Mitsumi DW-7872TE

Review Pages

1. Data CD Reading Tests
2. Package - Installation
3. CD Error Correction Tests
4. DVD reading tests
5. DVD Error Correction Tests
6. Protected Disc Tests
7. DAE Tests
8. CD Recording Tests
9. 3T Jitter Tests - Page 1
10. 3T Jitter Tests - Page 2
11. C1 / C2 Error Measurements
12. DVD Recording Tests
13. KProbe PI/PO quality tests
14. Conclusion

Mitsumi DW-7872TE DVD±RW recorder - Page 1

The availability of dual DVD recorders is continuously increasing. One more drive has been added to the market, the Mitsumi's DW-7872TE. Since in the market are already available the 8x dual DVD recorders, we estimate that Mitsumi delayed more than we expected to reveal a new model. We have it on good authority, that Mitsumi is considering withdrawing from the optical drive market.

The drive is capable of 8x DVD+R, 4x DVD-R recording and 4x DVD+RW, 2x DVD-RW rewriting. With CD media, the unit allows recording up to 40x and 24x with recordable and rewritable media respectively. As a reader it supports 12x for DVD-ROM, 8x for DVD±RW and 40x for CD.

Features

The Mitsumi DW-7872TE recorder uses the Exac-Link feature to prevent buffer under-run errors.

Specifications

Type:	DW 7872 TE
Interface:	ATAPI with UltraDMA 33
Supported media for writing:	DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, CD-R, CD-RW
Writing speed:	DVD+R 8x, DVD-R 4x, DVD+RW 4x, DVD-RW 2x, CD-R 40x, CD-RW 24x
Reading speed:	DVD-ROM/DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVD+R/DVD+RW max. 12x, CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW max. 40x
Recording capacity:	DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD+R/DVD-R 4.7GB, CD-R/CD-RW 650MB, 700MB
Access time:	CD 120ms, DVD 140ms
Burst transfer rate:	PIO Mode 4 / Ultra DMA 33
Buffer memory:	2MB
Audio:	digital out and line out at back site (MPC compatible)
Writing mode:	TAO (Track-At-Once) with zero gap, variable or fixed packet, multisession, DAO (Disc-At-Once), SAO (Session-At-Once), Multi-Track Reservation
Supported formats:	DVD Video, DVD-ROM, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, CD-Text, VideoCD, CD-I, DVD SS-SL, DVD SS-DL-OPT, DVD SS-DL-PTP, DVD DS-SL, DVD DS-DL, DVD DS-DL-OPT, DVD DS-DL-PTP, CD-Extra, CD-Audio, Photo-CD (single-/multisession), CD-RW, CD-R, CD-I Ready
Disc diameter:	120mm or 80mm
Mounting method:	Horizontal/vertical
Compatibility:	MPC Level 3, MultiRead, PC 2001
Supported OS:	Windows ME®/2000®/XP®
Weight:	1kg
Dimensions:	42 mm x 148 mm x 194 mm (W x H x D)
Characteristics:	Buffer underrun prevention, dust protected enclosure, emergency eject

The drive uses a 2MB buffer memory store and supports RAW DAO 96 writing (CD). Thus the drive does not support Mount Rainier, nor does it read or write DVD-RAM media.

The drive uses the RPC II region control, allowing a user to change the drive's region at most 5 times. For our tests, we set the region code to 2 (Europe).

- The drive

The european retail package includes a quick start guide and a software CD with Nero 6. The IDE cable, audio cable and mounting screws are also included.

The drive's front panel is colored light gray. On the tray we can see a dual DVD logo and the supported recording speed. Below there are placed, from left to right, the power led, the DVD-RW, DVD+RW and CD-RW logos and the eject button. Also there is an emergency eject hole, above the button.

On the rear panel there are the analogue and digital audio outputs (SPDIF), 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 main chipset is manufactured by Mediatek and it is the same with most 8x recorders coming from Teac, LiteOn etc.

- Installation

The Mitsumi DW-7872TE was connected to our test PC and was identified as "MITSUMI DW-7872TE" under WinXP. All tests were done with firmware revision v0054.

The following pages include the test results for the Mitsumi DW-7872TE drive in comparison with the Teac DV-W58G and Sony DRU-530A, since all drives are capable of 8x DVD recording.