LG GSA-4163B Super Multi DVD Burner

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Review:
LG
GSA-4163B
Reviewer: Jan70
Provided by: LG '“
South Korea
Firmware: A100 &
A101
Manufactured: November
2004

LG '“ South Korea was
kind enough to send us their latest DVD-writer the LG GSA-4163B Super multi DVD
Writer. This drive supports 16x DVD+R/-R writing, 8x
DVD+RW, 6 DVD-RW, 5x DVD-RAM and 4x DVD+R9 DL writing technology - allowing dual
layer discs of 8.5Gb to be written.

Company
information:

Let us take a look
at some of the company information found at the LG website.

The Foundation of
LG

LG was established
in 1947 as Korea's first chemical company, also becoming the nation's first
electronics company with its expansion into home appliances in 1958. The new
Corporate Identity was launched including the change of the group name from
Lucky-Goldstar to LG in 1995.

Business
Fields

The wide array of
activities that LG conducts are coordinated within three highly focused business
sectors: Chemicals & Energy, Electronics and Telecommunications &
Services. Each sector has undergone systematic changes, with improved financial
compositions, restructured business portfolios and realigned equity investment
structures.

The split of two
holding companies LG Corp. and GS Holdings Corp.

On March 2003, LG
introduced the holding company structure and recently, the demerger of two
holding companies - LG Corp. and GS Holdings Corp. took place on July 1 to
separate the manufacturing and technology related businesses from the service
and retail operations. The separation is meant to maximize profits of LG
shareholders by boosting business specialization of key LG companies.

Increasing R&D
investment in 2004

With the
anticipations and expectations for the new structure, LG has set an ambitious
management goal for this year. In 2003, LG's ordinary profit stood at KRW 3.1
trillion on sales of KRW 85 trillion. In 2004, LG plans to raise ordinary profit
and sales by 42% and 12% year-on-year respectively. This year's ordinary profit
target is KRW 4.4 trillion and the sales target is KRW 95 trillion. LG plans to
increase the R&D investments by 31% from last year to KRW 9.4 trillion in
2004.

If you are
interested in reading more company information, please visit www.lg.co.kr/english

Drive specifications:

The only
official listed specification of this drive (during our review) was found on the
German LG site:

Reading
Speed

• DVD-R/-RW-/ROM : 10x/8x/16x
  max. 
  
• DVD-RAM :
  2x, 3x, 5x 
  
• DVD-Video
  (CSS) : 8x max. (Single/Dual Layer)
  
• DVD+R/+RW :
  10x/8x max. 
  
• CD-R/-RW/-ROM : 40x max. 
  
  
• CD-DA (DAE) :
  40x max. 

Writing
Speed

• DVD-R : 2x,
  4x CLV, 8x ZCLV, 16x PCAV 
  
• DVD-RW :
  1x, 2x, 4x, 6x CLV 
  
• DVD-RAM :
  2x, 3x ZCLV, 3x '“ 5x PCAV (Ver. 2.1) 
  
• DVD+R :
  2.4x, 4x CLV, 8x, 12x, 16x ZCLV 
  
• DVD+R
  Double Layer : 2.4x, 4x CLV 
  
• DVD+RW :
  2.4x, 4x CLV, 8x ZCLV 
  
• CD-R : 4x, 8x
  CLV, 16x, 24x, 32x, 40x ZCLV 
  
• CD-RW : 4x,
  8x, 10x CLV, 16x CLV, 24x ZCLV 

Supported
Writing Modes/Formats 

• DVD-R :
  Disc at Once and Incremental / Recording 
  
• DVD-RW :
  Disc at Once, Incremental Recording and Restricted Overwrite 
  
• DVD-RAM :
  Random Write 
  
• DVD+R :
  Sequential Recording 
  
• DVD+R
  Double Layer : Sequential Recording 
  
• DVD+RW :
  Random Write 
  
• CD-R/-RW :
  Disc at Once, Session at Once, Track at Once and Packet Write 
  

Access Time
(average) 

• DVD-ROM :
  145ms 
  
• DVD-RAM :
  165ms 
  
• CD-ROM :
  125ms 

Max.
Transferrate (Writing)

• DVD-R :
  9,14 '“ 22,16 Mbytes/s 
  
• DVD-RW :
  8,31 Mbytes/s 
  
• DVD-RAM
  (Ver.2.1) : 4,155 '“ 6,925 Mbytes/s 
  
• DVD+R :
  9,14 '“ 22,16 Mbytes/s 
  
• DVD+R
  Double Layer : 5,54 Mbytes/s 
  
• DVD+RW :
  8,31 '“ 11,08 Mbytes/s 
  
• CD-R : 2400
  '“ 6000 KB/s (Mode 1) 
  
• CD-RW :
  2400 '“ 3600 KB/s (Mode 1) 

Buffer

• 2 MB,
  Buffer Under-Run Prevention Function 

Standard
Jumper Setting

• Master 

Supported
OS

• Windows ME/
  Windows 2000 Professional/ Windows XP Home Edition, Professional 
  

Dimensions
(W x H x D)

• 146mm x
  41,3mm x 184,6mm 

Weight

• 870g 
  

Mounting
Orientation

• Horizontal
  / vertical  

Temperature
/ Humidity 

• Operating,
  -humidity : 5°C '“ 45°C, 15% '“ 85% 
  
• Non-operating, -humidity : -30°C
  '“ 60°C, 10% '“ 90% 

Recommended
Media

• CD-R : LG, Mitsubishi
  Kagaku Media, Verbatim, Taiyo Yuden, TDK, SKC 
  
• CD-RW : LG,
  Ricoh, Mitsubishi Kagaku Medial, Verbatim 
  
• DVD-R : LG,
  Maxell, Taiyo Yuden, JVC 
  
• DVD-RW :
  LG, JVC, Mitsubishi Kagaku Media, TDK 
  
• DVD+R : LG,
  Mitsubishi Kagaku Media, Verbatim 
  
• DVD+RW :
  LG, TDK, FujiFilm, Ricoh 
  
• DVD-RAM :
  LG, Maxell, Panasonic 
  
• DVD+R
  Double Layer : Mitsubishi Kagaku Media 

What's inside the
box?

