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Ricoh Europe B.V Germany was kind enough to send us some samples of their latest media '“ the Ricoh DVD+R DL 8x.

In this article, we are going to test the performance of the media with various 8x DVD+R DL writers, test it's compatibility with DVD standalone devices and other PC DVD devices.

Introduction:

 

The official Press release:

 RICOH High Speed DVD+R 8x Double Layer

• 8x write speed according to the High Speed Standard
• Excellent compatibility through optimised manufacturing process
• 8.5 gigabyte '“ ideal for movie and data archiving

With the DVD+R 8x DL, Ricoh, an innovative manufacturer of optical storage media, again presents a DVD blank medium which due to its high performance and extensive capacity, offers users numerous benefits when archiving valuable data. With its enormous storage capacity of 8.5 gigabyte combined with the extremely fast 8x write speed, the Ricoh DVD+R 8x DL can be recommended as the perfect medium for movie fans and collectors. Thus the new generation of Ricoh DVD+R 8x Double Layer discs allows extensive data protection, hard disc backups and uninterrupted movie archiving of amounts of data up to 8.5 gigabyte in only about 16 minutes. In comparison: a DVD+R 2.4x DL requires about 44 minutes to store the same amount of data.

The most important features of the new Ricoh DVD+R 8x DL

Highest write speed according to the 8x High Speed Standard
Ricoh has developed a fully new, highly sensitive surface coating for the DVD+R 8x DL in order to achieve highest recording quality and absolute security during the high speed writing process. In doing so particular attention was given to the precise co-ordination of each individual write level (Layer 0 and Layer 1). Besides extremely short recording times, advantages for the user include perfect data quality and exceptional durability.

Highest compatibility with DVD players and DVD-ROM drives
Thanks to a special feature of Ricoh technology, not only the material but also the intensity of the recording, reflective and bonding layers was optimised. The objective of these extensive fine tuning measures was to achieve highest compatibility both with double layer compatible DVD+R DL drives on the one hand and existing DVD Players and DVD-ROM drives on the other.

Highest storage capacity for large volumes of data
The enormous 8.5 gigabyte capacity of the DVD+R 8x DL is 1.8x greater than the capacity of single layer DVDs. Thus users have the opportunity to archive up to four hours of uninterrupted excess-length movies in DVD quality. However the new Ricoh Double Layer DVD is not just the perfect storage medium for movie fans. The DVD+R 8x DL is a fast and absolutely reliable solution for storing large amounts of data such as the archiving of highest-resolution digital photos or extensive hard disc backups. Using the Inverted Stack production process for double layer media that has been developed and optimised by Ricoh, the DVD+R 8x DL is characterized by its favourable cost effectiveness.

More information about Ricoh Europe B.V. and their products can be found at their homepage.

The Media:

In this section we will take a look at the media and the packaging it came in:

The media came in a 10 pcs Cake box

The Cake box label '“ Top Side

The Cake box label '“ Underside

Parts on the Cake box ribbon

On the reverse side of the Cake box ribbon, we can find some information about handling instructions, copyrighted content and warranty info.

As we can see, the media is printed with the speed range of 2.4x '“ 8x.

Let us find out the media code with DVD Identifier:

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Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD+R-DL : RICOHJPN-D01-002]
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Disc & Book Type :       [DVD+R DL] - [Not Available]
Manufacturer Name :      [Ricoh Co. Ltd.]
Manufacturer ID :        [RICOHJPN]
Media Type ID :          [D01]
Product Revision :       [002]
Blank Disc Capacity :    [4,173,824 Sectors = 8.55 GB (7.96 GiB)]
Recording Speeds :       [1x-2.4x , 1.6x-4x]
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** INFO : Drive = BENQ DVD DD DW1640 [FW BSLB]
** INFO : Write Capabilities = DVD+R DVD+R-DL DVD+RW
** INFO : Write Capabilities = DVD-R DVD-R-DL DVD-RW
** INFO : Disc = [DVD+R-DL : RICOHJPN-D01-002]
** INFO : Reference Speed : 1x DVD = 1385 kBps
** INFO : An Writeable Disc Is Recommended For Accurate Results
** INFO : Write Speeds (Supported By This Drive On This Disc) Listed Below

** INFO : GET PERFORMANCE Write Speed Descriptor(s)
Descriptor #1 = 11080 kBps ( 8.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
Descriptor #2 =  5540 kBps ( 4.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
Descriptor #3 =  3324 kBps ( 2.40x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]

** INFO : MODE SENSE Write Speed Descriptor(s) [Legacy Command]
** WARNING : MODE SENSE Is Obsolete And Not Always Properly Supported
Descriptor #1 = 11080 kBps ( 8.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
Descriptor #2 =  5540 kBps ( 4.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
Descriptor #3 =  3324 kBps ( 2.40x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
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** INFO : Hex Dump Of 'Media Code'-Block Listed Below
** INFO : 4-Byte Header Preceding 'Media Code'-Block Discarded
** INFO : Format 11h (Method 1) - ADIP Information
0000 : e1 0f 32 10 00 03 00 00  00 fc ff ff 00 22 d7 ff   ..2.........."..
0010 : 00 00 03 52 49 43 4f 48  4a 50 4e 44 30 31 02 40   ...RICOHJPND01.@
0020 : 25 25 37 10 00 2c 6c 00  2c 6c 20 1f 0c 0c 14 14   %7..,l.,l .....
0030 : 02 01 01 20 00 20 1f 0c  0c 14 14 02 01 01 20 00   ... . ........ .
0040 : 04 00 33 7b 5c 00 25 69  3a 26 1c 0a 0b 20 02 01   ..3{.1305176:&... ..
0050 : 01 00 00 58 62 42 26 1c  0a 0b 20 02 01 01 00 5f   ...XbB&... ...._
0060 : 04 00 00 43 66 3e 26 1c  0a 0b 20 02 01 01 00 00   ...Cf>&... .....
0070 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
0080 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
0090 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
00a0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
00b0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
00c0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
00d0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
00e0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
00f0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00                            ........       
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[DVD Identifier - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com ]
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And with the Disc Info option in Nero CD-DVD Speed:

As we can see the media code is RICOHJPN D01 (002).

On the next page we will take a look at the write strategies…..

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