenso 80min 52X @ 32X

MMore 80min 52X @ 48X

Philips 80min 52X @ 48X

SKC 80min 52X @ 32X

Traxdata 80min 52X @ 48X

Verbatim 80min 52X @ 48X

Waitec 80min 52X @ 24X

- Summary

The tests we ran with the Clover System's equipment verify the results of the Plextools tests, since the CDx equipment is considered to be more professional and reliable. Most discs came up with uncorrectable errors, indicating a poor quality burner for CD media. As previously stated, we hope to see these problems corrected in a future firmware release.


11. DVD Recording Tests

- Writing Performance

There are no big surprises with the DVD-R and DVD+R writing speeds, since from old (ND-3500A), NEC was the first to support 16x CAV writing speed, and since then, all NEC models have supported this speed. You can see the full range of supported speeds on the first page of this review. Nero Burning Rom's reported speeds are shown below.

By using Nero CD-DVD Speed with DVD-R and DVD+R media, we are able to see the 16X CAV recording technology in action for -R and +R media. You can clearly see that WOPC is activated.

click to enlarge!

click to enlarge!

The ND-3530A supports 8x DVD+RW writing speed, while DVD-RW media can be burned at 6X. Below, you can see the writing speed graph, as reported by Nero CD-DVD Speed.

click to enlarge!

click to enlarge!

- Burning Tests

Full Media Support list will be discussed later on in this review.

By using overspeed burning technology, the ND-3530A managed to burn a wide range of media at higher speeds than the disc's certified speed. However, it took almost 9:40 minutes to burn a disc at 8x while there are other burners available on the market that can achieve much faster writing times at this speed. Another drawback is that Traxdata 16x certified media can only be recorded at 12x. Best times came with TDK 8x media (recorded at 16x).

With -RW 6X media, it took 10:27mins to complete a successful burn, a rather good time compared to other burners that can write such media at 6x.

Again, using the overspeed burning feature, the burner can burn at higher speeds than the media indicated speed although CMC Magnetics 16x media could only be recorded at 12x. Best times came with Verbatim 16x media. What most users might not know is that there are two different Ricoh 8x media on the market (ID: RICOHJPN R02 Rev 3 & 4). Although both of them were burned at the same speed (12x), it is interesting to see the writing quality for both revisions.

Writing times reported with 8x DVD+RW media were even better than Write-Once 8x media. It took only 7:26mins to perform recording. Very good performance by NEC in this case.

- Comparison with other drives

All three drives can burn DVD-R and DVD+R media at 16x, but as you can see, the Plextor burner was slightly slower in both cases.

Comparing these three drives against DVD+RW media writing times, the NEC burner is the fastest of all, actually achieving 8x writing speed. The Plextor burner, again, was the slowest. However, it should be noted that this performance for the Plextor drive is obtained with the firmware that CDRinfo used when the Plextor review was posted. It was the latest firmware available for the PX-716A at the time of that review.

- DVD Overburning Tests

Using Nero CD-DVD Speed, we tested if the NEC ND-3530A can overburn using DVD+R and DVD-R media. Unfortunately, the drive does not support overburning.

- DVD+MRW Tests

The NEC ND-3530A does not support the Mount Rainier feature.


12. Media Support list - -R/-RW/-R9 (DL) media

You can see a comprehensive list of media supported by this recorder in the following tables (these tables apply for firmware version 3.01).

