Reading performance

For these tests we will use Nero CD/DVD-Speed to read various BD’s, CD’s and DVD’s, including audio discs and DVD-media.

CD reading performance:

CD-ROM:

For this test we used a pressed CD-ROM disc containing the Roxio Media Creator 7.5 install CD that is close to 75 minutes in length. Below you will see the produced result:

The Pioneer BDR-203BK reached 41.61x read speed. Let’s compare it with some other drives below.

The Pioneer BDR-203BK was about average when reading our test CD-ROM

CD Recordable discs:

For this test we made a copy of the original Roxio Media Creator 7.5 install CD. The disc we used was a Ricoh 52X certified CD-R disc manufactured by Moser Baer India.

The Pioneer BDR-203BK reached 32.87x read speed. Let’s compare it with some other drives below.

The Pioneer BDR-203BK was one of the slowest drives when reading our test CD-R

CD Re-writable discs:

Again, we made a copy of the original Roxio Media Creator 7.5 install CD; this time we used a Verbatim Ultra Speed (32X) CD-RW disc made by Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation.

The Pioneer BDR-203BK reached 24.60x read speed. Let’s compare it with some other drives below.

The Pioneer BDR-203BK was one of the slowest drives when reading our test CD-RW.

100 minute CD-R:

The Pioneer BDR-203BK reached 33.88x when reading our test 100 minute CD-R and had no problems reading our 100 minute test CD.

Audio – Digital Audio Extraction:

To test the digital audio extraction performance of the Pioneer BDR-203BK, again we used Nero CD/DVD-Speed to measure the transfer rate. The audio disc we used is slightly larger than the disc used for the other tests, to be exact it’s nearly 79 minutes in length (78:53:31).

The Pioneer BDR-203BK reached 33.69x when reading our test audio disc. Let’s compare it with some drives below.

The Pioneer BDR-203BK was about average when reading our test CD-Audio disc.

DVD reading performance:

Again, we will use Nero CD-Speed to measure the reading performance, this time for various types of DVD discs. The drive should read pressed single layer DVD-discs at 12X.

Pressed DVD Video:

For our DVD reading performance tests we are going to start with Single and Double Layer DVD video discs. While only 1X speed is required to watch DVD movies, it’s useful to be able to read the discs at higher speeds if you’re going to extract (rip) the content of the disc to your hard drive.

DVD Video (single layer)

DVD Video (double layer OTP)

DVD Video (double layer PTP)

The Pioneer BDR-203BK is not riplocked and is able to read our single layer disc at 16x and our double layer test discs at 12x

We present the table below for comparison with other Blu-ray drives.

The Pioneer BDR-203BK was the fastest drive when reading pressed DVD-Video discs.

DVD – DVD+R/RW:

For this test we used a Verbatim 16X DVD+R and a RICOH 8X DVD+RW with about 4.4GB of data. Below are the results:

DVD+R

DVD+RW

We present the table below for comparison with other Blu-ray drives.

The Pioneer BDR-203BK was the fastest drive when reading DVD+RW and above average when reading DVD+R.

DVD – DVD-R/RW:

For this test we used a Verbatim 16X DVD-R disc and a Verbatim 6X DVD-RW disc filled with about 4.4GB of data. Our test results are found below:

DVD-R

DVD-RW

There are hardly any differences in the speed, compared to reading the DVD+R/RW discs.

We present the table below for comparison with other Blu-ray drives.

The Pioneer BDR-203BK was the fastest drive when reading DVD-RW and above average when reading DVD-R.

DVD±R DL discs:

DVD+R DL:

The Pioneer BDR-203BK read our DVD+R DL test disc at 12x reading speed.

DVD-R DL:

The Pioneer BDR-203BK read our DVD-R DL test disc at 12x reading speed.

We present the table below for comparison with other Blu-ray drives.

The Pioneer was the fastest drive when reading our test DVD±DL media.

DVD-RAM:

We present the table below for comparison with other Blu-ray drives.

The Pioneer was about average when reading our test DVD-RAM media.

Blu-ray reading performance:

BD-ROM SL

We selected a BD-ROM SL disc containing a movie (Planet Earth)

The Pioneer read our BD-ROM DL media at 8x reading speed.

BD-ROM DL:

We selected a BD-ROM DL disc containing the movie (Casino Royale)

The Pioneer BDR-203BK read our DL BD-ROM DL media at 8x reading speed.

BD-R:

The Pioneer BDR-203BK read our BD-R disc at 8x reading speed.

BD-R DL:

The Pioneer BDR-203BK read our BD-R DL disc at 6x reading speed.

BD-RE:

The Pioneer BDR-203BK read our BD-RE at 8x reading speed.

BD-RE DL:

The Pioneer BDR-203BK read our BD-RE at 6x reading speed.

Summary:

The Pioneer BDR-203BK is a very fast reader of BD media, currently supporting the fastest reading speeds available (8x). DVD media reading performance is also very good, and the fastest drive in many cases. The Pioneer BDR-203BK was also an extremely reliable reader throughout our tests.