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1. Package - Installation

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OPTORITE DVD RW DD0405 - Page 1

After the award winning DD0401, Taiwanese manufacturer Optorite released the DD0405 DVD writer. The new Optorite drive supports 8x recording for both -R and +R formats and 4x for rewritable media. With CD-R format, DD0405 supports 40x max writing speed, just as with its predecesor, the previous DD0401. The drive differs from the DD0401 only in the burning speed for +R, which has been boosted to 8x.

- Features

This dual burner offers 8x DVD+R/-R and 4x DVD+RW/-RW writing and 12x DVD-ROM reading. The drive is also a 40x/24x/40x CD-RW writer.

 

• HD-BURN

Developed by SANYO Electric, a high density recording technology that doubles the recording capacity of conventional CD-R media (700MB).

• BURN-PROOF

"Safe-BP" has achieved enough detection performance at more than 40x speed with the improvement of the electric circuit for the detection of disarrangement of pickup servo. When a disarrangement of this servo is detected during high speed recording conditions, the drive stops the recording immediately and restarts recording at a lower recording speed.

• EXACT-REC

Shock-BP always monitors the condition of the focus servo and tracking servo and stops the recording when it detects the change in rapid servo condition, then, restarts the recording at the stop position after the servo condition is recovered.

• FlexSS-BP

A generic name for Flexible Speed and Flexible Strategy. 'FlexSS-BP' technology, which automatically selects the optimum recording speed for each disc, because some CDs cannot stand high speed recording with a high recording power.

- Specifications

Interface	ATA/ATAPI-5	E-IDE / ATAPI(Ultra DMA mode2)
Buffer Size		2MB
Data transfer speed (ATA I/F)		33MB / sec
Write Speed	DVD-R	8X
	DVD-RW	4X
	DVD+R	8X
	DVD+RW	4X
	CD-R	40X
	HD-Burn CD-R	24X
	CD-RW	24X
Read Speed	DVD-ROM (Single)	12x
	DVD-ROM (Dual layer)	8X
	DVD-R	8x
	DVD-RW	8X
	DVD+R	8X
	DVD+RW	8X
	CD-ROM/-R	40X
	CD-RW	40X
	CD-DA (DAE)	40X
	HD-Burn CD-R	78x
Support Media Type		DVD-ROM, DVD single layer / Dual layer, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM [Mode1, Mode2 (Form1/2)], CD-ROM / XA, Mixed mode CD, CD-R/RW, CD Extra, CD-TEXT
Support Formats		DVD-ROM (UDF Bridge), DVD-ROM (ISO 9660), DVD-ROM (UDF), DVD-VIDEO, DVD-VR
Write Format	DVD-R	Disc at Once, Incremental Recording (Multi-Border Support)
	DVD-RW	Rigid Restricted Overwriting, Incremental Write
	DVD+R	Incremental Write (Multi Session Support)
	DVD+RW	Random Write
	CD-R/CD-RW	Disc at Once, Session at Once, Track at Once, Packet Writing (Multi Session Support)
Random Seek Time		DVD (-R/RW)(+R/RW): 130 msec DVD-RAM: 140 msec CD: 120 msec
OS Compatibility		Windows 95/98/ME/XP/NT/2000

According to Nero InfoTool, the Optorite DD0405 uses 2MB buffer memory and supports Raw writing while Mount Rainier and DVD-RAM reading/writing are not supported.

The Optorite DD0405 uses the RPC II region control, allowing a user to change the drive's region at most 5 times. For our tests, we set the region code to 2 (Europe).

- Retail package

The Optorite ships with an array of Nero applications that include Ahead Nero Express 6, InCD and EasyWrite Reader.

The rest of the bundled software consists of Cyberlink PowerDVD, Sonic MyDVD and Arcsoft Showbiz.

Besides the software inclusions, the retail package contains the Optorite drive, mounting screws, an easy installation guide and the audio cable.

- The drive

The front panel of the drive is identical to the DD0401.The usual DVD/CD and R/RW markings located on the left, centre and right hand sides of the tray door, with the eject hole on the lower rim and right of centre. The lower half of the drive's front panel, includes the headphone jack and volume control situated on the very left, the power/activity led directly below the eject hole and right of centre, and the next track and stop/eject buttons on the right. Both buttons are round with the stop/eject being slightly larger.

On the rear panel there are the analogue audio output, the IDE connector and the power input.

