Hammer Storage MATSHITA DVD-RAM SW-9585 DVD Burner Review

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Hammer Storage sent us their latest internal 16x DVD± Double-Layer DVD-RAM Super Multi-Drive, the Matshita (Panasonic) DVD-RAM SW-9585. This drive supports 16x DVD±R writing, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 5x DVD-RAM and 4x DVD+R9 DL writing technology, allowing double layer discs of 8.5Gb to be written. 

Company information:

Hammer Storage Solutions develops and markets the Hammer® line of disk based solutions for digital video, multimedia, graphics and storage backup applications for the Microsoft Windows platform. HSS, a pioneer in video and audio compatible storage, is well regarded with a large installed base in the entertainment industry. Its current product line includes the Desk Hammer™ and Pocket Hammer™ portable external hard drives.

Drive Features:

Features

⋅         Reads and writes any format including DVD-RAM
⋅         Fast read and write speed
⋅         Comes with Ulead® Software for burning DVDs, making scheduled backups, editing video and photos, making music CDs and more. Nine titles. $250 value.

Use the DVD-RAM format to:

⋅         Format discs faster than any other format
⋅         Turn your DVD disc into a re-writable hard drive that allows simultaneous playing and recording
⋅         Ensure error-free recording and playback with built-in defect management

Drive specifications:

We listed the specifications of the drive and retail package as found on the side of the Package.

• Data Capacity
  • 4.7GB/8.5GB (DL+R)
• Write Speed
  • 5x DVD-RAM
  • 16x DVD±R
  • 4x DVD+R (DL)
  • 8x DVD+RW
  • 6x DVD-RW
  • 40x CD-R
  • 24x CD-RW
• Read Speed
  • DVD-ROM: Max 16x CAV
  • CD-ROM/R/RW: Max 40x CAV
• Mounting
  • Horizontal or Vertical
• Length x Height x Width
  • 146w x 41.3h x 109d mm

You may find further information on the Hammer Storage Website.

What's inside the box?

On this page we will take a look at what the retail bundle includes and take a look at the drive and its technology.

First some shots of the retail packaging.

Front

Back

Top

Bottom

 
 Left Side   

Right Side

Below you will see the contents of the retail box:

⋅         Internal 16x DVD± Double-Layer DVD-RAM Super Multi-Drive
⋅         Software CD
⋅         1 Panasonic 3x DVD-RAM media
⋅         1 Verbatim 16x DVD+R media
⋅         Installation guide
⋅         Ribbon cable
⋅         Audio cable
⋅         Mounting screws

A solid retail bundle with blank media to get you started! It is a rare treat to find a bundle that includes blank media.

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

Front View

The logos located on the loading tray include the DVD Alliance DVD+R logo, a DVD Forum DVD-Multi Recorder logo, and a CD-RW Ultra Speed logo.

Rear View

On the back of the drive there are from the left: digital audio connector; analog audio connector; pins and jumper to set the drive to cable select, slave or master; IDE connector, and a power connector.

Bottom View

Top View

On the top of the drive we see a sticker showing our drive was made in Indonesia in February 2005.

Inside we found the drive is powered by the Panasonic MN103SA6GSJ chipset.

We installed the drive without any problems and we then upgraded to firmware version B101

Here is a screenshot from Nero info tool:

 

From the screenshot above, we notice a 2MB buffer size and the installed firmware version B101, dated 03-29-05. Nero InfoTool indicates that the drive does not support DVD-R DL reading. We tested DVD-R DL reading later in this review and found that it can read this media type without any problems, so this must be a bug in InfoTool. We do miss support for CD+G reading and DVD-R DL writing.

Here is an additional image from Nero Burning ROM:

 

Nero Burning ROM indicates that this drive is equipped with "SmoothLink" buffer underrun protection. Nero also claims overburn support, which we will test on the Advanced Tests page of this review.

Let's continue this review and see how the drive really performs.

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

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Test
machines:

For this
review we will be using two computers with the following
configurations:

PC
#1

Hardware:

System
set-up:

PC
#2

Hardware:

System
set-up:

The Matshita
DVD-RAM SW-9585 was connected as the Secondary
Slave on PC#1 and Primary Master on PC#2 and identified itself as Matshita
DVD-RAM SW-9585. DMA (Direct Memory Access) and autorun was
enabled for all devices.

Software:

Windows XP
Professional is installed on the computer along with Service Pack 1 for Windows
XP. We will be using the following software in this review:

⋅        
Nero Burning ROM version
6.3.1.25
⋅        
Nero CD/DVD Speed v4.01 &
v4.04
⋅        
Nero Info Tool v3.01
⋅        
Slysoft CloneCD v5.1.0.0
⋅        
DVD-Identifier
3.6.2
⋅        
Exact Audio Copy v0.95 pre-beta
5
⋅        
K-Probe v2.4.2

Now it's time
to take a closer look at the write technology used by the Matshita DVD-RAM
SW-9585:

CD-Recordable:

The Matshita DVD-RAM
SW-9585 uses Z-CLV, (Zone Constant
Linear Velocity) to write at its maximum speed of
40X. This gives an average speed of 30.84x.
Two drives for
comparison are found below.

The Samsung TS-E552U uses P-CAV (Partial-Constant
Angular Velocity) to write at its rated
speed of 40x. This gives an average speed of 34.39x.

The LG
GSA-5160D uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear
Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 40X. The drive wrote the last
zone at 40.41X and this gives an average speed of 31.70x.

 For comparison we have
made the following table: 

As we can read
from the table, the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 is one of the slower 40x drives for
writing CD-R's.

CD-Rewritable:

We tested with
both Verbatim 32x CD-RW and Memorex 24x CD-RW, but we could not reach the 24x
advertised CD-RW burning speed. The Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 uses CAV
(Constant Angular Velocity) writing technology to write at
16X for CD-RW discs, the average speed is 16.01x. Below are some other drives
for comparison:

The LG GSA-5160D uses Z-CLV,
(Zone-Constant Linear Velocity), to write at its rated speed of 24x, this gives an
average speed of 23.31x.

 

The LaCie d2
DVD±RW Double
Layer uses
CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) writing technology to write
at 16X for CD-RW discs, the average speed is 16x. For a better overview we
present the following comparison table:

The Matshita
DVD-RAM SW-9585 is one of the slowest CD-RW writers because we could not reach
the maximum specification of 24x for writing CD-RW.

16X
DVD±R Writing speed:

The Matshita
DVD-RAM SW-9585 uses Z-CLV, (Zone Constant Linear
Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. The average speed is 11.22x and total
writing time is 6 minutes and 14 seconds.

