1. Introduction
BTC 5224IM IDE CD-RW RECORDER - Page 1
- Introduction
Behavior
Tech Computer Corporation was established in 1982 in Taiwan. The company is
mainly engaged in optical storage solutions and optical electronics such as
CD-RW and DVD-ROM drives but lately has expanded the product range to digital
cameras, GPS systems and desktop accessories. The latest CD-RW drive from BTC
is the BTC 5224IM 52/24/52 IDE recorder. The drive is manufactured in December
2002 and challenges a part of the 52X recording market.
- Specifications
The official specifications of the drive are illustrated below.
The 52X CAV CD-R and 24X RW writing speeds among with the 52X CAV reading speeds
are possibly the most interesting features of the drive. The maximum audio extraction
speed is set to 40X and the supported cache buffer is 2MBNero Info Tool confirms
the specifications above among with some more detailed information:
The installed firmware version is v0012. BTC 5224IM supports the SuperLink
Buffer Underun Protection, (based upon MediaTek chipsets), and the Mount Rainier
format. The drive can also retrieve C2 error information. The following pictures
show the available reading/writing speeds:
- Recording Technology
The drive supports the 52X recording speed with the use of CAV recording technology.
As Nero CD Speed graph shows, the drive starts writing at 23.24X and accelerates
to 52.24X by the end of the disc. That gives an average theoretical writing
speed of 39.58X with 80min CD-R media.
- The package
We
got the European retail package an application software disc, containing Nero
Burning Rom v5.5.9.1.6, Nero InCD and manuals for various BTC drives. The package
does not include any CD-R or HS-RW media. The drive is priced at only Euro60-70.
The latest firmware is 0012 and can be downloaded at http://www.btcusa.com/cdrw.html
- Looking at the drive
On the front panel of the drive there are the eject/stop and play/skip buttons
used for audio CD playback. The volume selector and the headphone jack are placed
on the left side of the front panel. In the picture below you can also see the
"52x24x52" logo and the operation status LED.
On the rear panel of the drive you will find the IDE connector, the configuration
jumpers, the analogue and the digital audio output connectors and of course
the power connector.
- Inside the drive
After removing the bottom screws we can see the internal of the drive. Note
that by doing this the warranty becomes invalid. The drive uses Mediatek chipsets
as well as many other 52X writers (ASUS, CyberDrive).
- Installation
The BTC 5224IM was installed as a Master device in the secondary IDE channel
of our test PC, and worked at Ultra DMA mode. After booting, it identified itself
as a "CDWRITER IDE5224". We used Nero v5.5.10, CloneCD v4.2.0.2
and Ahead InCD v3.51.91 for the recording tests. In the test sections the BTC
drive is compared to three other 52X writers from Aopen, CyberDrive and Asus.
In the test sections the BTC drive is compared to three other 52X writers from
Aopen, CyberDrive and Asus.
2. Data Tests
BTC 5224IM IDE CD-RW RECORDER - Page 2
Data Tests
- Pressed CD results (74min
and 80min
CDSpeed graphs)
All the drives support the 52X CAV reading speed. As you can see there is not
any clear lead but speaking with numbers, the BTC drive is the fastest in the
test with 39.92X average reading speed.
BTC 5224IM and CyberDrive CW099D gave almost the same seek times with pressed
discs, and seems to be the fastest in this test. The Asus CRW5224 is slightly
slower while the Aopen CRW5224 follows.
- CD-R results (74min
and 80min
CDSpeed graphs)
With CD-R media, the BTC drive keeps up the good performance and finishes with
a 39.34X average reading speed. All the drives finished the test in a faster
speed than with pressed media.
The seek times with CD-R media are slightly lower than in the previous test
with the pressed discs. The BTC and Asus drives lead the race giving less than
80msec for the Random seek mode.
- RW media (Press
for CDSpeed graph)
BTC 5224IM supports the 32X CAV reading speed for the HS-RW format. The drive
started reading at 14X and gradually accelerated to 32.39X by the end of the
disc. However, the compatible drives were faster and the Aopen drive is finished
the same task with an average speed of 37.61X. The CyberDrive and Asus drives
follow with 31.78X and 31.15X respectively.