ND-3530A Support media (DVD-R Single Layer)
1FUJIFILM 2x4x
2FUJIFILM
2x4x
3FUJIFILM
2x4x
4FUJIFILM
2x4x
4MSYS202C1
2x4x
5FUJIFILM
2x4x
????????????
2x
????????????
2x
????????????
4x
AML
2x4x
AN31
2x4x
AN32
2x4x
AN33
2x4x
AN34
2x4x
AN35
2x4x
AUVISTARM01
2x4x
Auvistar
2x4x
BeAllG00001
2x
BeAllG00002
2x
BeAllG00003
2x
BeAllG00004
2x
BeAllG00005
2x
BeAllG16001
2x4x6x8x13x16x
BeAllG40001
2x4x
BeAllG40002
2x4x
BeAllG40003
2x4x
BeAllG40004
2x4x
BeAllG40005
2x4x
BeAllG80001
2x4x6x8x
CMCMAG
2x
CMCMAGAE1
2x4x6x8x
CMCMAGAE2
2x4x6x8x
CMCMAGAE3
2x4x6x8x
CMCMAGAE4
2x4x6x8x
CMCMAGAE5
2x4x6x8x
CMCMAGAF1
2x4x
CMCMAGAF2
2x4x
CMCMAGAF3
2x4x
CMCMAGAF4
2x4x
CMCMAGAF5
2x4x
CMCMAGAM1
2x4x6x8x13x16x
CMCMAGAM2
2x4x6x8x13x16x
CMCMAGAM3
2x4x6x8x13x16x
CMCMAGAM4
2x4x6x8x13x16x
CMCMAGAM5
2x4x6x8x13x16x
CMCMAGCO
2x
CMCMAGAF01
2x4x
CMCMAGAF02
2x4x
CMCMAGAF03
2x4x
CMCMAGAF04
2x4x
CMCMAGAF05
2x4x
CMC00RG200
2x
CMC00RG201
2x
CMC00RG202
2x
CMC00RG300
2x
CMC00RG301
2x
CMC00RG302
2x
DATATRACK
2x
DATATRACK
2x4x
DAXON4x
2x4x
DAXON004
2x4x
DAXON008
2x4x6x8x
DAXON008S
2x4x6x8x
DAXON016
2x4x6x8x13x16x
DAXON016S
2x4x6x8x12x
DDDDVDR
2x
DKMZ01
2x4x6x8x
DKMZ01
2x4x6x8x
DKM_01
2x4x
Dvsn
4x
DvsnA001
2x4x
Dvsn-80
2x4x6x8x
EDM1
2x4x
EDM_02
2x4x6x8x
ENGAGE1
2x4x6x8x
FORNEX101
2x4x
FUJIFILM02
2x4x6x
FUJIFILM02
2x4x6x
FUJIFILM03
2x4x6x8x
FUJIFILM04
2x4x6x8x13x16x
FUJIFILM05
2x4x6x8x13x16x
FUJIFILM06
2x4x6x8x13x16x
FUJIFILM07
2x4x6x8x13x16x
GSC001
2x4x
GSC001
2x
GSC001
2x4x
GSC002
2x4x
GSC002
2x
GSC002
2x4x
GSC003
2x4x
GSC003
2x
GSC003
2x4x6x8x
GSC004
2x4x
GSC004
2x
GSC004
2x4x6x8x
GSC005
2x4x
GSC005
2x
GSC005
2x4x6x8x
IMCJPNR01
2x4x6x8x
INFODISC-R01
2x4x
INFODISC-R20
2x4x6x8x
INFOMEDIAR20
2x4x6x8x
INFOSMART01
2x4x
INFOSMART02
2x4x
INFOSMART03
2x4x
INFOSMART04
2x4x
INFOSMART05
2x4x
INTERSOMPGPS
2x4x
ISSM1
2x4x
ISSMR02
2x4x6x8x13x16x
KDTVVV
2x4x6x8x
KIC00RG200
2x
KIC01RG080
2x4x6x8x
KIC01RG20
2x4x
KIC01RG21
2x4x
KIC01RG22
2x4x
KIC02RG20
2x4x
KIC03RG20
2x4x
LD
2x
LD01
2x
LD02
2x
LD03
2x
LEADDATA
2x
LEADDATAS03
2x4x6x8x
LEADDATAS04
2x4x6x8x12x
LEADDATA01
2x4x
LEADDATA02
2x4x
LEADDATA03
2x4x
LEADDATA04
2x4x
LEADDATA05
2x4x
LGE
2x
LGE04
2x
LGE05
2x
LGE06
2x
LGE07
2x
LGE08
2x4x6x8x
LONGTEN1
2x4x
LONGTEN2
2x4x
LONGTEN3
2x4x6x8x
LONGTEN4
