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1. Introduction

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TEAC's latest release is the DV-W516GB, an OEM DVD burner based on the LiteOn 1673 model. Being a LiteOn based drive, it shares the same capabilities with LiteOn's previous release, the 1673S and we will only be reviewing the drive's key features, writing quality and error correction.

The 16X speed is supported for both formats. The drive's specs also report a 4X DL writing speed and an 8X speed for +RW media, while for -RW media the drive reaches the 6X burning speed.

- Specifications

Model	16X DVD Dual Drive with Double Layer Writing
Interface:	ATAPI/IDE
Data Buffer Memory	2MB
Data Writing Speed (max)
DVD+R Writing	16X
DVD+R DL Writing	4X
DVD+RW Rewriting	8X
DVD-R	16X
DVD-RW Rewriting	6X
DVD-ROM Reading	16X
CD-R Writing	48X
CD-RW Rewriting	24X
CD-ROM Reading	48X
Random Access Time	160ms
Writing Discs (Disc Format)	DVD :DVD±R 4.7GB, DVD±RW 4.7GB
	CD : CD-R 700MB (type 80), 650MB (type 74), CD-RW
	DVD+DL : 8.5GB
Playable Discs (Disc Format)	DVD : DVD-ROM + DVD Video (single +dual layer), DVD±R, DVD±RW (DVD-RAM not supported)
	CD : CD-ROM (Mode 1) CD-ROM XA, CD-DA (Audio cd), Video CD, Photo CD (single or multi-session), CD-EXTRA, CD Plus, CD-Text, CD-R, CD-RW
Data Transfer Speed (max)	DVD-ROM : 16X
	CD-ROM : 48X
Mounting Orientation	Horizontal and Vertical (+/- 5 degrees)
Regulation Approval	UL,TUV, FCC, CE
MTBF	70.000 POH
Compatibility	Windows ME/XP/2000
Physical Dimensions
WxHxD	148.4 x 42.8 x 170.0mm

Below are the drive's main specs as given by NeroInfoTool and DVDInfoPro and VSO:

The drive also uses the RPC II region control, allowing a user to change the drive's region at most 5 times. However, since this is a LiteOn drive, you can set the drive to region free using several readily available utilities.

- Retail package

The retail package includes the TEAC DV-W516GB, along with the standard audio cable and mounting screws, an IDE cable, Quick Installation Guide and the Warranty-card. The kit also contains the Nero 6 OEM Suite with Nero Burning Rom, InCD and Nero Media Player. Included and something we don't usually find with the latest DVD burners, is an 8X DVD+R disc from Ritek.

The front panel is the same as previous versions. The only difference here is the DVD+R DL logo next to the RW logo.

The rear panel has the usual analogue and digital outputs (SPDIF), IDE connector and power input.

We removed the cover to take a closer look at the inner workings of the drive. We don't recommend you do this as it will void your warranty. We took a photo of the "inside" of the TEAC drive shown below (click on the image for a large photo).

- Installation

The drive was installed as a secondary master and under WindowsXP, recognized as the "TEAC DV-W516GB ". The drive was flashed to the latest available version, J4S2 revision, as the Nero properties tab confirms.

Throughout the review, we will be comparing the TEAC drive with two other similar drives, the NEC 3520A and the Asus 1608P, both 16X/16X drives.

- Testing software

In order to perform our tests we used:

1. Nero CD-DVD Speed v3.75
2. Nero Info Tool v3.00
3. PlexTools v2.23(Reader: Plextor PX-712A firmware v1.05, Reading speed 8X CLV for CD-R)
4. DVDInfoPro v3.51
5. Nero Burning Rom v6.6.0.13
6. DVD Decrypter 3.5.4.0
7. CopyToDVD 3.0.34.58

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2. Transfer Rate Reading Tests

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- DVD Format

Reading DVD-ROM SL media, the reviewed drive was the fastest among the three drives for average, start and end reading speed With Dual Layer media, the Asus drive was fastest due to its maximum supported speed for this format.

The TEAC drive was quite a deal slower with +R and -R media while with +RW and -RW media, all three drives had almost the same speeds.

In this ripping speed test, the TEAC drive proved to be a good deal faster than the other three drives, usual for LiteOn based drives.

- Appendix

Nero CD-DVD Speed Graphs

• DVD Pressed SL / DVD Pressed PTP DL / DVD Pressed OTP DL / DVD-R / DVD-RW / DVD+R / DVD+RW

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3. CD Error Correction Tests

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In the following tests, we check the drive's behavior when it comes to reading scratched / defective discs. The test discs we use are the ABEX series from ALMEDIO.

