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-------------------------------------------------------------- This story was printed from ZDNet Australia. --------------------------------------------------------------
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Burnt Offerings: High speed DVD Burners tested By Steven Turvey, RMIT Labs December 05, 2003 URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/hardware/storage/soa/Burnt-Offerings-High-speed-DVD-Burners-tested/0,139023427,120281618,00.htm
 RMIT Labs looks at the latest DVD Burners and standalone DVD Recorders to work out this year's burning king. Read our Australian review.Since the last time we ran a comparative DVD burner feature, an awful lot has changed on the DVD burning front. Sony did its bit early in the year to change the face of DVD burners by releasing the first multi-format capable burner, but it wasn't long before other manufacturers starting following suit. While format compatibility continues to be something of a problem, especially if you've got playback needs that encompass older machines or some game consoles, the emergence of genuine multi-format burners has done a lot to ease consumer confusion and make DVD burning much easier. The other major advantage of a multi-format burner from the consumer perspective is that you get the best of both worlds. DVD-R media is still the cheapest on the market, and combining that with the flexibility of DVD+RW media gives users a lot of burning power. We've also seen the emergence of a number of DVD recorders; essentially set-top units that act as the DVD equivalent of the humble VCR deck. These dedicated video machines are rarely as flexible as a dedicated PC burner, but make up for that lack with a definite tilt towards ease of use. We've examined two DVD recording decks as part of this feature, and while they're not capable of being benchmarked and tested in the traditional PC sense, they're certainly emerging as a decent DVD burning option if you only ever burn video. Iomega Super DVD Model DVDRW4224E2Q
Of the PC based DVD burners the Iomega is the only external unit in this test and its charcoal and silver grey case is quite attractive. If you're not after an external drive the same unit is available as an internal unit. The power supply is an external mini "brick" and connection to the PC is via USB 2.0 so we weren't anticipating any problems with transfer speeds. The only other connectors on the rear of the unit are a pair of RCA audio outputs and for added security there is a Kensington lock connector on the rear. The software bundle is quite good and the CD/DVD creation software called HotBurn Pro is a little different to most. HotBurn can be used in two ways; either through the extremely simplified Wizard or through HotBurn's relatively basic interface. Bells and whistles are a little lacking when compared to some of the other bundled software packages, but the software does make basic music and data disc creation a doddle. HotBurn also includes basic CD label and jewel case creation utilities. Iomega also supply an applet to implement automatic backups from your PC to the burner, as well as MusicMatch Jukebox and Cineplayer for musical and DVD movie playback respectively. If you are into creating your own VCD or DVD movies then Sonic MyDVD4, although quite basic, does allow you to capture video and burn to DVD. The Iomega Super DVD is capable of writing to every current DVD media format including DVD-RAM. We did experience some problems during the performance testing; we found that the Iomega was unable to connect to the USB 2 PCI card in our test PC at any speed higher than USB 1.1. As a consequence we carried out the performance testing on a PC configured with an Intel D875PBZ motherboard that includes integrated USB 2.
Performance was, in general, quite good although as noted we expect the write times for DVD-R media to be around 7 minutes rather than 13 minutes with the firmware upgraded to A106.
Iomega Super DVD Model DVDRW4224E2Q
LG GSA-4040B
The LG GSA-4040B, in common with the Panasonic SW-9572-C drive, shipped with B's Recorder Gold5 version 5.32 for burning CD's and DVD's. By default, the application launches a Wizard that leads the user through the creation of Data Discs, Audio CDs, Video Discs, Disc Copying and audio ripping. The user can also customise the Wizard for inclusion of additional or alternate shortcuts such as HD Backup or Disk Rescue. The software is quite easy to drive and certainly quite powerful although some of the features such as MP3 creation are on 30 day trial only.
The LG, in common with the Iomega drive is capable of writing to all DVD media types. Initially we had problems with the LG drive correctly identifying media speed with DVD-R Princo 4x media, for example, being incorrectly detected as 2x media. We simply updated the firmware from v300 to v301, a very easy process, and had no further problems. Overall performance was quite good once we had upgraded the firmware. LG GSA-4040B
Panasonic SW-9572-C
The Panasonic drive, shipped with the same CD/DVD writing software as the LG GSA-4040B, B's Recorder Gold 5 version 5. By default, the application launches a Wizard that leads the user through the creation of Data Discs, Audio CDs, Video Discs, Disc Copying and audio ripping. The user can also customise the Wizard for inclusion of additional or alternate shortcuts such as HD Backup or Disk Rescue. The software is quite easy to drive and certainly quite powerful although some of the features such as MP3 creation are on 30 day trial only.