2x4x6x8x
LONGTEN5
2x4x6x8x
LONGTEN9
2x4x
LeadData
2x
MAM4XG01
2x4x
MAM4XG02
2x4x
MAM4XG03
2x4x
MAM4XG04
2x4x
MAM4XG05
2x4x
MAM8XG01
2x4x6x8x
MAM8XG02
2x4x6x8x
MAM8XG03
2x4x6x8x
MAM8XG04
2x4x6x8x
MAM8XG05
2x4x6x8x
MBI
2x
MBI01RG20
2x4x
MBI01RG21
2x4x
MBI01RG22
2x4x
MBI01RG40
2x4x6x8x13x16x
MBI02RG20
2x4x
MBI03RG20
2x4x
MBI03RG40
2x4x6x8x13x16x
MBI03RG30
2x4x6x8x
MCC00RG200
2x
MCC01RG20
2x4x6x8x
MCC02RG20
2x4x6x8x12x
MCC03RG20
2x4x6x8x13x16x
MCC04RG20
2x4x6x8x13x16x
MCC05RG20
2x4x6x8x13x16x
MCC06RG20
2x4x6x8x13x16x
MCI4XG01
2x
MCI4XG02
2x
MCI4XG03
2x
MCIG01
2x
MCIG02
2x
MCIG03
2x
MEI00V001
2x
MEI00V002
2x4x
MEI00V003
2x4x
MEI00V004
2x4x
MJCME
2x4x6x8x
MUST1
2x4x
MUST2
2x4x
MUST3
2x4x6x8x
MUST4
2x4x6x8x
MUST5
2x4x6x8x
MUST6
2x4x6x8x
MUST7
2x4x6x8x13x16x
MUST8
2x4x6x8x13x16x
MUST9
2x4x6x8x13x16x
MXLRG01
2x
MXLRG02
2x4x
MXLRG02
2x
MXLRG03
2x
MXLRG03
2x4x6x8x13x16x
MXLRG04
2x4x6x8x13x16x
MXLRG05
2x4x6x8x13x16x
MXLRG06
2x4x6x8x13x16x
MXLRG07
2x4x6x8x13x16x
NANYAA01
2x4x6x8x
NANYA-JC001
2x4x
NANYA-JC002
2x4x
NANYA-JC003
2x4x
NANYA-JC004
2x4x
NANYA-JC005
2x4x
NSDR40
2x4x6x8x12x
OCTOPLUS
2x4x
OMP4KG001
2x4x
OMP4KG002
2x4x
OMP4KG003
2x4x
OMP4KG004
2x4x
OMP4KG005
2x4x
ONIDTECH
2x4x
OPTODISC
2x
OPTODISCK001
2x
OPTODISCK001
2x4x
OPTODISCK002
2x
OPTODISCK002
2x4x
OPTODISCK003
2x
OPTODISCK003
2x4x
OPTODISCK004
2x
OPTODISCK004
2x4x
OPTODISCK005
2x
OPTODISCK005
2x4x
OPTODISCR004
2x4x
OPTODISCR005
2x4x
OPTODISCR006
2x4x
OPTODISCR007
2x4x
OPTODISCR008
2x4x6x8x
OPTODISCR016
2x4x6x8x13x16x
POMS3A
2x4x6x8x
POSG04
2x4x
POSG05
2x4x
POSG06
2x4x6x8x
POSG07
2x4x6x8x
POSG08
2x4x6x8x12x
POSG09
2x4x6x8x12x
PRINCO
2x
PRINCO
2x
PRINCO
2x
PRINCO
2x
PRINCO
2x
PRINCO
2x
PRINCO
2x4x
PRINCO8X01
2x4x6x8x
PRINCO8X02
2x4x6x8x
PRODISCG02
2x
PRODISCG03
2x
PRODISCG04
2x
PVC001001
2x4x
PVC001002
2x4x
PVC001003
2x4x
PVCR001002
2x4x6x8x
PVCR001003
2x4x6x8x
PVCR001004
2x4x6x8x
PVCR002001
2x4x6x8x
PVCR002002
2x4x6x8x
PlasmonLV3
2x4x
PlasmonLV4
2x4x
PlasmonLV5
2x4x
PlasmonLV6
2x4x
PlasmonLV7
2x4x
Plasmon-Gen
2x
Plasmon1A
2x4x6x8x
ProdiscF01
2x4x6x8x
ProdiscF02
2x4x6x8x13x16x
ProdiscF03
2x4x6x8x13x16x
ProdiscF04
2x4x6x8x13x16x
ProdiscF05
2x4x6x8x13x16x
ProdiscS03
2x4x
ProdiscS04
2x4x6x8x
ProdiscS05
2x4x6x8x13x16x
ProdiscS06