3. Error Correction Tests
BTC 5224IM IDE CD-RW RECORDER - Page 3
Error Correction Tests
- EAC CD-R Test Disc
- Test Results (Max speed)
| Errors total |
Num: 115275129
|
| Errors (Loudness) dB (A) |
Num: 588893
|
Avg: -29.6 dB (A)
|
Max: -7.2 dB (A)
|
| Error Muting Samples |
Num: 76981
|
Avg: 1.1 Samples
|
Max: 622 Samples
|
| Skips Samples |
Num: 363
|
Avg: 43.2 Samples
|
Max: 2934 Samples
|
| Total Test Result |
52.7 points (of 100.0 maximum)
|
The drive didn't perform very well and produced a high amount of errors, as
you can see from with high spikes in the graph. After the fifth scratch area
the drive seems to loose control and produces a constant error level of -7.2dB
(A). Also the black defect triangle seems to cause problems resulting to an
overall score of 52.7 points out of 100.
- ABEX TCD-721R
- Test Results (Max speed)
|
Errors total
|
Num: 1317826
|
|
Errors (Loudness) dB (A)
|
Num: 154860
|
Avg: -79.2 dB (A)
|
Max: -31.3 dB (A)
|
|
Error Muting Samples
|
Num: 4757
|
Avg: 1.0 Samples
|
Max: 8 Samples
|
|
Skips Samples
|
Num: 1
|
Avg: 6.0 Samples
|
Max: 6 Samples
|
|
Total Test Result
|
71.6 points (of 100.0 maximum)
|
The drive performed better with ABEX 721R test disc. The average level is -79.2dB(A),
while the max spike reached -31.35 dB (A). The score is 71.6 points out of 100.
- ABEX TCD-726
- Test Results (Max Speed)
|
Errors total
|
Num: 242
|
|
Errors (Loudness) dB (A)
|
Num: 447
|
Avg: -74.6 dB (A)
|
Max: -54.1 dB (A)
|
|
Error Muting Samples
|
Num: 0
|
Avg: 0 Samples
|
Avg: 0 Samples
|
|
Skips Samples
|
Num: 0
|
Avg: 0 Samples
|
Avg: 0 Samples
|
|
Total Test Result
|
52.7 points (of 100.0 maximum)
|
The ABEX 726 test disc was easier to read for the BTC 5224IM. Only a few errors
were reported resulting to a good score of 89.6 points out of 100.
- Conclusion
|
Test Disc
|
Reading Speed
|
BTC 5224IM
|
|
Score
|
|
EAC CD-R
|
Max
|
52.7
|
|
ABEX TCD-721R
|
Max
|
71.6
|
|
ABEX TCD-726
|
Max
|
89.6
|
|
Average Score
|
71.3
|
The BTC 5224IM gave an average performance with a 71.3 score out of 100. However,
as we have mentioned the EAC Test results-percentages do not denote any absolute
and standard units. We run these tests in order to have an idea of the overall
error correction performance of a drive.
- C2 Information accuracy
- Test Results (MAX Speed)
Below is the CDSpeed DAE quality test result of the drive with the ABEX TCD-721R
test disc. The amount of compare errors seems to be less than the real errors
on the defected disc. In addition, no Sync errors were reported and no C2 errors
were missed, resulting to a quality score of 85.6 points out of 100. The retrieved
C2 info is also very accurate:
Below are the C2 % accuracy results as the EAC software reports. Considering
the results with the ABEX test discs, CDSpeed confirmed the 100% result in the
previous test.
|
Test Disc
|
Reading Speed
|
BTC 5224IM
|
|
Score
|
|
EAC CD-R
|
Max
|
50.00
|
|
ABEX TCD-721R
|
Max
|
99.7
|
|
ABEX TCD-726
|
Max
|
100
|
|
Average Score
|
83.23
|
4. CloneCD Reading Tests
BTC 5224IM IDE CD-RW RECORDER - Page 4
CloneCD Reading Tests
- Procedure
We used CloneCD and 3 original CDs - Serious Sam 2 (SafeDisc 2), V-Rally 2
Expert (SecuROM 2) and NBA Jam Extreme (PSX) - in order to test the reading
times of the drive. We also tested the reading performance with backups of the
original CDs, since the reading speed varies between original and backup media.
The following picture shows the drive(s) reading/writing features as CloneCD
reports:
- PSX Pressed Media
We ripped the image to the HD with CloneCD using the default settings. The
drive needs only 52secs to finish the task, but the CyberDrive and Asus drives
are faster by a few seconds.
