1. Retail Package - Installation
NEC ND-2510A Recorder -
Page 1
After
the big success of the ND-2500A drive, NEC released in June of 2004 the ND-2510A.
The ND-2510A is able to write up to 8.5GB on the new double layer DVD+R9 media.
This multispin drive supports both +R/+RW and -R/RW discs along with DVD+R9
discs
at 2.4X. Although there are drives on sale that can record a full disc in less
time than the ND-2510A, NEC's main interest is burning quality, and not so
much the speed.
The ND-2510A takes advantage of NEC's "high resolution
writing strategy" and an improved version of NEC's "Active
Optimized Power Control" (Active OPC), the "high resolution writing
strategy". NEC further includes its own buffer underrun
error prevention technology.
- Features
The NEC
ND-2510A can read at 12X max DVD-ROM discs and 40X max CD-ROM discs. It can
write at 8X for both -R and +R DVD formats, and can write/rewrite at 4X
-RW and +RW discs. The recording speed for DVD+R9 discs reaches 2.4X. As a
CD recorder,
it can record at 32X max when CD-R discs are used, and 16X max with CD-RW discs.
Unfortunately, this drive does not support DVD-RAM media.
- Specifications
| Drive |
NEC ND-2510A |
| Media |
DVD |
CD |
| Transfer Rate Read |
5...12x (max 16200 kb/s) |
17...40x (2550-6000 kb/s) |
| Transfer Rate Write |
DVD-R 8x ZCLV (max 11040 kb/s) |
CD-R 32x ZCLV (max 4800 kb/s) |
| DVD-RW 4x CLV (5520 kb/s) |
| DVD+R 8x ZCLV (max 11040 kb/s) |
CD-RW 16x CLV (max 2400 kb/s) |
| DVD+RW 4x CLV (5520 kb/s) |
| DVD+R9 2.4X CLV (3300 KByte/s) |
| Access Time |
140ms |
120ms |
| Mechanism |
motorized Tray load mechanism for horizonal and vertical use |
| Interface |
IDE / ATAPI |
| Burst Transfer Rate |
PIO mode 4 / Ultra DMA 33 |
| Cashe Memory |
2MB |
| Audio |
headphone jack and volume control at front plus digital-out and line-out at the back (MPC compatible) |
| Media/Modes supported |
DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-Video, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, CD-Audio, CD Extra, CD Text, CD-IReady, CD-Bridge, Photo-CD, VideoCD, Hybrid CD |
| Writing methods |
DAO(disc at once), SAO(session at once), TAO(track at once) with zero gap, variable or fixed packet, multisession |
| Compatibility |
MPC Level 3, MultiRead, PC2001 |
| Weight |
1.02kgr |
| Dimensions |
148mm x 42mm x 190mm |
The drive does not support Mount Rainier and it uses the well known RPC II
region control, allowing a user to change the drive's region at most 5 times.
Below are the drive's main specs as given by NeroInfoTool, VSO Inspector and
DVDInfoPro:
- The drive
The European retail package includes an installation guide. Also included
is Nero 6 software for writing, InCD for packet writing, Nero
Wave Editor for sound editing, NeroVision Express 2 and Nero Recode for authoring,
Nero Showtime for DVD playback, Nero Digital (MPEG4), Nero BackIt Up and Nero
Cover Designer..
The IDE cable, audio cable and mounting screws are also included.
We received one black colored and one white colored
drive from NEC. You can see from the pictures above that the faceplates not
only differ in color, but the DVD+R DL logo is shown only on the
black colored drive. However, we removed the screws and
covers from both drives and found
that the the drives are 100% identical. Maybe all drives released
from hereon will display the DVD+R DL.
On the rear panel you will find the analogue and digital
audio outputs (SPDIF), the IDE slave/master selection pins, 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 pictures. Click on the photos
for
an enlarged view.
The drive uses the same chipset as the ND-2500A, namely the D63630.
Clicking on the image above will reveal a high resolution image. Notice that
inside the ND-2510A, there is a white barcode label with 2500A written on it!
The following picture shows the laser lens of the ND-2510A . Clicking on the
photo will open a higher resolution picture.
It should be noticed that the laser head unit of the
ND-2510A is exactly the same as that of the ND-2500A drive! Clicking on the
above image will
show a high resolution picture. For comparison reasons, you can also see a
picture of the ND-2500A
laser lens here.
- Installation
The device was connected to our test PC and was identified
as "NEC DVD_RW ND-2510A" under
WinXP. All tests were done with firmware revision v2.15.
In this review, we will be comparing the drive with the LiteOn SOHW-832S since both drives have similar specifications.