2x4x6x8x13x16x

ProdiscS07
2x4x6x8x13x16x
ProdiscS08
2x4x6x8x13x16x
ProdiscS09

2x4x6x8x13x16x

RITEKF1
2x4x6x8x12x
RITEKF2
2x4x6x8x12x
RITEKF3
2x4x6x8x12x
RITEKF4
2x4x6x8x12x
RITEKF5
2x4x6x8x12x
RITEKG01
2x
RITEKG02
2x
RITEKG03
2x
RITEKG04
2x4x
RITEKG0401
2x4x
RITEKG05
2x4x6x8x
RITEKG06
2x4x6x8x
RITEKG07
2x4x6x8x
RITEKG08
2x4x6x8x
RITEKG09
2x4x6x8x
RITEKM02
2x4x
RITEKM03
2x4x
RITEKM04
2x4x
RITEKM05
2x4x
RITEKM06
2x4x
SKCCo,Ltd
2x4x
SKCM801
2x4x6x8x
SONY
2x
SONY04D1
2x4x
SONY04D2
2x4x
SONY04D3
2x4x
SONY04D4
2x4x
SONY04D5
2x4x
SONY08D1
2x4x6x8x13x16x
SONY08D2
2x4x6x8x13x16x
SONY08D3
2x4x6x8x13x16x
SONY08D4
2x4x6x8x13x16x
SONY08D5
2x4x6x8x13x16x
SONY16D1
2x4x6x8x13x16x
TAIYOYUDEN
2x
TAROKO-MX4
2x4x
TDKG010000d9
2x
TDKG02000000
2x
TDKG03000000
2x
TDKG04000000
2x
TMI0012003
2x4x
TTG01
2x4x6x8x
TTG02
2x4x6x8x
TTG03
2x4x6x8x
TTG04
2x4x6x8x
TTG05
2x4x6x8x
TTG06
2x4x6x8x
TTH01
2x4x6x8x13x16x
TTH02
2x4x6x8x13x16x
TTH03
2x4x6x8x13x16x
TTH04
2x4x6x8x13x16x
TTH05

2x4x6x8x13x16x

TTH06
2x4x6x8x13x16x
TYG01
2x4x6x8x
TYG02
2x4x6x8x12x
TYG03
2x4x6x8x13x16x
TYG04
2x4x6x8x13x16x
TYG05
2x4x6x8x13x16x
TYG06
2x4x6x8x13x16x
ULTRAN102
2x4x6x8x
UME01
2x4x6x8x
UTJG01001
2x
UTJG01002
2x
UTJG01003
2x
UTJG02001
2x
UTJG02002
2x
UTJG03001
2x
UTJG03002
2x
UTJR001001
2x4x
UTJR001002
2x4x
UTJR001003
2x4x
UTJR002001
2x4x
UTJR002002
2x4x
UTJR003001
2x4x
UTJR003002
2x4x
VANGUARD
2x4x
VANGUARD01
2x4x6x8x
VDSPMSAB1
4x
VDSPMSAB2
2x4x6x8x
VDSPMSAB3
2x4x6x8x
VDSPMSAB4
2x4x6x8x
VDSPMSAB5
2x4x6x8x
VIVASTAR
2x
WFIA40001
2x4x
WINGSHING04
2x4x
YiJhan1
2x4x
YiJhan2
2x4x
YiJhan3
2x4x
YiJhan4
2x4x
YiJhan5
2x4x

 

ND-3530A Support media (DVD-RW Single Layer)
0
1x
0
1x
0
2x
0
2x
CMCW02
1x2x
CMCW03
2x4x
CMCW04
2x
DAXON_RW2X01
1x2x
INFOMEDIA
1x2x
JVC/VictorT7
1x
JVC0VictorD7
2x4x
JVC1Victord7
2x4x6x
JVC_VictorW7
1x2x
MCC00RW11N9
1x
MCC01RW11n9
1x2x
MCC01RW4X
2x4x
MKM01RW6X01
2x4x6x
OPTODISCK001
1x
OPTODISCK001
1x2x
OPTODISCW002
1x2x
OPTODISCW004
2x4x
PRINCO
1x
PRINCO
1x
PRINCORW0004
2x4x
PRINCORW2X01
1x2x
PVCW000001Q9
1x
PVCW000002A9
1x
PVCW00D002K9
1x2x
PVCW00V00245
1x2x
ProdiscDW04
1x2x
ProdiscDW06
2x4x
ProdiscDVDRW
1x
RITEKV11
1x
RITEK000V11A
1x
RITEK004V11
1x
RITEK005V11
1x
RITEKW01
1x2x
RITEKW04
2x4x
RITEKW06
2x4x6x
SKCCo,Ltd
1x
SONY000000U9
1x
TDK401saku=3
1x
TDK501saku
1x
TDK502sakuM3
1x2x
TDK601saku
2x4x
TDK701saku
2x

 

ND-3530A Support media (DVD-R Double Layer)
MCC02RG20
2x4x
MKM01RD30
2x4x

13. Media Support list - +R/+RW/+R9 (DL) media

You can see a comprehensive list of media supported by this recorder in the following tables (these tables apply for firmware version 3.01).

