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     This story was printed from CdrInfo.com,

     located at http://www.cdrinfo.com.

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1. Introduction

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BDC-S02 is the retail drive for Pioneer's BDC-202 which, we recently reviewed, here on cdrinfo.com. Despite the fact that below there is a link for the review of the BDC-202 drive, we considered necessary to copy the main characteristics and specifications of the drive on this page too. Important is the fact that this drive (as well as its predecessor) supports Blu-Ray media reading and can be considered as a cheaper solution for Blu-Ray home entertainment than one of Pioneer's Blu-Ray writing drives. Needless to say that Pioneer was also the first manufacturer ever that introduced the technology of the Blu-Ray burning combo drives.

Pioneer BDC-202 reviewed on cdrinfo.com

The IDE drive supports Blu-Ray reading at 5x, as well as BD-ROM DL at 2x. The writing speed remains at 12x for DVD+R/-R, 4x for DVD-R DL/+R DL and 5x for DVD-RAMs.

- Drive Features & Specification

Let's take a look at the internal components of the drive. Note that opening the drive case voids the warranty and should be avoided.

A closer look of BDC-S02's RENESAS R8J32500FPV chipset.

 

- Nero Info Tool

On the following pages of this review, we present the results of testing a few media discs that turned out to be badly burned by the BDC-202 drive, giving back exceeded limits of digital errors.

For the usual reading tests, you can always refer to the BDC-202 review.

Let's see if the new firmware release (1.01) helped in improving the drive's burning quality capabilities.

 

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2. DaTARIUS DVD Analyzer R 2x

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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.

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3. CMC MAG AE1

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- Media Info

- Writing - 8x (7.66x average) in 08:08min

 

 

- Reading - 12X (9.33X average)

 

DaTARIUS Scans -

The results are almost EXACTLY the same as those for the specific media when burnt with the BDC-202 drive. Check the previous results here.

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4. MCC 03RG20

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- Media Info

- Writing - 12x (9.48x average) in 07:05min

 

 

- Reading - 12X (9.46X average)

 

DaTARIUS Scans -

Again, almost the same results as with the BDC 202 drive. The only exception is that this time, the PISum8 flag did not exceed its limits. Very similar though. Check previous results here.

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5. TTH02

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- Media Info

- Writing - 8x (5.77x average) in 12:04min

 

The BDC 202 drive did not manage to burn the specific media. Check previous results here.

The writing speed dropped from 8X to 4X at the middle of the burning session, despite the fact that the TTH02 media supports burning up to 12X writing speed.

- Reading - 12X (9.45X average)

 

DaTARIUS Scans -

Some uncorrectable digital errors reported here.

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6. MKM 03RD30

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- Media Info

- Writing - 4x (3.94x average) in 28:01min

 

- Reading - 8X (06.30X average)

 

DaTARIUS Scans -

Layer 0

Layer 1

The Datarius system reported almost the same negative results as when this media was burnt with the BDC 202 drive. Only that this time, the scan of the disc's second layer pushed the RADIAL1, RADIAL2, JC [%], and POF flags to their limits, which is something that didn't occur when we tested this media with the BDC 202. Check previous results here.

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7. CMC MAG E01

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- Media Info

- Writing - 8x (8.15x average) in 08:15min

 

- Reading - 12X (9.47X average)

 

DaTARIUS Scans -

Again, almost the same results as the BDC 202 with this media. The only difference is that, this time the Datarius measurements were not interrupted or incomplete. Check previous results here.

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8. DAXON AZ3

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- Media Info

- Writing - 12x (9.46x average) in 07:15min

 

- Reading - 12X (9.43X average)

 

DaTARIUS Scans -

This is a totally "green" scanning test result. No digital errors at all. It seems like the new firmware release of the Pioneer drive starts taking over the situation. Check previous result here.

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9. PRODISC R04

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- Media Info

- Writing - 12x (9.46x average) in 07:20min

 

- Reading - 12X (9.46X average)

 

DaTARIUS Scans -

Same results as with the BDC 202 drive here too. The PISum8 flag is pushed to an unexpectedly high level. Check previous results here.

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10. RICOHJPN R03 (004)

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- Media Info

- Writing - 12x (9.46x average) in 07:18min

 

- Reading - 12X (9.46X average)

 

DaTARIUS Scans -

With CMC MAG.AE1 media, the scan test results are exactly the same as those of the BDC 202 drive. The exceeded limits occurred at exactly the same points. Only this time, the PISum8 flag produced a "yellow" result. Check previous results here.

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11. YUDEN000 T03 000

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- Media Info

- Writing - 12x (9.46x average) in 07:17min

 

- Reading - 12X (9.45X average)

 

DaTARIUS Scans -

No digital errors at all this time. The perfect scan. Check previous results here.

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12. Media List

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In the following table, we have gathered the findings of the DVD quality measurement tests. Note, that each disc was measured under the same conditions with the DaTARIUS equipment. In the centre column of the table (green background), you can find the discs that did not produce uncorrectable digital errors, while on the right-most column (red background) are the rest of the discs. For detailed measurement data, visit the corresponding pages.

More results with other MIDs are available in the complete review of the Pioneer BDC-202.

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13. Conclusion

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As we said at the start, the BDC-S02 is the retail drive for Pioneer's BDC-202. The new firmware release (1.01) seems to have helped the writing quality of the drive, since there were some improvement on a few of the scanning tests which had originally failed with the BDC-202 drive. Despite this fact, there are no other differences between the two drives.

Priced at around US$300, capable of Blu-ray media playback, the BDC-S02 drive lies somewhere between the technology of the DVD-RAM combo drives and the technology of Blu Ray burners.

Keeping in mind that the drive's predecessor has been awarded with the Editor's Choice Award by our editors, and that there was also a slight improvement in the writing quality with previously "problem" media, thanks to the new firmware release, the BDC-S02 drive while not being a "value for money" drive, is a good choice for PC users that require the Blu Ray media playback feature.

You can also take a look at the full review of the BDC-202 on cdrinfo.com.