- SafeDisc v.2 Results
BTC 5224IM finished the pressed disc reading in 14 minutes and the backup one
in 16 minutes. The performance is average since the CyberDrive and Asus drives
were significantly faster in the same tasks.
- SecuROM v.2 Results
All drives can read SubChannel data from Data/Audio tracks. The duration of
the process for the BTC drive was only 2:30 minutes, but again, the Asus and
CyberDrive drives are faster.
5. DAE Tests
BTC 5224IM IDE CD-RW RECORDER - Page 5
DAE Tests
- DAE features
EAC reports that BTC5224E retrieves C2 error information, as we already confirmed
in the previous tests, support "caching" and give "accurate stream".
- Pressed AudioCD
According to the official specifications, the BTC5224E supports 40X maximum
audio extraction speed. However, our test showed that the drive ripped the audio
files to the hard disk at 29.7X average.
- Audio CD-R media
With CD-R media, the performance of the BTC drive was not improved.
- EAC Secure Extract Ripping mode
EAC's secure extract ripping mode ensures the maximum quality of the produced
WAV:
|
Tested Drives
|
Average DAE Speed (X)
|
|
Pressed
|
CDR
|
|
BTC 5224IM
|
10.5
|
10.5
|
|
AOpen CRW5224
|
26.4
|
26.4
|
|
CyberDrive CW099D
|
13.3
|
13.2
|
|
Asus CRW5224
|
17.8
|
13.2
|
- Advanced DAE test
All the drives got a "100" score. The DAE speed for the BTC 5224IM
is 27.78X. The drive can also read CD-text and Subchannel data.
- Bad CDR Media results
We used CD DAE software to rip the whole disc (756539616 sectors) to the hard
disk.
|
Tested Drives
|
Average Speed (X)
|
Errors
|
Errors Of Total
Disc (%)
|
|
BTC 5224IM
|
Read error at 2%
|
|
AOpen CRW5224
|
8.3
|
177229355
|
23.43
|
|
CyberDrive CW099D
|
Read error at 88%
|
|
Asus CRW5224
|
Recognizes the disc contents, cannot
rip
|
The condition of the disc can be considered as very bad, so the purpose of
this test is not to get the best results with zero read errors, but to estimate
the capabilities of the drive. The drive returned a reading error in the 2%
of the total disc.
- Ripping 90 and 99mins AudioCDs
| Tested drives |
Ripping up to |
| BTC 5224IM |
Can read up to 99 minutes |
- Reading/Ripping Protected AudioCDs
For the test procedure we used 2 protected AudioCDs, which we tested in both
recognition and ripping (with EAC BURST mode) processes:
* Pressed AudioCD with Sony Key2Audio (Celine Dion - New Day Has Come)
* Pressed AudioCD with Cactus Data Shield 200 (Natalie Imbruglia - White Lilies
Island)
|
Tested Drives
|
Key2Audio
|
CDS200
|
|
BTC 5224IM
|
Cannot recognize disc
|
Recognizes disc but cannot rip
|
|
AOpen CRW5224
|
Rips disc contents but with errors under
burst mode
|
|
CyberDrive CW099D
|
Recognizes disc but cannot rip
|
|
Asus CRW5224
|
Cannot recognize disc
|
The BTC 5224IM cannot handle any audio protection. The CDS200 protected disc
was recognized but ripping was not possible.
6. CDR Tests
BTC 5224IM IDE CD-RW RECORDER - Page 6
CDR Tests
- Recording Technology
The drive supports the 52X recording speed with the use of CAV recording technology.
As Nero CD Speed graph shows, the drive starts writing at 23.24X and accelerates
to 52.24X by the end of the disc. That gives an average theoretical writing
speed of 39.58X with 80min CD-R media.
The drive also supports the 8X, 16X, 20X (CLV), 24X, 32X (P-CAV), 40X, 48X
and 52X (CAV) writing speeds.
- Nero CDSpeed graph at 48X
- Nero CDSpeed graph at 40X
- Nero CDSpeed graph at 24X
The drive automatically reduces the maximum writing speed (52x) when it detects
lower quality media for burning. The pictures below come from Nero when non-52X
certified blank media was inserted.