ND-3530A Support media (DVD+R Single Layer)
0
2.4x
AML1
2.4x4x
AML1
2.4x4x
AML2
4x
AML2
4x
BEALLP0001
2.4x
BeAll000P40
4x
BeAll000P40
4x
BeAll000P80
2.4x4x
BeAll000P80
2.4x4x
CMCMAGE01
2.4x4x6x8x
CMCMAGE01
2.4x4x6x8x
CMCMAGF01
2.4x4x
CMCMAGM01
4x6x8x12x
CMCMAGR01
2.4x
CMCMagR01
2.4x
DATATRAK001
2.4x
DAXONAZ0
2.4x
DAXONAZ0
2.4x
DAXONAZ1
2.4x4x
DAXONAZ2
2.4x4x
DAXONAZ2
2.4x4x6x8x12x
DDDessauV10
2.4x
DDDessauV20
2.4x4x
DDDessauV30
4x6x8x
DKP0
4x6x8x
DT-D022
2.4x4x
DT-D022
2.4x4x
DT-D034
4x6x8x
EMDP0
4x
GSC503H01
4x
GSC503H01
4x
IMCJPNR01
4x6x8x
INFODISCR10
2.4x4x
INFODISCR10
2.4x4x
INFODISCR20
2.4x4x6x8x
INFOMER20
2.4x4x6x8x
INFOMER30
4x6x8x13x16x
IS011
4x
IS011
4x
ISSM1
4x6x8x
LD1
2.4x
LDA02
4x
LDS03
4x6x8x
LONGTEN2
4x
LONGTEN2
4x
MAMM02
2.4x4x6x8x
MAM4XG01001
2.4x4x
MAXELL1
2.4x4x
MAXELL2
2.4x4x6x8x
MAXELL2
2.4x4x6x8x
MAXELL3
2.4x4x6x8x13x16x
MBIPG101R03
2.4x4x
MBIPG101R04
4x6x8x
MBIPG101R05
4x6x8x13x16x
MCC1
2.4x
MCC2
2.4x4x
MCC3
2.4x4x6x8x
MCC4
2.4x4x6x8x13x16x
MCC4
2.4x4x6x8x13x16x
MPOMEDIA001
2.4x
MPOMEDIA040
2.4x4x
MPOMEDIA040
2.4x4x
MPOMEDIA080
2.4x4x6x8x
MUST2
4x
MUST2
4x
MUST2
4x
MUST2
4x
NANYACHX
4x
NANYACHX
4x
NANYACL1
2.4x4x6x8x
NANYACLX
2.4x4x6x8x
NANYACLX
2.4x4x6x8x
NANYADR
2.4x4x
NANYADR
2.4x4x
NANYARJB
2.4x4x
NANYARJB
2.4x4x
OPTODISCF16
4x6x8x13x16x
OPTODISCOP1
2.4x
OPTODISCOP2
2.4x
OPTODISCOR4
4x
OPTODISCOR8
2.4x4x6x8x
OPTODISCR16
4x6x8x13x16x
PHILIPSC08
2.4x4x6x8x
PHILIPSC16
4x6x8x13x16x
POMSC001002
2.4x4x
POSR01
2.4x4x6x8x
PRODISCR01
2.4x
PRODISCR01
2.4x
PRODISCR02
2.4x4x
PRODISCR03
2.4x4x6x8x12x
PRODISCR03
2.4x4x6x8x12x
PRODISCR03
2.4x4x6x8x12x
PRODISCR03
2.4x4x6x8x12x
PRODISCR04
2.4x4x6x8x13x16x
Philips81
2.4x4x6x8x
Philips81
2.4x4x6x8x
Plasmon1C01
4x6x8x
RICOHJPNR00
2.4x
RICOHJPNR00
2.4x
RICOHJPNR00
2.4x4x6x8x
RICOHJPNR01
2.4x4x6x8x
RICOHJPNR02
2.4x4x6x8x12x
RICOHJPNR02
2.4x4x6x8x12x
RICOHJPNR03
2.4x4x6x8x13x16x
RITEKM02
4x
RITEKM02
4x
RITEKR01
2.4x
RITEKR02
2.4x4x
RITEKR03
2.4x4x
RITEKR03
2.4x4x6x8x
RITEKR03
2.4x4x6x8x
RITEKR04
4x6x8x13x16x
SASTS01
2.4x4x
SKYMEDIAR03
4x6x8x
SONYD01
2.4x4x
SONYD11
4x6x8x12x
SONYD21
4x6x8x13x16x
TDK1

2.4x4x6x8x

TDK2
2.4x4x6x8x12x16x
TDK2
2.4x4x6x8x12x16x
TDK3
2.4x4x6x8x13x16x
ULTRAN202
2.4x4x
VANGUARD001
2.4x4x6x8x
VDSPMSAB001
2.4x4x
VDSPMSAB001
2.4x4x
VDSPMSAB002
4x6x8x
VIVA2
2.4x4x6x8x
WINGSHIN0011
4x6x8x
YUDEN000T00
2.4x4x
YUDEN000T01
2.4x4x
YUDEN000T01
2.4x4x6x8x
YUDEN000T02
2.4x4x6x8x13x16x
YUDEN000T02
2.4x4x6x8x13x16x
YUDEN000T03
2.4x4x6x8x13x16x