- ABEX TCD-721R

Errors total	Num: 5810465
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)	Num: 85365	Avg:-54.2 dB(A)	Max: -11.7 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples	Num: 18084	Avg: 1.9 Samples	Max: 746 Samples
Skips Samples	Num: 1887	Avg: 8.1 Samples	Max: 576 Samples
Total Test Result	55.0 points (of 100.0 maximum)
C2 Accuracy	60.4 %

An extremely high total error count, one of the highest we have seen. The maximum error loudness level is also high at -11.7 dB(A). However, the skipped sample count of 1887 is truly woeful and it is no surprise that the drive has managed a total test result score of only 55.0 points out of 100.

- ABEX TCD-726

Errors total	Num: 0
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)	Num:0	Avg: 0 Samples	Max: 0 Samples
Error Muting Samples	Num: 0	Avg: 0 Samples	Max: 0 Samples
Skips Samples	Num: 0	Avg: 0 Samples	Max: 0 Samples
Total Test Result	100.0 points (out of 100.0 maximum)

The behavior of drive was much better in this case where it managed to correct all the disc's errors. The result was a perfect 100.

- 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 ability to read music and reproduce it completely. Five tracks on the disc contain a sequence of progressively difficult tests. These tracks are referred as Check Level -1 through Check Level -5.

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

Error Level	1	2	3	4	5
TEAC DV-W516GB	5/5	5/5	5/5	0/5	0/5

The drive passed only the first three Check Levels of the test. The performance reveals average performance with the specific test disc. The fourth and the fifth levels include an error size of 1.125mm and 1.500mm respectively, and the drive produced continues audible clicks over those tracks.

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4. DVD Error Correction Tests

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In the following tests, we examine the DVD reading capabilities of the TEAC DV-W516GB 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 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.

The drive managed to successfully read over the defective area without any drop or fluctuations in reading speed whatsoever. A very nice reading, indicating good error correction capabilities.

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.

Once again, nice reading, with only a drop in speed just before the start of the fingerprint defect area which the drive's error correction mechanism overcame, completing the test successfully.

- 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, we have a some very minor problems over the last portions of the two defective regions but the test finished without any errors being reported.

ABEX TDR-845

This test disc is a single sided, dual layer DVD-ROM disc with a capacity of 8.5GB. The only difference between the TDR-845 and the TDR-841 discs is that the first includes defective areas and fingerprints. The dimensions of the defective areas ranges from 0.5 to 1.1 mm and the fingerprints are sized from 65 to 75 micrometers.

Good performance .

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.

This is a difficult test disc for many of the latest DVD burners. The TEAC drive managed to successfully read all the contents without any errors.

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 also has 65 - 75 micrometer fingerprints.

Excellent, smooth graph.

- Conclusion

Overall, rather good error correction capabilities from the TEAC drive.

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5. CD Recording Tests

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The TEAC DV-W516GB supports 48X CD-R and 24X US-RW recording speeds.

• CD-R Format

The drive supports the following speeds for CD media recording:

According to Nero CDSpeed, the drive confirmed the maximum 48X speed. The test started at 21.59X and finished at 48.83X, having an average speed of 36.95X.

• CD-R Recording Times

For the burning tests, we created an 80min data compilation through Nero Burning Rom, recording the data on several 700MB discs.

In the following graph, we can see the recording times for the TEAC DV-W516GB with the various CD-R media inserted.

• CD-RW Format

The TEAC DV-W516GB supports 24X Z-CLV rewriting speed with Ultra Speed Rewritable Media (US-RW).

Below you can see the Nero CD-DVD Speed writing simulation test with blank 24X US-RW media from Mitsubishi Chemicals.

The drive starts the writing task at 16.01X and reaches a maximum of 24.02X having an average speed of 22.48X.

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6. C1 / C2 Error Measurements

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We measured the C1 / C2 error rate on the recorded discs we burned at the maximum supported writing speed of 48X. The software we used is PleXTools Professional v2.23, and more specifically the built-in Q-Check utility. The reader was the Plextor PX-712A (firmware v1.07).

• Intenso 80min 52X @ 48X

• BenQ 80min 52X CD-R @ 48X

• Ridisc 80min 52X @ 48X

• Traxdata 80min 52X @ 48X

• Verbatim 80min 52X @ 48X

- Summary

As we can see in the above plextools scans, with all media inserted, the levels are generally low. This indicates better than average burning quality, especially for 48X burning speed.