- Testing software
In order to perform our tests we used:
- Nero CD-DVD Speed v3.12
- CDVD Benchmark v1.21
- ExactAudioCopy v0.9 beta5
- Nero Info Tool v2.24
- KProbe v2.2.0 (Reader: LiteOn LDW-811S firmware vHS0Q, LiteOn SOHD-167T firmware 9S13, LiteOn XJ-HD165H firmware CH11, and LiteOn LTD-163 firmware GH5S, Reading speed 8X CAV)
- PlexTools v2.15 (Reader: Plextor PX-712A firmware v1.01, Reading speed 8X CLV for CD-R)
- DVDInfoPro v2.54
- Nero Burning Rom v6.3.1.17
- DVD Decrypter 3.2.2.0
- CopyToDVD 3.0.19.33
2. Transfer Rate Reading Tests
NEC ND-2510A Recorder - Page 2
Transfer Rate Reading Tests
- CD Format
The NEC ND-2510A supports up to 40X reading speed. Below are the transfer
rate graphs, along with the comparison with the LiteOn 832S.
Although the ND-2510A was slightly slower than the LiteOn, the
speed difference is negligible.
Only with Ultra Speed CDRW media did the NEC's
drive perform faster, but again, the difference is only marginal.
- DVD Format
With pressed single layer media, the LiteOn 832S
was faster than the ND-2510A. NEC's drive had speed values similar to the
Plextor PX-708A.
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 range, for each layer.
The NEC ND-2510A was again slower than the LiteOn 832S, and this time the speed
differences were
more pronounced
than before.
The graph shown above indicates the reading performance of
the ND-2510 with OTP dual layer media. The first layer of an OTP dual layer
DVD-ROM is read exactly the same way as the first layer of the PTP disc we
tested previously.
The difference here is the reading strategy of the second layer of the disc.
The beginning of the second layer is located in the outer part of the disc,
so the drive starts reading from the outer tracks toward the inner part of
the disc. The average reading speed was 5.41X, with a low value
of 2.87X and a peak value of 7.21X.
As shown above, the NEC ND-2510A continued to be slower than the LiteOn 832S
even with DVD-R/-RW/+R/+RW.
NEC's official firmware for the ND drive series includes rip lock. This
means that the drive can achieve a higher speed, but the firmware prevents
it from ripping
at anything higher than a given value of 5.2~5.5X. This explains the big
ripping speed difference shown above. There is no official firmware until
now
to disable
this speed barrier, but there are several versions of hacked firmware versions
over the internet.
Nero CD-DVD Speed Graphs
3. CD Error Correction Tests
NEC ND-2510A Recorder -
Page 3
CD 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:
3081650
|
|
Errors
(Loudness) dB(A)
|
Num: 130508 |
Avg:
-74.0 dB(A) |
Max:
-35.7 dB(A) |
|
Error
Muting Samples
|
Num: 9335 |
Avg:
1.0 Samples |
Max: 40 Samples |
|
Skips
Samples
|
Num: 0 |
Avg:
0.0 Samples |
Max:
0 Samples |
Total Test Result |
69.8 points (out of 100.0 maximum) |
|
C2 Accuracy |
99.9 % |
At first glance, the performance with this disc does not seem good. Most
drives start producing errors at least after having passed the 12 minute mark.
The total error count is very high, but the maximum loudness error level
of -35.7dB is quite
reasonable
(although
higher than that reported for the ND-2500A) and the muting samples count is
low while there were no skipped samples. The final score of 69.8 is rather
good.
- ABEX TCD-726
|
Errors total
|
Num:
394060
|
|
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)
|
Num: 23453 |
Avg:
-77.7 dB(A) |
Max:
-25.1 dB(A) |
|
Error Muting Samples
|
Num: 1298 |
Avg:
7.7 Samples |
Max:
2946 Samples |
|
Skips Samples
|
Num: 2 |
Avg:
6.0 Samples |
Max: 6 Samples |
Total Test Result |
71.4 points (out of 100.0 maximum) |
C2 Accuracy |
99.7 % |
The Abex TCD-726 test disc is much easier for drives in general to read. That's
why the ND-2510A performed better than with the previous CD, but again there
is a high total error count and in general there are way too many errors for
this disc. The final score of 71.4 is very low and indicates not very good
performance here.
- 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 being reproduced through a software multimedia player (i.e.
Windows Media Player). Each level is considered as passed, if the tone
is smooth, continuous without interruptions, skipping or looping. The higher
the Check Level passed, the more reliable the sound reproduction
of the tested drive.
|
Error Level
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
|
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
3/5
|
0/5
|
0/5
|
The drive successfully passed only the first two out of the five check levels
for this test. An average drive
will pass the third level and the better drives will reach the fourth or even
fifth levels. Again, this is very disappointing performance from NEC.
- Summary
Generally we can say that the CD error correction capabilities of the NEC2510A
are average and should be fixed with newer firmware updates...