- Recording Tests
If you like numbers then yes, you can say that the BTC 5224IM is the leader
in the 52X recording speed. The drive is only one second faster than the Aopen
drive and four seconds faster than the Asus CRW5224. The specific result came
with "That's CD-R" 48X media from Taiyo Yuden. The below graph shows
the recording times for all the supported recording speeds above with Taiyo
Yuden 80min 48X media:
- Supported media
From our tests, we saw that Taiyo Yuden 40X, Taiyo Yuden 48X Mitsubishi Chemicals
48X, Fuji 40X, Imation 48X and SCK 48X media could be burned at 52X.
In the following chart you can see the maximum allowed writing speeds according
to the inserted disc type:
|
Disc
|
ID Code
|
Capacity
|
Max allowed recording speed
|
|
TaiyoYuden 40X
|
972401
|
79:59:72
|
52X
|
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 48X
|
973423
|
79:59:73
|
|
SKC 48X
|
972626
|
79:59:73
|
|
Imation 48X
|
CMC 972666
|
79:59:71
|
|
Prodisc 40X
|
972319
|
79:59:72
|
48X
|
|
Prodisc Printable 40X
|
973219
|
79:59:74
|
40X
|
|
Fuji 40X
|
972954
|
79:59:73
|
|
Ciba Plasmon 48X
|
972718
|
79:59:74
|
|
TDK 48X
|
972319
|
79:59:72
|
|
Mitsui 48X
|
972758
|
79:59:72
|
24X
|
- Overburning Tests
The drive can overburn up to 99mins.
- CD-Text Results
The drive is able to read/write CD-Text without any problems.
- CloneCD Writing Tests
The CloneCD software reports that the drive supports the DAO-RAW feature. With
the use of proper media, DAO-RAW writing can be performed at 52X.
For checking the drive's EFM correction status, we used 3 different game titles
with different SafeDisc 2 versions with the latest software patches installed.
We used the drive as reader/writer in the maximum reading/recording speed. Two
discs were burned for each game. The first disc was burned with PadusDJ and
the other with CloneCD (Amplify Weak Sectors On). The results are posted in
the following table.
|
Game Title
|
Tested Drive
|
SD2 Build
|
Settings
|
|
CloneCD (Amplify Weak Sectors On
|
PadusDJ
|
|
Max Payne v1.05
|
Creative 52XCD-ROM
|
v.2.50.020
|
Ok
|
|
TEAC 40XCD-ROM
|
|
BTC DV316DVD-ROM
|
|
Serious Sam - The Second Encounter v1.07
|
Creative 52XCD-ROM
|
v.2.60.052
|
|
TEAC 40XCD-ROM
|
|
BTC DV316DVD-ROM
|
|
The Sims - Unleashed
|
Creative 52XCD-ROM
|
v2.80.010
|
|
TEAC 40XCD-ROM
|
|
BTC DV316DVD-ROM
|
The BTC 5224IM, as well as the rest 52X recorders, can backup SafeDisc v2.5x.xx
~ 2.80.xx builds without any problems.
7. Writing Quality Tests - Page 1
BTC 5224IM IDE CD-RW RECORDER - Page 7
Writing Quality Tests - Page 1
We used Taiyo Yuden 80min 48X CD-R media and burned the same AudioCD project
(with CD-Text) at all recording speeds from 8X-52X. Below you can see the 3T
Pit & Land Jitter graphs.
- 3T Pit results
As we can see from the above graphs, the 3T Pit Jitter stays below the 35ns
RED book limit at 4X ~ 32X recording speeds. In the 40X recording speed the
drive produced higher jitter values after the 59min until the end of the disc.
The situation is the same in the 48X speed, where the jitter value overcomes
the 35ns after the 59 min again, but it reaches to 41nsec by the end of the
disc. In the maximum speed the jitter is increased from the 40 min. By the 59min
the value is kept at 38nsec, but just before the end of the disc jitter climbs
up to 41nsec for some minutes. In this area the drive's reading speed is approximately
48X and accelerates to 52X. Hopefully, jitter is decreased to 36nsec by the
76-80min.
The average 3T Jitter values for all recording speeds are illustrated in the
following table.
The average value of jitter is less than 35nsec for all the recording speeds.
However, in the maximum 52X writing speed the drive is very close to that limit.
The lowest jitter was measured for the 16X speed.
