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1. Introduction

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HP's dvd1035i is one of the relatively recent 20X Multiformat drives (official release date: April of 2007). The Super-multi DVD burner is backed by Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions (PLDS), which currently sells optical disc drives under the brand names of Lite-On and HP.

The DVD burner comes with Nero 7 ESSENTIALS software package (including Nero Express 7 Essentials, Nero ShowTime 3 Essentials, Nero Vision 4 Essentials, Nero Recode 2 Essentials, InCD5 Essentials and Nero PhotoShow Express 4).

As shown in the table below, the maximum DVD speeds are 20X for DVD+R, 8X for DVD+RW, 20X for DVD-R, 6X for DVD-RW, 8X for DVD+R DL, 8X for DVD-R DL, 12X for DVD-RAM and 16X for DVD-ROM.

This drive is based on the MediaTek MT-1898E Chipset, as seen in the pictures below.

Installation:

The HP DVD1035i drive was recognised by Windows XP as "HP DVD Writer 1035d FH22". The drive's basic features are illustrated below.

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2. CD - DVD Reading

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In this page we look at the reading performance of the HP dvd1035i with various CD and DVD media. For reference, we present a comparison with the LITE-ON DVDRW SH-16A7S and LG GSA H55L drives.

CD-ROM

US RW CD

The following CD Speed graph shows the reading performance with US-RW media. For all the CDSpeed graphs, you can click on the image to see the full CDspeed snapshot.

- AudioCD

In the CD Speed Advanced DAE quality test, the drive's average speed was 31.78X with a quality score of 100.

A typical DAE task with an 80min non-protected Audio CD produced a 31.3X average ripping speed.

- 90/99 mins Audio disc

Both 90min and 99min audio CD readings returned unrecovered read errors, as seen in the screenshots above.

- DVD Format

Now let's have a look at how the drive performs with DVD media. This time, a set of SL and DL DVD media was used. The drive is capable of reading at 20X maximum speed for single layer and at 8X for dual layer media.

DVD-ROM SL media -

PTP DVD-ROM -

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 its outer range.

OTP DVD-ROM -

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 of 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 and progresses towards the inner part of the disc.

- DVD-R

- DVD-RW

Reading problems were reported with the DVD-RW disc. The CDSpeed transfer rate graph indicates that the drive could not follow the usual CAV reading path and lowered the reading speeds down to 2x in some areas of the disc. This behavior was reproduced with different DVD-RW discs.

- DVD+R

- DVD+RW

As seen in the series of charts above, the HP DVD 1035i drive achieved the similar reading speeds as the LITE-ON DVDRW SH-16A7S drive in most of the reading tests we performed.

- DVD+R DL

-DVD-R DL

The HP DVD1035i drive wasn't capable of reading either the 4X or 8X DVD-R DL discs we tried. The drive could not recognize the discs, no matter which brand we tried. This issue should be addressed with a new firmware release.

-DVD-RAM (5X)

-DVD-RAM (12X)

- DVD Ripping speed

Average - 12.008 KB/S (8.7x)
Maximum - 17,091 KB/s (12.3x)

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3. CD Error Correction

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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: 918125
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)	Num: 47061	Avg: -74.0 dB(A)	Max: -35.9 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples	Num: 2948	Avg: 1 Samples	Max: 9 Samples
Skips Samples	Num: 0	Avg: 0 Samples	Max: 0 Samples
Total Test Result	76.9 points (out of 100.0 maximum)

The HP DVD1035i drive achieved a good score with the ABEX TCD-721R test disc. The total error count is low as is the maximum error loudness level and there were no skipped samples.

- ABEX TCD-726

Errors total	Num: 0
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)	Num: 0	Avg: -174.0 dB(A)	Max: -174.0 dB(A)
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 HP DVD1035i drive read the ABEX TCD-726 test disc perfectly, achieving a score of 100 out of 100. The specific disc defects, which are artificial black dots and fingerprints, seem to be easily handled by this HP's Multiformat drive.

- 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 (e.g. 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
HP dvd1035i	5/5	5/5	5/5	0/5	0/5

The drive achieved flawless reading with the first 3 tracks. Playing the fourth and fifth tracks produced lots of disturbing noise and clicks on our speakers.

- Summary

Concluding, the HP dvd1035i drive seems to behave slightly better than average when reading/ripping defective audio CDs.