The Matshita
DVD-RAM SW-9585 uses Z-CLV, (Zone Constant Linear
Velocity) to write DVD-R at 16x. The average speed is 11.34x and total
writing time is 6 minutes and 04 seconds. This is one of the fastest Z-CLV
writers that we have seen!

For your
reference, we have also included an 8x DVD-R burn graph. 12x DVD writing is not
selectable with this burner.

Below are some
other drives for comparison:

The LG
GSA-5160D uses Z-CLV,
(Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. The average speed is 11.60x
and total writing time is 6 minutes and 12 seconds.

The LG
GSA-4163B uses P-CAV, (Partial-Constant Angular
Velocity) to write DVD-R at 16x. The average speed is 12.90x and total
writing time is 5 minutes and 20 seconds.

The Samsung
TS-H552B uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write
DVD+R at 16x. The average speed is 12.03x and total writing time is 5 minutes
and 58 seconds.
Below, we made a comparison table:

*Actual writing speed was 12X in
these areas for the Pioneer A08.
** Actual writing speed was max 14x due to
USB-Bridge limitations.

From the table
above, we see that the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 performed about average in
writing DVD+R and DVD-R at 16x. It is one of the fastest 16x Z-CLV burners that
we have ever tested with! 

Features and
techniques:

Book
Type (bitsetting):

The Panasonic
SW-9585 uses a DVD-ROM Book Type by default on DVD+R DL media.  Bitsetting
is not available on DVD+R/RW media.

Quality
Scans:

The Matshita DVD-RAM
SW-9585 does not support disc quality scanning.

Included
software:

Now it's time
to look at the included software and to comment if needed. Notice that we may
not use the included software in our performance testing part of the
review.

Ulead®
Digital Media Center Software Installation DVD:

Complete with a powerful
software package, suitable for beginners as well as for advanced/experienced
users.

The software disc
includes the following items:

⋅        
Ulead DVD
MovieFactory 3.5 Suite Deluxe
    
o       
Ulead
VideoSuite 8 SE DVD
    
o       
Ulead DVD
Player 1.5
    
o       
Ulead
PhotoExplorer 8.5 SE
    
o       
Ulead CD &
DVD PictureShow 3 SE
    
o       
Ulead
PhotoImpact 10 SE
    
o       
Ulead
MyScrapbook 2
    
o       
Nova BACKUP
7.1
    
o       
Ulead UDF
Driver
⋅        
Other Ulead
Values
    
o       
MediaStudio
Pro Video Tutorial
    
o       
Install
MediaStudio Pro
    
o       
DVD Workshop
video tutorial
    
o       
Install DVD
Workshop
⋅        
Utilities
    
o       
Microsoft
DirectX
    
o       
Windows Media
Format
    
o       
Apple
QuickTime
    
o       
Adobe Acrobat
Reader
⋅        
User's
Guides
⋅        
Video
Tutorials
⋅        
Other
Resources
⋅        
Read
Me

It's nice to see such a
comprehensive software suite!

Now that we
have finished examining the drive and its writing strategies, it's time to head
on to next page, which is reading performance
test…

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Reading performance:

For these tests we will use Nero CD/DVD-Speed to read various CD and DVD's, including audio discs and DVD-media. As already mentioned in the introduction, this drive supports:

• DVD-ROM : 16x
• CD-ROM : 40x 

Pressed CD-ROM disc:

For this test we used a pressed CD-ROM disc containing Nero Express OEM install CD that is close to 77 minutes long. Below you will see the produced result:

The Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 reached 42.18x. Let's see how this compares to some other drives below:

The Matshita
DVD-RAM SW-9585 appears to be one of the faster 40x readers but the seek times
are incredibly high.

CD-Recordable Discs:

For this test
we used a Data CD-R that was made using Nero CD-DVD Speeds 'create data disc".
The disc we used is a Sony 48X certified CD-R manufactured by Sony
Corporation. 

From the table above we see again that the Matshita DVD-RAM
SW-9585 was one of the faster readers on CD-R in comparison to other drives but
shows those high seek times again.

CD-Rewritable discs:

Again, we
made a Data CD with Nero CD-DVD Speeds 'create data disc". This time we used a
Maxell High Speed (12X) CD-RW disc made by Mitsubishi.

As we can see
above, the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 only reads CD-RW discs at 25.30x. Let's
compare it to other drives below.

The Matshita
DVD-RAM SW-9585 scored last among the compared drives reading CD-RWs. The access
times are very high again.

Audio '“
Digital Audio Extraction:

To test the
digital audio extraction performance of the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585, we again
used Nero CD/DVD-Speed to measure the transfer rate. The audio disc we used is
shorter than the disc used for the other tests, measuring in at 74 minutes long
(74:00:00).

The drive
reached 24.39x reading the audio disc back. Let's compare the result with other
drives:

The Matshita
DVD-RAM SW-9585 performed extremely slow reading Audio-discs reaching only
24.93x. The access times are extremely high.

And as a last
test we used Exact Audio Copy (EAC) to extract the audio to our hard drive.
According to EAC the drive does not support caching, which is considered a plus
- while ripping audio.

Below is the
results produced by EAC:

 Burst
mode

 Secure
mode

The drives
performance in EAC is quite slow.

Advanced
audio '“ DAE quality test:

Before we
move on to testing DVD read speeds, we will take a last audio test, and this
time we used the 'Advanced DAE Quality Test" feature in CD-DVD Speed.

The
extracting quality is excellent. It supports all Advanced Features except
reading from the Leadout. Using the MATSHITA DVD-RAM SW-9585 as a reader for On
the Fly Copying above 10x is reported as 'too slow".

DVD
reading performance:

Again, we will use Nero CD-DVD Speed to measure the reading
performance, this time for various types of DVD discs. The drive should read
pressed single layer DVD-discs at 16X.

DVD '“
DVD-Video:

For our DVD
reading performance tests we are going to start with a single and dual layered
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

As we could
see the drive read single layer DVD-Video at 16X CAV and double layer DVD-Video
at 4x. To see how the transfer rate is on a Data DVD we used the PS/2 game ATV
Off Road Fury 2 DVD-ROM:

As we could
see the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 had no problem reading the DVD-ROM back at CAV
16x.

The Matshita
DVD-RAM SW-9585 performed extremely well reading Single Layer DVD-Video however
it performed extremely slow on Double Layer DVD-Video.

DVD '“
DVD+R(W):

For this test
we used a FujiFilm 8X DVD+R and a Memorex 4X DVD+RW with 4.38Gb of data. Below
are the results:

DVD+R

 
DVD+RW

The reading
speed was locked to 8x for DVD+RW, which is fairly normal for most new
drives.

The Matshita
DVD-RAM SW-9585 drive reading performance on DVD+R is the best of our
comparative drives, however it is just average on DVD+RW.