- Appendix

• Media ID codes

Media Label	ID Code	Manufacturer Name	Lead Out TIme
BenQ 80min 52X	97m22s67f	Daxon Technology	79:59.74
Intenso 80min 52X	97m32s19f	Prodisc	79:59:71
Verbatim 80min 52X	97m34s23f	Verbatim	79:59.73
Ridisc 80min 52X	97m15s17f	Ritek Co.	79:59:70
Traxdata 80min 52X	97m15s17f	Ritek Co.	79:59:70

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7. Writing Quality Tests - Clover System Tests

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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 52X @ 48X

• Intenso 52X @ 48X

• Ridisc 52X @ 48X

• Traxdata 52X @ 48X

• Verbatim 52X @ 48X

- Summary

The only media that qualified as a "pass" is from BenQ, which reported no E22 or E32 errors.

- Appendix

Media Label	ID Code	Manufacturer Name	Lead Out TIme
BenQ 80min 52X	97m22s67f	Daxon Technology	79:59.74
Intenso 80min 52X	97m32s19f	Prodisc	79:59:71
Verbatim 80min 52X	97m34s23f	Verbatim	79:59.73
Ridisc 80min 52X	97m15s17f	Ritek Co.	79:59:70
Traxdata 80min 52X	97m15s17f	Ritek Co.	79:59:70

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8. DVD Recording Tests

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• 8X DVD+R Single Layer writing

• 16X DVD+R Single Layer writing

• 8X DVD-R Single Layer writing

The test started at 5.42X, reached a maximum writing speed of 8.03X and clocked in an average speed of 7.72X.

• 16X DVD-R Single Layer writing

The drive completed successful DVD writing at 16X in 5:41mins. The test started at 6.67X, reached a maximum writing speed of 15.97X and had an average speed of 11.96X.

- Burning Tests

• DVD-R media

The drive supports up to 16X writing speed with -R media. Fastest burn came when using Optodisc media, burned in 6:04 mins.

• DVD+R media

With DVD+R media, the fastest burn came with the Ridisc media, burned in only 5:48 mins.

- Comparison with other drives

Time differences between the three drives are negligible.

In this case with RW media, the NEC drive reported the fastest writing time for DVD+RW media with the TEAC drive being a close second, while with DVD-RW media, the ASUS 1608P had the best time.

- DVD Overburning Test

• DVD+R

• DVD-R

Unfortunately, the drive does not support DVD overburning for both the -R and +R media formats, producing the above error messages.

- DVD+MRW Tests

The drive does not support the Mount Rainier feature.

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9. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 1

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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

• CMC 16X DVD+R @ 16X

• Maxell 16X DVD+R @ 16X

• Optodisc 16X DVD+R @ 16X

• Ricoh 16X DVD+R @ 16X

• Ridisc 16X DVD+R @ 16X

• TDK 16X DVD+R @ 16X

• Traxdata 16X DVD+R @ 16X

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- Summary

We expected the writing quality to be better. Maybe a newer firmware release will improve the situation.

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10. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 2

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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 overspeed 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

• CMC 16X DVD-R @ 16X

• Optodisc 16X DVD-R @ 16X

• TDK 16X DVD-R @ 16X

• Verbatim 16X DVD-R @ 16X

- Summary

Not the same bad writing quality as with 16+R media, but still nowhere near the best quality either. With some high PI and far from smooth CD-speed scans, the drive reports only mediocre quality burns.

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11. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 3

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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 overspeed 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

• BeAll 8X DVD+R @ 8X

• CMC 8X DVD+R @ 8X

• Datawrite 8X DVD+R @ 8X

• Maxell 8X DVD+R @ 8X

• MKM 8X DVD+R @ 8X

• Ricoh 8X DVD+R @ 8X

• TDK 8X DVD+R @ 8X

• Traxdata 8X DVD+R @ 8X

• Traxdata Printable 8X DVD+R @ 8X

• TY 8X DVD+R @ 8X

- Summary

Unlike the 16X writing quality, the TEAC drive managed to produce some good burns as we can see from the above scans. Most media generated a smooth CD-speed graph, while PI tended to be low, near or below the 280 limit.

