Lite-On SHM-165P6S Super Allwrite DVD-Burner Review

Lite-On BV was kind enough to send us one of their latest DVD-writer the LiteOn SHM-165P6S. This drive supports 16x DVD+R/-R, 5x DVD-RAM, 8x/6x DVD+RW/-RW writing and 8x/4x DVD+R DL/-R DL writing technology – allowing Double/Dual Layer discs of 8.5GB to be written. Also, it’s nice to see that Lite-On now supports writing of DVD+/-R and DVD+/-R DL above their rated speed by including OverSpeed and Hypertuning functionality (an auto-strategy mechanism).

Company information:

Let us take a look at some of the company information found at the Lite-On Website:

Lite-On Technology Corporation’s vision is to become a world-class excellent company. The company will accomplish this not only through leading global R&D and manufacturing technologies, but also through the quality and distinctiveness of its products.

To reach these levels of excellence and become the leading navigator in 3C convergence, Lite-On plans to generate between five and six billion US dollars in annual revenue while establishing itself as a global market-leader by mastering all of its product-line industries. The company’s ability to generate profits will guide the industrial circles in which it competes. While accomplishing these goals, corporate management will continue its policies of absolute financial transparency, independence, and impartiality.

The company’s pursuit of excellence does not end there. To create better lives for people, Lite-On will also continue to develop advanced and integrated digital products while furnishing customers with innovative values that lead to true, beneficial relationships. Lite-On wants to be the best strategic partner for each of its customers.

Led by a professional team with promise and lofty ethics, Lite-On will also strive to be an excellent corporation with peak efficiency. The company will provide shareholders and investors with an appealing return-on-investment. Additionally, Lite-On will supply employees with an optimum work environment that helps them learn new skills and grow professionally for the future. Lite-On seeks to become one of the best corporations that people in greater China can choose for a career.

Facts & Figures:

• Lite-On Technology reported its global consolidated June revenue of NT$13.7B, increasing 4% on a YoY basis.
• Accumulated revenue in 2005 totalled NT$75.6B, growing 2% on a YoY basis.

If you are interested in reading more company information, please visit: Lite-On

Drive specifications:

The official listed specification of this drive was found on the Lite-On website:

• ATAPI/E-IDE Half-Height internal DVD+R / DVD+RW / DVD-R / DVD-RW / DVD+R9/ DVD-R9/ DVD-RAM /DVD-ROM / CD-R/ CD-RW / CD-ROM combination drive
• Support Double Layer DVD +/- R9 Recording Function
• SMART-BURN avoiding Buffer UnderRun Error, Automatically adjusting writing strategy & running OPC to provide the best burning quality
• SMART-X function adjusts CD-DA / VCD / DVD data extraction to a fastest allowable speed according to both data request rate from host and disk quality
• ABS® system reduce vibration and noise during recording and reading
• Support Fixed Packet, Variable Packet, TAO, SAO, DAO, Raw Mode Burning & Over-Burn
• DVD read compliant: DVD single/dual layer (PTP/OTP), DVD-R(3.9GB/4.7GB), DVD-R multi-borders,DVD-RAM,DVD+R, DVD+R multi-sessions, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW
• CD read compliant: CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-ROM/XA, Photo-CD, Multi-session, Karaoke-CD,Video-CD, CD-I FMV, CD Extra, CD Plus, CD-R, and CD-RW
• Supprot both 8 cm and 12 cm disc of CD and DVD family
• Conform to Orange Book : Part 2 CD-R Volume 1, Part 2 CD-R Volume 2 Multi Speed, Part 3 CD-RW Volume 1 ( 1x, 2x, and 4x ), Part 3 CD-RW Volume 2 : High Speed, Part 3 CD-RW Volume 3 : Ultra Speed
• Support Fixed packet, Variable packet, Disc-at-once, Session-at-once and Track-at ‘“once
• Supported transfer mode: PIO mode 4, DMA mode 2 and Ultra DMA mode 4

What’s inside the box?

In this section we will take a look at what the drive came shipped with and take a look at the drive and its technology.

Front

Back

Left/Right Side

Below you will see the contents of the retail box:

• The internal SHM-165P6S drive itself
• CyberLink PowerDVD 5
• Nero OEM Suite 3 containing 
  • Drives user manual
  • NeroExpress 6.6
  • NeroVision Express 3
  • Nero BackitUp
  • MPEG-2 SVCD/DVD Plug-In
  • Nero Media Player
  • InCD4 and InCD reader
  • Nero PhotoShow Express
  • Content + Templates
• MPC Audio cable
• Screw set
• Silver and black bezel
• Quick installation and front panel replacement guides in several languages

Now it’s time to take a look at the drive itself:

The came with three really stylish bezels in a simple and clean design that includes a few logos, a single green coloured LED, an emergency eject hole and an eject button. (We would prefer different LED colours to distinguish between reading and writing operations). The logos located on the tray include a DVD Forum DVD-Multi Recorder R DL logo, a DVD Alliance DVD+R DL logo, and a CD-RW Ultra Speed logo.

Top

On the top-side of the drive we found two sticker and we can read it was made in China - November 2005.

Underside

On the back of the drive starting from the left, we can see a digital audio connector; analogue audio connector; pins and jumper to set the drive to cable select, slave or master; IDE connector and finally the power connector.

Chipset

We installed the drive without any problems and here is a screenshot from Nero InfoTool:

From the screenshot of Nero InfoTool above, we miss Mt.Rainier, CD+G support (which is not really important for us) and also a larger buffer size. Our drive came shipped with firmware MS0K.

Another shot from Nero Burning ROM:

But let us continue this review and see how it really performs.

On the next page we will take a look at the test machine, the software, the drive features…………