Removing the screws and opening the drive's cover voids the drive's warranty. For reference reasons, we post the following photos. The Optorite DD0405's mainboard (based on the Sanyo LC897490 chipset) and drive mechanics have been designed by Optorite, which was also the case with their previous model, the DD0401. Actually the drive is exactly the same as the previous model, but the new firmware adds 8x recording for DVD-R. Click on photo of the mainboard below for a higher resolution image:

- Installation

Our test PC was a 1.8 GHz P4 configured with 512Mb RAM, an 80GB 7200rpm hard drive and Windows XP Professional SP1. The drive was connected to our test PC and was identified as "Optorite DVD RW DD0405". All reading tests were done with firmware v140E. For the recording tests we have updated the firmware to the latest v150E, released just a few days before. The new firmware changes the recording mode with DVD+R media to the P-CAV (Z-CLV before), and is expected to offer even faster recording.

The following pages include the test results of the Optorite drive in comparison to two other dual DVD burners, the Memorex True-8x and the NEC ND-2500A.

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2. Data CD Reading Tests

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OPTORITE DVD RW DD0405 - Page 2

Data CD Reading Tests

- Pressed CD results (Click for CDSpeed results)

For this test we used an 80min data pressed CD-ROM disc. When the reading test ended, NeroCDSpeed reported that the Optorite DD0405 read the disc under CAV mode. The above graph shows that all drives returned almost the same speed with the Memorex being a little faster with all measurements. The Optorite was the slowest among the three drives but the reported speed meets the manufacturers specifications for 40x maximum reading.

Apart from the reading speeds, NeroCDSpeed reported the seek times for the drives and we present them on the above graph. The Optorite DD0405 proved to be very fast. The drive gave back the fastest seek times among the three drives, in all three modes. The drive finished the full seek test in only 146ms while the Memorex needed 286ms for the same task.

- CD-R Media results (Click for CDSpeed results)

On this test we checked the reading performance of the drive with CD-R media. The disc used is a clone of the previously tested pressed media. On the transfer rate test of CD-R disc, all three drives had almost the same results as with the previously tested pressed media. The Optorite DD0405 read the CD-R under CAV and returned again the slowest reading speed among the drives. The drive finished the test with an end speed of 40.31x verifying the 40x maximum reading speed for CD-R media.

Once again, with the seek times tests with CD-R media, the Optorite proved to be very fast, having seek times similar to that with CD-ROM media. The drive needed 81ms, 97ms and 147ms for random,1/3 and full seek times respectively.

- ReWritable Media (Click for CDSpeed results)

For the rewritable reading test we used 24x High Speed rewritable media from Mitsubishi Chemicals. With the rewritable format, the Optorite supports 40x reading speed while both Memorex and Nec support 32x and therefore Optorite finished the test with the fastest speeds. Once again, the Optorite drive read the disc under CAV mode and the test finished with an end speed of 40.64x.

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3. CD Error Correction Tests

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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: 124945527
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)	Num: 584663	Avg: -25.2 dB(A)	Max: -4.8 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples	Num: 22659	Avg: 3367.2 Samples	Max: 3584 Samples
Skips Samples	Num: 8	Avg: 2939.0 Samples	Max: 2939 Samples
Total Test Result	45.2 points (out of 100.0 maximum)

This is generally a difficult disc for most drives to read correctly. The drive was extremely slow when reading the test disc and the scratched areas were extremely hard to read. After some hours of ripping and analysing, the drive came up with a poor performance. The situation was the same in the case of the previous Optorite model, the DD0401. The number of total errors is on the high side, asa is the maximum error level at -4.8 dB(A).

- ABEX TCD-726

Errors total	Num: 11145
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)	Num: 66	Avg: -38.7 dB(A)	Max: -23.3 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples	Num: 26	Avg:1.0 Samples	Max: 1 Samples
Skips Samples	Num:2	Avg:30.0 Samples	Max: 30 Samples
Total Test Result	80.7 points (out of 100.0 maximum)

The results of the Optorite with the 726 Abex test disc are not the best we have seen but they are at an acceptable level. The software awards the drive with 80.7 points out of 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 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 (played) through different software multimedia players (i.e. Winamp, PowerDVD, 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 drive.

Error Level	1	2	3	4	5
Optorite DD0405	5/5	5/5	5/5	5/5	5/5

Although we didn't expect Optorite to perform well on the Audio test Disc because of its performance with the previous CD error correction tests, on this test the results were perfect. The drive managed to playback all levels of the disc succesfully. There were no audioable clicks, muted or skipped areas. We should also mention that most drives do not manage to reach the fifth check level. Error concealment circuitry works very well in this case.

