Hi there,
I've got my unit about a week ago and I'm still testing it with warious media to assess performance.
Firmware 1.01 innitially and then 1.02 ... I can't see any difference in quality ...
I've got some very unexpected results (plextools v2.14) which you may explain (I hope):

1. DVD-R Infinity 8x media (RITEK R03 Rev02) written at 8x, good results but not outstanding

PIE POF
Avg 7.80 -
Max 144 -
Total 1092517 0

it seems to perform much better if written at 6x:

PIE POF
Avg 2.11 -
Max 91 -
Total 301382 0

Overall I'm pretty happy with this media.

2. DVD-R Verbatim DataLife Advanced AZO 8x (order code 43272), id's as MCC 02RG20, written at 8x with catastrophic results (including 6 unredable blocks reported by Nero's scanner):

PIE POF
Avg 137.87 -
Max 1514 -
Total 19538437 138

I don't know what's hapenning here, I've told Plextor about it, haven't got an answer yet ... it seems that there's something very wrong with their writing strategy ... I haven't tried a different speed yet ... any suggestions ?

3. DVD+R Verbatim DataLife Advanced AZO 8x (order code 43274), id's as MCC 003 Rev00, written at 8x with average quality ... excellent quality until 2.5GB, but after then the errors increase on an exponential shape as the end of the disc is reached:

PIE POF
Avg 3.62 -
Max 337 -
Total 518117 0

What's wrong with the Plextor - Verbatim combination ?
Also, some people around report PX-712A writing at 12x on MCC 003 media ... well this is not my case ... the max speed available is 8x ... how on earth can two units with the same firmware behave differently ???

4. DVD-R Memorex 4x, part no 854114 - M4DR47B.0903, id's as CMC MAG.AF1, written at 4x with excellent quality, the best I've tested until now ...

From the graph (sorry I've forgot to save the log for this one): PIE Total 35693, Max on the graph < 20, avg on the graph around 10 ... no POF of course

excellent results with this media ... unlike Verbatims ...

5. DVD+RW Verbatim DataLife Plus SERL 4x, order code 43228, id's as MKM A02 Rev00, writtten at 4x with good results:

PIE POF
Avg 2.08 -
Max 62 -
Total 295363 0

Not bad for a Verbatim written with a Plextor ...

6. DVD-R Datawrite Classic "Grey top" 8x, id's as FUJIFILM03, written at 8x ... I've had great hopes on this one, which apparently writes very well on Pioneer 107: http://www.dvd-recordable.org
Unfortunately, again Plextor does a very poor job:

PIE POF
Avg 29.68 -
Max 615 -
Total 4239798 0

Not as bad as the Verbatim DVD-R (point 2) but still quite bad.

I hope all these results help.

Maybe you can explain some of the results from above ... its seems very strange to me that the media is properly recognised, is written at its certified speed ... but yet from some reason the quality of writting is very poor on media which clearly is of good quality ... media which is impecably written by much cheaper writers ...

Looking forward to your replies!

Your results are not very good i must say, have you looked at our review? We didn't had such problems, maybe your unit is defective?

(in reply to cvs)

I have also tested Verbatim MCC 4x -R and have had problems such as write failures with rev. 1.01 on the PX-712A. I have subsequently updated to v1.02 and I will re-evaluate with some figures of the scans once I finish testing.

MCC +R media seems to perform more than adequately, at least the 8X does.. Hope Plextor can add these discs to 12X writing with a new f/w revision. Plextor CDVDInfo v1.22 reports only 8X, but the product rev of the media is 00 maybe later revisions are able to yeild higher speeds?!

Who is claiming 12X writing on MCC 003? Maybe if you disable PoweRec? I can't write @ 12X on the media I have that is Mitsubishi Kagaku.

(in reply to emperor)

Clint welcome back

(in reply to Clint)

quote:

ORIGINAL: emperor

Clint welcome back

Yea, sorry man been *extremely* busy with work.. Also Had some problems with the PX-712A and v1.02, as I couldn't get UDMA Mode 2 enabled which I later resolved with the help of Plextor. I think the old VirtualClone drive driver had influenced this strange behavior by the drive.

(in reply to emperor)

[Deleted by Admins]

(in reply to Clint)

I hope Clint you will have more free time, btw nicw and zebra are also from Australia

(in reply to Deleted User)

Regarding writing at 12x on MCC003 media, I've found this claim here.

Given the snapshots present there, it looks pretty believable.

I've also found some remarks about this topic here.

Clint, have you wrote the same MCC DVD+R as me by any chance? Mine were DVD+R Verbatim DataLife Advanced AZO 8x (order code 43274) which id's as MCC 003 Rev00.

Can you let me know what kind of PI/PO results is Plextools reporting in your case for MCC003 media?

Thank you.

(in reply to emperor)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Clint

quote:

ORIGINAL: emperor

Clint welcome back

Yea, sorry man been *extremely* busy with work.. Also Had some problems with the PX-712A and v1.02, as I couldn't get UDMA Mode 2 enabled which I later resolved with the help of Plextor. I think the old VirtualClone drive driver had influenced this strange behavior by the drive.