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

Front

Back

Top

Left side

Right Side

Below you will
see the contents of the retail box:

• The
  internal drive itself
  
  
• Nero 6 OEM
  Suite
  
• LG DVD
  Writer Solution CD:
  
  
  
  
  1. PowerDVD
     
  2. PowerProducer Gold
     
  3. Nero
     Express
     
  4. InCD
     
  5. Acrobat
     Reader
  
  
• Super Multi
  DVD Drive CD:
  
  
  
  1. Owner's
     Manual
  
  
• IDE
  cable
  
• Audio
  cable
  
• 4 mounting screws
    
  
• Quick
  Guide
  
• Guarantee
  information
  

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

 

The LG bezel
has not changed much lately '“ we find the following logos: Super Multi, DVD+RW,
LG, DVD-multi recorder and CD-RW US. Headphone connector and volume knob is
missing. The drive uses one coloured led (green) for read and write (we prefer a
different led colour though for writing).

On top of the
drive we found one stickers and we can read it was made in Korea, dated November
2004.

On the back of
the drive from left to right: digital audio connector, analogue audio connector,
pins and jumper to set the drive to: cable select, slave or master, IDE
interface connector and the power connector.

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

 

From the
screenshot of Nero Info Tool above, we miss Mt.Rainier support and a larger
buffer size. Our drive came shipped with firmware A100 and was later updated to
firmware A101 (see below):

And another
shot from Nero Burning ROM:

 

We do not
really find anything alarming here, but Mount Rainier and a larger buffer would
have been nice.

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 and the
included software…………

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Test machine:

For this review we will be using a computer with the following configuration:

Hardware:

• Motherboard: ECS Elitegroup N2U400-A with Nvidia nForce 2 Ultra-400 and nForce MCP chipset.
•  Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (Barton) 333 MHz FSB.
• RAM: 1 GB Infineon PC2700 DDR
•  GFX: ATI Radeon 9600 XT
•  Sound: SoundBlaster Audigy
• Hard disk: Samsung SP1614N 160 GB.

System set-up:

The drive was connected as Secondary Master, identified itself as HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-4163B. DMA (Direct Memory Access) and autorun was enabled for all devices.

Software:

Windows XP professional is installed on the computer along with Service Pack 2 for windows XP. We will be using the following software in this review:

• Ahead Nero Burning ROM version 6.6.0.3
• Ahead Nero CD/DVD Speed v3.55
• Ahead Nero Info Tool v2.27
• Slysoft CloneCD v5.0.4.2
• DVD-Identifier 3.5.1
• 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 LG GSA-4163B:

CD-Recordable:

The LG GSA-4163B uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 40X. The drive wrote the last zone at 40.48X and this gives an average speed of 31.76x. Two drives for comparison are found below.

The Philips DVDR1640 uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 40X. This gives an average speed of 29.86x.

The Samsung TS-H552B uses P-CAV (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) to write at its rated speed of 40x. This gives an average speed of 34.27x.

 For comparison we have made the following table: 

As we can read from the table, the LG GSA-4163B got an average writing time on CD-R's.

CD-Rewritable:

The LG GSA-4163B uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity), to write at its rated speed of 24x, this gives an average speed of 23.35x. Below are some other drives for comparison:

The Samsung TS-H552B uses P-CAV (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) writing technology to write at 32X for CD-RW discs, the average speed is 30.21x.

 

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:

As we can see from the table, the LG GSA-4163B takes second place - compared with the others that also write CD-RW at 24x.

16X DVD+R / 16X DVD-R Writing speed:

The LG GSA-4163B uses P-CAV, (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. The average speed is 12.87x and total writing time is 5 minutes and 34 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.

The Philips DVDR1640P uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write at 16x. The average speed is 11.56x and total writing time is 5 minutes and 48 seconds. The average speed is lower and the writing time is higher than it could have been due to the Walking OPC generation 2 using some time to constantly adjust the writing quality, we could see this as constant dips in the speed curve.

 

The BenQ DW1600A also uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write at 16x. The average speed is 11.32x and total writing time is 6 minutes and 7 seconds. Below, we made a comparison table:

*Actual writing speed was 12X in these areas for the Pioneer A08.

From the table above, we can see that the LG GSA-4163s is the fastest drive writing DVD+R and DVD-R at 16x, since it is using the P-CAV Technique.

Features and techniques:

What is double layer recording technology?

Introduced by Philips and Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (MKM) in 2003, double layer recording technology offers two recordable layers on a single DVD disc, providing nearly double the capacity of 4.7GB single layer DVDs. The two individual layers are separated by a transparent buffer layer and are accessible from the same side of the disc, so recording can occur completely uninterrupted.

When a double layer disc is inserted into a compatible drive, the laser will focus on one of the layers and attempt to read an ADIP (Address in Pregroove) signal. From this signal, the drive is able to detect if the disc is a double layer DVD+R disc and which layer it's focusing on. Once the media type and layer are determined, the laser can adjust its range of focus to read one of the two recordable layers.

Book type (bitsetting).

The LG GSA-4163B supports bit-setting and can write DVD+R and DVD+R9 DL media with DVD-ROM book type.

In our tests we used the Bitsetting option in Nero CD-DVD Speed to change the book-type:

Or you can use Nero Burning ROM (V.6.6.0.3) under the option 'Choose Recorder" to change the booktype:

Here is how you could check if your discs are really written with DVD-ROM book type:

Start Nero CD-DVD Speed and click the Disc info button and you should get something like this:

DVD+R with book type DVD-ROM

DVD+R9 DL with Book type DVD-ROM

DVD+RW 8x and DVD-RW 6x

The LG GSA-4163B is one of the first DVD-writer to support DVD+RW re-writing at 8x and DVD-RW re-writing at 6x. Both media (DVD+RW 8x and DVD-RW 6x) that LG Korea sent us for our test purpose are just 2 unbranded disc, so there is no use to show them, but let us take a look at the media code and who the manufacturer is before we continue.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD+RW:MKM-A03-000]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disc & Book Type :       [DVD+RW] - [DVD+RW]
Manufacturer Name :      [Mitsubishi Kagaku Media]
Manufacturer ID :        [MKM]
Media Type ID :          [A03]
Product Revision :       [Not Specified]
Blank Disc Capacity :    [Not Supported By Method 2]
Recording Speeds :       [1x , 2.4x , 4x]
                         [Method 2 Might Not Always Detect All Speeds]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
** INFO : An Empty Writable Disc Is Recommended For Accurate Results
** INFO : Drive = HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-4163B [FW A101]
** INFO : Write Capabilities = DVD+R DVD+R-DL DVD+RW DVD-R DVD-RW DVD-RAM
** INFO : Disc = [DVD+RW:MKM-A03-000]
** 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 =  8310 KBPS ( 6.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
** INFO : MODE SENSE Write Speed Descriptor(s) [Legacy Command]
Descriptor #1 = 11080 KBPS ( 8.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
Descriptor #2 =  8310 KBPS ( 6.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
** WARNING : Format 11h (Method 1) Is Recommended ADIP Retrieval Method
** WARNING : Format 00h (Method 2) Data Might Contain Drive Modified Values
** WARNING : Format 00h Might Not Return The Entire 'Media Code'-Block
** INFO : Hex Dump Of 'Media Code'-Block Listed Below
** INFO : 4-Byte Header Preceding 'Media Code'-Block Discarded
** INFO : Format 00h (Method 2) - Physical Information (Copy Of ADIP)
0000 : 92 0f 04 00 00 03 00 00  00 26 05 3f 00 00 00 00   .........&.?....
0010 : 00 00 01 4d 4b 4d 00 00  00 00 00 41 30 33 00 39   ...MKM.....A03.9
0020 : 23 00 94 79 64 02 20 00  9c 7a 6c 02 20 00 9a 7b   #..yd. ..zl. ..{
0030 : 68 02 20 12 12 10 e0 00  f0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   h. .............
0040 : 01 00 17 38 00 29 8b 3e  02 24 00 2d 8e 38 02 24   ...8.).>.$.-.8.$
0050 : 00 2c 90 3e 02 24 44 35  30 e0 f0 30 40 00 00 00   .,.>.$D50..0@...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ DVD Identifier - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com ]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD-RW:MKM 01RW6X01]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disc & Book Type :       [DVD-RW] - [DVD-RW]
Manufacturer Name :      [Manufacturer Not Found In Database]
Manufacturer ID :        [MKM 01RW6X01]
Blank Disc Capacity :    [2,298,496 Sectors = 4,489.3MB = 4.38GB (4.71GB)]
Recording Speeds :       [1x , 2x]
                         [6x And Higher Might Not Always Be Detectable]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
** INFO : An Empty Writable Disc Is Recommended For Accurate Results
** INFO : Drive = HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-4163B [FW A101]
** INFO : Write Capabilities = DVD+R DVD+R-DL DVD+RW DVD-R DVD-RW DVD-RAM
** INFO : Disc = [DVD-RW:MKM 01RW6X01]
** INFO : Write Speeds (Supported By This Drive On This Disc) Listed Below
** INFO : GET PERFORMANCE Write Speed Descriptor(s)
Descriptor #1 =  8310 KBPS ( 6.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
Descriptor #2 =  5540 KBPS ( 4.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
Descriptor #3 =  2770 KBPS ( 2.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
** INFO : MODE SENSE Write Speed Descriptor(s) [Legacy Command]
Descriptor #1 =  8310 KBPS ( 6.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
Descriptor #2 =  5540 KBPS ( 4.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
Descriptor #3 =  2770 KBPS ( 2.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
** WARNING : Some Drives Do Not Return The Entire 'Media Code'-Block
             When Dealing with Discs That Are Rated 6x And Higher.
** INFO : Hex Dump Of 'Media Code'-Block Listed Below
** INFO : 4-Byte Header Preceding 'Media Code'-Block Discarded
** INFO : Format 0Eh - Pre-Recorded Information In Lead-In
0000 : 01 02 d6 fd 9e d8 31 00  02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ......1.........
0010 : 03 4d 4b 4d 20 30 31 00  04 52 57 36 58 30 31 00   .MKM 01..RW6X01.
0020 : 05 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  06 15 08 06 30 14 10 00   ............0...
0030 : 07 1e 05 02 88 20 16 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ..... ..........
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ DVD Identifier - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com ]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

As we can read from DVD Identifier, Mitsubishi Kagaku Media is the manufacturer of both media. Let us see what kind of write technology the LG GSA-4163B use to write these Medias.

DVD+RW 8x

DVD-RW 6x

According to the write graphs we can see that the LG GSA-4163B uses Z-CLV (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+RW at 8x and CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-RW at 6x. Just how good the write quality is on these two DVD's can be read later in this review.

 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.

LG DVD Writer Solution:

Cyberlink PowerDVD:

Cyberlink PowerProducer Gold:

Nero Express 6:

In CD:

 

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:

• 16x/8x on DVD-ROM SL/DL
• 10x on DVD±R
• 8x on DVD±RW
• 8x on DVD+R9 DL
• 2x, 3x, 5x on DVD-RAM
• 40x on CD-R/RW

Pressed discs:

For this test we used a pressed CD-ROM disc containing Creative Blaster Audigy install CD which is close to 74 minutes long. Below you will see the produced result:

The LG GSA-4163B had no problems reaching 40.93x, let us see how this compares to other drives and look below:

From the table we can read '“ the LG GSA-4163B does what the specification indicates; it can read CD-Rom's at 40x. In addition, the average random seek times are even better then the official listed specifications.

CD-Recordable Discs:

For this test we made a copy of the original Creative Blaster Audigy install CD. The disc we used was a Verbatim 48X certified CD-R disc manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation. 

Again the LG GSA-4163B drive does what it is suppose to do according to the specifications. Also again the average random seek times are even better then the official listed specifications.

 CD-Rewritable discs:

Again, we made a copy of the original Creative Blaster Audigy install CD; this time we used a Verbatim Ultra Speed (24X) CD-RW disc made by Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation.

As we can see above, the LG GSA-4163B drive had no problems reading this CD-RW disc at full speed; let us compare it to other drives below.

The reading
speed and average random seek times are better then the official specifications
on the LG GSA-4163B drive.

Audio '“ Digital Audio Extraction:

To test the
digital audio extraction performance of the LG GSA-4163B, we again 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 about 78 minutes
long (77:43:45).

The drive
reached 41.39x reading the audio disc back, let us compare the result with other
drives:

The LG
GSA-4163B drive performed very well '“ but not the fastest one so far, due to the
40x read limitation.

Below is the
results produced by EAC:

 Burst
mode

 Secure
mode

The drive
performed excellently in both burst and secure mode.

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-Speed.

The
extracting quality is excellent and it should support everything, except reading
Leadout.

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 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

We can see
that this drive is locked at 10x for reading DVD-Video SL discs. To see how the
transfer rate is on a Data DVD we used the 'Half-Life 2"
DVD-ROM:

DVD-ROM

As we could see there is no speed limit when reading the
data DVD-ROM.