- Summary

Test Disc	Reading Speed	Score
ABEX TCD-721R	Max	45.2
ABEX TCD-726		90.1
Average Score		67.65

The average score for the Abex tests is 67.65 points for the Optorite DD0405. This is not among the best scores we have recorded, and indicates the drive has problems and offers low performance with scratched media (TCD-721R). With less seriously defective discs, the drive is very strong.

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4. DVD reading tests

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OPTORITE DVD RW DD0405 - Page 4

DVD reading tests

- Single Layer DVD-ROM (Click for CDSpeed results)

The graph above shows that Optorite returned the slowest results among the three drives on the reading test, since it did not reach the manufacturer's specifications of 12x reading. Optorite's average reading speed was 8.83x while Memorex was the fastest with 9.46x.

On the seek times test, the Optorite DD0405 returned the best results of the roundup. In all three modes the drive was fast with reported seek times 105ms, 109ms and 176ms for Random, 1/3 and Full seek times respectively. The worst result comes from Memorex on Full seek, where the drive needed 308ms to finish the test.

- Dual Layer PTP DVD-ROM (Click for CDSpeed results)

The two layers of a PTP DVD-ROM disc are read sequentially with the drive starting the read process from the inner tracks on the disc, which is the beginning of each layer, and progressing outwards towards to the outer tracks for each layer.

On the previous tested single layer DVD-ROM the Optorite returned the slowest reading speed among the three drives and therefore we had expected the same performance on this test. Instead, the drive logged in faster reading times than the other two drives on the dual layer DVD-ROM reading test. Once again the test confirmed the manufacturers specifications for 8x reading speed.

Once again Optorite proved to be very fast on the seek times test with DVD media. The above graph shows that the Optorite returned the fastest seek times among the three drives in all three modes.

- Dual Layer 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 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 inwards towards the inner tracks of the disc.

 

The Dual layer OTP DVD-ROM was read under CAV mode. The reading process was smooth and the seek times were relatively fast. The reported start speed was 3.55x while the reading speed at the end of the first layer reached 8.51.

- DVD Ripping Tests

We measured the DVD-Video ripping speed of the Optorite DD0405 using the latest version of DVD Decrypter. The DVD Video title is the "Matrix" pressed DVD-Video.

DVD Decrypter reported that the process ended after 19:17minutes with maximum read rate 11.946KB/s (8.6x). The above graph shows the average ripping speed of each drive and we can conclude that the Optorite was by far the fastest among the three drives with an average ripping speed of 6.8x

- DVD Recordable / Rewritable reading Tests

The chart below shows the Nero CDSpeed average reading speed results with the following media:

• 8x DVD+R
• 4x DVD+RW

• 8x DVD-R
• 4x DVD-RW

Due to the fact that the Optorite DD0405 supports CAV reading strategy and 8x maximum reading speed for all writable media, the reported reading speed of all media is nearly equal. From the above two graphs we can see that the Optorite was the fastest with the reading test.

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5. DVD Error Correction Tests

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DVD Error Correction Tests

In the following tests we examined the DVD reading capabilities of the Optorite DD0405 drive with scratched / defective DVD media. For the tests we used CDVD Benchmark and Nero CDSpeed. The reference test media come 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.

The above screenshot shows that the Optorite drive had some problems with the 821 test disc. Despite the fact that the test ended without errors, the drive didn't manage to read it under CAV. However, using the 5x CLV mode the disc was read accurately.

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 the surface and instead defective areas ranging in dimensions from 0.5 to 1.1 mm. There are also fingerprints with height between 65 and 75 micrometers.

The Optorite DD0405 managed to finish the 825 Abex test fast and accurately. The reading process started at 5x and under CAV mode finished at about 12x.

- 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.

The above screenshot shows that Optorite managed to finish the Abex TDR-841 test disc without errors (red spots). Again the drive behaved as in the case of the corresponding single layer disc, lowering the reading speed to 5x to maintain reading accuracy. Also notice the large number of speed changes (large group of yellow dispersed dots) at the beiginning of the disc, where the drive first encounters the scratches.

ABEX TDR-845

This disc is a single sided, dual layer DVD-ROM disc with capacity of 8.5GB. The only difference between the TDR-845 and the TDR-841 is that the first includes both defective areas and fingerprints. The dimensions of the defective areas range from 0.5 to 1.1 mm and the fingerprints have height sized from 65 to 75 microns (micrometres).

