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Appeared on: Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Memorex True 8Xn


1. Retail Package - Installation

Memorex True 8Xn external DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 1

Memorex, better known for its media production, has for a while now added production of DVD burners into its repertoire. The True 8Xn, an external drive for DVD writing, offers dual format DVD recording.

The Memorex True 8Xn external drive has one USB 2.0 and two IEEE 1394 connections and looks like a good purchase for users needing a fancy, low noise and low priced external writing device compatible with the dual recording format at 8X writing speed.

 

- Drive specifications

The True 8Xn offers 8X DVD±R, 4X DVD±RW, 32X CD-R & 16X CD-RW writing. In addition, it supports 12X DVD-ROM and 40X CD-ROM reading specifications. The external case also features an analogue audio output.

Interface External 1xUSB 2.0 / 2xIEEE-1394
Supported media for writing DVD+/-RW, DVD+/-R,CD-R, CD-RW
Write speed DVD+RW Max. 4X
DVD-RW Max. 4X
DVD+R Max. 8X
DVD-R Max. 8X
CD-R Max. 32X
CD-RW Max. 16X
Read speed

DVD-ROM 12X
DVD+/-RW Max 4X
DVD+/-R Max. 8X
CD-R/CD-RW Max. 24X speed
CD-ROM 40X

Buffer memory 2MB
Disc read/play compatibility DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, CD-Extra, CD-I, CD-ROM, Audio CD, CD-R/RW, CD-ROM XA, CD Text, Photo CD, Hybrid CD
Installation Horizontal
Weight 6 lbs
Dimensions ( W x D x H) 12"x 6.13" x 9.50"

NeroInfoTool gives us a quick look at the drive's specs. The drive uses a 2MB buffer memory and supports buffer underrun technology for both CD/DVD formats, RAW DAO 96 writing (CD) with firmware v1.G1 that was used for all our tests. Mount Rainier isn't supported.

DVDInfoPro gives us some additional details about the drive's abilities as well:

- The package

The retail box includes the external drive, one USB 2.0 cable, one firewire IEEE-1394a cable, the external power supply unit and one CD with Nero Express Software Suite offering: Nero Express 6, NeroVision Express 2, InCD, Nero BackItUp, Nero ShowTime, Nero Cover Designer, Nero Recode 2, Nero Media Player, PhotoShow Deluxe. Also included are a quick installation guide and software manual.

 

 

The external case has a unique look (see photo above), and plays with silver & black colors. On the front panel, there are the brand name next to the 8X logo, CD-RW, DVD-R/RW and DVD+RW logos, all on the loading tray, under which we have the activity led, emergency eject hole, phone jack, volume level control and the eject button.

The rear side has the analogue audio output connectors (Left-Right), two firewire IEEE 1394, one USB 2.0, the DC in and the power on/off switch.

On the drive's label located topside, is available the manufacturing date (February 2004) and the manufacturing line (Made in Malaysia). We can see that the drive is the NEC model ND-2500A.

After removing the bottom plate, we can see the basic layout of the drive's PCB. The main chipset is from NEC, and the entire board is the same as the board found in the NEC 2500A drive.

Click for bigger picture

The drive was installed and under WindowsXP recognized as "Memorex DVD+/-RW True8Xn". Below is a picture from Nero Burning Rom, showing the drive's characteristics.

- Testing software

In order to perform our tests we used:

  1. Nero CD-DVD Speed v2.20
  2. Nero Info Tool v2.11
  3. KProbe v2.1.0 (Reader: LiteOn SOHW-812S firmware vUSOJ, Reading speed 4X CLV)
  4. PlexTools v2.14 (Reader: Plextor PX-712A v1.01, Reading speed 2~5X CAV)
  5. DVDInfoPro v2.47
  6. Nero Burning Rom v6.3.1.10

2. Transfer Rate Reading Tests

Memorex True 8Xn external DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 2

Transfer Rate Reading Tests

- CD Format

The Memorex drive supports up to 40X reading speed for the CD-ROM format. Below are the transfer rate graphs compared with the Pioneer DVR-S706:

As we can see from our tests, there isn't a lot of difference between the drives with any of pressed CD, CDR or USCD-RW media. the drive has acceptable transfer rates and seek times.

- DVD Format

The Memorex drive offers good transfer rates with SL (Single Layer) DVD-ROM media.

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 the outer rim for each layer. Memorex has a good average transfer rate.

The Memorex True 8Xn doesn't read dual layer OTP test media.