DVD '“
DVD-R/RW:

For this test
we used a Verbatim 16X DVD-R disc and a Verbatim 4X DVD-RW disc filled with
4.38Gb of data. Our test results are found below

DVD-R

 
DVD-RW

 There
are minor differences compared to reading the DVD+R/RW discs.

Again the
Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 outperforms the compared drives on DVD-R but shows
average performance DVD-RW.

DVD '“
DVD-RAM:

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The Hammer
Storage Panasonic drive should be able to read 5x DVD-RAM media at 5x
speed.

The drive has
no trouble reading DVD-RAM media at the specified 5x speed.

DVD '“
DVD+R DL & DVD-R DL:

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The MATSHITA DVD-RAM SW-9585 supports reading
both DVD+R Double Layer and DVD-R Dual Layer media.

DVD+R Double Layer

DVD-R Dual Layer

We can see that the
drive supports reading to DVD+R DL media at 8x and reading DVD-R DL media at
4x.

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Overall thoughts:
The Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 displayed very good reading
performance with some media types, but with others types it is slow.
We would like to see increased reading speeds on CD-RW, CD-Audio, DVD-Video Dual
Layer and DVD±RW media.

But now it's
time to head on to a more interesting part: Writing CD-R and CD-RW
discs…

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The
specifications of the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 state that the drive is able to
write CD-R discs at 40x and CD-RW at 24x. Let us find out how the drive really
performs in speed and quality.

Writing Data CD-R
discs:

For our data
writing tests, we simply set up a new compilation of 701Mb using Nero Burning
ROM software. Writing method used is DAO (Disc At Once),
and the disc is set up as a non-multisession disc with 'finalize disc" enabled.
The screenshot below shows how long it takes to write a disc at the highest
speed. (40x):

The drive used
3 minutes and 22 seconds to write the disc at 40x. (Actual write speed
40x).  Let us see how this compares to other drives:

• Samsung TS-E552U used
  2 minutes and 52 seconds at 40x
  
• LG GSA-4163B used 3
  minutes and 15 seconds at 40x
  
  
• Philips
  DVDR1640P used 3 minutes and 17 seconds at 40x
  
• NU DDW-082
  used 3 minutes and 2 seconds at 40x
  
• Samsung
  TS-H552B used exactly 3 minutes at
  40x         
  
• Plextor
  PX-708A used 2 minutes and 58 seconds at 40x

Write
Quality:

We will be testing discs from 10
different CD-R manufactures/brands. To measure the write speed we used the
'Create Data Disc" function in Nero CD-DVD Speed. The discs were written at the
maximum speed that the drive supports. For the quality test, we used K-Probe 2
which is a tool developed by a Lite-On employee. It runs under Windows and works
with drives made by Lite-On. Also note that different drives and different
reading speeds may affect the results obtained when scanning the discs. We used
a Lite-On LTR-52327S (firmware QS0E) and a Lite-On LTR-32123S (firmware XS0Z) to
scan the discs at the maximum speed available.

A written CD-R disc will always
have some C1 errors. C1 errors are easily corrected by the drive's error
correction capabilities. The next level of errors is C2, while C2 errors could
also be corrected by most drive's error correction capabilities; they are not
wanted on a good quality disc. A good disc should not contain any C2 errors, and
preferably have an average C1 error amount of below 2.0 for the best discs, or
at least below 10.0 averages for good quality discs. After C2 errors, there are
only un-correctable errors that will make a disc unusable.

Below are the obtained
results:

Brand:	Sony
Manufacturer:	Sony Corporation
Code:	97m24s16f
Disc Type:	CD-R(B-)
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59:74 (702.80 MB)
Certified Speed:	48x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	3m:19s
C1 Average/Sec:	1.39
C2 Average/Sec:	0.00

Sony media '“ C1 is nice, no C2
errors.

Brand:	RiDATA
Manufacturer:	RiTEK Corporation
Code:	97m15s17f
Disc Type:	CD-R(A-)
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 7: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59:70 (702.80 MB)
Certified Speed:	48x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	3m:19s
C1 Average/Sec:	1.11
C2 Average/Sec:	0.00

RiDATA media '“ There are some issues
here. The dreaded C2 error shows up. Multiple discs tried but the same result
always showed. Needs improvement!

Brand:	FujiFilm
Manufacturer:	Taiyo Yuden Company Limited
Code:	97m24s01f
Disc Type:	CD-R(A+)
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 1: Long Strategy (Cyanine,AZO)
Capacity:	79:59:72 (702.80 MB)
Certified Speed:	48x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	3m:19s
C1 Average/Sec:	8.84
C2 Average/Sec:	0.00

FujiFilm media '“ manufactured by Taiyo
Yuden Company Limited. This is not quite what we would expect to see from this
high quality media. Panasonic must do better!

Brand:	FujiFilm
Manufacturer:	Prodisc Technology Inc.
Code:	97m32s19f
Disc Type:	CD-R(C-)
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 9: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59:72 (702.80 MB)
Certified Speed:	48x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	3m:19s
C1 Average/Sec:	1.09
C2 Average/Sec:	0.00

FujiFilm media '“ manufactured by Prodisc
Technology Inc. The C1 counts are great. Nice burn.

Brand:	Memorex '“ (Thanks to Memorex USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	CMC Magnetics Corporation
Code:	97m26s66f
Disc Type:	CD-R(A+)
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59:71 (702.80 MB)
Certified Speed:	52x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	3m:18s
C1 Average/Sec:	1.34
C2 Average/Sec:	0.00

Memorex media '“ manufactured by CMC
Magnetics Corporation. One of the best burns by the Panasonic drive
yet.

Brand:	OfficeMax
Manufacturer:	Moser Baer India Limited
Code:	97m17s06f
Disc Type:	CD-R(B-)
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59:74 (702.80 MB)
Certified Speed:	52x
Write Speed:	16x (firmware supports only 16x)
Write Time:	5m:29s
C1 Average/Sec:	0.98
C2 Average/Sec:	0.00

OfficeMax media '“ manufactured by Moser
Baer India Limited. Another very nice burn but limited to 16x write speed by
firmware.

Brand:	esa
Manufacturer:	CMC Magnetics Corporation
Code:	97m26s66f
Disc Type:	CD-R(A+)
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59:71 (702.80 MB)
Certified Speed:	52x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	3m:17s
C1 Average/Sec:	4.81
C2 Average/Sec:	0.00

Esa - cheap store brand
manufactured by CMC
Magnetics Corporation. This is a good burn on some inexpensive media.
Nice!