Hey Clint, next time use this handy tool to change your UDMA Mode: http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df/Product_Filter.asp?ProductID=663

(in reply to Clint)

quote:

ORIGINAL: emperor

I hope Clint you will have more free time, btw nicw and zebra are also from Australia

I will try to mate. Hmm really? I wonder if they're near me?!? ( I mean physical location...)

(in reply to emperor)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Cal 01

Hey Clint, next time use this handy tool to change your UDMA Mode: http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df/Product_Filter.asp?ProductID=663

Hey cal, I am not using an Intel chipset on this current testing machine. Thus, IAA would not be applicable to me. Thanks for your thoughts though, I know they were there!

(in reply to Cal 01)

quote:

ORIGINAL: cvs

Regarding writing at 12x on MCC003 media, I've found this claim here.

Given the snapshots present there, it looks pretty believable.

I've also found some remarks about this topic here.

Clint, have you wrote the same MCC DVD+R as me by any chance? Mine were DVD+R Verbatim DataLife Advanced AZO 8x (order code 43274) which id's as MCC 003 Rev00.

Can you let me know what kind of PI/PO results is Plextools reporting in your case for MCC003 media?

Thank you.

Hi cvs,

The Mitsubishi Kagaku 8X +R media seems to be 'variable'. By this I mean that the MCC003 00 media made in Taiwan seems to be of higher quality than the Singapore made ones, since the PX-712 will write to the Taiwanese made discs @ 12X. I have only the Singapore made ones which have the exact same media ID as the Taiwanese made discs, and only record at their max rated speed of 8X. This seems to be the conclusion presented at CDRLabs also.

The discs I have are: Mitsubishi DVD+R 1-8X DYN-AZO MCC 003 00 - Made in Singapore. They are probably the exact same as yours if yours are infact made in Singapore also.

As for scans, I dont have any handy with the PX-712 and that particular disc. I will try get the figures up here soon

(in reply to cvs)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Clint
I will try to mate. Hmm really? I wonder if they're near me?!? ( I mean physical location...)

You can always PM them

(in reply to Clint)

Interesting results below:

SUM8:

SONY OPTICAL DVD-R 4X
-------------------------------------------------------
PlexTools Professional V2.15 Q-Check PI/PO Test
Copyright (C) 1999-2004 Plextor SA/NV
10 July 2004
-------------------------------------------------------
PIE POF
Avg 1.20 -
Max 29 -
Total 152690 0

Hardware information
--------------------
ID 0:(E:) PLEXTOR DVDR PX-712A V1.03 (S/N:XXXXXX) (-XXXXX.-XX.-XX?)
Read speed: 2X CLV, Jumper settings: 001, Buffer under run proof enabled

Status: DVD media inserted

Type : DVD-R (General)
Certified Write Speed: 4.0 X
Drive Write Speed : 2.0 X - 4.0 X
Manufacturer ID : SONY04D1

Label: UNDEFINED (TENSION SIX)
Contents:
3.88 GB, ISO 9660, UDF
1 layer(s) (PTP)
Application: -
Publisher: -
Disc region: 1 2 3 4 5 6 8
Video: MPEG-2 720x576 PAL 4:3
Audio: -

==============================-

TAIYO YUDEN DVD-R 4X @ 8X
-------------------------------------------------------
PlexTools Professional V2.15 Q-Check PI/PO Test
Copyright (C) 1999-2004 Plextor SA/NV
13 July 2004
-------------------------------------------------------
PIE POF
Avg 5.02 -
Max 132 -
Total 638807 0

Hardware information
--------------------
ID 0:(E:) PLEXTOR DVDR PX-712A V1.03 (S/N:XXXXXX) (-XXXXX.-XX.-XX?)
Read speed: 2X CLV, Jumper settings: 001, Buffer under run proof enabled

Status: DVD media inserted

Type : DVD-R (General)
Certified Write Speed: 4.0 X
Drive Write Speed : 2.0 X - 4.0 X - 6.0 X - 8.0 X
Manufacturer ID : TYG01

Label: UNDEFINED (TENSION SIX)
Contents:
3.88 GB, ISO 9660, UDF
1 layer(s) (PTP)
Application: -
Publisher: -
Disc region: 1 2 3 4 5 6 8
Video: MPEG-2 720x576 PAL 4:3
Audio: -

==============================-

This shows the increased error rate once the speed reaches >4.0 X on the TYG01's, which produces however still very acceptable results. It's up to you if you prefer the writing time /2, or increased errors. Keep in mind you are paying for 4X discs in both cases

(in reply to emperor)

We have burned many discs with PX-712A and 1.03 firmware, results will be posted at the upcoming new review...Maybe its time to open up upload of pictures too...

(in reply to Clint)

quote:

ORIGINAL: emperor

We have burned many discs with PX-712A and 1.03 firmware, results will be posted at the upcoming new review...Maybe its time to open up upload of pictures too...

That would be of great intrest, thanks!

(in reply to emperor)