The above screenshot shows that Optorite managed to read the effected areas of the first layer without problem while top speed reached was about 9x.

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 sized from 0.4 to 3.0 mm.

 

The reading process started at 3.56x under CAV mode but when the drive reached the defective area the speed was decreased from 5.2x to 4.4x. On the other hand the above graph shows smooth switch operation from layer 0 to layer 1. The test ended without producing any error messages.

ABEX TDV-545

The TDV-545 disc is based on the TDV-540 series. It is a single sided, dual layer Video/S-2 disc with a capacity of 8.5GB. The TDV-545 includes artificial black dots on the disc's surface, sized from 0.4 to 1.0 mm. It also has 65 - 75 micrometre high fingerprints.

 

 

The Optorite DD0405 read the Abex 545 test disc without problems. Both layers were read smoothly and accurately while the reported seek times and average speed were very good.

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6. Protected Disc Tests

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OPTORITE DVD RW DD0405 - Page 6

- Reading Tests

To create an image of the various protected titles onto a hard disk, we used CloneCD v.4.3.1.9 software and the appropriate settings, depending on the protection type of the inserted discs. Below are summarized the capabilities of the Optorite drive, according to CloneCD software. Notice that the drive supports writing of CD+G under RAW DAO:

The game titles we used for each protection scheme are given in the table below:

Game Title	Protection Scheme
PSX "NBA Jam Extreme"	Lybcrypt
Serious Sam The Second Encounter v1.07	SafeDisc v.2.60.052
VRally II	SecuROM v.2

PSX Pressed Media

SafeDisc v.2

SecuROM v.2

The Optorite DD0405 managed to make images of all tested games. The above graphs show that the drive was the fastest image making device among the three.

The Optorite DD0405 supports the DAO-RAW writing mode. 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. After making the images of the various titles to the hard disk, we burned them (maximum speed) with CloneCD. Two different discs were created for each title; one with the "Amplify Weak Sectors" enabled and one more with the function disabled.

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

Drive	Game Title	SD2 Build	Settings
			Amplify Weak Sectors On	Amplify Weak Sectors Off
Optorite DD0405	Max Payne	v2.51.020	Yes	No
	Serious Sam - The Second Encounter v1.07	v.2.60.052	No	No
	The Sims Unleashed	v.2.8	No	No
	The Sims Superstar	v2.9	No	No

As we expetced, the DD0405 is not a good backup solution. The drive made a valid image only with on one game protection scheme. The earlier version of Safedisc result to a working backup but only when the Amplify Weak Sectors option was enabled. The same game didn't work when we burned it without the Amplify option enabled. With all other games, the drive failed to produce a working backup.

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7. DAE Tests

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OPTORITE DVD RW DD0405- Page 7

DAE Tests

- Pressed and CDR AudioCD results

The Optorite DD0401 supports a maximum reading speed of 40x, and reads audio discs under CAV mode.

Like all media tested up to this point, the Optorite read the pressed DAE disc under CAV mode. The average reading speed was 30.53x. The test started at 17.74x and finished with an end speed of 40.32x. The seek times are slightly increased than the reported seek times of data discs but still at very acceptable levels.

 

 

 

To test the ripping capabilities of the Optorite with DAE discs we used the previous tested disc, making a clone on CD-R media using the EAC software. We present the results on the graphs below.

- Advanced DAE Quality

In the Nero CD Speed Advanced DAE test, the Optorite DD0405 returned an average speed of 28.8 x which is the fastest among the three drives. On the quality score the drive was awarded with a perfect score of 100 while according to Nero Advanced DAE quality the drive can safely be used for on the fly copying up to 16x. On the advanced features the software reports that the Optorite supports Leadin, Leadout, CD Text and subchannel data.

- Support of 90/99mins AudioCDs

The Optorite DD0405 didn't manage to rip all the contents of the 99min Audio disc. The test disc contains 25 tracks and the ripping process stopped with timing errors after the extraction of the 20th track at the 83:46:43 minute mark.

- Reading/Ripping Protected AudioCDs

For the test procedure we used two audio discs with different audio protection schemes. We tested for both recognition and ripping to the hard disk. The software used was Exact Audio Copy.