Brand:	Verbatim '“ (Thanks to Verbatim USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation
Code:	97m34s23f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 3: Long Strategy (Cyanine or AZO)
Capacity:	79:59.73 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	52x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	3m:19s
C1 Average/Sec:	5.12
C2 Average/Sec:	0.00

No trouble
with Verbatim CD-R media.

Brand:	Harmony
Manufacturer:	Digital Storage Technology Co., Ltd.
Code:	97m27s06f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59.73 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	24x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	10m:40s
C1 Average/Sec:	1.48
C2 Average/Sec:	0.00

Unfortunately these 24x CD-R's are
only supported at 8x maximum. Writing quality looks okay, but the over ten
minutes of writing time for a CD-R is quite annoying.

Brand:	GQ
Manufacturer:	Lead Data Inc.
Code:	97m26s54f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 4: Long Strategy (Cyanine or AZO)
Capacity:	79:59.74 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	52x
Write Speed:	16x
Write Time:	5m:27s
C1 Average/Sec:	2.26
C2 Average/Sec:	0.00

Unfortunately these 52x CD-R's are
only supported at 16x. The resulting write quality is okay, but we've seen other
drives such as the Pioneer DVR-109 that can write to these discs at 40x with
outstanding quality.

Writing Quality
with CD Re-Writable discs:

Due to requests from our readers,
we will add a few write quality tests with re-writable media. Settings and
testing procedures are the same as used earlier in this review, so you may want
to go back and read them if you are unsure. All discs used for these tests are
new and have not been written to before.

CD-ReWritable media:

Brand:	Memorex
Manufacturer:	Infodisc
Code:	97m25s30f
Disc Type:	High Speed CD-RW 4x-12x
Recording Layer:	Phase Change
Capacity:	79:59.73 (702.83MB)
Certified Speed:	24x
Write Speed:	16x (max speed supported by the firmware)
Write Time:	5m:36s
C1 Average/Sec:	19.09
C2 Average/Sec:	0.00

This is
not what we would classify as a 'good" burn. C1 errors are quite elevated but
fortunately there is no appearance of the dreaded C2 error.

Brand:	Maxell
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation
Code:	97m34s23f
Disc Type:	High Speed CD-RW 4x-12x
Recording Layer:	Phase Change
Capacity:	79:59.74 (702.83MB)
Certified Speed:	12x
Write Speed:	10x (max speed supported by the firmware)
Write Time:	8m:30s
C1 Average/Sec:	4.59
C2 Average/Sec:	0.00

Same thing
for this High Speed CD-RW, elevated C1 but no C2 appearance.

Brand:	Verbatim
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation
Code:	97m34s25f
Disc Type:	Ultra Speed CD-RW 32x
Recording Layer:	Phase Change
Capacity:	74:43.00 (656.40MB)
Certified Speed:	32x
Write Speed:	16x (max speed supported by the firmware)
Write Time:	5m:10s
C1 Average/Sec:	409.70
C2 Average/Sec:	0.55

Woah! Now
this is seriously messed up! This 32x Ultra Speed media is only supported at 16x
and maybe they should not have even bothered!

Summary:
Overall the Matshita DVD-RAM
SW-9585's CD-R writing quality can be considered as okay. We were a bit
surprised at the poor write quality on the Ritek CD-R media as well as the sub
par writing quality on Taiyo Yuden CD-R. The writing quality on CD-RW has some
issues that Panasonic just hasn't done a good job of addressing. The support and
write quality for High Speed and Ultra Speed media is lacking in this tested
firmware.

So let us
head on to next page and read about DVD-Writing
performance…

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The
specifications of this drive tell us that it should write DVD±R at 16x, DVD+RW
at 8x, DVD-RW at 6x. In this part, we will
measure the write time for various types of DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW discs. We will
also focus on write quality and media compatibility.

DVD-Writing
performance:

In this test
we will measure the time for writing to DVD±R discs. We used Nero Burning Rom
to burn an ISO compilation containing 4483Mb of data. We used the Disc-At-Once
write method.

DVD+R

DVD-R

Look below for
the results.

The
Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 uses a Z-CLV write method but still competes quite
nicely compared with what we see from other drives. Let us see how it performs
in the writing quality department.

Write quality:

You should first notice that this
is not a scientific and professional way to test the discs. But according to our
testing done in recent months, we would conclude that there is a clear link
between the quality reported when scanning the disc and the playability of the
disc in different devices. Also notice that different drives report different
amounts of errors. K-Probe was designed to work with Lite-On DVD-Writers, so we recommend using a DVD-Writer
from Lite-On. In these tests we used a Lite-On SOHW-1693S and a Lite-On SOHW-1633S DVD-Writer. As
already said; remember that scans done with a Lite-On DVD-ROM or Lite-On combo
drive can't be compared with the results obtained with a Lite-On DVD-Writer. Also remember that different PI/PO
ECC sum settings along with different reading speeds
in K-Probe will affect the result, we use these settings;  PI
(Parity Inner) set to summarize 8 ECC blocks, PIF
(Parity Inner Failures) set to summarize 1 ECC
block, reading speed: 4X CLV (Constant
Linear Velocity). Setting the PI sum to 8 and the PIF sum to 1 will give a result that we may compare to the
standards for DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW.

But what is a
good scan? That is a discussion that we don't think will end soon, as different
drives report different amount of errors, some players are more picky about
media than others, and so on. But as a comparison we present you with a scan
from two pressed DVD discs:

This scan below
shows the results from a pressed, Single Layer DVD-Video disc (Ronin DVD).

 

This next scan shows
the result from a pressed Double Layer DVD-Video disc (Lord of the Rings, The
Return of the King). Notice the error jump when shifting to the second layer
(the error levels actually drop from the end of the first layer to the beginning
of the second layer).

If you read below, you will see
that both the pressed DVD-discs are well within the standards.

Download the ECMA 267 Standard for DVD-ROM, the ECMA 337 Standard for DVD+R/RW and
the ECMA 338 Standard for DVD-R/RW at http://www.ecma-international.org
if you want to look at the standards for yourself. Here is some data from the
ECMA standards (same for DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW):

Random
errors:

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.

Here we see that a PI error is
defined as a row in an ECC block having 1 byte or more
containing errors and that the sum of PI errors in 8 ECC blocks after each other should not exceed 280 PI
errors.

But what is a row and what is an
ECC block? Again we refer to the ECMA standards. We do not copy and paste everything, but if
you're interested, look in the ECMA standards. 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-8 errors. In practical use, a disc
with 1664 PI-8 errors is unreadable.

According to our tests the
specified max PI-8 sum of 280 for good discs seems to be a good guideline, as
some readers have problems reading discs when the PI-8 errors is over 300 and
most players starts to have problems when the PI-8 error level reaches 600 or
more.