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4. DVD Error Correction

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In the following tests, we examined the DVD reading capabilities of the 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.

Respectable reading with no read errors from the HP drive.

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.

Read speed drops quite a bit just where the reading process of the fingerprint-defective area begins, but then recovers. At the end, it varies between 13X and 15X. There are no reading errors, though.

- 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.

Relatively normal reading on the most part of this particular DVD error correction test, apart from the fact that it has a lot of momentary ups and downs for the duration of the disc.

ABEX TDR-845

The 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 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 micrometers.

Reading speed drops momentarily on both layers just before the second defect where the fingerprints begin, exactly as it did with the TDR-825 test disc. No reading errors at all.

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 upon 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.

There were no errors and the drive read the disc at 8X CAV. However, the graph is not smooth, revealing the drive's effort to cope with the scratched areas on the disc.

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.

- Summary

Overall, a very good error correction mechanism with DVD media.

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5. Moser Baer CDR

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For this test, each CD-R disc was burned to its maximum capacity and at its maximum speed. Then the same disc is read with the CDSpeed software and scanned for digital errors (BLER, C1 and C2) with our system provided by Clover Systems. To simplify the presentation, we present the BLER, E31 and E32 error rates for each disc, which unveil the most serious errors on each disc.

Disc Info

CDspeed provides information about the inserted media as well as the maximum supported burning speed. For more details, you can click on the images.

Writing strategy - 37.18X Average
Writing time - 2:39 min

Reading strategy - 36.93X Average

Writing Quality - Clover Systems

A good overall writing quality, with low E31 and zero E32 (uncorrectable) errors. The E12 flag is out of limits, but these kinds of errors are correctable.

- About Clover Systems

The Clover Systems CDX Compact Disc Analyzer is a 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 speed of 4X.

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.

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6. Daxon CDR

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Disc Info

Writing strategy - 37.16X Average
Writing time - 2:43 min

Reading strategy - 36.20X Average

Reading speed drops sharply at the end of the reading session. This could be caused by difficulty reading in that region due to low quality burning.

Writing Quality - Clover Systems

A lot of both correctable and uncorrectable errors, especially towards end. The drive performed quite badly with this particular Daxon CDR.

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7. Verbatim CDr

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Disc info

Writing strategy - 37.25X Average)
Writing time - 2:38 mins

Reading strategy - 37.03X Average

Writing Quality - Clover Systems

Numerous correctable errors for this Verbatim's CDR. The is readable though.

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8. CMC Magnetics CDRW

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Disc Info

Writing strategy - 10.02X Average
Writing time - 8:59 mins

Reading strategy 26.21X Average

Writing Quality - Clover Systems

Not very good writing with this CD-RW from CMC Magnetics. A lot of correctable and uncorrectable errors occurred while examining the disc with Clover Systems software. The CDSpeed reading graph also shows some fluctuations in the reading speed, although the disc was readable.

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9. Verbatim CDRW

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Disc Info

Writing strategy - 24.40X Average)
Writing time - 3:51 mins

Reading strategy 26.18X Average

Writing Quality - Clover Systems

An average burn at 32x with this HS-RW from Verbatim, with correctable errors which were above the limits however. No uncorrectable errors were reported.

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10. DaTARIUS DVD Analyzer R 2x

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The DaTARIUS DVD Analyzer R 2x

The DaTARIUS DVD Analyzer R 2x is one of the cornerstones in DVD quality control equipment, and is truly unique in the industry. It allows checking of replicated DVDs with single and dual layer structure (DVD-5, DVD-9, DVD-10, DVD-14, DVD-18) and written DVD recordable, at 1X and 2X speed. It is based on the Pulstec Reference Pickup and Drive, developed in close co-operation with Pulstec and according to the standards of the DVD Forum.

In short, the device's features include:

• Analysis of pre-recorded DVDs, single and dual layer, and written DVD Recordable
• Analysis of pre-recorded DVDs, single and dual layer, and written DVD recordable
• Double and single speed analysis
• Double-check function at reference speed
• Double-check function at reference speed
• Multi-dimensional calibration
• HF, jitter, mechanical and tracking parameters checked
• Radial tilt control, focus offset compensation and slicing level adjustment for jitter measurement
• Local defect detection/missing pits
• Error flag analysis (PI-errors, PI-fail, PO-fail)
• According to DVD Forum specification
• Double-Check function
• Control datasimulation
• DVD-9 OTP sector number check

An explanation of the various parameters the DaTARIUS DVD Analyzer R 2x offers is available here. At the same page, you can read more details about the error signals and a brief analysis the possible meaning of its parameter in the overall quality of each burn.

