A first look at dual layer DVD+R writing

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Preview: BenQ DW830A Dual Layer
DVD-Writer
Author: OC-Freak
Provided by:
BenQ
Firmware:
B4A8
Manufactured: April
2004

It has been a
while since last time we looked into a BenQ drive, so
it will be interesting to see where they are now and how their products are. The
drive they sent us is their latest DVD-Writer; the BenQ DW830A. The drive we got here is a pre-release drive
with unfinished firmware so we find it a bit useless to do a full review before
the final firmware arrives. What we will take a look at is the features and the
dual layer writing capabilities as they are now. Just to give you a taste on
what to expect from the first generation dual layer capable drives. We will try
to look at compatibility, quality and speed.

Drive specifications:

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These are the
specifications of this drive, found at the BenQ's
webpage:

World's First DVD+R Double-Layer
DVD Re-Writer

Performance	Max. DVD writing speed 8x (10800KBps) + R, 4x (5400KBps)-R Max. DVD Re-writing speed 4x (5400KBps) +RW, 2x (2700KBps) -RW Max DVD DL writing Speed 2.4X(3240KBps)+R Max. CD Writing Speed 24x (3600KBps), CLV  / CAV (24x) Max. CD Re-writing Speed 10x (1500KBps), CLV Max. DVD Reading Speed 12X (16200KBps), CAV Max. CD Reading Speed 40X (6000KBps), CAV Seek Time 160 ms (DVD) / 120 ms (CD)
Weight	1 kg
Dimensions (LxWxH)	146 x 198 x 42 mm
Buffer Size	2MB
Interface	ATA/ATAPI (ATA 66 above)
IDE Mode	PIO mode 0/1/2/3/4 DMA mode 0/1/2 UDMA mode 0/1/2
Disc Size	8cm/12cm
Writing Mode	DVD DVD Data and Video CD Disc-at-once Track-at-once Multi-session Packet writing CD Digital Audio Direct Over write on CDRW Simulation Writing
Disc Formats	DVD Write DVD+R DL 8.5GB, DVD+R 4.7GB  DVD+RW 4.7GB  DVD-R 4.7GB DVD-RW 4.7GB (Close session) Read DVD-5 DVD-9 DVD-10 DVD-18 DVD+R/-R/+RW/-RW CD CD-DA CD-ROM XA (m1, m2f1/m2f2) CD-R CD-RW Bootable CD Photo CD (single & multi-session) Video CD Super Video CD CD-Extra Mixed-mode CD CD-Text CD-Graphics
OS Compatibility	Windows 98SE / ME / 2000/ XP
Power Requirement	DC 5V +/- 5%, 0.8A Max DC12V+/- 10%, 1.9A Max
Environment Conditions	Operating temperature: 5°C~45°C (41°F~113°F) at the humidity of 50% RH Non-operating temperature: -40°C~60°C (-40°F~140°F) Non-operating humidity: 5%~95% RH
Reliability characteristics	MTBF: 50.000 POH Non-recoverable read error < 1 block in 1012 bits (CD and DVD)
System Requirements	IBM PC compatible Pentium III 550MHz CPU or above 128MB DRAM, 100MB free HDD space for CD/DVD recording related software installation. 1GB free HDD space for CD Image recording
Accessories	Value Softwares bundled for DVD Burn / Playback / Edit * Sonic Record Now 7.1 * Sonic DLA 4.9 * Intervideo WinDVD 4.0 * Intervideo WinDVD Creator Plus 2.0 * BenQ exclusive Qvideo 2.0 * BenQ Book type management 8.2 ATA66 cable bundled ensuring high speed Premium Double Layer disc *0F2 model

The most important
feature of this drive is of course the Dual Layer capabilities. Beside this it
doesn't seem to be very special, but let's forget that for now and concentrate
on the dual layer writing capabilities. We will of course come back with a full
review including updated dual layer tests when the firmware and media is
finalized.

Test machine:

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For this review we
will be using a computer with the following configuration:

Hardware:

⋅        
Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-8KNXP
with Intel i875P chipset.
⋅        
Processor: Intel
Pentium 4 2,8GHz 800MHz FSB with Hyper Threading
support.
⋅        
RAM: 1Gb PC3500
DDR
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GFX: ATI
Radeon 9800 pro
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Sound: SB Audigy 2
⋅        
Hard disks: 2 x Hitachi Deskstar 7k250 160Gb S-ATA in
RAID 0 on the i875P S-ATA RAID controller.

System
set-up:

 

The BenQ DW830A was connected as Primary Master and identified
itself as ATAPI DVD DL 2X8X4X12X. DMA (Direct Memory Access) and autorun was enabled for all devices.

Software:

Windows XP
professional is installed on the computer along with Service Pack 1 for windows
XP. We will be using the following software in this article:

⋅        
Ahead Nero Burning ROM version
6.3.1.10
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Ahead Nero CD/DVD Speed
v2.20
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Ahead Nero InfoTool
v2.21
⋅        
K-Probe v2.1.0
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DVDinfoPRO
v2.47
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Lite-On Smartburn Media Identifier 3.18
⋅        
DVD Decrypter
3.2.2.0

Head on to
the next page and find out what we
received…

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