4. DVD Error Correction Tests
NEC ND-2510A Recorder -
Page 4
DVD Error Correction Tests
In the following tests we examine the DVD reading capabilities of the NEC
ND-2510A drive with scratched / defective DVD media. For
the tests we used CDVD Benchmark and Nero CDSpeed. The reference test media
comes from ALMEDIO.
- Single Layer media
ABEX TDR-821
This is a single sided, single layer DVD-ROM with a 4.7GB capacity, and its surface has an artificial scratch of dimensions varying from 0.4 to 3.0 mm.
The following transfer rate screenshot comes from the CDVD Benchmark
v1.21 transfer rate test.
The drive can read DVD media up to 12X. The scratched area did
not affect the reading process. NEC's drive showed very good behavior with
this disc, and no errors were reported.
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 defective areas of dimensions ranging from 0.5 to 1.1 mm.
There are also fingerprints sized between 65 and 75 micrometers.
Again, the ND-2510A had no problem reading this test disc. A continuous,
clean line was produced giving no errors during the reading process. The disc
was read
as if there were no defects at all.
- 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
. 
As is obvious from the screenshot above, the drive had problems reading
this test disc. The red dots indicate read errors during the reading process.
The
test
could
not
be
completed
by the drive because of unreadable data on the disc. Reading speed was reduced
automatically by the drive, but even so, the ND-2510A could not complete
the reading process for the entire disc. This is a weak point of the NEC
drive, making
it a
rather bad DVD Dual Layer reader.
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.
As it is well shown above, the ND-2510A was unable to read this test
discs well. Again, according to this reading behavior, the drive can be described
as a
bad reader. It started to read at 1.91X, lowered the reading speed for an instance,
and stopped reading near the end of the first layer, having reached a speed
of 4.49X.
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 meter fingerprints.
The ND-2510A started to read at 1.91X as before, and reached a maximum
speed of 4.59X. Although the reading speed was not as high as other 8X DVD
recorders, we were happy to see that no read errors were produced.
5. Protected Disc Tests
NEC ND-2510A 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.
Game Title |
Protection Scheme |
Duration |
Reading speed |
PSX "NBA Jam Extreme" |
Lybcrypt |
01:07 min |
1349 sectors/sec |
Serious Sam The Second Encounter v1.07 |
SafeDisc v.2.60.052 |
33:19 min |
167.7 sectors/sec |
VRally II |
SecuROM v.2 |
3:04 min |
1868 sectors/sec |
The NEC ND-2510A was very fast with the PSX disc (Lybcrypt).
During SecuROM v2 ripping, the drive was slightly slower than the 832S, which
proven to be a lot faster than Nec's drive when it comes to SafeDisc v2 discs.
However, all discs were read successfully, regardless
of the ripping speed.
- Writing Tests
ND-2510A supports the DAO-RAW writing mode. For checking the drive's EFM correction status, we used 5 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 more with the function disabled.
- Fifa 2004 - Safe Disc v3.1x
- The Sims Superstar - Safe Disc v2.9x
- The Sims Unleashed - Safe Disc v2.8x
- Serious Sam Second Encounter - Safe Disc v2.51.021
- Max Payne - Safe Disc v2.51.020
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 |
No |
Creative CD5233E |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
Ricoh
MP5308D |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Nec ND-2510A doesn`t produce working backups with the newest v2.8x, v2.9x and v3.1x builds. Partially working backups produced for SafeDisc v2.51.051 & v2.51.020.
6. DAE Tests
NEC ND-2510A Recorder -
Page 6
DAE Tests
- Pressed and CDR AudioCD results
The ND-2510A supports up to 40X CAV DAE speed. The following results were reported when using Exact Audio Copy.
The NEC ND-2510A had slower average speeds for both Pressed CD and CDR
media. NEC's drive can report C2 errors, but caching is not supported.
Future firmware updates might improve the average DAE speed of the drive.
Remember that the NEC ND-2500A reported similar average DAE speeds.
- Advanced DAE Quality
Good recorders can achieve a perfect quality score of 100, but the ND-2510A
achieved a score of 99.1, which is still acceptable although not perfect.
LiteOn's drive was again faster than the ND-2510A. The drive cannot read Leadin
data and
Leadout
data, but it can read CD Text and Subchannel data. The reported average speed
was 24.29X.
- Ripping 90mins AudioCDs
The drive can read/rip flawlessly 90min Audio CDs at an average speed of
23.38X (33.12X max speed). Reading speed was automatically reduced nearly at
the end of the reading process, after 77min up to 89min, but the drive read
the disc without errors.
- Ripping 99mins AudioCDs
The NEC ND-2510A could not even recognize the 99min Audio CD we used for
this test. The time length was wrong and the reading process could not start.