* Pressed Audio disc protected by Sony Key2Audio (Celine Dion - New Day Has Come)

* Pressed Audio disc protected by Cactus Data Shield 200 (Natalie Imbruglia - White Lilies sIsland)

	Key2Audio	CDS200
	EAC
Optorite DD0405	OK	Recognized the disc. Ripped and played all tracks on the disc except the first.
Memorex True-8x	OK	Recognize the disc but cannot rip or play the contents
Nec ND-2500A	OK	OK

The Key2Audio disc was not a problem for the Optorite. The drive managed to playback and rip the contents of the protected disc without problems or audible clicks during the rip. The Cactus protected disc however, presented a weird behavior. When we launched EAC and tried to rip the disc, the reported ripping speed was 0.1x and timing problems were reported. Alternatively when we chose to rip all the other tracks except for the first, the process started normally and finished without any errors.

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8. CD Recording Tests

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CD Recording Tests

- CD-R Writing Tests

The Optorite DD0405 supports 40 maximum reading speed under CAV writing strategy. To emulate the writing process we used the latest version of NeroCDSpeed and a blank CD-R 48x from TY.

NeroCDSpeed confirmed the 40x maximum writing speed for the Optorite writer. The writing process started at 18.23x while CAV writing method was used for the process. The test finished with a 41.16x end speed resulting in an average speed of 31.16x.

 

 

 

 

- Recording Times

We created an 80min data compilation with Nero Burning Rom and recorded it on a 700MB disc. The above graph shows that the Optorite was fastest on the writing test, something that was expected since the Memorex support 24x and the Nec 32x, while the Optorite supports 40x maximum writing speed.

Below are the writing times at all avaliable writing speeds for the Optorite.

In the following graph you can see the recording times with various media brands. All media took about the same time except for the AM disc needed 234sec, meaning that it was written at about 24x instead of 40x.

 

- CD-RW Writing Tests

In order to test the writing process with a rewritable CD-RW media we used a blank 24x US-RW media from Mitsubishi Chemicals and NeroCDSpeed

The test confirmed the drives specifications for 24x rewriting. The disc was written under P-CAV mode, the burning procedure started at 18.34x, finished at 24.01x having an average speed of 23.42x.

 

 

 

In order to provide a comparison of the three drives when writing on HS-RW media, we used Nero Burning Rom software to burn a 651MB data compilation using 24x US-RW media from Mitsubishi Chemicals.

The above graph shows that the Optorite finished the writing process faster than the other two drives.

- Packet Writing Tests

For the packet writing test we used the InCD packet writing software from Nero and Mitsubishi Chemicals 24x US-RW media. The test file was a 403 MB file (412.822 KB) and we used the drag and drop method from Windows Explorer to write the file from our hard disk to the RW media.

Operation	Duration	Average speed
Read	2:26 min	18.9 X
Write	3:45 min	12.2 X

- Other features

CD text reading/writing

Yes

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9. Writing quality - 3T Jitter Tests

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OPTORITE DVD RW DD0405 - Page 9

Writing Quality Tests - 3T Jitter Tests

In order to test the writing quality of the written disc with the Optorite drive we summarize the 3T Pit & Land Jitter of the written discs on the following graphs.

- 3T Pit results

The above graph shows that almost all discs exceed the 35ns Red Book limit with the Pit values.The best quality written disc, with the lowest Pit levels, is Smartbuy from Prodisc while the highest measurement comes from Am, Plasmon manufacturer, which returned unacceptably high jitter at the end.

The average 3T Pit Jitter values for all media brands are illustrated in the following table.

Three of the five written discs gave back high average Pit Jitter values. Smartbuy and Benq proved the best quality written media .

- 3T Land results

The Land Jitter values for the same media, written with the Optorite DD0405 were slightly increased in comparison to the Pit values. In these measurements, only Smartbuy gave back low Land values but still over the Red Book limit at the outer area of its surface.

The following average graph confirms the low levels.

On the above graph are summarized the average Land Jitter measurements for all written media. The average values for all media, except Smartbuy, are well over the 35ns RedBook limit.

Recording Speed	Average 3T Pit Jitter (ns)	Average 3T Land Jitter (ns)	> 35ns	Max 3T jitter values (ns)
TY 48x	36.95	44.20	Yes	45 Pit, 57 Land
PrimeDisc 48x	34.12	45.90	Yes	54 Pit, 62 Land
BenQ 48x	37.24	43.02	Yes	42 Pit, 49 Land
Smartbuy 52x	32.46	34.49	Yes	36 Pit, 39Land
AM 52x	40.17	45.00	Yes	60 Pit, 57 Land

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10. C1 / C2 Error Measurements

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OPTORITE DVD RW DD0405 - Page 10

Writing Quality Tests - C1 / C2 Error Measurements

The C1 / C2 error rate was measured for the recorded discs burned during the previous writing tests (jitter). The software used was UMDoctor Pro II, and the reader the Optorite DD0203 drive.