 

ND-3530A Support media (DVD+RW Single Layer)
0
2.4x
0
2.4x
0
CMCMAGW01
2.4x
CMCMAGW01
2.4x
CMCMAGW02
2.4x4x
DAXOND42
2.4x4x
INFODISCA01
2.4x
INFODISCA10
2.4x4x
MBIPG101W03
2.4x
MBIPG101W04
2.4x4x
MCCA01
2.4x
MKMA02
2.4x4x
MKMA03
6x8x
NANYADRW
2.4x4x
NANYASCDRW
2.4x
OPTODISCOP1
2.4x
OPTODISCOP4
2.4x4x
PHILIPS010
2.4x
PHILIPS041
2.4x4x
PHILIPSRW8
PRODISCW01
2.4x
PRODISCW02
2.4x4x
PRODISCW03
RICOHJPNW01
2.4x
RICOHJPNW11
2.4x4x
RICOHJPNW21
6x8x
RITEK001
2.4x
RITEK004
2.4x4x
SENTINELW01
2.4x
SENTINELW02
2.4x4x
SONYS11
2.4x4x

 

ND-3530A Support media (DVD+R Single Layer)
0
CMCMAGD01
2.4x
MKM1
2.4x4x6x
MKM2
PHILIPSCD2
2.4x
RICOHJPND00
2.4x
RICOHJPNR00
2.4x
RITEKD01
2.4x

 


14. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 1

In order to test the writing quality and readability of the burned media we used two readers with two software applications:

In general, a "perfect" disc should have a smooth reading curve, very low PIE/POE and zero (0) POF error rates. Most times however, even though a disc has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth containing dropoffs. Due to the fact that we oversped the reading capabilities of the LiteON SOHD-167T, such drops are expected, especially near the outer area of the disc.

The measurements below should be taken not as the absolute criteria of the burning quality, but as an indication level.

16X DVD-R Writing Speed

- Summary

All discs reported very good results, except for Maxell 8x media. Of course, this should not concern most users, since that disc is recorded at 16x through the overspeed burning feature. We assume that even Maxell 8x discs would report very good results if burned at the certified speed (8x), or even 12x. Best results came from TDK and Verbatim.


15. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 2

In order to test the writing quality and readability of the burned media we used two readers with two software applications:

In general, a "perfect" disc should have a smooth reading curve, very low PIE/POE and zero (0) POF error rates. Most times however, even though a disc has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth containing dropoffs. Due to the fact that we oversped the reading capabilities of the LiteON SOHD-167T, such drops are expected, especially near the outer area of the disc.

The measurements below should be taken not as the absolute criteria of the burning quality, but as an indication level.

12X DVD-R Writing Speed

- Summary

All media burned at 12x was oversped, except for Traxdata 16x media. NEC burners have a bad relationship with Traxdata media and even the ND-3530A model supports 4x writing speed with 2.10 firmware revision. With the latest 3.01 firmware revision, Traxdata 16x media can be recorded at 12x.

In general, quality results are rather good, but worse than in the previous page (16x). This is strange, since it is more reasonable to expect that with reduced burning speed, you would achieve higher quality. We hope to see this improved with new writing strategy modifications included in a future firmware release.


16. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 3

In order to test the writing quality and readability of the burned media we used two readers with two software applications:

In general, a "perfect" disc should have a smooth reading curve, very low PIE/POE and zero (0) POF error rates. Most times however, even though a disc has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth containing dropoffs. Due to the fact that we oversped the reading capabilities of the LiteON SOHD-167T, such drops are expected, especially near the outer area of the disc.

The measurements below should be taken not as the absolute criteria of the burning quality, but as an indication level.

8X DVD-R Writing Speed

- Summary

Best results came with Datawrite (TTG02) 8X media. However, burning quality was again down compared with the 16x results. The Traxdata media came up with the worst quality, since it reported uncorrectable errors. Once again, the bad interaction between the NEC burner and Traxdata media is verified.


17. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 4

In order to test the writing quality and readability of the burned media we used two readers with two software applications:

In general, a "perfect" disc should have a smooth reading curve, very low PIE/POE and zero (0) POF error rates. Most times however, even though a disc has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth containing dropoffs. Due to the fact that we oversped the reading capabilities of the LiteON SOHD-167T, such drops are expected, especially near the outer area of the disc.

The measurements below should be taken not as the absolute criteria of the burning quality, but as an indication level.