The LG
GSA-4163x performed well according to the official listed specifications. Due to
the Read/Rip lock the drive is around average compared with other
drives.

DVD - DVD+R/RW:

For this test
we used a Plextor (Taiyo Yuden) 8X DVD+R and a Verbatim 4X DVD+RW with about
4,4Gb 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 LG
GSA-4163x performed according to the official listed specifications, and the
results are average when compared to other drives.

DVD - DVD-R/RW:

For this test
we used a Maxell (Taiyo Yuden) 4X DVD-R disc and a Verbatim 4X DVD-RW disc
filled with about 4,4Gb 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 LG
GSA-4163B performed according to the official listed specifications, and the
results is average compared to other drives.

Overall thoughts:

The LG
GSA-4163B performed according to the official listed specifications, and overall
an OK reader.

 

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

---

The
specifications of the LG GSA-4163B 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 700Mb 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 15 seconds to write the disc at 40x. (Actually write speed
40.5x).  Let us see how this compares to other drives:

• 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 test
CD-R discs from a total of 6 different CD-R manufacturers. To really measure the
write speed, we used the 'create data CD" function in Nero CD-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 SOHR-5238S drive with firmware 4S06 and scanned the
discs at 48X speed.

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.

Why wait any
longer? Below are the obtained results:

 

Brand:	EMTEC '“ Thanks to MPOTEC (G) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Plasmon Data Systems Ltd.
Code:	97m27s18f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 8: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59.74 (703 MB)
Certified Speed:	52x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	3m:19s
C1 Average/Sec:	0.70
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

EMTEC CD-R
High Performance, this
media got an average of 0.70 - C1 errors and is consider as 'Best disc
quality".

 

Brand:	MMORE '“ Thanks to MMORE (NL) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Moser Baer India Limited
Code:	97m17s06f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59.74 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	1x-52x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	3m:16s
C1 Average/Sec:	1.03
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

MMORE media - manufactured
by Moser Baer India Limited and with it's average of 1.03 it goes in the
'best
discs" category.

 

Brand:	Plextor
Manufacturer:	Taiyo Yuden
Code:	97m24s01f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 1: Long Strategy (Cyanine, AZO)
Capacity:	79:59.72 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	48x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	3m:16s
C1 Average/Sec:	0.16
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

Media made by Taiyo Yuden
have always had a good reputation and with the average 0.16 it goes into the
group 'best discs". Highly
recommended!

Brand:	Sky Ultra'“ Thanks to Sky Media (CH) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Plasmon Data Systems Ltd.
Code:	97m27s18f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 8: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59.74 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	52x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	3m:18s
C1 Average/Sec:	1.71
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

Sky CD-R with Plasmon
media code got an average of 1.71 and goes into the category 'Best quality
discs".

Brand:	TDK
Manufacturer:	TDK Corporation
Code:	97m15s05f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 5: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59.74 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	52x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	3m:16s
C1 Average/Sec:	1.12
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

This media goes into the
category 'best quality discs" for its C1
average with 1.12.

 

Brand:	Traxdata '“ Thanks to Conrexx (NL) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Ritek
Code:	97m15s17f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 7: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59.70 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	52x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	3m:16s
C1 Average/Sec:	1.12
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

Also, this media goes into
the category 'best quality discs" for its C1
average with 1.12.

 

Brand:	Verbatim '“ Thanks to Verbatim (D) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation
Code:	97m34s23f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 3: Long Strategy (Cyanine, AZO)
Capacity:	79:59.73 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	52x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	3m:15s
C1 Average/Sec:	3.88
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

Verbatim - a well known
brand showed us an average of 3.88 it goes in the category 'Good
Discs".

Writing Quality with 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 is the same as used earlier in this review, so
you may want to go back and read them if unsure. All discs used for these tests
have been written to before, but none have been written to more than 5
times.

CD-ReWritable
media:

Brand:	Traxdata '“ Thanks to Conrexx (NL) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Plasmon Data Systems Ltd.
Code:	97m27s12f
Disc Type:	High Speed CD-RW 8-24x
Recording Layer:	Phase Change
Capacity:	74:41.00 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	8x-24x
Write Speed:	16x
Write Time:	4m:58s
C1 Average/Sec:	10.23
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

We can see
some high spikes in the beginning of the disc, but nothing serious. A good
result!

 

Brand:	Verbatim '“ Thanks to Verbatim (D) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation
Code:	97m34s24f
Disc Type:	Ultra Speed CD-RW 24x
Recording Layer:	Phase Change
Capacity:	79:59.74 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	16-24x
Write Speed:	24x
Write Time:	3m:54s
C1 Average/Sec:	5.81
C2 Average/Sec:	0

Once again, some
high spikes in the beginning of the disc, but a good result.

Summary:

The results are just
excellent! Overall, it does a fantastic job writing to CD-R Media.

 

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

---

 

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

DVD-Writing performance:

In this test we will measure the time for writing to DVD+R/-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.

As we can see, the LG GSA-4163B is the fastest drive so far - writing DVD+R/-R thanks to the P-CAV technique, but let us see how the writing quality is.

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 this test we use a Lite-On SOHW-832S 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 shows the results from a pressed DVD-ROM disc (Baldurs Gate DVD-ROM).

 

This scan shows the result from a pressed DVD-Video disk (Indiana Jones and the last crusade). Notice the error jump when shifting to the second layer (the error level actually drops 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 what 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 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 are what 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 ND-3500AG DVD-Writer. The reason why we have changed reader is that some companies disliked that we used a modified firmware to obtain 16x reading speed. So to please them we are now using a drive that reads DVDR media at 16x as default. A small speed reduction near the end is still accepted on good discs, but serious reading problems or reading failures is a bad sign.

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; does it look clean with no dips it should be good, a small slowdown near the end is accepted.

DVD+R media compatibility and write quality:

Brand:	BenQ
Manufacturer:	Daxon Inc.
Code:	DAXON AZ2
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	8m:10s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	5.41
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.00

Very good results!

 

Brand:	Fuji
Manufacturer:	Philips Electronics
Code:	PHILIPS C 16
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	1x-16x
Write Speed:	16x
Write Time:	5m:35s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	7.49
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.01

We can clearly see that the PI is higher at the beginning at the disc. The burn is good.