But what are the PIF errors that K-Probe reports? They are Parity Inner
Failures, meaning errors left after PI correction. Only the ECMA 337 standard describes the Parity Inner Failures. So
how is a Parity Inner Failure defined? Here is what the ECMA 337 states:

'If a row of an ECC Block as defined in 13.3 contains more than 5
erroneous bytes, the row is said to be 'PI-uncorrectable'."

In theory, an ECC block may in the worst case have 208 PIF since every ECC block is 208
rows long. But the ECMA 337 standard goes further and
specifies the max amount of accepted PI Failures (uncorrectable errors) allowed on a good disc:

'In any ECC Block the number of PI-uncorrectable rows should not exceed
4."  

This means that when the PIF sum is set to 1, the maximum error value should not
exceed 4. The theoretical maximum value for PIF is 208
errors.

But what makes a disc unreadable?
A POF (Parity Outer Failure)
error will make the disc unreadable, but K-Probe does not display the POF's.

Notice that there are other
aspects such as disc reflectivity, jitter, tracking errors and so on that also
will affect the readability of a DVD disc '“ but for this we do not have
measuring equipment available.

Also, another note is that we have
scanned the discs at 4X CLV speed, by lowering the
speed to 2X(DVD-R/RW)/2.4X(DVD+R/RW) or 1X the amount of reported errors may drop on
some discs. We scanned at 4X CLV due to lower speeds
taking too much time.

To see if there is a connection
between the reported amount of errors and readability of the discs we also
include the reading curve from a NEC 3500. A small speed reduction near the end
is still accepted on good discs, but serious reading problems or reading
failures is a bad sign.

In order to test the readability
of the DVD±RW media, we use a BenQ 1640 or an NEC 3540A drive, which have higher
speed reading capabilities for DVD±RW media.

An easier explanation on how
to read the test results.

Maybe this got too technical, and
you are wondering what to look for in Kprobe
reports?

Use this as a guideline for
good discs:

⋅        
PI (Parity
Inner): No larger areas on the disc
should exceed 280 PI-8 errors, do not worry too much about high single spikes
that exceed 280.

⋅        
PIF (Parity Inner
Failures): No larger areas on the disc
should exceed 4 PIF-1 errors, do not worry too much about high single spikes
that exceed 4.

And as always; lower is better

And look at the reading curve; if
it looks clean with no dips it should be good, a small slowdown near the end is
accepted.

DVD+R media compatibility and
write quality:

Before we
enter into the DVD write quality testing, I would like to ask that we take a
moment of silence for the finely crafted 16x certified medias that we are about
to offer up to the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585. As you will see, the 16x write zone
(Z-CLV) is seriously broken in the tested firmware.

 

Brand:	Verbatim
Manufacturer:	Verbatim
Code:	MCC 004
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	16x
Write Time:	6m:14s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	12.34
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	7.10

Brand:	Memorex
Manufacturer:	CMC Magnetics Corporation
Code:	CMCMAG M01
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	16x
Write Time:	6m:09s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	2.30
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.33

Brand:	Optodisc '“ Thanks to Optodisc for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Optodisc
Code:	OPTODISC R16
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	16x
Write Time:	6m:11s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	7.66
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.25

Brand:	Memorex
Manufacturer:	Ritek
Code:	RICOHJPN R03
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	16x
Write Time:	6m:12s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	52.98
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.17

Brand:	Memorex
Manufacturer:	Prodisc
Code:	PRODISC R04
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	16x
Write Time:	6m:12s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	9.69
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	6.92

Brand:	RiDATA
Manufacturer:	Ritek
Code:	RITEK R04
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	16x (firmware supports 16x but was written at 12x)
Write Time:	6m:27s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	31.41
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.20

It may have been a
blessing that this disc was written at only 12x. The PI are elevated but the PIF
turns out not so bad. The transfer graph looks ok.

As a side note to the 16x
writing issues we used CD-DVD Speed to write a Verbatim 16x certified MCC004 at
12x for comparison. The burn only achieved 8x, but to illustrate that the
problem truly lies with the 16x zone strats here is a scan of the ensuing burn.
This shows the excellent quality of the media with the lower speed burn
strategies.

This concludes our 16x
certified media testing. Following are several 8x certified media and a single
4x certified media for good measure.

Brand:	FujiFilm
Manufacturer:	Taiyo Yuden
Code:	YUDEN000 T02
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	9m:02s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	1.01
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.02

Excellent! Perfect
reading curve! Best media available.

Brand:	Verbatim
Manufacturer:	Verbatim
Code:	MCC 003
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	9m:02s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	0.26
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.01

Another fine burn! Almost
perfect reading curve.

Brand:	Sony
Manufacturer:	Sony
Code:	SONY D11
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	9m:02s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	2.57
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.30

This SONY D11 media burns
fine and has an excellent read curve. Good media for this drive.

Brand:	Optodisc
Manufacturer:	Optodisc
Code:	OPTODISC R08
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	9m:01s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	2.96
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.07

This is a very well
written media and the read curve is flawless. Very nice!

Brand:	esa
Manufacturer:	CMC Magnetics Corporation
Code:	CMCMAG E01
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	9m:01s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	1.05
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.11

This is a low cost store
brand media that gives a decent result if you don't fill it to the edge. The
read curve shows this.

Brand:	Memorex
Manufacturer:	Moser Baer India Ltd.
Code:	MBPG101 R04
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	6x (firmware supports 8x but was written at 6x)
Write Time:	10m:47s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	0.47
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.05

Very nicely written, even
if at slower than supported speed. Transfer graph is excellent.

Brand:	Ritek
Manufacturer:	Ritek
Code:	RITEK R03
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	9m:01s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	1.38
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.10

Another fine burn,
another fine transfer graph!

Brand:	Great Quality (GQ)
Manufacturer:	Lead Data
Code:	LD S03
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	9m:00s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	6.18
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.06

Nice burn on this low
cost store brand. The only negative is a little hitch in the transfer rate graph
near the end.

Brand:	Memorex
Manufacturer:	CMC Magnetics Corporation
Code:	CMCMAG F01
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	15m:09s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	2.89
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.12

This was a very good burn
until the outer rim, a nice read curve on this older 4x media.

DVD+ReWritable
media:

The MATSHITA DVD-RAM
SW-9585 should support writing to DVD+RW discs at 8x maximum. We tested with a
Verbatim 8x DVD+RW disc made by Mitsubishi Kagaku Media.

The MATSHITA DVD-RAM
SW-9585 writes to DVD+RW at 8x using Z-CLV (Zone-Constant
Linear Velocity). The drive utilizes two zones to achieve an
average writing speed of 7.09x and a total writing time of 8 minutes and 16
seconds on a full DVD+RW disc. Next we will analyze the writing
quality.