16X DVD+R Writing Speed

- Summary

It is not common to see such good results with DVD+R 16x media. All discs reported very low PI/PO error levels, and especially the Maxell 16x discs came up with the best quality scans. Worst results came with Optodisc 16x discs, but again, quality score was more than acceptable. In general, this burner proves to be a very good quality writer at 16x with both DVD-R and DVD+R media formats.


18. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 5

In order to test the writing quality and readability of the burned media we are using two readers with two software applications:

In general, a "perfect" disc should have a smooth reading curve, very low PIE/POE and zero (0) POF error rates. Most times however, even though a disc has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth containing dropoffs. Due to the fact that we oversped the reading capabilities of the LiteON SOHD-167T, such drops are expected, especially near the outer area of the disc.

The measurements below should be taken not as the absolute criteria of the burning quality, but as an indication level.

12X DVD+R Writing Speed

- Summary

All media burned at 12x was read successfully by our LiteON reader, but unfortunately, CMC Magnetics 16x media could only be recorded at 12x. You can see that there are two revisions for RICOH media on the market with the same ID code. With both of these discs, quality scans were similar, but the new revision 4 discs are slightly better. In any case, there were no uncorrectable errors with any media we tested.


19. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 6

In order to test the writing quality and readability of the burned media we used two readers with two software applications:

In general, a "perfect" disc should have a smooth reading curve, very low PIE/POE and zero (0) POF error rates. Most times however, even though a disc has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth containing dropoffs. Due to the fact that we oversped the reading capabilities of the LiteON SOHD-167T, such drops are expected, especially near the outer area of the disc.

The measurements below should be taken not as the absolute criteria of the burning quality, but as an indication level.

8X DVD+R Writing Speed

- Summary

With the DVD-R media format, burning quality was reduced when writing speed was reduced. We were happy to see that this was not the case with the DVD+R media format. Excellent performance by NEC with almost all the media we tested, except for Traxdata (printable) media. But again, even with these Traxdata discs, burning quality was acceptable.


20. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 7

In order to test the writing quality and readability of the burned media we used two readers with two software applications:

In general, a "perfect" disc should have a smooth reading curve, very low PIE/POE and zero (0) POF error rates. Most times however, even though a disc has very low PIE/POE error rates, the reading curve may not be smooth containing dropoffs. Due to the fact that we oversped the reading capabilities of the LiteON SOHD-167T, such drops are expected, especially near the outer area of the disc.

The measurements below should be taken not as the absolute criteria of the burning quality, but as an indication level.

DVD+RW and DVD-RW Media

- Summary

Some minor problems appeared when we scanned ReWritable media. Burning quality at 8x with DVD+RW media seemed to be great, similar to the burning quality of 6x writings with DVD-RW media. Unfortunately, these media are not easily found on the market and only Verbatim (MKM) and Traxdata (RITEK) actually manufacture discs supporting these speeds. Traxdata 6x DVD-RW media was unreadable with our LiteON reader, but the Plextools scans indicated rather good writing quality. So, we will have to assume that the disc is unreadable because of the drive's limitations and not because of the disc itself. On the other hand, Traxdata 4x DVD+RW media was a headache for the ND-3530A and we had the worst results with these particular media. Once again, bad interaction between Traxdata media with NEC burners.


21. Writing Quality Tests - Almedio AEC-1000

The AEC-1000 consists of a DVD Drive and the "ALChecker" error measurement application which can check the written data quality. The application is capable of 1X CLV measurement as well as 4X CLV on DVD-Video/ROM and finalized DVD+R/-R media.

There are three measurement modes:

The checking status is shown graphically in real time while you can save the error graph at the end of the test. The reported errors are the PI and the UncPO. In the case of PI, it counts the number of rows corrected by the PI error correction in each group of eight consecutive ECC blocks. In the case of UncPO, it counts the number of ECC blocks in which more than one byte is uncorrectable in eight consecutive ECC blocks. For our quality scans, we set it for 1X CLV and Fine Mode which is the slowest and with the safest results. Also, we chose to measure all the media burned at the maximum available writing speed, namely 16X.

 

- Summary

Judging from the quality scans above, you might notice some differences between the Plextools scans and the Almedio scans. This points out the need for using professional equipment for scanning, since there are errors that the Plextools suite cannot identify, whereas a more professional and reliable DVD checker shows the true image of the disc's quality.

Ricoh media reported excellent results. It should be reminded that according to the database of VSO software, Ricoh media are considered to be the most reliable media for producing successful burns.


22. DVD+R DL - Page 1

- Writing Tests

We burned some DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL discs with DVD-Video content. The source disc was "Gladiator Movie - Special Edition" disc1 with a total size of 6.86GB. First we transferred the movie to the hard disc with DVD Decrypter as ISO format (single file). We used Double Layer media provided by Traxdata, CMC Magnetics and Verbatim (MKM). The following screenshots show the media codes for these Double Layer discs.