Brand:	Swisstec '“ Thanks to Sky Media (CH) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Plasmon Data Limited
Code:	Plasmon 1C01
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	14m:45s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	4.16
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.01

This 8x certified media was burned at 4x, and the results are very good.

Brand:	Sony
Manufacturer:	Sony Corporation
Code:	SONY D11
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	8m:03s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	4.27
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.04

Perfect results.

Brand:	Tevion
Manufacturer:	Ricoh Company Limited
Code:	RICOH JPN R02
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	12x
Write Time:	6m:45s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	4.86
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.04

This 8x certified media was burned at 12x. The result is very good.

Brand:	That's
Manufacturer:	Taiyo Tyden Company Limited
Code:	YUDEN 000 T02
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	12x
Write Time:	6m:45s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	3.46
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.00

This 8x certified media was burned at 12x. The result is excellent.

Brand:	Verbatim
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation
Code:	MCC 003
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	12x
Write Speed:	12x
Write Time:	6m:44s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	0.74
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.00

PERFECT!!

DVD+R 16x media

Brand:	Unbranded'“ Thanks to LG Korea for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation
Code:	MCC 004
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	n/a
Write Speed:	16x
Write Time:	5m:34s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	0.76
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.00

Another PERFECT result!

DVD+ReWritable media:

Brand:	Medion
Manufacturer:	Daxon Inc.
Code:	DAXON D42
Disc Type:	DVD+RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	Max 4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	14m:27s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	1.57
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.01

The results are excellent.

Brand:	MMORE '“ Thanks to MMORE (NL) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Moser Baer India Limited
Code:	MBIPG101 W04
Disc Type:	DVD+RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	1-4x
Write Speed:	2.4x
Write Time:	23m:52s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	3.39
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.06

4x certified media burned at 2.4x, the result is good.

Brand:	Verbatim - Thanks to Verbatim (D) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Kagaku Media
Code:	MKM A02
Disc Type:	DVD+RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	14m:25s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	2.88
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.17

Even though there are some PIF errors on the disc, the results are very good.

DVD+RW 8x media

Brand:	Verbatim - Thanks to LG Korea for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Kagaku Media
Code:	MKM A03
Disc Type:	DVD+RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	n/a
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	8m:09s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	96.21
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.57

Our Lite-on drive REFUCED to accept/recognize this DVD+RW 8x media, so instead we used the Philips DVDR1640P to scan the disc. As we can read, Nero CD Speed '“ Quality test gave the media a score of 95 out of 100. The reading curve is perfect.

So far the LG GSA-4163B writes with an excellent quality on DVD+R media. The results on DVD+RW are very good. Let's us find if it also came do this 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:

In these
tests, we will be using the NEC ND-3500AG to read back the DVD-R's and the
Plextor PX-712A to read back the DVD-RW's.

Brand:	BenQ
Manufacturer:	Sony Corporation
Code:	SONY 08D1
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	7m:56s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	2.10
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.03

Excellent
results.

Brand:	MMORE - Thanks to MMORE (NL) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	FUJI Photo Film Co. Ltd.
Code:	FUJIFILM03
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	1x-8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	7m:57s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	55.15
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.00

Some high PI in the
beginning of the disc, but it did not affect the reading curve, which is
perfect.

Brand:	Sky Media - Thanks to Sky Media (CH) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Plasmon Data Limited
Code:	PLASMON 1A
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	14m:59s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	37.99
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.02

The KProbe scan shows some
high spikes at the end of the disc. (The result is within the standard though).
But the reading curve is perfect!

Brand:	That's - Thanks to LG Korea for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Taiyo Yuden Company Limited
Code:	TY G02
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	7m:55s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	4.48
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.0

Excellent
results.

Brand:	Traxdata - Thanks to Conrexx (NL) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Ritek Corporation
Code:	RITEK G05
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	7m:56s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	2.12
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.02

Perfect
results.

Brand:	Verbatim - Thanks to Verbatim (D) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
Code:	MCC 02R G20
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	7m:55s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	8.03
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.00

The Kprobe scan shows
high spikes at the end of the disc, but the reading curve is perfect.

DVD-R 16x Media

Brand:	Unbranded - Thanks to LG Korea for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
Code:	MCC 03R G20
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	n/a
Write Speed:	16x
Write Time:	5m:20s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	2.92
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.00

The Kprobe scan shows high
spikes at the end of the disc, but the reading curve is perfect.

DVD-ReWritable media:

DVD-RW 6x

Brand:	Unbranded - Thanks to LG Korea for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
Code:	MKM 01RW 6x01
Disc Type:	DVD-RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	n/a
Write Speed:	6x
Write Time:	10m:05s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	13.94
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.02

The Kprobe result is good
and the reading curve perfect.

Brand:	Verbatim - Thanks to Verbatim (D) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
Code:	MCC 01RW 4x
Disc Type:	DVD-RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	14m:51s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	1.67
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.09

Perfect reading curve and
the KProbe scan are also perfect.

To sum it
up:
Overall, the write quality is good on both DVD-R and DVD-RW media and with most
DVD writers - quality media will give quality burns.

 

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

---

DVD+R Dual Layer writing speed and compatibility:

The LG
GSA-4163B supports the DVD+R9 DL standard for writing Dual Layer discs with a
size of 8.5 GB at a writing speed of 4x. Let us first take a look at the media's
we will use:

Let's find the
manufacturer and media information too, for this we will use DVD Identifier
3.5.1:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unique
Disc Identifier : [DVD+R-DL :
MKM-001-000]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disc
& Book Type :       [DVD+R DL] - [DVD+R
DL]
Manufacturer Name :      [Mitsubishi Kagaku
Media]
Manufacturer ID :       
[MKM]
Media Type ID :         
[001]
Product Revision :       [Not
Specified]
Blank Disc Capacity :    [Not Supported By Method
2]
Recording Speeds :       [1x ,
2.4x]
                        
[Method 2 Might Not Always Detect All
Speeds]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
**
INFO : An Empty Writable Disc Is Recommended For Accurate Results
** INFO :
Drive = HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-4163B [FW A101]
** INFO : Write Capabilities =
DVD+R DVD+R-DL DVD+RW DVD-R DVD-RW DVD-RAM
** INFO : Disc =
[DVD+R-DL:MKM-001-000]
** INFO : Write Speeds (Supported By This Drive On
This Disc) Listed Below
** INFO : GET PERFORMANCE Write Speed
Descriptor(s)
Descriptor #1 =  5540 KBPS ( 4.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]