The Panasonic can write to DVD-R/RW and DVD-RAM media but not to DVD+R/RW. The Panasonic was not one of the top performers in the group. It was the slowest of the drives in the CD-R test although this is to be expected given it is only rated at 12x for CD-R writing. DVD-R write performance was quite good but the Panasonic is only rated at 1x for DVD-RW so it had around half the write speed of many of the other drives. On the plus side, the SW-9572-C was the quickest in the DVD-RAM write test. Panasonic SW-9572-C
Pioneer DVR-A06
Pioneer's software bundle is of quite a high quality, including some immediately recognisable titles such as Nero Burning ROM. Admittedly it is Nero Express, which is a "lighter" version of the full product, however it still offers plenty of features and a simplified user interface.Each time the Nero Express is launched the user is presented with a front end where the task to be performed is selected from a simple list of options such as Data disk or Music disk. In some cases there are additional popup windows that spawn off these options -- for example the Music disk option has four sub options, Audio CD, Mixed Audio and Data CD, MP3 Disc and WMA disc.
Other shipped software included Ulead's VideoStudio 7SE and DVD MovieFactory 2 SE for authoring your own DVD movies as well as DVD player and DVD PictureShow 2 SE, also from Ulead. A second CD shipped with the unit with DVD WorkShop AC-3 SE along with a tutorial for the software and a tutorial for VideoStudio. Although they are only 30-day trial version the CD also contains MediaStudio Pro 7, PhotoImpact8 and Cool 3D 3.5. The Pioneer drive can write to almost all CD and DVD media excluding DVD-RAM. It is interesting to note that while the Pioneer is only rated at 16x for CD-R creation it was just as quick as the 24x units in this test. DVD -/+ R creation was the quickest of any of the units tested but inexplicably the DVD-RW write time was around twice as slow as other units with similar write specifications. Perplexingly, the software confirmed that the Pioneer was writing at it maximum 2x speed. DVD+RW creation was also slightly slower than similar drives but performance difference was certainly not as significant. The Pioneer also had a pretty healthy read performance for CD ROM media. Pioneer DVR-A06
Sony DRU-510AK
Sony gear usually has a solid design perspective if nothing else, and the DRU-510AK is no exception. Of note is the DRU-510AK's removable front faceplate. The standard drive ships with an attractive silver and beige faceplate fitted and also a spare all black face plate that the user can fit if that better suits their PC casing. The software bundle is quite good with the main workhouse Sonic's RecordNow DX. RecordNow features the ubiquitous wizard upon startup to simplify the whole CD/DVD creation process and it is certainly not daunting with just three buttons for copying, data or music disc creation. Selecting the music disc option spawns another three buttons for the various music options but the next step is identical to the Copy or Data options and simply involves the insertion of the media, selection of the files, and burning the data to the media. The main interface sans the Wizard is still relatively easy to use and is reasonably powerful in terms of feature set.
The Sony's media handling is much the same as the Pioneer, with DVD-RAM being the only media that the DRU-510AK cannot handle. Sony was the trailblazer in this regard being the first vendor to produce a DVD - and + capable writer. CD-ROM read speeds were exceptionally good; the Sony was the fastest drive in this test. The Sony was also the fastest burning CD-R and DVD+RW media, and while not the fastest in the other tests was nevertheless never far behind the fastest units in every capacity. Sony DRU-510AK
DVD Recorders: Sony Vs Panasonic
Panasonic DMR-E100H DVD Recorder
The Panasonic DMR-E100H is a good deal more expensive than the Sony RDR-GX7 but then again it has a pretty impressive exclusive feature list. In terms of media capability it does lag behind the Sony unit, as it can only record to DVD-R and DVD-RAM. Along with that, it's also incapable of reading DVD-RW discs although it can read DVD+R. You could of course argue that the DVD-RAM is a replacement for RW but then compatibility with other DVD players will not so great. You could further argue that with the 80GB hard drive on board tasks can be recorded to the hard disk until a more permanent record is required at which time they can be written to DVD-R for archiving. Other very neat features are the inclusion of an SD memory card slot and a PC Card slot. Using a Canon PC Card Compaq Flash memory adapter we were able to read the JPEG images directly from our camera's memory card and display them on the TV screen. There's also the capability to transfer images to the Hard Drive or DVD media for more permanent archiving.