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12. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 4

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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 overspeed 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

• 3A 8X DVD-R @ 8X

• Datawrite 8X DVD-R @ 8X

• Maxell 8X DVD-R @ 8X

• MKM 8X DVD-R @ 8X

• Optodisc 8X DVD-R @ 8X

• Ridisc(TT) 8X DVD-R @ 8X

• Ridisc(RITEK) 8X DVD-R @ 8X

• Traxdata 8X DVD-R @ 8X

• TY 8X DVD-R @ 8X

- Summary

Again, the 8X burning speed will better serve the end user rather than the higher 16X speed. Some good quality burns reported, with the best burn being that with the TY media.

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13. CDSpeed/PlexTools Scans - Page 5

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• MKM DVD+RW 8X @ 8X

• Ricoh DVD+RW 8X @ 8X

6X -RW Writing Speed

• Traxdata DVD-RW 6X @ 6X

• Verbatim DVD-RW 6X @ 6X

- Summary

Both DVD-RW and +RW media, burned at the stated specs speed, 8X and 6X respectively. Unfortunately, the Traxdata 6X media burn did not report good results, with a messy CD-Speed scan and a PlexScan error.

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14. Writing Quality Tests - Almedio AEC-1000

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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:

• Fine Mode: checks a series of eight consecutive ECC blocks,
• Rough Mode: checks eight consecutive ECC blocks every 100h ECC blocks
• Quick Mode: checks three specified areas

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 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.

• Maxell 16X DVD+R @ 16X

• Traxdata 16X DVD+R @ 16X

• Verbatim 16X DVD-R @ 16X

• CMC 16X DVD-R @ 16X

Almedio tests confirmed the low writing quality burns at 16X we've seen in the previous pages, with the exception of the CMC-R media which reported great performance.

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15. DVD+R DL - Page 1

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16. DVD+R DL - Page 2

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- Writing Quality

In order to test the TEAC DV-W516GB's DVD+R DL writing quality, we used the LiteOn SOHD-167T and the Plextor PX-712A drives.

• Ritek Double Layer media @ 2.4X

.

The two scans above give us a good quality burn indication, with a good CD-Speed graph, smooth and clean, and a plexscan with low PI but some PO that reach up to 600. Good quality none the less.

• Traxdata Double Layer media @ 2.4X

Unlike the first case with the Ritek media, here we have a poor quality burn as it can be clearly seen from the above scans.

• Verbatim Double Layer media @ 4X

Smooth scan once again, and low values from the Plextools scan. Only difference is that in this case, we are looking at 4X DL media. Good performance from the TEAC drive.

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17. BookType Setting

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The drive does not support the Booktype change feature. Although this is a Mediatek chipset based drive and LiteOn OEM, none of the utilities we tried managed to change the booktype.

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18. Conclusion

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The TEAC DV-W516GB is an LiteOn OEM based drive. Similar to the 1673S drive in many respects, it is the last drive that TEAC releases on the market. It may be the last one but not the best drive ever released by TEAC. It misses a lot of important features like, DVD overburning as well as bitsetting, but it also has some good traits which we will mention further on. Many of the usual tests in our reviews have been excluded in this review, due to the fact that the drive shares the same capabilities as the 1673S LiteOn drive. For those who want a closer look at the drives capabilities that we have omitted in this review, feel free to have a look here.

The DV-W516GB is an average CD and DVD reader and a fast enough DVD ripper. It has good DVD error correction but is poor when it comes to CD. When testing the 721 ABEX test media, it reported poor results, namely 55.0 out of 100, a pretty low score and one of the lowest we've ever reported.

CD writing quality isn't one of the drives major points, since it produced only one successful burn ( "pass") from Clover Systems test. DVD writing quality at 16X is average with -R media and poor with +R media. At 8X burning speed, the drive reported good results, and this is the speed recommended for quality burns with the TEAC 516GB drive. The RW burns are not bad at all, since the drive managed to produce a very good burn at 8X burning speed with +RW media.

As for the extra features which most end users like to see in a drive, the TEAC will leave them with a taste of disappointment as DVD overburning isn't included in the drive's capabilities and BookType setting isn't supported by any of the well known utilities which we used with the 516GB.

It's price ranges from US$58 to US$70 including VAT.

- The Good

• Good DVD error correction
• Supports protected Audio discs (CDS200, Key2Audio)
• Can overburn up to 99mins
• Region free utilities

- The Bad

• Doesn't accurately backup SafeDisc2 v2.9x+ protected discs
• Poor Single Layer media writing quality at 16X
• Doesn't support DVD overburning

- Like to be fixed

• DVD writing quality at 16X mostly
• Better CD error correction

 

Retail Package
Reading
Error Correction
Protected Discs
Writing
Features