Descriptor #2 =  3324 KBPS ( 2.40x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
** INFO :
MODE SENSE Write Speed Descriptor(s) [Legacy Command]
Descriptor #1 = 
5540 KBPS ( 4.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
Descriptor #2 =  3324 KBPS (
2.40x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
**
WARNING : Format 11h (Method 1) Is Recommended ADIP Retrieval Method
**
WARNING : Format 00h (Method 2) Data Might Contain Drive Modified Values
**
WARNING : Format 00h Might Not Return The Entire 'Media Code'-Block
** INFO :
Hex Dump Of 'Media Code'-Block Listed Below
** INFO : 4-Byte Header Preceding
'Media Code'-Block Discarded
** INFO : Format 00h (Method 2) - Physical
Information (Copy Of ADIP)
0000 : e1 0f 32 10 00 03 00
00  00 fc ff ff 00 22 d7 ff   ..2.........."..
0010 : 00 00 00 4d 4b 4d
00 00  00 00 00 30 30 31 00 40   ...MKM.....001.@
0020 : 25 25
37 0c 02 2f 63 02  2f 63 21 23 0d 0e 14 14  
%7../c./c!#....
0030 : 02 01 01 10 00 21 23 0d  0e 14 14 02 01 01 10
00   .....!#.........
0040 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00  
................
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[
DVD Identifier - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com
]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

This media
is manufactured by Mitsubishi Kagaku Media. Thanks to LG Korea for sending us
this media.

Manufacturer and
media information:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unique
Disc Identifier: [DVD+R-DL : RITEK-D01-001]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disc
Type:             
[DVD+R DL]
Manufacturer
ID:        [RITEK]
Manufacturer
Name:      [Ritek Co.]
Media Type
ID:          [D01]
Product
Revision:       [001]
Disc Application
Code:  [General Purpose]
Recording
Speeds:       [1x , 2.4x]
Blank Disc
Capacity:    [4,173,824 Sectors = 8,152.0MB = 7.96GB
(8.55GB)]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
0000 : e1 0f 32 10
00 03 00 00  00 fc ff ff 00 22 d7 ff  
..2.........."..
0010 : 00 00 00 52
49 54 45 4b  00 00 00 44 30 31 01 40   ...RITEK...D01.@
0020 :
25 25 37 00 00 28 64 00  28 64 19 1b 0b 0b 0e 0f  
%7..(d.(d......
0030 : 01 00 00 00 00 19 1b 0b  0b 0e 0f 01 00 00 00
00  
................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[DVD
Identifier - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The media is
made by Ritek (Made in Taiwan).  Thanks to Conrexx Technology B.V. (The
Netherlands) for sending us this media.

Testing
procedure: We created an ISO Image of the largest DVD-Video disc we had (Nemo,
7.91 GB (8.495.888.384 bytes)) using DVD-Decrypter. Then we wrote this image
file using Nero Burning ROM 6. Below are the results:

Mitsubishi Kagaku Media

Traxdata media

The LG
GSA-4163B used 26 minutes and 55 seconds for writing the Mitsubishi Kagaku media
at 4x and 44 minutes and 30 seconds for writing the Traxdata media at 2.4x. Let
us take a look at the K-Probe result:

Brand:	Unbranded '“ Thanks to LG Korea for providing the sample.
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Kagaku Media
Code:	MKM 001
Disc Type:	DVD+R DL
Capacity:	8103MB
Certified Speed:	2.4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	26m:55s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	1.81
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.01

The KProbe
result is excellent.

Brand:	Traxdata - Thanks to Conrexx (NL) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	RITEK Corporation
Code:	RITEK D01
Disc Type:	DVD+R DL
Capacity:	8103MB
Certified Speed:	2.4x
Write Speed:	2.4xx
Write Time:	44m:30s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	16.01
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.03

The result is
good. And now it's time to take a look at some reading tests with various
DVD-Writers.

First we will
try to read the discs back in the LG GSA-4163B drive:

Mitsubishi Kagaku Media

Traxdata media

As we could
see, the LG GSA-4163B had no problems to read the discs. Let us try some other
drives to read the Dual Layer discs:

Mitsubishi Kagaku Media

Traxdata media

The Plextor DVDR PX-712A shows a
perfect reading curve on both media.

Mitsubishi Kagaku Media

Traxdata media

The Lite-on SOHW-1633S also shows
a perfect reading curve on both media.

Mitsubishi Kagaku Media

Traxdata media

The same goes for the Philips
DVDR1640P

Let's compare
the LG GSA-4163B with other DL capable drives.

* Verbatim DVD+R9 DL
** Philips
DVD+R9 DL
*** Traxdata DVD+R9 DL

Standalone DVD-Player compatibility:

We only have 3
standalone DVD-Players available and 1 standalone DVD+R/W recorder to test the
DVD+R9 DL media (Book Type: DVD-ROM).

• Aiwa DVD
  Player XD-DV370


• Medion
  DVD/Div-X Player MD7457


• Red Star
  DVD-Player 230G


• Mustek
  R100A DVD+R/W Recorder
  

Compatibility
results:

All 4
standalone devices played the DVD+R9 DL burned Medias.

Summary: Excellent write quality and
standalone compatibility results.

 

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

---

To round off
this review, we will run some advanced tests on the LG GSA-4163B. These tests
are: 'Sheep Test", protected audio discs and some special disc 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 take from CloneCD v5.0.4.2, we see the LG GSA-4163B supports
everything.

The LG
GSA-4163B supports DAO-RAW96 recording mode, which basically means, it can write
uncorrected data and subchannel data. Drive used to verify that the tests works
are JLMS XJ-HD166S. Below are our results from the 'Sheep Tests":

As we can read
from the table the LG GSA-4163B is a 'Two Sheep Burner". But it failed to write
the SD290 and the Sheep3 tests.

Copy
protected Audio:

For our
protected audio test, we used the Exact Audio Copy program. We inserted the
protected audio discs and if the drive was able to recognize the disc we tried
to extract the music tracks to the hard drive. First let us look at the discs we
had available for this test:

 

Herbert
Gé¶nemeyer: Mensch - This disc is
protected with Cactus Datashield 200.0.4 .3(build 12b)

And Celine
Dion: A New Day Has Come; protected with key2audio version 3.

Results:

The LG GSA-4163B had no
problem to detect and rip the two protected audio cd's at full speed.