In the following pages, we present the writing quality measurements of various DVD recordable and rewritable media, burned with the LiteOn LH-2B1S.

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11. RITEK G05

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Media Info -

Writing - 8X (7.82X average) in 8:33 mins

Reading

DaTARIUS Scans -

DaTARIUS scanning tests could not be performed on this Ritek DVD-R disc. The system could not read the specific disc at all.

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12. OPTODISCR0008

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Media Info -

Writing - 8X (7.81X average) in 8:28 mins

Reading - 12X (11.69X average)

Reading speed dropped at the end, just before reaching 16X. This indicates the existence of numerous errors in that specific area on the disc.

DaTARIUS Scans -

The DaTARIUS system was not able to perform its scanning tests on this Optodisc DVD-R.

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13. Prodisc F02

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Media Info -

Writing - 8X (7.72X average) in 8:34 mins

Reading - 16X (12.19X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

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14. MCC 03RG20

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Media Info -

Writing - 8X (7.78X average) in 8:28 mins

Reading - 16X (4:54X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

The specific disc could not be read at around the 50-54mm area on the disc surface (radius). We also see POFs reported just before and after the unreadable area. However, PiSum8 was already high at the beginning of the disc.

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15. OPTODISC R016

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Media Info -

Writing - 16X (12.07X average) in 6:01 mins

Reading - 14X (11.91X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

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16. ProdiscS05

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Media Info -

Writing - 16X (12.07X average) in 5:59 mins

Reading - 16X (12.04X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

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17. TTH02

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Media Info -

Writing - 8X (7.81X average) in 8:35 mins

Reading - 16X (12.19X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

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18. TYG03

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Media Info -

Writing - 20X (14.43X average) in 6:33 mins

Reading

DaTARIUS Scans -

DaTARIUS scanning tests could not be performed (disc unreadable).

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19. CMC MAG AM3

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Media Info -

Writing - 20X (14.58X average) in 5:08 mins

Reading

DaTARIUS Scans -

DaTARIUS scanning tests not performed.

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20. MKM 01RW6X01

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Media Info -

Writing - 6X (3.97X average) in 15:34 mins

Reading - 12X (9.22X average)

Writing Quality - Almedio AEC-1000

Uncorrectable digital errors were reportd for the DVD-RWdisc, which could be translated to readability problems.

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21. OPTODISC R16

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Media Info -

Writing - 6X (5.93X average) in 10:33 mins

Reading - 16X (12.21X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

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22. CMCMAG E01 (000)

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Media Info -

Writing - 8X (7.81X average) in 8:30

Reading - 16X in 12:22

DaTARIUS Scans -

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23. MAXELL 003 000 (00)

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Media Info -

Writing - (failure)

Neither CD-DVD Speed nor DaTARIUS scanning tests could be performed on this DVD+R disc from Maxell since the drive was unable to complete the writing test.

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24. PRODISC R04

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Media Info -

Writing - 16X (11.93X average) in 6:09 mins

Reading - 16X (12.20X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

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25. RICOHJPN R03

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Media Info -

Writing - 8X (7.77X average) in 8:35 mins

Reading - 16X (12:19X average)

The HP DVD1035i drive was unable to perform the reading test on the Ricoh DVD+R so -needless to say- we also skipped the DaTARIUS scanning test on the particular disc.

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26. CMC MAG M01

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Media Info -

Writing - 16X (12.15X average) in 5:49 mins

Reading - 16X (12.21X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

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27. YUDEN000 T03

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Media Info -

Writing - 8X (7.81X average) in 8:25 mins

Reading - 16X (12.19X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

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28. RITEK S04 001

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Media Info -

Writing - 8X (6.77X average) in 19:07 mins

Reading

DaTARIUS Scans -

DaTARIUS scanning tests were not performed on this Ritek DVD+R DL since Nero CD DVD Speed reading test was not completed due to an uncorrectable error.