Brand:	Verbatim
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
Code:	MKM A03
Disc Type:	DVD+RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	8m:16s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	88.08
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.23

The Kprobe
graph shows some very high levels for PI errors and many unwanted PIF spikes.
Thankfully the transfer rate graph is perfect. Panasonic could use some
improvement in the writing quality area.

Brand:	Memorex
Manufacturer:	Philips Electronics
Code:	PHILIPS041
Disc Type:	DVD+RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	15m:33s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	2.27
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.23

A very nice
result. This quality burn produces an excellent read back curve.

Brand:	RiDATA
Manufacturer:	Ricoh Company Limited
Code:	RICOHJPN W11
Disc Type:	DVD+RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	15m:33s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	2.95
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.05

Nice! There is
a hitch in the read curve right at the end, but it is a good result
overall.

Brand:	Verbatim
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
Code:	MKM A02
Disc Type:	DVD+RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	14m:13s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	8.74
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	3.45

High PIE/PIF
totals but it produces a perfect read back curve.

DVD+R/RW
Summary: The general write quality from the
Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 was very good to excellent at 8x writing speed, however
this drive just doesn't produce useable DVD+R burns at 16x speed. Panasonic is
in serious need of correcting their 16x writing strategies on DVD+R discs! An
option to burn 16x discs at 12x would also be a very welcome addition since the
12x zone appears to also write with good quality. The write quality on 4x DVD+RW
was quite good overall, but the 8x DVD+RW writing quality could use some
improvement.

Let's find out
what it can do on DVD-R/RW media.

On the next
page you will find the DVD-R/RW writing
results...

---

DVD-R media compatibility and
write quality:

Brand:	Verbatim
Manufacturer:	CMC for Mitsubishi Chemicals
Code:	MCC 03RG20
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	16x
Write Time:	6m:04s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	17.47
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.07

The Kprobe
graph shows some large unwanted PIF spikes, but this is probably the best 16x
burn that we have ever produced with this drive. Additional burns on this same
media type did not turn out so well.

Brand:	RiDATA - (Thanks to Advanced Media/Ritek-USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Ritek
Code:	RITEKF1
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	16x
Write Time:	6m:05s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	8.66
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	1.98

Our first burn
on this media coastered. The disc was unreadable. The second burn shown here was
at least readable, but we can see that the 16x writing zone strategy is severely
broken. Needs improvement!

Brand:	Verbatim VideoGard (Thanks to Verbatim USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	CMC for Mitsubishi Chemicals
Code:	MCC02RG20
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	9m:00s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	2.06
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.02

Hip hip
hooray! These results are simply outstanding. Highly recommended!

Brand:	Memorex - (Thanks to Memorex USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	CMC Magnetics
Code:	CMCMAGAM3
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	6x
Write Time:	10m:29s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	10.40
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.18

Unfortunately
these popular 16x DVD-R discs from Memorex are only supported at 6x. The writing
quality could also use some improvement as we do not like the large amount of
PIF spikes reported by the Kprobe scan.

Brand:	SONY - (Thanks to SONY USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	SONY Japan
Code:	SONY08D1
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	8m:12s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	11.79
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.06

This SONY
DVD-R media produced a perfect reading curve, but the Kprobe graph shows some
PIF spiking problems… Overall this is an 'ok" performance, but we would like to
see much better results on this high quality media. Needs
improvement.

Brand:	FujiFilm '“ (Thanks to Fujifilm USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Taiyo Yuden
Code:	TYG02
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	8m:59s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	5.37
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.02

Good write quality that
produced an excellent read back curve. A couple of PIF spikes above 4 is nothing
major to be worried about.

Brand:	Memorex (Thanks to Memorex USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	CMC Magnetics Corporation
Code:	CMCMAG AE1
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	9m:00s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	69.71
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	12.00

The Kprobe scan is
acceptable and the reading curve is almost perfect. We have seen MUCH better
results on this media on other drives! Needs improvement!

Brand:	RiDATA (Thanks to Advanced Media/RITEK USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Ritek Corporation
Code:	RITEK G05
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	9m:08s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	57.17
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.26

Definitely not the best
we have seen on this media either. PI levels are spiking over 300, there are
many PIF spikes above 4 and the reading curve has some trouble. It's time to go
back to RITEKG05 burning school.

Brand:	Memorex '“ (Thanks to Memorex USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Prodisc
Code:	PRODISCF01
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	8m:59s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	40.42
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.18

The reading curve is
perfect but we don't like the large number of PIF spikes that are reported by
the LiteOn drive.

Brand:	Optodisc '“ (Thanks to Optodisc Taiwan for providing)
Manufacturer:	Optodisc
Code:	OPTODISCR008
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	9m:00s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	481.60
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	48.70

BEEP! BEEP! Watch out
because the coaster car is coming through! Ouch! Panasonic needs some serious
improvement with this media type.

DVD-ReWritable media:

The MATSHITA
DVD-RAM SW-9585 should support writing to DVD-RW at 6x maximum. We tested
with both Verbatim and Ritek DVD-RW certified at 6x.

The MATSHITA
DVD-RAM SW-9585 was able to write to the Verbatim 6x DVD-RW at 6x CLV (Constant
Linear Velocity). This produced an average writing speed of 6.00x and a total
writing time of 9 minutes and 56 seconds. But now let us check the writing
quality!

Brand:	Verbatim
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
Code:	MCC01RW6X01
Disc Type:	DVD-RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	9m:56s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	6.00
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.02

Stupendous burn!
Marvelous read back!

Brand:	RiDATA '“ (Thanks to Advanced Media/Ritek USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	RiTEK Corporation
Code:	RITEK W06
Disc Type:	DVD-RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	6x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	14m:50s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	18.72
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.06

Unfortunately this 6x
certified DVD-RW from Ritek is only supported at 4x maximum. On the bright side,
the writing quality is still quite good!

Brand:	Optodisc '“ (Thanks to Optodisc Taiwan for providing)
Manufacturer:	Optodisc
Code:	OPTODISCW004
Disc Type:	DVD-RW
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	14m:48s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	11.56
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	3.19

Another good
rewriteable burn on Optodisc DVD-RW media!

DVD-R/RW
Summary: Overall, the write quality is on
DVD-R media is not so grand. The drive is very picky with what discs it will
write to with good quality. We hope that Panasonic can improve the writing
strategies in a future firmware! The write quality on DVD-RW media appears to be
quite good.

Head on to
next page and read about DVD-RAM compatibility and write
quality...

---

 

DVD-RAM writing speed and compatibility:

The Panasonic MATSHITA DVD-RAM SW-9585 supports writing to DVD-RAM discs at 5x maximum. First let us take a look at a 5x DVD-RAM disc from Maxell - (Thanks to Maxell USA for providing).

