Ricoh MP5240A Vs AOpen DRW4410 - Page 6

DVD reading tests

- Single Layer DVD-ROM reading (CDSpeed results Ricoh MP5240A-DP and AOpen DRW4410 )

Ricoh and AOpen drives support the 8X CAV reading speed for single layer DVD-ROM discs. Both drives followed the same reading strategy, starting from 3.40x and reaching the 8x by the end of the process. The average reading speed was approximately 6.2x.

The seek times are not the lowest we have seen from a DVD writer but they are acceptable. Ricoh MP5240A is faster in the Random and 1/3 seek modes, and both drives need 210~215msec for the Full seek.

- Dual Layer PTP DVD-ROM (CDSpeed results Ricoh MP5240A-DP and AOpen DRW4410)

Dual layer DVD-ROM discs are read at 8X CAV. The drives performed well, and gave an average reading speed of 6x.

The seek times with dual layer DVD-ROM discs are increased over those measured with the single layer one. The differences are bigger in the 1/3 and Full seek modes. Both drives could improve their performance with dual layer discs.

- Dual Layer OTP DVD-ROM

• AOpen DRW 4410

The first layer of an OTP dual layer DVD-ROM is read exactly the same way as 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 performance is not different than in the previous test, with both drives to give a 6.01x average reading speed.

The seek times are increased again, and the drives took 245msec for the full seeking.

• Ricoh MP5240

Not really much to add here, Ricoh MP5240 read the disc at 8X CAV, and the seek times were the same as with the PTP disc.

- DVD-Video ripping

We measured the DVD Ripping speed using the "Matrix" DVD Video title and the DVD Decrypter software.

An average ripping speed of 6.6x with DVD Video files is enough for your daily needs. Both drives read the disc using the 8x CAV strategy.

- DVD Recordable/Rewritable

The chart below shows the Nero CDSpeed results with the following media.

For these tests we used 4x DVD-R and 2x DVD-RW media by Pioneer and 4x DVD+R/+RW discs by Ricoh. Both drives support 8x CAV reading for the recordable/rewritable DVD formats. Below are illustrated the average reading speeds.

Both drives had some problems with the DVD+R media, around the 4GB address mark of the test disc. The reading speed was lowered at 4x or even less, to resume reading immediately at a lower speed than the expected 8x. The AOpen drive had the same problems with the DVD+RW disc. The rest DVD-R/-RW disc were read at 8X CAV.