- 3T Land results
The 3T Land results are almost the same as the in the previous measurements
of the 3T Pit Jitter. For the 48X the jitter is increased after the 59min and
reaches the 40nsec in the last minutes. In the 52X there is a 39nsec peak after
the 70min of the disc but again the jitter is decreased to normal levels by
the end of the disc.
- Conclusion
|
Recording Speed
|
3T Pit Jitter (ns)
|
3T Land Jitter (ns)
|
> 35ns
|
Max value (ns)
|
|
8X
|
28
|
32.12
|
No
|
28
|
|
16X
|
27.15
|
33.78
|
No
|
28
|
|
20X
|
30.71
|
31.88
|
No
|
32
|
|
24X
|
28.02
|
28.61
|
No
|
30
|
|
32X
|
32.93
|
29.12
|
No
|
33
|
|
40X
|
33.71
|
29.80
|
Yes after 70mins
|
37
|
|
48X
|
28.39
|
31.34
|
Yes after 58mins
|
41
|
|
52X
|
34.78
|
35.49
|
Yes after 58mins
|
41
|
The average 3T Pit and Land jitter values are below the 25nsec standard for
all the recording speeds. However, it seems that recording at speeds higher
than 40X could possibly lead to higher jitter, especially by the end of the
recorded disc. This does not always mean that read errors will occur in those
areas. The final audio output is depends on many parameters such as the abilities
of the playback device. Of course these results show the behaviour of the drive
with the specific media from Taiyo Yuden.
8. Writing Quality Tests - Page 2
BTC 5224IM IDE CD-RW RECORDER - Page 8
Writing Quality Tests - Page 2
We tested the drive with a variety of other media in order to check the writing
quality performance.
- 3T Pit results
As we can see from the above graphs, the 3T Pit Jitter exceeds 35ns RED book
limit in some areas for almost all media. The Intenso seems to produce the worst
results, while the SKC 48X media will perform well until the 45min, where the
drive accelerated to 40X. Note that the speed was internally set to 32X for
the rest of the burning process with the SKC media. The Mitsubishi Chemicals
media also performed well until the 76min, where jitter reached the 42ns. Below
are posted the average values for all tested media.
- 3T Land results
The 3T Land Jitter values seem to agree with the corresponding values of the
3T Pit test. The Mitsubishi Chemicals 48X produced the best results, while the
SKC 48X the worst. Below are posted the average values for all tested media.
- Conclusion
|
Media
|
3T Pit Jitter (ns)
|
3T Land Jitter (ns)
|
> 35ns
|
Max value (ns)
|
|
SKC 48X
|
37.41
|
38.71
|
Yes at 41mins
|
44Pit, 60Land
|
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 48X
|
31.44
|
34.24
|
Yes at 40mins
|
42Pit, 48Land
|
|
Intenso 48X
|
33.71
|
38.88
|
Yes
|
56Pit, 60Land
|
The results with various 48X media are at least interesting. The media that
worked best with the BTC 5224IM comes from TaiyoYuden and is rated at 48X. The
specific media produced the lowest 3T Pit&Land values and didn't exceed
the 35ns limit. The Intenso 48X doesn't seem to perform well giving the worst
results. The Mitsubishi Chemicals was a good performer until 78mins, where the
jitter value reached the 41ns.
9. RW Writing Tests
BTC 5224IM IDE CD-RW RECORDER - Page 9
RW Writing Tests
The drive supports the 12X, 16X and 24X US-RW and the 4X, 8X, 10X for the HS-RW
format.
For the burning tests, we burned a full 74mins disc with all the drives. The
results are showed in the following chart. We used the maximum supported speed
for each drive.
Although the BTC 5224IM supports 24X rewriting, the drive did not work with
Mitsubishi Chemicals US-RW (24X) based media. It only allowed rewriting at 16X,
hence the increased writing times in the above graph (299 seconds). The CyberDrive
and Asus drives are faster with 219 seconds (24X).
- Packet Writing Tests
We used Ahead InCD v3.51.91 for the packet writing tests. The formatted disc
had 534 MB of free space. We copied a 403 MB file (403.147 kbs) from a Hard
Disk (on the same PC as the writers) to the formatted RW media using Windows
Explorer (we dragged and dropped) and we completed the test more than once,
to eliminate any possible time measurement faults and user errors.