We can see here that the drive supports writing to these discs at 5x. Next we made some test burns using Nero CD-DVD Speed 4.04. The DVD-RAM write and verify feature was turned off to enable the full 5x writing speed on the DVD-RAM disc.

5x DVD-RAM write, max view set to 6x

5x DVD-RAM write, max view set to 18x

With DVD-RAM write and verify turned on, a 5x DVD-RAM write will look like the following graph:

No trouble with Maxell 5x DVD-RAM media.

Next, we tested with the included Panasonic brand 3x DVD-RAM media.

The MATSHITA DVD-RAM SW-9585 drive had no trouble writing to this type of DVD-RAM media.

Memorex brand 2x DVD-RAM media - (Thanks to Memorex USA for providing).

We can see that these Memorex brand DVD-RAM discs are manufactured by Optodisc Technology and are properly supported at 2x.

The MATSHITA DVD-RAM SW-9585 had no trouble with this DVD-RAM media.

DVD-RAM Summary: The MATSHITA DVD-RAM SW-9585 had no trouble with all of the DVD-RAM discs tested. Maxell 5x DVD-RAM discs were able to be burned at full speed. Panasonic and Memorex DVD-RAM media were both written without any problems.

Head on to next page and read about DVD+R DL compatibility and write quality...

---

 

DVD+R Double Layer writing speed and compatibility

The Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 supports the DVD+R9 DL standard for writing Double Layer discs with a size of 8.5 GB at a writing speed of 4x. We used a Pioneer DVR-109 drive in order to test the readability of the Double Layer discs that were produced in this section.

Verbatim DVD+R DL media.

Let's find the manufacturer and media information using DVD Identifier.

This media is manufactured by Mitsubishi Kagaku Media. Thanks to Verbatim USA for providing this media.

Testing procedure: We wrote a DVD ISO image in Nero CD-DVD Speed. Below are the results.

Verbatim DVD+R DL

The Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 used 27 minutes and 16 seconds for writing 8103 MB to the Verbatim Double Layer media at 4x. Let us take a look at the writing quality results:

Brand:	Verbatim - (Thanks to Verbatim USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Kagaku Media
Code:	MKM 001
Disc Type:	DVD+R DL
Capacity:	8152MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	27m:16s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	2.25
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.03

Results look good! Kprobe scan looks nice and the transfer rate test on the Pioneer drive also looks just fine.

RiDATA DVD+R DL media.

Let's find the manufacturer and media information using DVD Identifier.

This media is manufactured by Ritek. Thanks to Advanced Media/Ritek USA for providing us with this media.

Testing procedure: We wrote a DVD ISO image in Nero CD-DVD Speed. Below are the results.

RiDATA DVD+R DL

The Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 used 27 minutes and 25 seconds for writing this media at 4x. Let us take a look at the writing quality results.

Brand:	RiDATA '“ (Thanks to Advanced Media/Ritek USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Ritek
Code:	RITEK D01
Disc Type:	DVD+R DL
Capacity:	8152MB
Certified Speed:	2.4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	27m:25s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	40.98
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	1.83

Ouch! This media definitely has some trouble starting at the layer break and continuing throughout most of the second layer. This is one of our 'older" DVD+R DL discs manufactured by Ritek, so let's try one from a newer batch next.

Memorex DVD+R DL media.

Let's find the manufacturer and media information using DVD Identifier.

This media is manufactured by Ritek. Thanks to Memorex USA for providing us with this media.

Testing procedure: We wrote a DVD ISO image in Nero CD-DVD Speed. Below are the results.

Memorex DVD+R DL

The Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 used 27 minutes and 38 seconds for writing this media at 4x. Let us take a look at the writing quality results.

Brand:	RiDATA '“ (Thanks to Memorex USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Ritek
Code:	RITEK D01
Disc Type:	DVD+R DL
Capacity:	8152MB
Certified Speed:	2.4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	27m:25s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	40.98
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	1.83

Quite Impressive!! Memorex DVD+R Double Layer media was able to be written at 4x with very good quality!  Good job Panasonic!

Fujifilm DVD+R DL media.

Let's find the manufacturer and media information using DVD Identifier.

This media is manufactured by Ritek using RICOH technology. Thanks to Fujifilm USA for providing us with this media.

Testing procedure: We wrote a DVD ISO image in Nero CD-DVD Speed. Below are the results.

Fujifilm DVD+R DL

The Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 used 44 minutes and 48 seconds for writing this media at 4x. Let us take a look at the writing quality results.

Brand:	Fujifilm '“ Thanks to Advanced Media/Ritek USA for providing
Manufacturer:	Ritek
Code:	RICOHJPN D00
Disc Type:	DVD+R DL
Capacity:	8152MB
Certified Speed:	2.4x
Write Speed:	2.4x
Write Time:	44m:48s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	8.77
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.15

Very nice! The MATSHITA DVD-RAM SW-9585 can handle Fujifilm DVD+R Double Layer media without any problems.

Let's compare the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 performance on Verbatim DVD+R DL media with other DL capable drives.

The MATSHITA DVD-RAM SW-9585 is an average 4x DVD+R DL writer in terms of speed.

Standalone DVD-Player compatibility

We have 3 standalone DVD-Players available to test the DVD+R DL media (Book Type: DVD-ROM).

• Philips DVP-642
• Koss KD-365
• Philips DVD 704

Compatibility results: 

All tests went well except for the RiDATA DVD+R DL media on the Philips DVD 704 standalone player. Trouble with this RiDATA disc could be expected due to the large amount of PI and PIF errors reported by the Kprobe scan.

DVD+R9 DL Summary: The Hammer Storage MATSHITA DVD-RAM SW-9585 is an excellent DVD+R Double Layer writer and can even write very well to newer Ritek DL discs at a speed of 4x. This drive would be a good choice for Double Layer writing.

Additional note: Unfortunately the current firmware (B101) does not support writing to DVD-R Dual Layer media. It is interesting to read that Panasonic states that DVD-R DL writing support is possible on this page. We do not know whether or not this feature will be supported in a future firmware from Hammer Storage.

Before we round off this review, let us run the drive through some advanced tests at next page…

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To round off this review, we will run some advanced tests on the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585. We will perform the Sheep Tests and Over-burn testing.

Advanced Tests

Copy protected data discs:

For this test, we will use the Sheep tests made by Alexander Noé. Why is it called sheep test? That's because the logo of the first 1 to 1 copy program called CloneCD is a sheep. When looking at supported writers, you will notice that the feature list has sheep to indicate if a feature is supported or not. In this case we are interested in the writer's ability to backup/write weak sectors. Also called: 'Correct EFM encoding of regular bit-patterns".