It should be noted that 99mins Audio CDs were also a problem with the
ND-2500A. These discs could not be ripped but at least they were recognized
by
the ND-2500A. This is a point that NEC should focus on in the next firmware
release.
7. Protected AudioCD Tests
NEC ND-2510A Recorder -
Page 7
Protected AudioCDs
For the test procedure we used three audio discs with different audio copy protections. The ripping process on all protected Audio discs was carried out with Exact Audio Copy v0.9beta5.
The tested protected Audio discs were:
- Sony's Key2Audio from "Celine Dion - New Day Has Come"
- Cactus Data Shield 200 from "Natalie Imbruglia - White Lilies Island"
The Cactus Data Shield 200, contains artificial errors that are not easily bypassed by the reader, while the Key2Audio contains a second session, causing problems for readers when trying to read the Table Of Contents (TOC).
The tested tasks are:
- Recognition of the inserted disc (Yes/No).
- Ripping all wavs (with EAC's Burst Mode) to the hard disk with copy&compare function.
- Listening to the produced wavs for any click/skips.
The ND-2510A recognized up to the 12th Audio track of the CDS200 disc,
and with the "Retrieve Native TOC" option removed the 13th Data track.
The test results are shown in the following table:
|
Key2Audio |
CDS200 |
NEC ND-2510A |
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 |
For Key2Audio CDs, the ND-2510A rips
100% accurately and EAC did not report timing problems while at the same
time, the Read&Test CRC check comparison was the same for all tracks.
The drive could not rip 100% accurately CD200 discs since the Read&Test
CRC check comparison was not the same for all tracks.
- Cactus Data Shield 200.0.4 - 3.0 build 16a (Aiko Katsukino - The Love Letter)
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 wav file produced from the Cactus Data Shield 200.0.4 - 3.0 build 16a disc with the latest Nero version as AudioCD+CD-Text. The burned media was checked for C1/C2 errors and for BETA/Jitter errors with PlexTools software using Plextor PX-712SA (firmware v1.03) and LiteOn LDW-811S (firmware vHS0Q).
|
CDS 200.0.4 - 3.0 build 16a |
BenQ DW1600A DL |
Reading performed without any errors, writing produces only two C2 errors. |
- C1C2 Error rate from PleXWriter PX-712SA (8X CLV reading speed)
- BETA/Jitter Error rate from PleXWriter PX-712SA
The C1/C2 error graph shows that the drive managed to produce a 100% error
free disc.
We then tried to extract all wav files with the Plextor PX-712SA and PlexTool DAE Error Correction 5th Level enabled:
No errors were reported after extracting all files. The drive can backup the
disc 100% accurately.
8. CD Recording Tests
NEC ND-2510A Recorder - Page 8
CD Recording Tests
- CD-R Format
The drive supports 4X, 8X, 16X (CLV), 20X, 24X and 32X (Zone-CLV) writing speeds.
According to Nero CDSpeed, the drive reached the maximum 32X speed. The
test started at 16X and finished at 32.05X with an average speed of 27.36X.
- CD-R Recording Times
We created an 80min data compilation with Nero Burning Rom
and recorded it on a 700MB disc. The NEC drive returned a time of 3:39 minutes
with 32x writing speed selected, which is a very good time (for 32x). Using
Taiyo Yuden media, the drive reported exactly the same results
as the ND-2500A.
Because the writing performance can vary according to the inserted media,
we present below a chart demonstrating all recording times with various
media. Again, the ND-2510A
and ND-2500A behavior was exactly the same.
The best performance came with Mam 80min 52X media at 3:39mins. The
highest recording time comes with CMC 80min 48X & TraxData 80min
52X media at 3:41mins.
- Other features
The ND-2510A supports overburning, writing up to 90min but only at 16X and can read/write CD-Text.
Unfortunately, the drive is incapable of overburning up to 99min,
giving the following error.
- CD-RW Format
The ND-2510A supports 4X, 8X and 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.
We also used Nero Burning Rom in order to burn a data disc
with 24x US-RW media from MC. The data compilation we burned had a size of
651 MB and the duration of the recording process was 5:03 minutes,
slightly faster than the ND-2500A that recorded the disc in 5:11 minutes.
- CD-RW Mount Rainier
The NEC ND-2510A doesn`t support the Mount Rainier feature.
9. Writing Quality Tests - 3T Jitter Tests
NEC ND-2510A Recorder - Page 9
Writing Quality Tests - 3T Jitter Tests
In the following page we present the 3T Pit & Land Jitter graphs when
using various media burned at 32X CAV writing speed.
- 3T Pit results
Generally the drive performed extremely well with most media used. The highest
3T Pit jitter reached 33nsec, which is below the Red Book limit (35nsec). Best
results were achieved with CMC 48X CD-R media. The ND-2510A shows that it is
a high quality recorder, just as was the case with the ND-2500A.