DVD-RAM:

The LG GSA-4163B is a
so-called Super Multi drive, meaning is also supports the DVD-RAM format.

This drive is
one of few drives that also support the DVD-RAM format, lets us look at the
recording side of the disc, and as you can see it got differences from the other
DVD+R/W/R9 DL and DVD-R/W discs.

 

You could see
a very fascinating pattern of darker spots, supposedly these spots are used for
calibration while writing and reading.

A DVD-RAM's disc can be
formatted in the following formats:

• FAT32
  
• UDF 1.02
  
• UDF 1.50
  
• UDF 2.00
  
• UDF 2.01
  
• UDF 2.50
  

By formatting a DVD-RAM
disc with FAT32 it will act like a removable hard drive and all writing will be
done in the 'background processes". Meaning you do not have to wait for it to
finish '“ you can start or work with other applications while the DVD-RAM is
working without noticing any 'hangs" or CPU slowdowns.

Lets us take a look at
the media we are going to use in these tests:

Maxell branded DVD-RAM media
certified at 5x. (Thanks to LG Korea for providing it).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unique
Disc Identifier :
[DVD-RAM:MXL16]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disc
& Book Type :       [Not Available] - [Not
Available] - [DVD-RAM]
Manufacturer Name :     
[MXL16]
Supplementary Info :     [Not
Specified]
Formatted Capacity :     [2,295,072 Sectors =
4,482.6MB = 4.38GB
(4.70GB)]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
**
INFO : An Empty Writable Disc Is Recommended For Accurate Results
** INFO :
Drive = HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-4163B [FW A101]
** INFO : Write Capabilities =
DVD+R DVD+R-DL DVD+RW DVD-R DVD-RW DVD-RAM
** INFO : Disc =
[DVD-RAM:MXL16]
** INFO : Write Speeds (Supported By This Drive On This Disc)
Listed Below
** INFO : GET PERFORMANCE Write Speed
Descriptor(s)
Descriptor #1 =  6925 KBPS ( 5.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]

** INFO : MODE SENSE Write Speed Descriptor(s) [Legacy
Command]
Descriptor #1 =  6925 KBPS ( 5.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
**
INFO : Hex Dump Of 'Media Code'-Block Listed Below
** INFO : 4-Byte Header
Preceding 'Media Code'-Block Discarded
** INFO : Format 00h - Physical Format
Information
0000 : 16 0f 04 42 00 03 10 00  00 26 5f 5f 00 00 00
00   ...B.....&__....
0010 : 80 20 00 10 00 00 00 00  00
00 00 22 00 00 00 00   . ........."....
0020 : 10 00 00 00 00 00 00
00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
01f0 : 00 00 00
00 52 0a 00 79  36 36 36 73 34 34 34 1a  
....R..y666s444.
0200 : 1a 00 00 11 22 83 85 88  88 82 85 88 88 81 84
87   ...."...........
0210 : 87 81 84 87 87 0a 0c 0e  0e 0a 0c
0e 0e 09 0b 0d   ................
0220 : 0d 08 0b 0d 0d 4d 58
4c  31 36 0d 20 20 20 20 20   .....MXL16.    

0230 : 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20  20 20 20 20 20 20 20
20                  

0240 : 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20  20 20 20 20 20 20 20
20                  

0250 : 20 20 20 20 20 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00        ...........
0260 : 00 00 00 00
00 01 01 79  04 70 36 36 36 79 80 80   .......y.p666y..
0270 :
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  
................
0280 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00   ................
0290 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00   ................
02a0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
02b0 : 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 7b 0a 00 87  
............{...
02c0 : 39 39 39 82 37 37 37 22  22 00 00 16 2c 00 83
86   999.777""...,...
02d0 : 86 00 83 86 86 02 82 85  85 02 82
85 85 0d 10 12   ................
02e0 : 12 0d 10 12 12 0c 0f
11  11 0c 0f 11 11 7c 01 7d   .............|.}
02f0 : 39 39 39
7c 8a 8a 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  
999|............
0300 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00   ................
0310 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00   ................
0320 : cd 0a 00 a2 46 46 46
a0  44 44 44 29 29 00 00 1b   ....FFF.DDD))...
0330 : 37 08 06
03 03 08 06 03  03 09 07 04 04 09 07 04  
7...............
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[
DVD Identifier - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com
]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Verbatim branded DVD-RAM certified
at 3x

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unique
Disc Identifier :
[DVD-RAM:Matsushita*-M01J3002]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disc
& Book Type :       [Not Available] - [Not
Available] - [DVD-RAM]
Manufacturer Name :     
[Matsushita Electric Industrial CO.,LTD.]
Supplementary Info
:     [M01J3002]
Formatted Capacity
:     [2,236,704 Sectors = 4,368.6MB = 4.27GB
(4.58GB)]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
**
INFO : An Empty Writable Disc Is Recommended For Accurate Results
** INFO :
Drive = HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-4163B [FW A101]
** INFO : Write Capabilities =
DVD+R DVD+R-DL DVD+RW DVD-R DVD-RW DVD-RAM
** INFO : Disc =
[DVD-RAM:Matsushita*-M01J3002]
** INFO : Write Speeds (Supported By This
Drive On This Disc) Listed Below
** INFO : GET PERFORMANCE Write Speed
Descriptor(s)
Descriptor #1 =  4155 KBPS ( 3.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]

** INFO : MODE SENSE Write Speed Descriptor(s) [Legacy
Command]
Descriptor #1 =  4155 KBPS ( 3.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
**
INFO : Hex Dump Of 'Media Code'-Block Listed Below
** INFO : 4-Byte Header
Preceding 'Media Code'-Block Discarded
** INFO : Format 00h - Physical Format
Information
0000 : 16 0f 04 42 00 03 10 00  00 26 5f 5f 00 00 00
00   ...B.....&__....
0010 : 80 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
0020 : 10 00 00 00 00 00 00
00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
01f0 : 00 00 00
00 52 0a 00 71  2c 2c 2c 6e 2a 2a 2a 1a  
....R..q,,,n***.
0200 : 1a 00 00 11 22 05 02 81  81 05 02 81 81 06 03
00   ...."...........
0210 : 81 06 03 00 00 0a 0b 0c  0c 0a 0b
0c 0c 09 0a 0b   ................
0220 : 0b 09 0a 0b 0b 4d 61
74  73 75 73 68 69 74 61 20   .....Matsushita
0230 : 45 6c 65
63 74 72 69 63  20 49 6e 64 75 73 74 72   Electric
Industr
0240 : 69 61 6c 20 43 4f 2e 2c  4c 54 44 2e 0d 20 20
20   ial CO.,LTD..  
0250 : 20 20 20 20 20 4d 30
31  4a 33 30 30 32 0d 20 20       
M01J3002. 
0260 : 20 20 20 20 20 01 01 82  00 6a 2c 2c 2c 82 94
96        ....j,,,...
0270 : 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
0280 :
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  
................
0290 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00   ................
02a0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00   ................
02b0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00  00 00 00 00 7b 0a 00 71   ............{..q
02c0 : 2d 2d 2d
6e 2b 2b 2b 24  24 03 00 17 00 02 82 84  
---n+++$$.......
02d0 : 85 01 83 85 86 03 81 83  85 03 81 83 84 13 14
17   ................
02e0 : 17 13 14 17 17 12 13
15  16 12 13 14 15 82 00 66   ...............f
02f0 : 2e 2e 2e
82 8e 8d 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
 ................
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[
DVD Identifier - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com
]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