 

• Taiyo Yuden 48x recorded at 16x

• Taiyo Yuden 48x recorded at 24x

• Taiyo Yuden 48x recorded at 32x

- Summary

UmDoctor showed that the Optorite provided quality CD-R writing with TY discs, while the AM and Benq, from Plasmon and Acer respectively gave back high C1 errors. In the case of the AM disc, a lot of C2 errors were reported and the disc was not readable with the Optorite DD0405, as well as all other drives we tested it with.

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11. HD-BURN tests

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OPTORITE DVD RW DD0405 - Page 11

HD BURN FUNCTION

HD-BURN allows writing twice the amount of data than can normally fit on a CD-R disc. This means that up to 1.4GB of data can be recorded on 700MB CD-R media. The Optorite DD0405 supports 24x writing speed for the HD-Burn option.

To check the performance of the Optorite DD0405 under HD-Burn we used NeroBurning Rom that supports the HD-Burn function. The available HD-Burn compilations are CD-ROM (ISO, UDF, ISO/UDF, Bootable), HD-BURN -Video or just copy an HD-BURN disc.

- HD-BURN Writing

We used the HD-Burn ISO compilation of Nero to create a data disc that contains 1400mb. The writing process finished after 8:10 minutes and Nero informed us that the burn process was successful.

 

- Reading the HD-BURN discs

The HD-Burn written disc was fully readable with the Optorite drive. Unfortunately no other device was able to read the specific disc and that was expected since the HD-Burn function had the same performance on the previous versions of Optorite, the DD0203 and DD0401.

We used the Optorite for the reading test and NeroCDSpeed. The disc was read under CAV mode and the drive reached the maximum reading speed of 80.43x at the end of the test confirming the stated 78x speed, as per the manufacturer's specifications. Note that these speed marks look really high compared to those from 700MB data discs. This is because of the increased density of the recorded data under the HD-BURN mode.

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12. DVD Recording Tests

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OPTORITE DVD RW DD0405 - Page 12

DVD Recording Tests

- Writing Performance

The Optorite DD0405 supports DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW writing. The maximum available writing speed is 8x and 4x for writable and rewritable formats respectively. The writing strategy for writable media is the *Z-CLV while both rewritable media were written under CLV.

8x DVD-R

After the end of writing simulation, NeroCDSpeed confirmed that the maximum writing speed for -R media is 8x. The process started at 4.04x and ended with a maximum writing speed of 8.14x resulting in an average speed of 6.88x. The screenshot below, shows that the speed increased from 4x to 8x after 1/3 of the total process.

 

 

 

8x DVD+R

Once again the manufacturer's specifications for 8x maximum writing speed were confirmed after the end of the test. The writing process started at 4.03x and ended at 8.06x resulting in 6.88x average speed, a value that is identical to the previous tested -R media. The screenshot from NeroCDSpeed shows that the drive had to write about 1.2Gb in order to increase speed from 4x to 8x.

 

 

*After upgrading the firmware to v150E, the drive recorded on DVD+R media using the 8x P-CAVmode. This increased the DVD+R average recording speed to 7.74x (!), at least with some 8x media. In other cases, the drive lowered the recording speed to 4x by the end of the recording process:

• Mitsubishi Kagaku 8x DVD+R

• Philips 8x DVD+R (Philips C08)

• Taiyo Yuden 8x DVD+R

4x DVD+RW

The maximum supported speed for DVD+RW is 4x. NeroCDSpeed confirms smooth writing for rewritable media while the speed is slightly increased during the process from 3.97x to 4.04x. The simulation ended with an average writing speed of 4.04x

 

 

 

4x DVD-RW

We were not able to perform the -RW writing simulation with NeroCDSpeed. When we launched the program and pressed the start button to begin the process, the drive was spinning fast and noisy and the process didn't start. However, the 4x DVD-RW disc was succesfully burned with Nero Burning Rom.

- Burning Tests

The following graphs show the maximum writing speeds for all available DVD formats for the Optorite drive. For comparison, we also include the writing times from Memorex True-8x and Nec ND-2500A.

All three drives supports 8x maximum writing speed for the writable media and 4x for the rewritable.

