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Written: May 08 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Flawless,skip-free performance.
Cons: Slight lag when initially reading data source.
The Bottom Line: Excellent way to satisfy your PC's DVD needs!
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| britguy's Full Review: Toshiba SD M1612 Internal DVD Drive |
I had resisted the urge to purchase a DVD drive for my PC for the last couple of years, but having been given an 18.1 in. LCD monitor, I took the plunge and, as part of a general system overhaul, I got the Toshiba SD-M1612 16x DVD drive, for $52 shipped from www.newegg.com.
Specs
This drive boasts a 115 millisecond seek time in DVD mode and 95 ms for a CD-Rom. DVD playback is handled at up to 16X speed, while for CD-Roms the drive is capable of 48X speed. The drive has a 512 Kb buffer, and is capable of reading DVDs, Audio CDs, Data CDs, CDRs, CDRWs, but I was unable to get a VideoCD that I created with Nero to play.
Installation
Having the same general appearance as a regular CD drive, and all the same connections, it is as simple as opening the computer case, determining whether or not the DVD drive will be sharing an IDE cable with another device and setting it's jumper to Master, Slave, or Cable Select. As a rule it will be either Master or Slave, and since mine is on the same cable as my primary hard drive, it is set to Slave. The audio cable has to be plugged into the rear of the drive once it is on its rails in the case, and connected to your soundcard or motherboard. Simply plug in the IDE cable connector to the rear of the drive and, finally, plug in a power lead from the computer's power supply. Anyone with any technical proficiency will be able to install a DVD drive in around 15 minutes (or less).
Under Windows XP, there is no need to worry about installing drivers for this drive, since XP recognizes the drive and installs drivers from it's huge built-in database of device drivers automatically, when you first boot-up with your new Toshiba DVD drive in place. Windows 95, 98, 2000, and Windows NT should also recognize this drive and install it right away.
Performance
Well, I have to admit to being very impressed. You will need a program such as Win DVD or Power DVD installed on your system to decode the video output to your monitor, and you're away! Audio and video quality are very impressive, although your results will vary according to your individual computer specifications (hint: get an Athlon XP or Pentium 4 cpu, and at least 256MB RAM).
I have never seen a hitch in any movie that I've watched on my system so far, and I have experienced zero audio anomalies. Basically, rock-steady performance.
So, Is It Perfect?
Pretty darn close, actually! The one glaring fault is the absence of a headphone jack on the front panel of the drive. I mean, even the crappiest CD drive has a headphone jack! Aside from this I have no gripes. The tray mechanism slides in and out smoothly and quietly, and while in operation, there is virtually no noise from the drive, which is good, because the last thing you need when watching a movie is any extraneous sound interfering with your enjoyment.
Final Word
While I am curious as to the performance of equivalent Pioneer DVD drives, I am completely satisfied with my Toshiba. I would not hesitate to recommend it to my friends, and it would be my first choice when assembling a system for a customer. It has exceeded my expectations in terms of price and performance. Also, if you go to www.newegg.com and check the customer reviews for this drive, you will see that it has a solid 5 star rating (the maximum) across 36 customer reviews. Solid!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 52
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
britguy
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Member: Ken
Location: Yonkers,New York
Reviews written: 52
Trusted by: 30 members
About Me:
Raised in England
Living in America
Wife and 2 kids
Lab Technologist and Photographer
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