TDK 1616N Recorder - Page 4

DVD Error Correction Tests

In the following tests we examined the DVD reading capabilities of the TDK 1616N drive with scratched / defective DVD media. For the tests we used CDVD Benchmark and Nero CDSpeed . The reference test media comes from ALMEDIO.

- Single Layer media

ABEX TDR-821

This is a single sided, single layer DVD-ROM with a 4.7GB capacity, and its surface has an artificial scratch of dimensions varying from 0.4 to 3.0 mm.

The following transfer rate picture comes from the CDVD Benchmark v1.21 transfer rate test.

The drive can read DVD media up to 16X. No errors were produced with this disc. However, the drive lowered its speed in order to read over the scratched area.

ABEX TDR-825

This is also a single sided, single layer DVD-ROM of 4.7GB capacity. The data structure of the disc is exactly the same as that of the TDR-821, with the difference that there are no scratches on it but instead, defective areas of dimensions ranging from 0.5 to 1.1 mm.

There are also fingerprints sized from 65 to 75 micrometers.

Again, the TDK 1616N reported no errors with this test disc. A continuous line was produced, showing that the drive had no problems reading the defective areas.

- Dual Layer media

ABEX TDR-841

This is an 8.5GB dual layer, single sided DVD-ROM disc with artificial scratches of dimensions ranging from 0.4 to 3.0mm, on both layers.

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Most NEC based drives have problems reading this type of disc. As seen above, TDK has improved the DVD error correction, where the drive gave no errors during reading. The test was completed successfully. Excellent performance at this point!

ABEX TDR-845

The disc is a single sided, dual layer DVD-ROM disc with a capacity of 8.5GB. The only difference between the TDR-845 and the TDR-841 is that the first includes defective areas and fingerprints. The dimensions of the defective areas range from 0.5 to 1.1 mm and the fingerprints are sized from 65 to 75 micrometers.

Again, the drive had no problems reading this disc. The 1616N read the disc as if there were no defective areas present.

ABEX TDV-541

The TDV-541 is a single sided, dual layer DVD-VIDEO disc, with a capacity of 8.5GB. The disc is based on the TDV-540 series which is designed for inspection and adjustment of DVD-VIDEO players. The disc checks the layer switch operation from layer 0 to layer 1 and also includes test pictures and test signals for DVD sound files.

The current TDV-541 also checks the error correcting capabilities of the drive and includes scratches from 0.4 to 3.0 mm.

As is evident above, the TDK 1616N read the disc flawlessly. According to this reading behaviour, the drive can be described as a rather good reader. It started to read at 1.92X, lowered the reading speed automatically when needed and reached a highest reading speed of 4.61X, resulting in an average speed of 3.24X.

ABEX TDV-545

The TDV-545 disc is based on the TDV-540 series. It is a single sided, dual layer DVD-VIDEO disc with a capacity of 8.5GB. The TDV-545 includes artificial black dots on the data surface, sized from 0.4 to 1.0 mm. It has also 65 - 75 micro meter fingerprints.

The TDK 1616N started to read at 1.92X, and reached a highest speed of 4.61X, giving the same speed values as before. Although the reading speed was not as high as other 8X DVD recorders, we were happy to see that no read errors were produced.