Ricoh MP5240A Vs AOpen DRW4410- Page 17

Conclusion

Ricoh MP5240A-DP and AOpen DRW4410 share the same pros and cons, as it was expected. Both drives fulfill the general expectations of the mid-user, although we have spotted some minor issues that could be improved through firmware upgrades.

The retail packages are complete, containing software for CD/DVD authoring and playback, as well as some useful utilities. Blank DVD+R and DVD+RW discs are also available for burning at 4x. However, the DVD+RW media included in the AOpen package we received could not be burned at 4x.

Ricoh and AOpen drives recorded at the maximum supported 4x speed on all the DVD+R media we tested, providing writing times less than 15 min for 4.38GB. This is also applied to 4x DVD+RW writing. However, the supported 4x DVD+RW media list is currently limited to Ricoh media, and is expected to be longer soon.

In the reading part, the drives support the 8x reading speed for DVD-ROM and DVD+R/+RW/-R/-RW formats. Although 8x is enough for DVD-ROM, the competition offers higher speeds (12x). We should also note that both drives reduced their reading speed in the outer addresses of DVD+R and DVD+RW media. On the other hand, the drives keep the 8x CAV speed for DVD-Video ripping and this will satisfy most of the candidate users.

The seek times for the CD and DVD format are average, especially with dual layer DVD-ROM discs. In addition, the ability to correct possible faulty bits on defected and scratched DVD media (Almedio Abex) is high, with an exception of dual layer DVD-Video discs. Both drives had hard times to read the second layer of the scratched DVD-Video disc. Although the performance in this area should be improved, users should have in mind that the Abex test disc scratches the drive to its limits and no problems will occur when reading normal DVD-Video discs.

Ricoh and AOpen drives support the 24x Z-CLV maximum recording speed for the CD-R format. Our tests showed that the current implementation of the Z-CLV technology does not allow the drive to achieve the lowest writing times among the 24x category drives. However, the writing stability is very good and no writing problems occurred while writing on various media. In addition, the Jitter and C1 / C2 measurements on the recorded media showed a high writing quality. Overburning up to 99 min is included in the advantages of the drives.

The maximum supported DAE speed is 40x. The drives cannot handle Key2Audio protected audio discs but we did not face any problems with the Cactus Data Shield 200 protection. In addition, the drives lack to fully read / rip the contents of 90min and 99min media.

The ability to create working backups of the latest SafeDisc v.2 protected titles is limited for both AOpen and Ricoh drives.

Although dual DVD drives are currently widely available in the market, we should judge the Ricoh and AOpen for what they offer. Both drives are reliable DVD writers and deserve a decent position in the computer store shelves, and why not, in your PC. The AOpen DRW4410 is available in a very attractive price of 140~150 Euros, while the Ricoh drive is slightly more pricey.