Philips DVDRW208 DVD+RW

Review Pages

1. Introduction
2. Data Tests
3. RW reading tests
4. DAE Tests
5. CDR Tests
6. RW Writing Tests
7. DVD Tests
8. Conclusion

Philips DVD+RW 208 - Page 8

Conclusion

Positive (+)

Negative (-)

- Super CD/DVD+RW writer Combo
- Supports DVD playback
- Supports "SeamLess Link" anti-coaster technology
- Supports 'Therml Balanced Writing'
- Low C1 errors with low quality CDs
- Faster DVD recorder around
- Good DAE ripping performance
- Good reading/writing packet writing performance
- Good access times
- Very good CloneCD reading performance
- Very good DVD playback/reading performance
- Supports HS-RW standard (10x re-write)
- Supports DAO-RAW
- Supports reading of SubChannel data
- Supports CD-Text (writing)
- Supports Overburning (writing up to 99mins)
- Supports Ultra-DMA 33
- 2 years of warranty (applies only for Europe)

- Very Dad DAE quality with dusted/scratched CDR media
- Creates partial working SD2 backups
- Cannot read CD-Text
- Recognize process takes more seconds during booting than usual
- Supports reading only up to 84mins
- Doesn't support reading of DVD-RW discs
- High price ($800+)

Philips ,after Ricoh, is the second company that ships DVD+RW recorder under the codename "DVDRW208". The drive supports 12x writing (CD), 10x re-writing (CD), 32x reading (CD), 8x DVD reading and 2.4x writing (DVD+RW). It has the exact same features as with Ricoh's MP5120A however the performance of both drives is not equal in all cases The Philips DVD+RW208 is better in some areas but worse in others, compared with Ricoh's DVD+RW proposal.

The Philips DVDRW208 was the faster writer in both CD/DVD+RW formats, even by few seconds. Also the drive due to 'Thermo Balanced Writing' produced CDs with lower C1 errors than Ricoh MP5120A. The main disadvantages are the very bad DAE with scratched CDR media, the limited reading capabilities (up to 84mintes) and the lack of reading 'CD-Text' from Audio CDs. There are also some other points that will disappoint user (no SafeDisc 2 support, and the long time during boot up to recognize the drive).

As a final conclusion we can say that Philips should try correcting those errors to reach the level of performance, which Ricoh MP5120A has showed. The choice can be easy if the price of the drive is compatible. As Philips told us, you should expect the drive at a price of $800-870, which is higher enough from Pioneer's DVR-A03.

The competition from the DVD Forum seems quite hard and another super combo DVD-R/RW/RAM/CD-R/RW recorder announced. By the time it arrives the market, the DVD+RW forum might have support DVD+R which would make users and us very confused about which DVD recording format would rule... Stay tuned cause the future seems interesting enough :-)