- 3T Land results
Again, the average 3T Land results were also low. The maximum 3T Land Jitter
reached 32nsec and TY 48X CD-R media produced the best results. Excellent
performance from the ND-2510A.
According to all the above graphs, the ND-2510A drive produced excellent
results with all the media. It should be noted that all discs were
recorded at the maximum
supported speed. All the discs we burnt produced very low jitter values, regardless
of
manufacturer or speed. High quality recording from NEC!
10. Writing Quality Tests - C1 / C2 Error Measurements
NEC ND-2510A Recorder - Page 10
Writing Quality Tests - 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 v2.15, and particularly the built-in Q-Check utility. The reader was the Plextor PX-712SA (firmware v1.03).
TraxData 80min 52X @ 32X
TY 80min 48X @ 32X
Mam 80min 52X @ 32X
CMC 80min 48X @ 32X
- Summary
Graphs show that NEC's drive is a good quality recorder. There are some C2
errors reported for certain media, but this could be improved from NEC. It
should be noted that all discs were recorded at the maximum speed supported
by the recorder.
- Appendix
Media Label |
ID Code |
Manufacturer Name |
Lead Out TIme |
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
NEC ND-2510A Recorder - Page 11
DVD Recording Tests
- Writing Performance
The NEC ND-2510A supports DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW writing. The maximum supported
speed for DVD±R is 8X Z-CLV 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
various recording speeds, as found in v2.15 firmware:
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 |
TTG01 |
2.0 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
PVCR001002 |
2.0 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
PVCR002001 |
2.0 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
PVCR002002 |
2.0 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
TYG02 |
2.0 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
SONY08D1 |
2.0 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
MXL RG03 |
2.0 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
FUJIFILM03 |
2.0 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
FUJIFILM04 |
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 |
ProdiscS04 |
2.0 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
ProdiscF01 |
2.0 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
NAN YA A01 |
2.0 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
DVD-RW
|
JVC0VictorD7 |
2.0 |
4.0 |
|
|
MCC 01RW4X |
2.0 |
4.0 |
|
|
DVD+R
|
RICOHJPNR00 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
|
RICOHJPNR01 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
|
YUDEN000T00 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
YUDEN000T01 |
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 |
YUDEN000T02 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
YUDEN000T03 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
RICOHJPNR03 |
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 |
TDK 002 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
TDK 002 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
RITEK R03 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
NANYA CLX |
2.4 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
PHILIPS C08 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
DVD+RW
|
RICOHJPNW11 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
|
|
MKM A02 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
|
|
PHILIPS 041 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
|
|
SONY S11 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
|
|
RITEK 004 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
|
|
CMC MAG W02 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
|
|
INFODISCA10 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
|
|
DAXON D41 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
|
|
PRODISC W02 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
|
|
DVD+R9
|
MKM 001 |
2.4 |
|
|
|
00000000000 |
2.4 |
|
|
|
RICOHJPNR00 |
2.4 |
|
|
|
RICOHJPND00 |
2.4 |
|
|
|
By using Nero CD-DVD Speed with DVD-R and DVD+R media, we are able to see the 8X Z-CLV recording technology being used by the recorder.
The drive's writing performance was the same for both formats. The recorder
started writing at 4.13X and reached a maximum value of 8.28X, with
an average speed of 6.79X.
- Burning Tests
We burned 4315MB of data on various DVD±R, DVD±RW media. We used the maximum allowed writing speed for each disc.
Recording times seem to be the same for most DVD-R media,
except for Promedia 8X media which was only 2 seconds slower. The drive completed
a successful burn at 8X in 9:29mins.
Disc Label |
Disc Information |
Max Allowed Writing Speed |
Total Recording Time (mins) |
That's 4X @ 8X |
TYG02 |
8X |
9:29 |
MKM/Verbatim 8X |
MCC 02RG20 |
8X |
9:29 |
MCC 8X |
MCC 01RG20 |
8X |
9:29 |
TraxData 4X |
RITEKG04 |
8X |
9:29 |
Maxell 4X |
MXL RG03 |
8X |
9:29 |
Promedia 8X |
Prodisc S04 |
8X |
9:31 |
With DVD+R media, best recording time came with Memorex
8X at 9:13mins. It should be noted that TraxData 4X media
was recorded at 6X in 10:21mins.
Disc Label |
Disc Information |
Max Allowed Writing Speed |
Total Recording Time (mins) |
That's 4X @ 8X |
TYG02 |
8X |
9:18 |
Memorex 8X |
CMC MAG E01 |
8X |
9:13 |
TY 8X |
YUDEN000 T02 |
8X |
9:21 |
Traxdata 8X |
RITEK R03 |
8X |
9:22 |
Maxell 8X |
MAXELL 002 |
8X |
9:19 |
Traxdata |
RICOH HJPN R01 |
8X |
10:21 |
- DVD Overburning Tests
Using Nero CD-DVD Speed, we tested if the NEC ND-2510A can overburn using
DVD+R and DVD-R media. Unfortunately, the drive does not support overburning,
giving
the following error with all inserted media.