⋅         No sheep: Can't backup any Safedisc 2 versions
without the help of software tricks
⋅         1 Sheep: Can backup Safedisc 2 up to version 2.4x without software tricks
⋅         2 Sheep: Can backup Safedisc 2, including version 2.5x
⋅         3 Sheep: Can write all possible weak sectors, few if any writers could do this.

One of our forum moderators Womble has written a guide concerning the 'Sheep Test" that could be found here.

In the screenshot below taken from CloneCD v5.1.0.0, we see the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 supports everything except RAW-DAO.

The drives used to verify that the tests work were the BenQ DW1640 and the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 itself. Below are our results from the 'Sheep Tests":

The test shows the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 qualifies as a 'two sheep" writer. Very nice!

CD-R Overburning:

To test the overburning capabilities of the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585, we used the over-burning test in Nero CD/DVD-Speed.

The simulation showed that the drive can overburn the maximum capacity, which is 99:57.74.

We then used Nero CD-DVD Speed over-burn setting to see if we could actually write 99:57:74 to the disc. We used a Ritek 99 minute CD-R for this test. Thanks to Ritek USA for providing.

The MATSHITA DVD-RAM SW-9585 was able to burn the full 99 minute CD-R at 8x without any problems. Now we'll try to read the disc back.

No problems at all! Writing and reading 99 minute CD-R works perfectly!

DVD Overburning:

To test the over-burning capabilities of the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 with DVD+R, we used the over-burning test in Nero CD/DVD-Speed.

The test indicates that DVD+R media cannot be over-burned with the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585.

Now let's try some DVD-R.

The test indicates that DVD-R media cannot be over-burned with the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585.

We set the over-burn setting in CD-DVD Speed to 4500 MB so we could try actually writing some discs.

DVD+R result.

DVD-R result.

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To sum it up: The drive can
overburn CD-R media up to the full 99 minutes at 8x writing speed. Reading 99 minute CD-R is also no problem. DVD±R over-burning is not supported on the Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585.

This concludes our Matshita DVD-RAM SW-9585 review, head on to the last page to read our conclusion…

Positive:

• Solid and well stocked retail bundle
• Well rounded software suite from Ulead
• Good CD Audio extraction quality.
• Reads Single Layer DVD Video discs at 16x
• Reads DVD+R and DVD-R at full 16x speed
• Supports reading LeadIn, CD Text and SubChannel data on CD media
• Super Multi drive: reads and writes to most formats including DVD-RAM
• Fast Z-CLV 16x writing to DVD media
• Okay writing quality on CD-R/RW
• Good writing quality on 8x DVD+R media
• 'Two Sheep" burner
• Excellent DVD+R Double Layer capabilities
• Supports reading and writing to 99 min CD-R's

Negative:

• No bitsetting available for DVD+R/RW media
• 4x riplock on Double Layer DVD-Video
• Slow DAE extraction speeds
• Does not support reading LeadOut on CD media
• 24x CD-RW writing not available on Verbatim 32x or Memorex 24x CD-RW
• Very poor DVD writing quality at 16x
• Questionable writing quality on DVD-R media
• 12x writing speed not available
• Slower disc recognition times compared to other drives
• No PI/PIF/PO (Disc Quality) scanning support

Conclusion:

Let us summarize the most important positive and negative points below:

The main positive points: The first thing that you will notice when you open up the Hammer Storage DVD burner is the excellent and well stocked bundle that they have included with this product. The retail package is jam-packed with the Panasonic (MATSHITA) drive, cables, instructions, software, one Verbatim 16x DVD+R disc and one Panasonic 3x DVD-RAM disc. This is indeed a much nicer retail package than the competition provides. The MATSHITA DVD-RAM SW-9585 drive displays good CD-R writing quality on most media, with the exception of Ritek CD-R. The drive showed us some very good write quality with DVD+R media when burning at speeds below 16x. Advanced tests indicate that the Panasonic drive can be classified as a 'Two sheep" writer, which means that it should be good for backing up copy-protected discs. The ability to read DVD±R media at 16x is a very useful and welcomed feature. DVD+R Double Layer writing is well done. The drive can even write to Ritek DVD+R DL at 4x with good quality! Writing to Ritek DVD+R DL media with good quality at 4x is not an easy feat.

The main negative points: The number one problem that we see with the Hammer Storage / Panasonic DVD drive is that the 16x DVD writing is horribly broken. Almost all discs that are burned at 16x result in incredibly high Parity Inner Failure errors reported on Kprobe scans and unuseable discs. We would also really like to see a 12x writing speed option available since the 12x writing quality is much better compared to 16x writing on this drive. The writing quality on DVD-R media needs improvement. The Digital Audio Extraction is slow compared to the competition. Double Layer DVD Video ripping is locked to 4x maximum.

To sum it all up, the best we could say is: 'A fine
drive for DVD-RAM, Double Layer burning or CD-R writing, but if you are
interested in a drive that burns single layer DVD media at 16x with good
quality, then you'll have to look elsewhere."   Even though the drive is using a Z-CLV write strategy, it is surprisingly fast. It just does not create a useable disc at 16x. The writing quality at 12x and lower speeds is very good. The CD writing is good with a few exceptions. Panasonic could have a real winner here if they would commit to improving the firmware. Perhaps this is because of the chipset or perhaps they haven't the desire to improve? We have reported the problems to Hammer Storage / Panasonic and we truly hope that a future firmware can improve the writing quality.

Using our price grabber feature cdfreaks.pricegrabber turned up no results on this drive (Sept 25^th 2005). You can find the drive in stores such as CompUSA or Fry's Electronics, who carry the drive for as little as $44.95 after mail in rebate.

You may discuss/comment this review below or in this forum thread.

Thanks to:

 For providing the Verbatim media used in this review. Verbatim provides high quality media all over the world and strives to be the standard for DVD hardware reviewing.

Advanced Media/Ritek-USA for providing some of the RiDATA media used in this review. RiDATA is an official Ritek brand and thus you are guaranteed to get quality Ritek manufactured discs when buying RiData media.

 For providing the Memorex media used in this review. Memorex is one of the largest providers of all types of media for larger parts of the world.

 For providing the Fujifilm media used in this review. Fujifilm makes high-performance media for video and storage applications.

For providing some of the SONY media used in this review. SONY is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, communications, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets.

For providing the Optodisc media used in this review. Optodisc Technology Corporation excels at the manufacturing and selling of High-Density Optical Storage Media DVDs.

 For providing the Maxell 5x DVD-RAM media used in this review. Maxell is one of the world's leading producers of optical and magnetic memory media.