The remote control is relatively small and at first glance does not appear encompass as wide a range of functions as the Sony. This is simply because the Panasonic makes do with fewer short cut keys and relies more on its extensive on screen menu system. Unlike the Sony however, if you lose the Panasonic remote you are definitely up the creek without a paddle. While the Sony allows the user to access the menu system from the unit's front controls the Panasonic has no such feature. The front panel controls are quite limited, encompassing only basic transport, channel and media selection. Connectivity is very good with three sets of AV inputs two at the rear and one under a small flip down panel at the front; all the AV inputs are Composite Video or S-Video. Also hidden under the front panel is a IEEE 1394 Firewire port to allow the direct connection of your DV camera to dub straight to hard drive or DVD. To enable the units tuner to grab a signal there is an antenna input complete with pass though to your TV. Outputs include two combination Composite Video/S-Video outputs, a Component Video output that supports NTSC Progressive Scan and an optical digital audio output. There is no coaxial output for digital audio, so if your surround sound receiver is the older type that does not feature an optical input you may be in trouble. The only thing to watch for when you are recording is that you have selected the correct destination for the video, either the hard drive or DVD media; although if you do mistakenly record to the hard drive you can then dub it over to DVD media. Recording to the hard disk first has its advantages as you can edit out the adverts and then dub over to DVD-R at up to 24x in EP mode. The unit supports four recording modes ranging from XP, which only records up to 1 hour on DVD-RAM, up to EP, which will squeeze 6 hours onto a DVD-RAM disc. The 80GB hard drive is good for 18 hours of video in XP mode and an impressive 109 hours in EP mode. Because the Panasonic has the ability to record to DVD-RAM and hard drive there are some pretty nifty benefits bestowed by these two types of media, most notably the Time Slip feature. Essentially the hard drive and DVD-RAM are fast and flexible enough for you to play back one program while you are recording another to the same media. We tested using input from a Sony DV camera, viewing a recording from the start while the actual recording process was five minutes ahead. In Time Slip mode you can view the playback full screen or chose to have a small quarter screen picture-in-picture in the lower right hand side displaying the recording simultaneously. Image quality was certainly very good with good colour and smooth diagonal lines. Both the Panasonic and Sony were excellent in this regard and both certainly put the old VCR quality recordings well and truly to shame.
Panasonic DMR-E100H DVD Recorder
Sony RDR-GX7 DVD Recorder
Sony's entry into the DVD recorder market, the RDR-GX7, is quite an impressive unit. Admittedly it does not feature a hard drive, as does the Panasonic, but the Sony is around AU$1000 less expensive than the Panasonic. And, while the Sony can write to DVD-R/RW it is also capable of writing to DVD+RW but, inexplicably Sony chose not to provide DVD+R write support. Like the Panasonic the basic functions of the Sony such as timer recording and the like are quite simple. If you can timer record on your VCR then the Sony should not prevent any challenges. Some of the more intricate editing features on the other hand are not so straightforward and will almost certainly require frequent visits to the relatively comprehensive manual. Even though the remote boasts more controls than the unit itself, a common feature of modern appliances, because the unit has a screen based menu system many of the functions can still be accessed from the front panel. The remote is quite long and slender and while the control layout is not the best we have seen its is nevertheless adequate. The joystick navigator and most of the transport controls found in the centre of the remote are better than the less used controls at the top of the remote in this regard. The recording functions are located under a sliding panel at the bottom of the remote, which will hopefully reduce the likelihood of the kids randomly burning DVD-R's. Like your average VCR the Sony has aerial in and out connectors at the rear. Additional I/O however is certainly more extensive than most VCR's. There are three inputs at the rear, two SCART and a Composite/S-Video input; a fourth Composite/S-Video input is conveniently located at the front of the unit. There are a pair of digital audio outputs, one coaxial and the other optical, a Composite/S-Video output with audio mixed down to stereo and a component Video output, which can be configured to output Progressive Scan for your projector. The Sony is cooled by a quite and unobtrusive fan located at the rear. There is also a DV port located at the front of the unit so you can directly link your Digital Video camera and record to DVD in one easy step. Recording to DVD is a very simple process and there are six recording modes ranging from a very high quality mode that fills a DVD in just 60 minutes to an extended long play mode of fair quality that can cram a full 360 minutes onto a DVD. Standard mode which is the mode we used for testing purposes will fit up to 120 minutes onto a DVD. Image quality from recordings taken from a Sony DV camera and commercial DVD's was excellent. Sony's Progressive Scan certainly went a long way to remove the coarseness and "jaggies" from diagonal lines, and we can't fault either the Sony or Panasonic units for visual clarity.
Sony RDR-GX7
Summary of results 
CD Winbench99 V2.0 test results 
Time to burn CD-R 
Time to burn DVD- 
Time to burn DVD+ 
Specifications
Editor's Choice: DVD Burners
Unless DVD-RAM capability is an absolute must we would have to recommend the Sony DRU-510AK. While the Sony cannot write to DVD-RAM it is quite at home writing to DVD -/+ R/RW disks and quite speedily at that. The drive itself is a quality unit with interchangeable front faceplates in an attempt to match your local décor.The software package supplied with the Sony, while perhaps not quite as extensive as some of the other drives, nevertheless covers most of the bases. If you really need to be able to write to every flavour of DVD media then LG is definitely the way to go although it will set you back around AU$100 more than the Sony drive.
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