- DVD+MRW Tests
The NEC ND-2510A does not support Mount Rainier.
12. KProbe/PlexTools Scans - Page 1
NEC ND-2510A Recorder - Page 12
KProbe/PlexTools Scans - Page 1
In the following screenshots you can see the PI/PIF scans for the DVD-R media we burned with the NEC ND-2510A. The software we used for all measurements is the KProbe v2.2.3, 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-712SA v1.03 using PlexTools v2.15 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.
- Summary
The PI/PIF scans shows that the NEC ND-2510A performed well with the used
DVD-R media, except for the Promedia 8X disc.
- Appendix
Disc Label |
Disc Information |
Max Allowed Writing Speed |
Total Recording Time (mins) |
That's 4X @ 8X |
TYG02 |
8X |
9:29 |
MKM/Verbatim 8X |
MCC 02RG20 |
8X |
9:29 |
MCC 8X |
MCC 01RG20 |
8X |
9:29 |
TraxData 4X |
RITEKG04 |
8X |
9:29 |
Maxell 4X |
MXL RG03 |
8X |
9:29 |
Promedia 8X |
Prodisc S04 |
8X |
9:31 |
13. KProbe/PlexTools Scans - Page 2
NEC ND-2510A Recorder - Page 13
KProbe/PlexTools Scans - Page 2
In the following screenshots you can see the PI/PIF scans for the DVD+R media we burned with the NEC ND-2510A. The software we used for all measurements is the KProbe v2.2.3, 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-712SA v1.03 using PlexTools v2.15 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.
- Summary
The NEC ND-2510A creates DVD-R with rather low PI/PIF error levels, with
some small exceptions, and offers compatibility with the majority of the media
we
used.
- Appendix
Disc Label |
Disc Information |
Max Allowed Writing Speed |
Total Recording Time (mins) |
That's 4X @ 8X |
TYG02 |
8X |
9:18 |
Memorex 8X |
CMC MAG E01 |
8X |
9:13 |
TY 8X |
YUDEN000 T02 |
8X |
9:21 |
Traxdata 8X |
RITEK R03 |
8X |
9:22 |
Maxell 8X |
MAXELL 002 |
8X |
9:19 |
Traxdata |
RICOH HJPN R01 |
8X |
10:21 |
14. DVD+R DL - Page 1
NEC ND-2510A Recorder - Page 14
DVD+R DL - Page 1
- Writing Tests
We burned some DVD+R DL discs with DVD-Video content. The source disc was "Gladiator Movie - Special Edition" disc1 with a total size of 6.86GB. First we transferred the movie to the hard disc with DVD Decrypter as ISO format (single file). The following picture shows the media code of the Double Layer disc we used.
Observant users will see from the screenshot above a small bug that
the NEC ND-2510A has. The Double Layer disc we used came from RITEK and MKM,
and in
both cases
the drive recognizes them as Single Layer discs. We then used Nero CDSpeed,
and again the disc was recognized as Single Layer media.
However, the disc capacity, media type and book type seem to be correct.
It appears NEC has to work on their next firmware release on this
one.
Afterwards, we used CopyToDVD v3.0.0.16. The friendly wizard prompts us to choose from among the main tasks:
For our test, we used the "Movie & Pictures" option, and then the "Write DVD Video".
The software prompts us to select Video_TS/ISO image folder. We chose the "GLADIATOR.ISO" image and we selected the NEC ND-2510A burner.
After pressing "OK", the burning procedure started, without any
unexpected delays (such as 50secs delay experienced with the LiteON 832S).
It should be noted that the Booktype setting could not be changed.
The writing process finished after 37:17minutes. The average
speed was 2.38X as reported by CopyToDVD software. The recorded disc was
in DVD+R9 format.
For comparison reasons, we post some burning results from other DL writers, which all burned the same content ("Gladiator Movie - Special Edition" disc1), using CopyToDVD software:
Drive |
Time (mins) |
NEC 2510A |
37:17 |
BenQ DW1600A DL |
40:16 |
BenQ DW830A |
39:14 |
LiteON SOHW-832S DVD+R DL BookType |
38:33 |
LiteON SOHW-832S DVD-ROM BookType |
38:36 |
SONY DRU-700A |
|
The NEC ND-2510A was the fastest drive. Very good performance with Double
Layer media from NEC.
We then tried to burn a Double Layer media provided by Traxdata. The drive
reported 1X writing speed, making it unable to burn. There is a solution for
this issue, but a hacked unofficial firmware must be applied. We will comment
on this later on this preview.