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29. MKM 003 000

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Media Info -

Writing - 8X (6.77X average) in 18:04 mins

Reading - 12X (9.21X average)

DaTARIUS Scans -

DaTARIUS was unable to perform its scanning tests on the Verbatim DVD+R DL.

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30. MKM A03

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Media Info -

Writing - 8X (7.21X average) in 8:39 mins

Reading - 12X (9.23X average)

Writing Quality - Almedio AEC-1000

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31. MXL22

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DVD-RAM Version 2.2 Revision 5.0 12x

Media Info -

Writing - 12X (10.05X average) in 6:03 mins

Reading - 12X (10.09X average)

 

DVD-RAM Ver 2.1 5x

Media Info -

Writing - 5X (4.94X average) in 11:25 mins

Reading - 5X (4.64X average)

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32. Media List

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In the following table, we have listed the findings of the DVD quality measurements for this review. Note, that each disc was measured under the same conditions with the Datarius equipment. On the left side of the table you can find the discs that did not return uncorrectable digital errors, while on the right side are those discs that reported errors that exceeded the limits. For detailed measurement data, visit the corresponding pages.

Media type	Digital errors within limits	Digital errors exceed limits
DVD+R	PRODISC R04 000 (04h) burned at 16X	CMC MAG E01 000 (00h) burned at 8X
		MAXELL 003 000 (00h) burned at 16X (write error)
		RICOHJPN R03 004 (04h) burned at 8X (read error)
		CMC MAG M01 000 (00h) burned at 16X
		YUDEN 000 T03 000 (00h) burned at 8X
		OPTODISC R16 000 (00h) burned at 6X
DVD-R		RITEKG05 burned at 8X (read error)
		OPTODISCR008 burned at 8X (read error)
		MCC 03RG20 burned at 8X
		OPTODISCR016 burned at 16X
		PRODISC S05 burned at 16X
		PRODISC F02 burned at 8X
		TYG03 burned at 19X
		CMC MAG.AM3 burned at 20X (read error)
		TTH02 burned at 8X
DVD-R DL	HP DVD1035i drive was incapable of recognising, reading or writing both 4X and 8X DVD-RDL, using the Nero CD DVD Speed Software.
DVD+R DL		RITEK S04 001 (01h) burned at 8X (read error)
		MKM 003 000 (00h) read error
DVD-RW		MKM 01RW6X01 burned at 6X
DVD+RW	MKM A03 000 (00h) burned at 8X

- Burning times

Here we have gathered the results of the burning tests for DVD media. The numbers "Bold" indicate the best recording time for each format.

For more information about the tests carried out with each disc, visit the corresponding pages in this review.

- Booktype Settings

The HP DVD1035i drive doesn't support the Booktype feature.

- DVD Overburning

The HP DVD1035i drive doesn't support overburning with DVD recordable media, according to CDSpeed.

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33. Conclusion

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The HP DVD1035i drive turned out to be unreliable with quite a few different types and MID's of recordable media and produced plenty of correctable and uncorrectable errors while burning, reading or during the scanning tests were performed with it. The DaTARIUS system was unable to perform its scanning tests with numerous discs, while digital errors exceeded the limits on ALL but one +R and one +RW disc.

The HP drive obviously needs a new firmware release which would add and possibly change the writing strategies for the different media (MIDs). There were cases where the drive used a default writing strategy on many discs, resulting in recording speeds that were too high and producing many digital errors and reading problems.

One of its most serious cons is -of course- the fact that the drive was incapable of reading and burning both 4X and 8X DVD-R DL recordable media that we tried. There were compatibility issues with 6x DVD-RW media as well.

On the positive side, we should mention the drive's good DVD error correction capabilities and reading speeds with CD, DVD and 12x DVD-RAM media.

Pros

• Comes with Nero Essentials 7 software package
• Low price (€45, E-shop price)
• Good DVD error correction
• Good CD/DVD reading speeds

Cons

• Compatibility problems with 4X and 8X DVD-R DL (the drive was unable of recognising, reading and writing specific disc formats.
• Does not support either the booktype feature or overburning with DVD recordable media.
• Writing quality needs to be improved
• Produced unreadable discs

We feel very disappointed with the performance of this drive. Although the test results are very discouraging, we expect that the essential update in the drive's firmware could solve some basic issues.