Memorex didn't complete the reading test with the DVD+R media we used. With DVD-R and DVD +/- RW media, the results were more encouraging with the drive offering good transfer rates.

DVD video DL ripping performance is quite good, yielding a speed slightly higher than the Pioneer, at 3508 kb/s.

- Appendix

Nero CD-DVD Speed Graphs


3. CD Error Correction Tests

Memorex True 8Xn external DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 3

CD Error Correction Tests

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

- ABEX TCD-721R

Errors total
Num: 3499144
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)
Num: 126824
Avg: -72.4 dB(A)
Max: -9.6 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples
Num: 10844
Avg: 3.2 Samples
Max: 1005 Samples
Skips Samples
Num: 31
Avg: 48.2 Samples
Max: 642 Samples
Total Test Result
58.9 points (out of 100.0 maximum)

The Memorex drive performed poorly with the ABEX TCD-721R. The total error count of 3,499,144 is very high as are the mutting samples and skipped samples. The maximum error (loudness) level of -9.6 dB(A) is also very high.. The total test result score of 58.9 points is very poor.

- ABEX TCD-726

Errors total
Num: 359249
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)
Num: 25523
Avg: -79.3 dB(A)
Max: -13.1 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples
Num: 1680
Avg: 5.2 Samples
Max: 1005 Samples
Skips Samples
Num: 5
Avg: 34.8 Samples
Max: 66 Samples
Total Test Result
66.1 points (out of 100.0 maximum)

The Memorex drive had poor performance even with the ABEX 726 disc, logging in a total result score of 66.1 points.

- 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 difficult tests. These tracks are referred as Check Level-1 through Check Level-5.

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

Error Level
1
2
3
4
5
Memorex True8Xn
5/5
5/5
0/5
0/5
0/5

The drive passed only the first two Check Levels of the test. The performance reveals less than average sound reproduction and error correction. The fifth level includes an error size of 1.500mm, and the drive produced many audible clicks.

- Conclusion

Test Disc
Reading Speed
Score
ABEX TCD-721R
Max
58.9
ABEX TCD-726
66.1
Average Score
62.5

The drive offers poor error correction with CD media. The final average score of 62.5 out of 100 is very low indeed.


4. DVD Error Correction Tests

Memorex True 8Xn external DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 4

DVD Error Correction Tests

In the following tests we examined the DVD reading capabilities of the Memorex 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 drive did not read the whole disc, and we see that errors were produced at the end of the defective area on the disc's surface where the reading process stopped.

ABEX TDR-825

This is also a single sided, single layer DVD-ROM of a 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 defected areas of dimensions ranging from 0.5 to 1.1 mm. There are also fingerprints sized between 65 and 75 micrometers.

The ABEX TDR-825 disc was read without any problems. The test was finished successfully without errors.

- 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, in both layers.

The drive didin't make it past the ABEX TDR-841 test disc either, producing many read errors and in general having a lot of problems with the defects.

ABEX TDR-845

The disc is a single sided, dual layer DVD-ROM disc of a capacity of 8.5GB. The only difference between the TDR-845 and the TDR-841 is that the first includes defected areas and fingerprints. The dimensions of the defected areas range from 0.5 to 1.1 mm and the fingerprints are sized from 65 to 75 micro meters.

Again a lot of problems with the defects, and while the drive finished reading, it produced a lot of errors.

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 discs check the layer switch operation from layer 0 to layer 1 and also include test pictures and test signals for DVD sound files. The current TDV-541 checks also the error correcting capabilities of the drive and includes scratches from 0.4 to 3.0 mm.

The drive couldn't read the ABEX TDV-541 test disc at all.

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 has also 65 - 75 micro meters fingerprints.

Black dots and fingerprints on the disc's surface created some reading problems, but the drive finished the task successfully.


5. Protected Disc Tests

Memorex True 8Xn external DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 5

Protected Disc Tests
- Reading Tests

To create the image of the various protected titles to the hard disk, we used Alcohol 120% software and the appropriate settings, according to the protection type of the inserted discs. Below you can see the duration of each process as well as the transfer rate in each case, which should prove of interesting for many users.

Game Title
Protection Scheme
Duration
Reading speed
PSX "NBA Jam Extreme"
Lybcrypt
0:67 min
1348 sectors/sec
Serious Sam The Second Encounter
SafeDisc v.2.50.051
34:00 min
164 sectors/sec
VRally II
SecuROM v.2
3:41 min
1555 sectors/sec

-Writing Tests

The Memorex drive 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 having the latest software patches installed. After making the images of the various titles onto the hard disk, we burned them (maximum speed) with Alcohol 120% v1.9.2.1705. Two different discs were created for each title: one with the "Bypass EFM error" enabled and one with the function disabled.