As can been seen from the graph above, the Optorite was the fastest for the +R format due to its writing strategy, P-CAV as opposed to Z-CLV. In the -R format, the Memorex proved to be the best.

The following screenshots were taken from Nero, after successful burnings. The recording project is the same dvd-video compilation for all the tests.

• MC Kagaku 8x DVD-R

• Taito Yuden 8x DVD+R

• JVC 4x DVD-RW

• MKM 4x DVD+RW

Media	Code	Speed
That's 8x DVD+R	YUDENT002	8X
Mitshubishi Kagaku 8x DVD+R	MCC003	8x
CMC 8X DVD+R	CMCMAG EO1	8x
MCC 4X DVD+R	MCC 002	8x
MCC 4x DVD-R	MCC01RG20	4x
CMC 8x DVD-R	CMCMAG.AE1	8x
Verbatim 8x DVD-R	MCC02RG20	8x
Maxell 8x DVD-R	MXL RG03	8x
Mam-e 4x DVD-R	MCI4XG01	4x
Taiyo Yuden 4x DVD-R	TYG01	4x
Maxell 4x DVD-R	TYG01	4x
MKM 4x DVD+RW	MKM A02	4x
Mitshubishi Kagaku 4x DVD-RW	MCC 01RW4X	4x
TDK 2x DVD-RW	TDK502sakuM3	2x
JVC 4x DVD-RW	JVC0VictorD7	4x

The table above presents the writing speeds of the drive for the various media formats.

- Packet Writing Tests

For this test we copied a 403 MB file (412.822 KB) from Hard Disk (on the same PC as the recorder) to the formatted RW media through Windows explorer (drag and drop).

DVD-RW	Duration	Average speed
Read	2:06 min	2.4X
Write	2:41 min	1.9X

DVD+RW	Duration	Average speed
Read	2:08 min	2.5X
Write	2:00 min	3.5X

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13. KProbe PI/PO quality tests

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OPTORITE DVD RW DD0405 - Page 13

KProbe PI/PO quality results

The following screenshots show the PI/PO scans for the various DVD-/+R and DVD-/+RW media, recorded with Optorite DD0405 at the maximum permitted speed.

The software used for the measurements was the KProbe v1.1.26, the ECC was set to 8 and the reader was LiteOn LDW-811s. The specific methodology is very dependent on the drive used as a reader, while the reliability of the PI/PO provided output is also not technically confirmed. Hence as a result, we cannot safely come up with conclusive results, although we do make a comparison of the drive's behavior when using various DVD recordable/rewritable media.

The discs used came from CMC, Verbatim, Maxell, JVC, Mam, Taiyo Yuden, TDK, and Mitsubishi Chemicals . Further details about each disc type are presented at the bottom of this page.

• CMC 8x DVD+R (Recorded at 8x)

• That's 8x DVD+R (Recorded at 8x)

• MCC 4x DVD+R (Recorded at 8x)

• Mitshubishi Kagaku 8x DVD+R (Recorded at 8x)

• Verbatim 8x DVD-R (Recorded at 8x)

• Thats 8x DVD-R (Recorded at 8x)

• Maxell 8x DVD-R (Recorded at 8x)

• CMC 8x DVD-R (Recorded at 8x)

• MCC 4x DVD-R (Recorded at 4x)

• Mitshubishi Kagaku 4X DVD-RW (Recorded at 4x)

• TDK 2x DVD-RW (Recorded at 2x)

• Taiyo Yuden 4x DVD-R (Recorded at 4x)

• Maxell 4x DVD-R (Recorded at 4x)

• Mitshubishi Kagaku 4x DVD+RW (Recorded at 4x)

• Mitshubishi Kagaku 4x DVD-RW (Recorded at 4x)

Media	Code	Speed
That's 8x DVD+R	YUDENT002	8x
Mitshubishi Kagaku 8x DVD+R	MCC003	8x
CMC 8X DVD+R	CMCMAG EO1	8x
MCC 4X DVD+R	MCC 002	8x
MCC 4x DVD-R	MCC01RG20	4x
CMC 8x DVD-R	CMCMAG.AE1	8x
Verbatim 8x DVD-R	MCC02RG20	8x
Maxell 8x DVD-R	MXL RG03	8x
Mam-e 4x DVD-R	MCI4XG01	4x
Taiyo Yuden 4x DVD-R	TYG01	4x
Maxell 4x DVD-R	TYG01	4x
MKM 4x DVD+RW	MKM A02	4x
Mitshubishi Kagaku 4x DVD-RW	MCC 01RW4X	4x
TDK 2x DVD-RW	TDK502sakuM3	2x
JVC 4x DVD-RW	JVC0VictorD7	4x

All used discs that were certified for 8x writing were successfully written at 8x. Apart from this, among the used discs the MCC 4x DVD+R was written at 8x but gave back worst PI/PO measurements. All discs had increased PIPO values at the end of their surface but the results are quite acceptable. In the case of MAM-e media, CDSpeed and KProbe did not manage to read the disc.