According to the supported media list we presented earlier, only Verbatim +R DL media can be burned at 6x, while Verbatim -R DL media can be recorded at 4x.

We then used the latest CopyToDVD, and specifically the "Movie & Pictures" option, and then "Write DVD Video". The software prompts us to select the Video_TS/ISO image folder. We chose the "GLADIATOR.ISO" image and we selected the NEC ND-3530A burner.

After pressing "OK", the burning procedure started without any unexpected delays. It should be noted that we did not change the default booktype setting prior to writing the disc to DVD-ROM booktype, in order to investigate the default booktype setting for this media type.

The writing process was finished after 17:48 minutes when writing at 6x, and 24:22 minutes when writing at 4x. The average speed was 5.04x and 3.57x respectively, as reported by the CopyToDVD software.

We then repeated the same procedure for all media shown above. The following table indicates the recording times for double layer media. As you can see, the Verbatim double layer media was the fastest of all, since it was the only one that could be burned at 6X.

For comparison reasons, we post DL burning results with other writers, with the same disc content and same recording software. As you can see, this is not the fastest recorder available, but it is one of the fastest overtaking most recorders on the market.

Drive Time (mins)
NEC 2510A 37:17
BenQ DW1600A DL 40:16
BenQ DW830A 39:14
LiteON SOHW-832S DVD+R DL BookType 38:33
LiteON SOHW-832S DVD-ROM BookType 38:36
SONY DRU-700A

38:39

LG GSA-4120B 38:12
ASUS DRW-1604P (4X) 23:10
ASUS DRW-1604P (2.4X) 38:08
Pioneer DVR-108A (4X) 23:10
Pioneer DVR-108A (2.4X)

38:23

NEC ND-3500A 22:52
TDK 1616N 22:51
NEC ND-3520A

22:35

NEC ND-3530A 17:48
Pioneer DVR-109 16:29
BenQ DW1620A 40:03

23. DVD+R DL - Page 2

- Writing Quality

In order to test the NEC ND-3530A DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL writing quality, we used the LiteOn SOHD-167T and the Plextor PX-716A drives.

Unfortunately, the LiteOn SOHD-167T cannot read -R DL media and this is why we can only do a quality scan with the Plextor PX-716A burner.

As you can see, only Verbatim media reported acceptable results for both the -R DL and +R DL media formats. We should note that both Traxdata and CMC Magnetics, which produced high PI error values, were recorded at 2.4x and much better writing quality was expected. According to NEC, writing strategies will be further improved for these media types in the next firmware release.

In the following screenshots, you can see for reference reasons, the media info reported by DVDInfoPro software for the Double Layer discs we burned. You can see that the default booktype setting for +R DL media is set to DVD-ROM. This ensures maximum compatibility with stand-alone DVD Players.


24. BookType Setting

As always, NEC based burners allow the booktype setting to be changed, but only for double layer media. The default booktype setting for +R media is set to +R, for +RW media to +RW and for +R DL media to DVD-ROM, increasing the compatibility with stand-alone DVD Players.

Below you can see some screenshots from Nero CD/DVD Speed software and DVDInfoPro software. Both can be used to change the default booktype setting of the ND-3530A.


25. Conclusion

Former NEC models are known to be good quality burners, and the new ND-3530A comes to continue this tradition. It offers all the goodies of the ND-3520A model, like 16x DVD+R and DVD-R writing speed, while it supports 8x DVD+RW and 6x DVD-RW writing speed for DVD+RW and DVD-RW media. The new -R DL media format can be recorded at 4x, while +R DL media format writing speed is increased to 6x.

The ND-3530A reported very good reading speed, but DVD-Video ripping speed is reduced because of the Rip-Lock feature that is introduced to ensure safe reading. DVD error correction capabilities are very good, and only small speed drops changed the impression of a good safe reader. However, all "defective" discs we used were read with no problem. DAE speed is increased from all other NEC based model, and now reaches 40x with the 3530A. CD error correction could be further improved. The burner does not support 99mins discs and it cannot make SafeDisc 2.60+ backups, due to the NEC chipset's limitations.

DVD writing quality was very good, but can be improved, since disc quality at 16x burning speed seemed higher than 8x and 12x writing speed. On the other hand, DVD+R DL burning quality should be improved, as the drive produced high PI error values. The default booktype setting for these media format is set to DVD-ROM, ensuring maximum compatibility with stand-alone DVD Players.

You can always read other users opinions and share your thoughts on this burner in our forum section.

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