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

Drive

Fifa 2004
SD v3.1

Sims Superstar SD v2.9
Sims Unleashed SD v2.8
Serious Sam-Second Encounter
SD v2.51.051
Max Payne
SD v2.51.020
EFM OFF
EFM ON
EFM OFF
EFM ON
EFM OFF
EFM ON
EFM OFF
EFM ON
EFM OFF
EFM ON
Toshiba
SD-M1502
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Creative CD5233E
No
No
Yes
Yes

Ricoh
MP5308D

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

The Memorex drive doesn`t produce working backups with versions v2.8xd up. Partially working backups were produced with SafeDisc v2.51.051.


6. DAE Tests

Memorex True 8Xn external DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 6

DAE Tests

- Pressed and CDR AudioCD

The drive supports up to 40X CAV DAE speed. When using a pressed AudioCD and its CD-R copy, with EAC, we logged the following results:

The Memorex drive's results are very similar to those of the Pioneer external drive with the test discs we used. As EAC reports, the drive can`t cache DAE but supports accurate stream and reports C2 error information.

- Advanced DAE Quality

Nero CD Speed Advanced DAE test results awarded 100% score for the Memorex True 8Xn with an average reading speed of 24.28X. The drive supports reading of CD Text and SubChannel data but doesn't support Read Leadin / Leadout data.

- Reading 90/ 99mins AudioCDs

With our 90min audio CD, the drive read the entire disc but dropped speed after the 80 minute mark. It was unable to read the 99 minute audio CD.


7. Protected AudioCD Tests

Memorex True 8Xn external DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 7

Protected AudioCDs

For the test procedure we used three audio discs with different audio copy protections. The ripping process performed for all protected Audio discs performed with Exact Audio Copy v0.9beta5.

The tested protected Audio discs were:

The Cactus Data Shield 200, contains artificial errors that are not easy to bypassed from the reader, while the Key2Audio contains a second session, causing problems to readers when try to read the Table Of Contents (TOC).

The tested tasks are:

The Memorex drive recognized up to the 12th Audio track of CDS200 disc,

and with the "Retrieve Native TOC" option removed the 13th track.

The test results are shown at the following table:

Key2Audio
CDS200
Memorex True 8X
Ripping process completed, EAC reports no problems, Read&Test CRC comparison successful for all tracks
Ripping process completed, EAC reports no problems, Read&Test CRC comparison not the same for all tracks

The Memorex will rip both Key2Audio & CDS200 protected audio discs. Both discs were recognized and their contents were ripped at the maximum speed. However, the drive dosen't rip 100% accurately CD200 discs since the Read&Test CRC check comparison was not the same for all tracks. No problems were observed with Key2Audio discs.

This is a "special" CDS200 build, since it doesn't contain any artificial errors during the ripping process. Most problems occur when trying to write the ripped wav files, since the produced CD-R disc contains C2 and CU errors! This "problem" is rumored to be connected with specific chipset weaknesses..

We ripped the disc contents with EAC and burned the produced wav with the latest Nero version as AudioCD+CD-Text. The burned media was checked for C1/C2 errors with PlexTools/KProbe software using Plextor PX-712A (firmware v1.01).

CDS 200.0.4 - 3.0 build 16a
Memorex True 8Xn
Reading and writing performed without any error

The C1/C2 error graphs shows that the drive managed to produce a 100% error free disc.

Lets try to extract all wav files with the Plextor PX-712A and PlexTool DAE Error Correction 5th Level enabled:

No errors were reported after extracting all files. The drive's error correction mechanism corrects any error.


8. CD Recording Tests

Memorex True 8Xn external DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 8

CD Recording Tests

The Memorex True 8Xn supports 32X CD-R and 16X US-RW maximum recording speeds.

The drive supports 4X, 8X, 16X, 20X, 24X and 32X writing speeds. Below are the recording speeds as detected by Nero Burning Rom.

According to Nero CDSpeed, the drive reached the maximum 32X speed. The test started at 16X and finished at 32.05X having an average speed of 27.36X. Click on the image below to see the whole graph.

Click for full graph

For the burning tests we created an 80min data compilation through Nero Burning Rom, recording the data on a 700MB disc. The Memorex drive finished the task in 3:39 minutes for the maximum 32X writing speed wheras the Pionner needed 4:26 minutes as the maximum writing occurs at 24X writing speed.

