Lite-On LH-20A1L DVD Burner Review

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Author

Dee
Senior Administrator and Reviewer
Article posted 21 Jan 08 22:31

DVD-R/RW Writing performance

  

DVD-R media compatibility and write quality:

In these tests we will be using a Lite-On LH-20A1P with firmware BL05 along with K-Probe to measure the disc quality. We will also be using the Optiarc AD-7173A with firmware 1-O3 along with Nero Disc Speed and CD-Speed for our read-back tests.

 

Brand:

Taiyo Yuden unbranded – Thanks to SVP (UK) for sending us this media.

Manufacturer:

Taiyo Yuden

Code:

TYG03 (made in Japan)

Disc Type:

DVD-R

Capacity:

4483MB

Certified Speed:

16x

Write Speed:

20x (CAV)

Write Time:

5m:04s

PI-8 errors Average/Sec:

4.09

PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:

0.02

PIF errors are high and out of specification at the end of the disc, although our read-back test is perfect. The result could be improved.

Brand:

Verbatim – Thanks to Verbatim (UK) for providing this media.

Manufacturer:

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation

Code:

MCC 03RG20 (made in Taiwan)

Disc Type:

DVD-R

Capacity:

4483MB

Certified Speed:

16x

Write Speed:

18x (CAV)

Write Time:

5m:49s

PI-8 errors Average/Sec:

6.52

PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:

0.05

Again PIF errors are out of specification at the end of the disc and our read-back test shows a hint of reading problems with this disc. The writing quality could be improved.

Brand:

Ricoh – Thanks to Ricoh Europe for sending us this media.

Manufacturer:

CMC Magnetics

Code:

CMC MAG AM3 (made in Taiwan)

Disc Type:

DVD-R

Capacity:

4483MB

Certified Speed:

16x

Write Speed:

18x (CAV)

Write Time:

5m:34s

PI-8 errors Average/Sec:

28.25

PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:

0.10

PI errors are high at the end of the disc but are within specification. PIF errors are once again out of specification at the end of the disc. The writing quality could be better.

Brand:

Sony

Manufacturer:

Sony Corporation

Code:

SONY16D1

Disc Type:

DVD-R

Capacity:

4483MB

Certified Speed:

16x

Write Speed:

20x (CAV)

Write Time:

5m:37s

PI-8 errors Average/Sec:

4.30

PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:

0.05

The result is good. The available speed for writing this media was 20x. 20x was selected as the write speed, but the drive only burned the media at 18x, with a slowdown at the end of the disc. We include a screenshot below for reference.

Brand:

Taiyo Yuden unbranded – Thanks to SVP (UK) for sending us this media.

Manufacturer:

Taiyo Yuden (Made in Japan)

Code:

TYG02

Disc Type:

DVD-R

Capacity:

4483MB

Certified Speed:

8x

Write Speed:

12x (P-CAV)

Write Time:

7m:18s

PI-8 errors Average/Sec:

5.13

PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:

0.00

The result is excellent.

DVD-RW media compatibility and write quality:

For this test we used the same testing procedures as in our DVD-R tests.

Brand:

Verbatim – Thanks to Verbatim (UK) for sending us this media.

Manufacturer:

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation

Code:

MKM01RW6X01 (made in Taiwan)

Disc Type:

DVD-RW

Capacity:

4483MB

Certified Speed:

6x

Write Speed:

6x (Z-CLV)

Write Time:

11m:05s

PI-8 errors Average/Sec:

1.68

PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:

0.04

The result is excellent.

Summary:

The Lite-On LH-20A1L has in most cases, written our DVD-R media with good quality. However, the drive did display some problems with quality on media that was written at high speed (18x – 20x). Writing quality on our tested DVD-RW media was excellent.

Let’s head on to the next page where we will test DVD R DL writing performance and quality……

6 Comments

guest
Posts: 15284
Posted on: 29 Jan 08 11:13
Hi, I have this DVD Burner and it does not recording on any media with drag-and-drop method on Windows XP. Maybe some of you can help me with that? Maybe it is my fault and it needs some properly driver to install? If so please write to me: p b o r k o w s k i (at domain) o2.pl
guest
Posts: 15284
Posted on: 18 Feb 08 01:41
What of the burn-features? (forced|online) HyperTuning, SmartBurn et al... and their multitudinous combinations?
guest
Posts: 15284
Posted on: 07 Mar 08 13:59
I have a LH-20A1L, i can not stand it, because it is very noisy. does someone have an application to reduce its noise???? i am also looking for its free region code
guest
Posts: 15284
Posted on: 02 Apr 08 21:26
We purchased this drive for a machine I do media work on, and I have since pinpointed it as the cause of a major lockup in the system. Any time the drive is accessed or the tray changes states, Windows chops for at least five to ten minutes. Lite-On no longer supports (or even lists on their site) the BL05 model of this device, therefore no firmware updates were available to fix issues. Found an update on codeguys.rpc.org which helped immensely, and they linked to here. So, there's my two pints on the issue.
ray8375
Posts: 1
Posted on: 25 Sep 09 01:28
anyone know if i can use this drive vertically?
pfloyd1
Posts: 1395
Posted on: 25 Sep 09 07:01
I dont see why not.

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