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14. Conclusion

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OPTORITE DVD RW DD0405 - Page 14

Conclusion

Pros	Cons
8x DVD+R P-CAV writing (v150E) 8x DVD-R writing 4x DVD+RW/-R writing 40/24/40 CD-RW Fast CD and DVD seek times Includes HD-Burn, Burn-Proof Good CD-R/RW/DVD-ROM/DVD±R/RW reading speed Fast DVD-ripping speed Fast Dae ripping speed HD-Burn Option Can playback/rip audio protected discs Writes most DVD+R at 8x	Cannot backup SafeDisc protected games CD error correction could be stronger HD-Burn compatibility Writing quality with some CD-R

The new Optorite DD0405 has no basic differences from the previously released DD0401. This means that the new Optorite is a trusted device for DVD and CD writing tasks but not a good solution as a game protected backup writer.

The retail version of the drive does not include much except from the writer. We believe that all drives should include in their retail packages some blank media, something that was not the case with the Optorite.

The new DD0405 was fast on the reading tests of all CD-R media we tested but what was really a plus for the dual writer were the reported seek times. With all tested media, the Optorite was the fastest in all seek times among the drives used in the comparison.

With the CD error correction tests, the Optorite DD0405 returned the best results possible with the Audio CD-Check test disc. The drive managed to pass successfully all five levels of the test and that means that users who will choose the drive will be able to playback old and scratched audio CD-R media. The other two drives of the roundup, Memorex True-8x and Nec ND-2500A reached up to 4th and 2nd level respectively.

The Abex CD Error correction discs did not produce acceptable results and awarded the drive with a below average score.

The results with the DVD reading tasks were simply acceptable, since the Optorite managed to reach the manufacturers specifications. The seek times for all tested DVD media were very fast, just as with CD-R media, and this is another plus for the drive.

One of the weakest points of the Optorite DD0405 was with DVD error correction. Although some improvements have been implemented in comparison with the previous Optorite drive, the new drive exhibited problematic behavior especially with Dual Layer DVD-ROM media, focused in the second defective layer. Despite the fact that all tests ended without errors, the Optorite needed much more time to complete these tasks. The behavior, however, will not affect normal play back of DVD-Video (movies). On the other hand there were no reading problems during the switch layer operation.

In comparison with the previous Optorite DD0401, the new version of the Optorite has no changes with regard to the backup capabilities of protected games. The ripping process of the games lasted much more that we expected while on the writing part, the Optorite DD0405 managed to backup successfully only the oldest version of Safedisc protected game we tested and this was done only when we used the Amplify option of the recording software.

To mention some of the good points of the Optorite, we will report the performance with the DAE tests. The reading speed for DAE media is 40x and that was confirmed from all tests. Optorite was also fast on the ripping tasks, with support for reading CD-Text, Subchannel Data and Lead In/Lead out information. The drive was awarded with a perfect score on the DAE tests and managed to rip the audio protected discs.

With CD-R writing, the 40x maximum writing speed is the current maximum available for a dual 8x DVD writer. The user will be able to record a full data disc in about 3:10 minutes with the the quality of the disc being fair. The quality check showed increased Pit and Land values, which were confirmed by the C1 / C2 error measurements, at least with specific CD-R media. Here, a new firmware should contribute to improve this behavior.

The HD-Burn function had no changes from the earlier DD0401. The ISO compilation fitting 1.4Gb on a single 80min CD-R, was written successfully with the Optorite drive, but the disc was not readable with other drives.

As a DVD writer, the Optorite wrote all certified 8x tested media at the maximum available speed of 8x, while the quality measurements were slightly increased being borderline, especially with the PI measurements. Despite this, all discs were fully readable. Here we should add the contribution of the latest firmware release, v150E, that offered the drive very low recording times for DVD+R (8x P-CAV).

Available on the market for less than $100, the DD0405 is a good solution for DVD recording.