Pioneer DVR-110D: Dual Layer Double Time!
by Purav Sanghani on September 15, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Storage
The Test
Our benchmarks include a few tests to show the performance of each of our test drives. We first use Nero CD-DVD Speed to create a data disc, which tests the write capabilities/performance of the drive. We then run a transfer rate test to benchmark the read capabilities as well as verify the data on the disc.
Finally, we use our Plextor PX-712A drive to read the media for PI/PO errors. According to the ECMA standard:
Our test bed:
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (2.2Ghz )
Giga-byte GA-K8NXP-SLI
NVIDIA 6600GT SLI Edition (single 128MB card)
1GB (512MBx2) Corsair XMS4400
Plextor PX-712A, Firmware v1.07
Microsoft Windows XP SP2
Nero CD-DVD Speed 4.00
PlexTools Professional XL 3.03
We are testing the Pioneer DVR-110D with firmware version 1.08. We cannot guarantee that this will be the latest firmware out at the time that this review is published, so do take that into consideration when making your buying decisions.
Again, we have taken all of your feedback into consideration and have decided to go back to focusing more on the write quality of each media instead of just the write speeds. Our results are displayed on the following pages. The screenshots are again ZIPed into packages corresponding to the type of media.
Our benchmarks include a few tests to show the performance of each of our test drives. We first use Nero CD-DVD Speed to create a data disc, which tests the write capabilities/performance of the drive. We then run a transfer rate test to benchmark the read capabilities as well as verify the data on the disc.
Finally, we use our Plextor PX-712A drive to read the media for PI/PO errors. According to the ECMA standard:
A row of an ECC Block that has at least 1 byte in error constitutes a PI error. In any 8 consecutive ECC Blocks the total number of PI errors before correction shall not exceed 280.Now, some writers may create discs with more than 208 PI errors and they are not necessarily unreadable, but they are not the best quality discs around.
A row is 182 bytes long where the last 10 bytes contain PI (Parity Inner) information. An ECC block is 208 rows long where the last 16 rows contain the PO (Parity Outer) information. This gives us a maximum possible PI error amount of 208 errors per block and for 8 blocks after each other this sum is of course 8 times higher giving a maximum possible amount of 1664 PI errors.
If a row of an ECC Block contains more than 5 erroneous bytes, the row is said to be “PI-uncorrectable” or PIF (Parity Inner Failures).
In any ECC Block the number of PI-uncorrectable rows should not exceed 4.
Our test bed:
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (2.2Ghz )
Giga-byte GA-K8NXP-SLI
NVIDIA 6600GT SLI Edition (single 128MB card)
1GB (512MBx2) Corsair XMS4400
Plextor PX-712A, Firmware v1.07
Microsoft Windows XP SP2
Nero CD-DVD Speed 4.00
PlexTools Professional XL 3.03
We are testing the Pioneer DVR-110D with firmware version 1.08. We cannot guarantee that this will be the latest firmware out at the time that this review is published, so do take that into consideration when making your buying decisions.
Again, we have taken all of your feedback into consideration and have decided to go back to focusing more on the write quality of each media instead of just the write speeds. Our results are displayed on the following pages. The screenshots are again ZIPed into packages corresponding to the type of media.
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20 Comments
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DigitalFreak - Thursday, September 15, 2005 - link
But who can afford dual layer media? I don't care if the drive can burn DVD+-R/DL @ 20x, if I have to pay $3/disc for the media...Anton74 - Friday, September 16, 2005 - link
It makes for a good backup medium. Tapes of similar capacity are far more expensive, and far slower as well.Not to mention, the price of the media will undoubtedly drop over time.
Questar - Thursday, September 15, 2005 - link
Still reviewing DVD drives? $50 items?I'm left speechless.
LoneWolf15 - Thursday, September 15, 2005 - link
Yeah, because all of us would like to buy three or four, spending money and time to RMA if necessary because Drives A, B, and C didn't have good write quality standards across multiple media manufacturers and burnt horrible discs, or burned 80% of the media on the market at 2-4x instead of max. rated speed.
Just because a product is inexpensive doesn't mean it's not worthy of a review. Heck, I'd like to know which 120mm case fans produce the least amount of noise, for example. Do I want to buy ten just so I can test it out myself?
In the same way, DVD burning today is much like second-gen CD writers about nine years ago. Media differed by manufacturer, and some drives did a lot better writing than others. The problem is rarer today now that technology has matured, but with DVD burners, the technology is like a child; some growth has been achieved, but it's still a long way from maturity. All of us here want the best for our money. Don't you?
vijay333 - Thursday, September 15, 2005 - link
Yes. Who cares how cheap they've become? It's a matter of how often you actually use them these days - you'd still like to get the best possible product. Falls into the same category as mouse reviews...wanderer27 - Thursday, September 15, 2005 - link
Firmware is at v1.17 on the Pioneer Site. Why are we looking at v1.08 issues ?PuravSanghani - Thursday, September 15, 2005 - link
At the time we tested this drive, 1.17 had not yet been released, which we stated in the review. We would also like to get some feedback from those who do have newer firmware versions applied on the performance/quality of burning to various types of media.If you do have the DVR-110D, or any other product we have reviewed in the past for that matter, with newer firmware than we have tested with, we would like any input you, our audience, can provide to help the rest of the community.
For those looking for reviews besides DVD writers, we have quite a line up in the coming weeks so keep an eye out!
Purav
DigitalFreak - Thursday, September 15, 2005 - link
I would like to see an updated review with the 1.17 firmware, if it fixes any of the issues they had. However, it appears that 1.17 has only been out for a week, so they probably had the article done awhile ago.Lifted - Thursday, September 15, 2005 - link
you heard me, fix it!n7 - Thursday, September 15, 2005 - link
BenQ DW1640 still has the crown!