The writing performance did not vary at all when we used different media brands, as our tests showed. Below is a chart demonstrating all recording times with various media.

The best performance came with Mam 80min 52X media with 219secs (3:39mins). The highest recording time was with CMC 80min 48X & TraxData 80min 52X media with 221secs (3:41mins).

- Other features

Overburning writing
Up to 89:57min
CD text reading/writing
Yes

The True 8Xn supports only 16X rewriting speeds, with Ultra Speed Rewritable Media (US-RW).

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

Click for full graph

The drive starts the writing task at 16.01X with CLV mode.

We also used Nero Burning Rom in order to burn a data disc with 24X US-RW media from Verbatim. The data compilation we burned had a size of 651 MB and the duration of the recording process was 5:11 minutes.

- CD-RW Mount Rainier

The Memorex True 8Xn doesn`t support the Mount Rainier feature.


9. 3T Jitter Tests

Memorex True 8Xn external DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 9

3T Jitter Tests

On this page you can see the 3T Pit & Land Jitter graphs using various media burned at 32X CAV writing speed.

- 3T Pit results

The True 8Xn performed satisfactorily with most media used. The highest average 3T Pit jitter reached 34.89nsec, which is just below the Red Book limit (35nsec). The best results came with Taiyo Yuden 48X CD-R media, which was the only media to stay below the 35nsec limit for the entire disc.

- 3T Land results

The average 3T Land Jitter measurements were also good. The maximum 3T Land Jitter reached 34nsec and again, Taiyo Yuden 48X CD-R media produced the best results with 31.78nsec.

In the following page we check the C1 and C2 error rates of the same discs, to come up with more specific conclusions.


10. C1 / C2 Error Measurements

Memorex True 8Xn external DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 10

C1 / C2 Error Measurements

We measured the C1 / C2 error rate on the recorded discs we burned at the various supported writing speeds. The software we used is PleXTools Professional v2.14, and particularly the built-in Q-Check utility. The reader was the Plextor PX-712A (firmware v1.01)

Verbatim 80min 52X CD-R @ 32X

CMC Magnetics 80min 48X @ 32X

Mam Golden Dye 80min 52X @ 32X

TraxData 80min 52X @ 32X

TY 80min 48X @ 32X

- Summary

The Memorex needs to improve its writing quality with CD-R media since with three of the media, there were C2 errors. Acceptable results occured with CMC 48X & TraxData 52X media.

- Appendix

Media Label
ID Code
Manufacturer Name
Lead Out TIme
Verbatim 80min 52X
97m34s23f
Verbatim
79m59s73f
CMC Magnetics 80min 48X
97m26s66f
CMC Magnetics
79m59s71f
Mam 80min 52X
97m27s58f
Mitsui Chemicals
79m59s74f
TY 80min 48X
97m24s 1f
Taiyo Yuden
79m59s72f
TraxData 80min 52X
97m15s17f
Ritek
79m59s70f

11. DVD Recording Tests

Memorex True 8Xn external DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 11

DVD Recording Tests
- Writing Performance

Memorex supports DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW writing. The maximum supported speed for the DVD±R is 8X P-CAV and 4X CLV for DVD±RW media. Nero Burning Rom reported speeds, are shown below.

Below are listed the media codes supported for the ±R/RW formats with recording speeds:

DVD-R
[MCC 01RG20 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[FUJIFILM02 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0
[TYG01 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[TYG02 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[TYG03 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[TYG04 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[SONY08D1 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[SONY08D2 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[[MXL RG03 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[MXL RG04 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[RITEKG05 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[RITEKG06 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[PVCR001002 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[PVCR001003 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[PVCR002001 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[FUJIFILM03 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[MCC 02RG20 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[MCC 03RG20 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[TTG02 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
[TTG03 ] 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0

DVD+R
[YUDEN000T00 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[TDK 001 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[MAXELL 001 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[YUDEN000T01 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[RICOHJPNR02 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[MCC 003 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[SONY D11 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[PRODISC R03 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[MAXELL 002 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[CMC MAG E01 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0
[Philips 081 ] 2.4 4.0 6.0 8.0

DVD-RW
[MCC 01RW4X ] 2.0 4.0
[JVC0VictorD7] 2.0 4.0

DVD+RW
PRODISC W02] 2.4 4.0
[DAXON D41] 2.4 4.0
[INFODISCA10] 2.4 4.0
[CMC MAG W02] 2.4 4.0
[RITEK 004] 2.4 4.0
[SONY S11] 2.4 4.0
[PHILIPS 041] 2.4 4.0
[MKM A02] 2.4 4.0
[RICOHJPNW11] 2.4 4.0

By using Nero CD-DVD Speed's "create disc" function with CMC 8X DVD-R media, we are able to see the 8X P-CAV recording technology being used by the recorder.

