Sony CRX 210E1 IDE CD-R/RW - Page 1

- Introduction

Although the latest optical storage news from Sony could make some of us believe that the company is more interested in the development of the DVD devices, the competition still demands new solutions for the CD recording. The 48X CAV recording strategy is currently supported by Plextor, Yamaha, ASUS, Cyberdrive and many more manufacturers. The new Sony CRX-210A is a 48/12/48 IDE recorder and is definitely an alternative solution for all users who intend to replace their old recorder with a faster one.

- 48X Reading / Writing speed Speed

By default, Sony CRX-210A supports the 40X maximum reading / writing speed. In order to increase this speed to 48X CAV, user should enable the "Turbo Boost" function, by pressing the eject button for 5 seconds. Sony notes that in rare occasions, some discs may not be able to tolerate the 48X speed, with a possibility to break. It is recommended not to use the 48X speed for reading deeply scratched media. In addition, the "Turbo Boost" function does not guarantee a 48X writing speed. Depending on the condition of the disc you are using, this speed can be lower. Lastly, the feature does not increase the read/write speed with CD-RW media.

- Specifications

"PowerBurn" is the anti-coaster technology that uses the Sony CRX210A, among with the 2MB of cache buffer. Using Nero Info Tool software, we can see the drive's properties / main features.

As we have mentioned, the drive supports 40X read/write speeds by default, which is increased to 48X CAV when the turbo mode is enabled. The maximum rewriting speed is 12X CLV, and the supported transfer modes are the PIO Mode 4 (16.7MB/sec) and Ultra DMA Mode 2 (33.3MB/sec). CD-ROM XA, Audio/Video CD, CD Extra, Multisession and packetwriting are some of the main supported modes. Nero infotool also reports that the drive is compatible to DAO, SAO, TAO, RAW DAO 96 writing modes.

- The package

We got a bare drive in our labs. The retail package the CRX-210A, an ATAPI cable, a quick install guide, the Limited Warranty Card and mounting screws.

The attached software installation CD-ROM contains the B's Recorder Gold software for your daily burning tasks and B's Clip software for packetwriting.

Sony offers an one year-warrantee for the candidate buyers.

On the front panel of the Sony CRX-210A you can see the "Sony", "HS-RW" and the "48x/12x/48x" logos, printed on the tray. The eject button, volume selector, and the headphone jack are also present, as usual in the E-IDE models. The operation indicator (LED) is green, when reading /writing in the default speeds and orange, if you have switched to the turbo mode.

On the rear panel will find the power connector, the IDE cable connector, jumpers for setting up the MASTER/SLAVE/CABLE select status and finally, the analog/SPDIF connectors.

- Attached software

The software that comes with the retail package is the B's Recorder Gold and the B's Clip for packet writing. The attached CD-ROM gives the following info:

We installed the B's Recorder Gold and selected the Sony drive. The software gives all the necessary options for your burnings.

- Installation

Sony CRX-210A was installed as a Master in the primary IDE BUS. The drive worked in UDMA-33 mode. After booting, it identified itself as a "SONY CRX210E1 ". We used Nero v5.5.9.9, CloneCD v4.0.1.10 and Ahead InCD v3.37.1 for the recording tests.

The firmware version installed was v.2YS1. Nero Burning Rom reports that the drive also supports the "SmartBurn" feature, for accurate burnings to various media. When you un-tick the "SmartBurn" box, a warning message comes up with information about the usability of this option. In short words, you can write every media at 48X when "SmartBurn" is disabled!