15. DVD+R DL - Page 2
NEC ND-2510A Recorder - Page 15
DVD+R DL - Page 2
- Writing Quality
In order to test the NEC ND-2510A DVD+R DL writing quality, we used not our
usual readers (LiteOn LDW-811S/Plextor PX-712A) but the LiteOn SOHD-167T with
firmware 9S13.
Using KProbe v2.2.3, we got a rather good scan, indicating again, good quality
performance from the drive with the DL media recorded. Notice that the disc
is not read at 3~8 CAV, but at 2.5X~5X CAV (DVD+R DL media).
Using the Plextor PX-712SA and PlexTools, we were able to scan the DVD+R DL media:
The reported PI error rate was far lower than the 280 limit and no PO failures
were reported, giving again an indication of a very good quality burned
disc. The NEC drive continues to produce very good quality burns.
- Compatibility
Unfortunately, we were not surprised to see that the DVD+R9 media was not
compatible with most stand-alone DVD players, since there is no official booktype
setting utility provided by NEC. The Double Layer is recorded with DVD+R DL
booktype.
16. BookType Setting
NEC ND-2510A Recorder - Page 16
BookType Setting
The NEC ND-2510A drive doesn't officially support BookType Setting for
DVD+R/+RW formats. We used the latest version of Nero Burning Rom
and tried to change the booktype setting of a DVD+R disc.
When the disc was recorded, we checked the booktype setting of the recorded disc, but, no matter what Nero reports, the booktype was not changed.
There are two (2) un-official utilities to change the DVD+R DL Booktype
Setting, more on this later...
17. Conclusion
NEC ND-2510A Recorder - Page 17
Conclusion
The
ND-2510A is the first NEC Double Layer recorder and has the exact same specs
at its
predecessor, the ND-2500A. The specs of both drives are exactly the same
with the only difference of the DL writing.
The drive's general performance was mixed, with mostly weak performance
as a reader. The CD/DVD error correction needs improvement, it cannot
make SafeDisc 2.60+ backups, cannot recognize 99mins discs and the supported
media list for 8X ±R is rather small, at least with the official v2.15
firmware.
The ND-2510A shows its true value in writing quality tests with certified
8X ±R. The recorder has excellent writing quality, making it one of
the best DVD writers available. The writing performance with Double Layer media
from Verbatim was very good, while the drive didn't recognize Ritek's DL media,
future firmware updates expected to fix this.
Another negative is that the drive doesn't support the Booktype Setting for
+R/+RW media. At least as it currently stands, there is the option to change
the Booktype
of DVD+R DL media to DVD-ROM, increasing compatibility with DVD players.
The price of this drive is considerably low, making it a very good purchase.
If you need a good quality writer, but you don't care much about reading performance,
this is the choice for you.
- The Good
- Excellent CD writing quality with low Jitter values
- Good DVD writing quality
- Supports CD-Text (reading/writing)
- Supports audio protected discs
- Good price
- The Bad
- Low CD/DVD error correction capability
- Not many media (even 8X rated) supported at 8X
- RITEK DL media isn't supported with 2.15 firmware
- Mount Rainier is not supported
- Cannot read or rip 99min Audio CD's
- Cannot create working backups with SafeDisc protected games over v2.60
- DAE speed only up to 32X
- Like To be fixed
- Faster ripping CSS DVD-Video performance
- More supported media for 8X/Double Layer
- Official firmware release to support booktype setting for +R/+RW media
18. Firmware Hacks - Page 1
NEC ND-2510A Recorder - Page 18
Firmware Hacks - Page 1
There are a lot hacked firmware versions available all over the internet.
The main interest is in expanding the supported media list and increase the
compatibility of Double Layer media. Also, NEC included a maximum ripping speed
limit that
can be overcome with unofficial firmware flashing.
NEC claims that the previous model, the ND2500A is not capable of writing
Double Layer media. However, the two NEC drives are the same. You can see below
the
pictures
that show
that even the laser heads are identical. Can you tell from which drive
the picture was taken?
Since the ND-2510A and ND-2500A drives are identical, there is an unofficial
firmware available for the ND-2500A to make it capable of writing Double
Layer media.
Several writing quality tests are available in our forum. As NEC reports ''there is no support of burning DVD-9 dual layer for ND-1000A, ND-1100A,
ND-1300A, ND-2500A and oem versions ND-2100A, ND-5100A and ND-5500A.
Only standard 4,7GB (DvD-5) will be supported. There won`t be any official firmware updates available to change it."
In the following pages we will comment on some problems
we came across with the ND-2510A, and if they can be solved with a hacked
firmware version.