Click for full graph

The drive starts writing at 4.13X until 850MB where it shifts up to 6X, then at 2.2GB where it further shifts to 8X and stays there till the end. The average writing speed is around 6.80X. This recording strategy is used for both DVD±R formats.

- Burning Tests

We burned 4315MB of data on various DVD±R, DVD±RW media. We used the maximum allowed writing speed for each disc. The best recording times for the DVD-R format came with MCC 4X media at 9:17mins.

With DVD+R media, best recording time came with TraxData 8X at 9:13mins. The True 8Xn didn`t manage to overburn DVDs.

Below are all the burning results with the various media types used.

Disc Label
Disc Information
Max Allowed Writing Speed
Total Recording Time (mins)
Taiyo Yuden 8X
TYG02
8X
9:18
MKM/Verbatim 8X
MCC 02RG20
8X
9:18
CMC 8X
CMC MAG.AE1
8X
9:18
TraxData 4X
RITEKG04
4X
14:01
MMore 4X
MBI 01RG20
4X
14:00
MCC 4X
MCC 01RG20
8X
9:17
Verbatim 4X RW
MCC 01RW4X
4X
14:03
Disc Label
Disc Information
Max Allowed Writing Speed
Total Recording Time (mins)
Taiyo Yuden 8X
YUDEN000 T02
8X
9:17
MCC 4X
MCC 002
4X
13:50
CMC 4X
CMC MAG F01
4X
13:51
TraxData 8X
RITEK R03
8X
9:13
MMore 4X
MBIPG101R03
4X
13:54
TraxData 4X RW
RICOHJPN W11
4X
13:25

- DVD Overburning Tests

In order to test the drive's DVD overburning capabilities, we used two media types, one CMC 8X DVD-R and one CMC 8X DVD+R. As you can see, the drive refused to start the test with DVD-R media,

while with DVD+R, the test started but when it reached 4.38GB, stopped with an error message.

The Memorex True 8Xn drive cannot overburn with either DVD±R formats.

- DVD+MRW Tests

The drive doesn`t support the Mount Rainier feature.


12. KProbe/PlexTools Scans - Page 1

Memorex True 8Xn external DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 12

KProbe/PlexTools Scans - Page 1

In the following screenshots you can see the PI/PIF scans for the DVD+R/RW media we burned with the Memorex True 8Xn. The software we used for all measurements is the KProbe v2.1.0, and the reader is the LiteOn LDW-811S with "HS0Q patched" firmware, being able to read DVD±R/RW media up to 8X CAV. All scans have been performed at 8X with PI/PIF Sum8. Note that LiteOn drives cannot report PO but PIF errors, despite what KProbe reports. In addition, all discs have been scanned with PX-712A v1.01 using PlexTools v2.13 for comparison levels.

Comparing the KProbe/PlexTools scans we can see major differences in the reported PI/PIF error rates. The main explanation is that we have two different readers, with different pickup/chipset combinations, scanning at different reading speeds (8X CAV for KProbe, 2X CLV for PlexTools). It's interesting to see the disc scanned at low & high speed, since when error rate increases at a specific disc area, it should appear in both scans...else it would be, perhaps, a reading glitch of the tested reader.

Note: PI/PIF errors only give us a quick look at the error rate of the burned media. Those scans should be taken not as the absolute criteria of the burning quality but as an indication level.

CMC 4X DVD+R @ 4X

MCC 4X DVD+R @ 8X

MMore 4X DVD+R @ 4X

Taiyo Yuden 8X DVD+R @ 8X

TraxData 8X DVD+R @ 8X

TraxData 4X DVD+RW @ 4X

- Summary

The PI/PIF scans shows that the Memorex True 8Xn performed well with the burned DVD+R media but with the DVD+RW media we have a high number of Parity Inner Errors.