Again, the BTC drive behaved as a 16X recorder and gets the last place with
a 10.85X average writing speed. In the reading part, the performance was not
higher compared to the other drives.
- Mt. Rainier Tests
For testing the Mt. Rainier performance, we used was InCD v3.51.91 by Ahead
Software. After the format process, we immediately started the recording process
(drag & drop). When the drive finished, we started the reading process back
to the HD. The PX-W4012TS performed well without any problems. The drive's reading/writing
performance was lower than in the normal Packet writing mode.
|
Drive
|
Average Writing Speed (X)
|
Average Reading Speed (X)
|
|
BTC 5224IM
|
24X US-RW
|
10X
|
10.13X
|
|
HS-RW
|
8.26
|
8.35
|
- EasyWrite tests
The Philips Easy Write test checks the quality level of the Mt Rainier implementation.
Although the drive accepted the EasyWrite test suite commands it didn't fulfil
the basic PartA v1.60 tests, so we didn't proceed with the rest tests.
10. Conclusion
BTC 5224IM IDE CD-RW RECORDER - Page 10
Conclusion
|
Positive (+)
|
Negative (-)
|
|
- Supports 52X, 24X writing/re-writing
speeds
- Supports SuperLink anti-coaster technology
- Very fast 52X CD-R reader
- Low seek times
- Supports Mt. Rainier format
- Supports hardware EFM correction
- Supports DAO-RAW writing mode
- Reads/writes SubChannel Data from Audio/Data tracks
- Supports reading/writing of 99min CDs
- Supports CD-Text (read/write)
- Supports C2 error information with high accuracy (100%) according to
the Nero CDSpeed tests
- Low Price (Euro 60)
|
- Writing above 48X produces high 3T Pit/Land
Jitter
- CD Error correction could be better
- DAE is lower compared with other drives (40X max)
- Didn't recognize Mitsubishi Chemicals US-RW as 24X compatible, only
16X
- Cannot handle any Audio protected discs
- Retail package doesn't include any CD-R, US-RW media!
|
Fast reading and writing is definitely the strong feature of the new BTC5224IE.
The drive not only competes the other 52X CAV recorders in the market, but also
takes a slight lead in terms of speed. The new 52X writing record is 2:27 minutes
with Mitsubishi Chemicals 48X media. Reading is also combined with low seek
times.
But is the absolute speed the panacea? The answer is no, for the most of the
experienced users. We are talking about writing quality and reading accuracy.
The jitter measurements showed that the writing strategy of BTC 5214IE could
possibly lead to increased jitter in audio CDs, especially in the high writing
speeds. Although the average 3T Pit and Land jitter values did not exceed the
Red Book standard, the recorded audio discs gave some high jitter peaks by the
end of the disc, where the writing speed was more than 40X and acceleration
to 52X (CAV) was in full progress. This behaviour was noticed with all the media
we tested, especially with SKC 48X and Intenso 48X. On the other hand, the situation
was much better with Mitsubishi Chemicals and Taiyo Yuden media. Note that the
jitter values are measured during reading. High jitter may produce errors during
playback (skipping, noise) especially with portable/car cd players.
In the error correction tests with audio CDs the drive performed averagely,
but the retrieved C2 error information was accurate (100% according to the Nero
CD Speed results). Speaking for audio we should note that the drive gave a 30X
DAE speed (average), which is slower than other competitor drives. Audio protected
discs are also not supported by BTC 5224IE.
In addition, the drive did not manage to rewrite in the maximum supported 24
X speed, at least with Mitsubishi Chemicals US-RW media. It only supported them
at 16X writing speed. We are not aware of the type of US-RW media the BTC supports
since no media were included in the retail package. A future firmware upgrade
is expected improve the US-RW media compatibility.
On the other hand, the BTC 5224IM is a very good solution for CloneCD users.
The drive is not the fastest reader but it produces working backups of SafeDisc
v.2 protected discs (hardware EFM correction), reads/writes SubChannel Data
from Audio/Data tracks and supports RAW DAO writing. In addition, overburning,
CD-Text reading/writing and 99min audioCDs are included in the supported features.
Price is sometimes a strong parameter someone has in mind before buying a product.
The BTC 5214IM is priced at Euro 60-70 and it is possibly the cheapest 52X recorder
in the market. Thus, with the proper firmware tunings the drive could become
a very good solution for the entry-level user.