19. Firmware Hacks - Page 2
NEC ND-2510A Recorder - Page 19
Firmware Hacks - Page 2
- Booktype Setting
As NEC claims "the DVD writers we sell in Europe do not need a bitsetting tool because they already set to the most compatible condition. But in some cases it
is not compatible to (older) hardware equipment or standalone DvD players. With ND-1000A and ND-1100A a burned DvD+R media will be characterized
automatically as DvD-ROM, but a DvD+RW will be characterized as itself.
The ND-1300A, ND-2500A and ND-2510A marks DvD+R, DvD+RW, DvD-R and DvD-RW
as given. There`s no chance to change this settings."
Although NEC does not offer a booktype setting utility, there are solutions
to this all over the internet. DVD Info Pro will include a small booktype setting
utility for the ND-2510A drive in the next release. The following pictures
show the booktype setting changed using this program.
With DVD Info Pro, we have the ability to change the booktype setting up to
255 times. We would be happy to see this limit lifted by the
authors of the software.
There is also a small utility available, called WinBType, that can be used
to change booktype setting of +R DL discs. This utility is supposed to come
from NEC, but NEC has denied its existence..
The drive was empty, but we needed to eject the tray once for the program to be able to make the necessary changes.
As you can see, the booktype was changed successfully. Unfortunately, this
small utility can only change the booktype setting for +R DL media and not
for +R/+RW media.
These issues are discussed in our forum,
with more user comments on this matter.
20. Firmware Hacks - Page 3
NEC ND-2510A Recorder - Page 20
Firmware Hacks - Page 3
- Double Layer Media writing
We tried to burn Double Layer media provided by Traxdata. The latest version
of DVD Info Pro reports RITEK D01 media code. It should be noted that this
type of Double Layer media is not supported by NEC's official media list.
DVD+R9
|
MKM 001 |
2.4 |
00000000000 |
2.4 |
RICOHJPNR00 |
2.4 |
RICOHJPND00 |
2.4 |
We used the latest version of Nero Burning Rom with no luck. Nero reports 1X recording speed with this disc, and is unable to burn it.
We then applied an un-official firmware (from Herrie) using a DOS flasher.
The disc was recognized by the recorder with 2.4X supported writing speed.
Afterwards, we used CopyToDVD. The burning procedure started, without any unexpected
errors. The booktype setting was changed prior to writing to DVD-ROM.
The drive managed to complete a successful burn without any errors. Recording
time was almost the same as with official firmware. No delays of any kind were
noticed.
The average burning speed was 2.38X, the same as the official firmware's speed.
We used the Plexwriter PX-712SA (firmware version v1.03) with PlexTools 2.15
to check the writing quality of the disc.
It is interesting to see if this error is reported because of the drive or
because of the disc itself. Unfortunately, visible defects can be seen on the
disc. The drive however managed to record even on the defective area. So, this
error should not be combined with the hacked firmware version or with the drive's
writing quality performance.
We then tried to use a LiteOn drive to get KProbe quality scans, but even
the LiteOn drive we used reported the same error. Not even the ND-2510A was
able to read the disc.
21. Firmware Hacks - Page 4
NEC ND-2510A Recorder - Page 21
Firmware Hacks - Page 4
- Writing Quality
Unofficial firmware releases change the maximum supported writing speed for
certain media that can only be written at 4X or even lower. It is interesting
to see the writing quality with such discs, using hacked firmware. For reference
reasons, we demonstrate the following KProbe scans, along with the PlexTools
scans.
Note that all the following media was supported only at 4X by official v2.15,
while with the un-official firmware (Herrie's 1.07v2beta6) it allowed up to
either 6X or 8X.
Reading error!
Reading Error!
It seems that the writing quality has totally changed for this drive. With
the hacked firmware we were able to write at higher speeds, but writing quality
is reduced. Some discs produced read errors, and MMORE discs produced PIF errors.
PIF errors were not reported with all other discs, but PI levels were higher
than those we show when the official firmware was used.
22. Firmware Hacks - Page 5
NEC ND-2510A Recorder - Page 22
Firmware Hacks - Page 5
- Writing Quality
Unofficial firmware releases change the maximum supported writing speeds for
certain media that can only be written at 4X or even lower. It is interesting
to see the writing quality with such discs, using hacked firmware. For reference
reasons, we demonstrate the following KProbe scans, along with the PlexTools
scans.
Note that all the following media was supported only at 4X by the official
v2.15, while with the un-official firmware (Herrie's 1.07v2beta6) it allowed
up to either
6X or 8X.
As we saw earlier, MMORE DVD-R media did not perform well with the un-official
firmware.
On the other hand, MMORE DVD+R media performed much better, giving low PI/PIF
level values, just as CMC media did. Promedia 8X discs returned the worst
results in this test.
Comparing DVD-R media writing quality and DVD+R media writing quality, we
could say that the NEC ND-2510A is a far better quality writer with the +R
format media. However, again quality results were better with the official
firmware,
but speed was lower then.