- Appendix

Disc Label
Disc Information
Max Allowed Writing Speed
Total Recording Time (mins)
Taiyo Yuden 8X
YUDEN000 T02
8X
9:17
MCC 4X
MCC 002
4X
13:50
CMC 4X
CMC MAG F01
4X
13:51
TraxData 8X
RITEK R03
8X
9:13
MMore 4X
MBIPG101R03
4X
13:54
TraxData 4X RW
RICOHJPN W11
4X
13:25

13. KProbe/PlexTools Scans - Page 2

Memorex True 8Xn external DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 13

KProbe/PlexTools Scans - Page 2

In the following screenshots you can see the PI/PIF scans for the DVD-R/RW media we burned with the True 8Xn. The software we used for all measurements is the KProbe v2.1.0, and the reader is a LiteOn LDW-811S with "HS0Q patched" firmware, being able to read DVD±R/RW media up to 8X CAV. All scans have been performed at 8X with PI/PIF Sum8. Note that LiteOn drives cannot report PO but PIF errors, despite what KProbe reports. In addition all discs have been scanned with PX-712A v1.01 using PlexTools v2.13 for comparison levels.

Comparing the KProbe/PlexTools scans we can see major differences at the reported PI/PIF error rates. The main explanation is that we have two different readers, with different pickup/chipset combination, scanning at different reading speeds (8X CAV for KProbe, 2X CLV for PlexTools). Its interesting to see the disc scanned at low & high speed, since when error rate increases at a specific disc area, it should appear at both scans...else it would be, perhaps, a reading glitch of the tested reader.

Note: PI/PIF errors only give us a quick look at the error rate of the burned media. Those scans should be taken not as the absolute criteria of the burning quality but as an indication level.

Taiyo Yuden 8X DVD-R @ 8X

TraxData 4X DVD-R @ 4X

CMC Magnetics 8X DVD-R @ 8X

MKM/Verbatim 8X DVD-R @ 8X

MMore 4X DVD-R @ 4X

Mitsubishi Chemicals 4X DVD-R @ 8X

Verbatim 4X DVD-RW @ 4X

- Summary

The Memorex burns DVD-Rs with low PI/PIF error levels offering compatibility with the majority of the media we used. Only with Verbatim 4X DVD-RW the writing quality isn`t so good as there are some PIF errors and a high number of PI errors.

- Appendix

Disc Label
Disc Information
Max Allowed Writing Speed
Total Recording Time (mins)
Taiyo Yuden 8X
TYG02
8X
9:18
MKM/Verbatim 8X
MCC 02RG20
8X
9:18
CMC 8X
CMC MAG.AE1
8X
9:18
TraxData 4X
RITEKG04
4X
14:01
MMore 4X
MBI 01RG20
4X
14:00
MCC 4X
MCC 01RG20
8X
9:17
Verbatim 4X RW
MCC 01RW4X
4X
14:03

14. BookType Setting

Memorex True 8Xn external DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 14

BookType Setting

The Memorex True 8Xn external drive doesn't support BookType Setting for the DVD+/-R & DVD+/-RW formats.


15. Conclusion

Memorex True 8Xn external DVD±R/RW Recorder - Page 15

Conclusion

The Memorex True 8Xn drive is aimed at users who need an external drive, offering the flexibility to be used on different computer systems.

The drive performed well, yielding low seek times in the CD reading tests. The error correction test results however, showed poor performance.

The drive managed to playback only some of our DVD test discs, reporting errors with many of our test media as in the case of the OTP DVD dual layer & DVD+R test discs. The reading speed was acceptable with both recordable and pressed media, along with good seek times but the drive had poor error correction performance with the defective discs. Only the ABEX TDR-825 single sided & single layer DVD-ROM media passed the test whereas the other three DVD error correction tests never finished, producing a high number of read errors.

The drive showed poor performance with our protected games CDs. The drive doesn`t support the latest SafeDisk2 versions and had only partially working backups with SafeDisc v2.51.051. Ripping times for the various protected game titles was acceptable.

The drive returned good performance with the CDS200 protection scheme as the ripping process completed with no problems but reading & testing CRC comparison was not the same for all tracks. Key2Audio protection ripping process completed with no problems as well as reading & testing CRC comparison. Reading and writing completed without any error for Cactus Data Shield 200.0.4 - 3.0 build 16a (Aiko Katsukino - The Love Letter). The drive doesn't support 99min AudioCDs but read the 90min audio CD.

The Memorex drive has average writing quality with CD-R media. Three out of the five media we used reported C2 errors. On the other hand, jitter levels were about average for all media we burned. Overburning is supported up to 89:57min. We expect that all this will be fixed with a new firmware upgrade.

The recording quality with DVD+/-R media is good with low PI/PIF error levels. With DVD+RW we found high PI & for DVD-RW high PI with some PIF errors.

Retail Price: $150.

- The Good

- The Bad

- Like to be fixed



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