Affordable DVD Recording
Written: Jul 02 '04 (Updated Jul 16 '04)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Great price, strong reading, cd burning
Cons: Slower on dvd-r and dvd-rw formats
The Bottom Line: An inexpensive way to get into dvd recording.
|
|
|
| digitaldoc's Full Review: Digital Research (IDVDRW8D) DVD±RW Burner |
Introduction
This is my first DVD recordable drive; however it is my 7th optical drive (1 dvd-rom, and 6 cd-rw's, all are evaluated on epinions). After the experience with my 1st cd-rw drive and feeling like a beta tester for high priced hardware I decided to let dvd recordable technology mature (and the price drop) before jumping in. In the meantime, I scooped up some bargains on cd-rw drives that were being cleared to make room for dvdrw's. Over the last 6 months the price has been dropping, and the stability improving of DVD recorders and media. Dual media drives that work with both + and - DVD discs have become the standard. Finally, I saw this DVD recorder advertised for the price of a combo drive (DVD player (not recorder) and cdrw) and it was irresistible. It was finally time to take the plunge. Let's see how this bargain drive performs.
Shopping Experience
The drive was purchased in Staples for $80 before a $30 rebate. The store had 4 in stock. They all had similar serial numbers. I/O Magic rebrands other manufacturers drives. The 2 possible drives that could be in the box are an Optorite, or a BTC which is what I purchased. Look at the sticker on the back of the box, if the firmware is listed as "f0054" it will correspond to a BTC DVDRW IDE 1008. For the latest firmware, you can go straight to the BTC website, although limited support is available through the I/O Magic website including a forum.
What's In The Box
The box included the following:
-BTC DVDRW IDE 1008 drive
-blank dvd+rw Verbatim brand 2.4x speed certified
-4 mounting screws
-analog audio cable
-set up poster
-software:
Roxio CD and DVD Easy Creator Basic version 6.1 (general cd and DVD authoring)
Roxio Photosuite (photo organizing and sharing)
Cyberlink Power DVD (movie DVD playing)
Overall, a decent software suite for an inexpensive drive with more than all the basic needs covered. The manuals for the software are on the discs, something in paper would be preferable. Thoughtfully, the drive was wrapped in plastic and the ends in foam padding to keep it safe during shipping.
Features
The drive can read discs at the following speeds:
-dvd-rom 12x
-dvd-r or +r 8x
-cd-rom 40x
The drive can write the various discs at the following rates:
-cdr 40x
-cdrw 24x
-dvd +r 8x
-dvd-r 4x
-dvd+rw 4x
-dvd-rw 2x
From the above writing specs, it is apparent that the drive will write faster to the "+" media of the DVD alliance than the "-" media of the DVD forum, but as a dual media drive is compatible with both.
The drive has the following features
-2 mb buffer with Superlink buffer underrun protection
-Mediatek chipset
-green led for reading/orange for writing
-sealed acoustic noise isolation system
-broken disc flying protect (somehow this is not reassuring)
-vibration absorbed suspension
Note that the drive does NOT support dvd-ram at all, nor dual layer media writing. If you have need for these cutting edge technologies, definitely look elsewhere.
Installation
The setup poster has written instructions accompanied by pictures- overall adequately explained. I installed the drive in my Shuttle computer in about 25 minutes replacing my LiteOn cd-rw. Be aware this drive is over 19 cm in length, one of the longest on the market. If space is very tight in your case, check out a LiteOn drive as they're generally the shortest. The drive fits snuggly between the rails; the 4 screws secured it in place nicely. Using the included jumper, I set it up as master on the secondary IDE channel. I did not connect the analog audio cable.
The included software bundle was provided on 3 separate discs. It took about 15 minutes to load with the system restarts. There were no issues with the installation of the hardware or software, and overall the process took just under an hour to be up and running.
In Use
While the drive's opening mechanism uses rubber bands and pulleys, it opens and closes very smoothly. Also, even at full speed, the drive is extremely quiet. The drive is even quieter than my LiteOn 52x32x52 drive; this is by far my quietest drive to date. I have to glance at the LED to see that it's working.
Note: The following performance tests were run using the latest firmware off the BTC website. This firmware is designated as 0758. For optimum results across a variety of media, one is generally best off using the latest official firmware.
The drives reading performance of both cd's and DVD’s is strong. The drive has a DAE (digital audio extraction) rate of 31x overall, it ranges from 19x to 41x (outer tracks always read faster). The dvd reading of movies can be done at 3.3x to 8x (again the outer tracks are faster). These speeds are consistent on both single as well as double layer media. The reading performance of this drive is very strong in terms of its speed, as well as its tolerance of scratches on the media. Even for its price, this drive is one of the faster readers with excellent audio extraction qualities.
Using the included Cyberlink Power DVD software, I played a DVD movie. It played smoothly. The software provided all the functionality of a set top DVD player including subtitles, zoom, and menu navigation.
CD writing tasks are handled by the included Roxio Easy CD Creator. It has a disc copier function, and can also recompile the audio tracks from several cd's into one. The included edition does not support mp3 creation or burning- you will have to upgrade to platinum cd creator, or use additional software such as Musicmatch Jukebox for these functions.
The drive took about 7 minutes to copy an audio cd from start to finish. The disc was burned at 40x and played without any noticeable pops or clicks. The burn speed started at 19x and maxed out at 41x. The media used was an eWorks 48x cd; this was chosen because 2 of my cd-rw drives had issues with these discs. Thankfully, this drive wrote to it with no problem at full speed, I am reassured the drive will be able to write to all the common cd-r's if it handles this difficult disc well.
When buying a DVD recorder, the issue of backing up a movie DVD comes up. Be aware that with the included software, this is not possible. The included Roxio software for disc copying simply states "protected disc" when a DVD is inserted and refuses to do anything with it. The topic of backing up DVD's is beyond the scope of this review. Those with an interest in this topic, will find guidance at www.videohelp.com.
I will update this area with compatible DVD recordable media as I accumulate experience. On the BTC website they list the media it is compatible with. Theoretically, media from well known manufacturers should do well, such as Maxell, Fuji, and Verbatim. So far I have used the drive with HP branded 4x DVD+R media (which are really CMC) with no issues.
Conclusion
Overall, I am very pleased with this drive. It is the only optical drive in my fastest computer. It handles a variety of reading and writing tasks well. Its audio cd reading and writing abilities put it on par with all but the fastest, dedicated cdrw's. For the user who needs a solid reader, and will write more cd's than DVD’s, this is an optimal and affordable solution.
Additional Resources
The drive is reviewed, benchmarked and compared at www.cdrinfo.com as well as www.cdrlabs.com. There is a BTC subforum within www.cdfreaks.com "recordable hardware forum;" it is an excellent resource to research and post any specific issues with the drive.
Check out this review if you only need a dvd-rom
http://www.epinions.com/content_108296507012
or a cd-rw drive
http://www.epinions.com/content_123092242052
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 49.99
Operating System: Windows
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
digitaldoc
|
|
Location: New York
Reviews written: 21
Trusted by: 13 members
About Me:
Men don't outgrow their toys, they just get more expensive.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.