As you can read above the
Maxell DVD-RAM 5x media is made by Maxell and the Verbatim DVD-RAM 3x media is
made by Matsushita Electric Industrial CO. LTD. (Panasonic).

But now the interesting
part '“ writing and reading DVD-RAM media.

Maxell DVD-RAM 5x

Verbatim DVD-RAM 3x

For those who
are not familiar with DVD-RAM would probably think that something went wrong
during the write process since the 5x media was written at 2.33x and the 3x
media written at 1.57. But not to worry - that is pretty normal for DVD-RAM
discs, the reason for the 'low" speed is '“ the drive constantly reads back the
data after writing it to verify that it's written correctly. We can also call it
a 'bullet proof" writing/verify technique '“ with no data loss/errors.

Another
advantage with DVD-RAM is that the discs can be formatted/erased/written at over
100.000 times before it will/can cause/report any errors. Let's try to read back
the 2 discs that we wrote:

Maxell DVD-RAM 5x

Verbatim DVD-RAM 3x

As we can see
from the pictures above, the 5x media was read back at 5x using the P-CAV
technique and the 3x media at 3x using the CLV technique.

Since we have
no equipment at the present time to perform any quality measuring tests with the
DVD-RAM format it will be skipped, but on the other side it should not be
necessary since the RAM writer - verifies the written data by default itself.

We would also
like to mention that we use the DVD-RAM format '“ formatted as FAT32 on a daily
bases at our review-lab in Germany.

Overburning:

To test the
overburning capabilities of the LG GSA-4163B, we used the overburning test in
Nero CD/DVD-Speed. According to Nero CD/DVD speed the drive can overburn
approximately 96 minutes.

  

The picture
above shows us that the LG GSA-4163B did not have any problems reading 99
minutes long CD's. The reading curve is very nice indeed.

 

Now, that
concludes our LG GSA-4163B review, head on to the last page to read our
conclusion…

Positive:

• Supports DVD+R9 DL writing at 4x
• Supports DVD+R/-R writing at 16x
• 16x P-CAV burns leads to faster burns when compared with 16x Z-CLV and 16x CAV
• Extracts CD-DA at full speed with EAC
• 8x writing speed on DVD+RW
• 6x writing speed on DVD-RW
• Excellent writing quality on CD-R's
• Excellent writing quality on DVD+R/R9 DL
• Write some certified media at higher speed
• Supports DVD-ROM bitsetting on DVD+R/R9 DL media
• Can Rip Protected audio discs
• 'Two sheep" writer
• Supports DAO-RAW writing
• Can overwrite CD-R's up to 96 minutes
• Can read overburned CD-R's up to 100 minutes
• Supports DVD-RAM up to 5x
• Excellent documentation/Owner's Manual on CD
• Very good Software package

Negative:

• Does not support Mt. Rainier
• Other drives offer 48x/32x writing on CD-R/W media
• 10x/8x reading speed DVD±R/DVD±RW media
• Does not support DVD-ROM bitsetting on DVD+RW media
• Media compatibility could be improved
• Can't overburn to 99/100 minutes

Conclusion:

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

The main positive points: The first point we would like to mention is the DVD+R9 DL support at 4x. The next point is the 16x DVD±R P-CAV writing technique that leads to faster burns compared with burns done by 16x Z-CLV and 16x CAV. The LG GSA-4163B also extracts CD-DA disc at full speed '“ included copy protected audio CD's, which is an advantage when ripping/extracting music. Another important point is the 8x writing speed on DVD+RW and 6x writing speed on DVD-RW combined with good quality results.  Speaking about quality '“ the LG GSA-4163B offers an excellent writing quality on CD-R's, and not to forget on DVD+R/R9 DL media too. Further, the drive also supports DVD-ROM bitsetting on DVD+R/R9 media, which leads to high compatibility on i.e. DVD standalone devices. Due to 'two sheep" burner and the DAO-RAW writing mode - the drive can be used to backup copy protected CD's. It also supports writing CD-R's up to 96 minutes, and can read back overburned CD-R's up to 100 minutes. Since the LG GSA-4163B is a super-multi drive it also read and write DVD-RAM disc up to 5x. And as a last point we would like to point out the excellent documentation/owner's manual and the very good software package that comes with the retail drive.

The main negative points: There is hardly anything negative about this drive, but we would like to mention that other drives offer 48x/32x writing on CD-R/W media. Also other drives offer faster read speed on DVD±R/DVD±RW media. Finally, as a last point - the drive did not offer DVD-ROM bitsetting on DVD+RW media.

To sum it all up, this is what we would say: 'An excellent DVD±R/RW/+R9 DL and CD-R recorder, which also support the DVD-RAM format. So we guess it deserve LG's own slogan drive name - 'Super multi drive".

Based on our tests and experiences during this review '“ we give the LG GSA-4163B our 'Editors Choice award".

By using our price grabber feature cdfreaks.pricegrabber.com we found the drive listed at $ 81 (30. December 2004). And at www.getprice.de we found the drive listed at 73 EUR (30. December 2004).

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

Thanks to:

Conrexx Technology B.V./RITEK Europe '“ The Netherlands for providing the Traxdata CD-R 52x and CD-RW 24x used in this review.

 

EMTEC (MPOTEC GmbH) - Germany for providing the CD-R 52x media used in this review.

MMORE International B.V. - The Netherlands for providing the DVD+R 8x, DVD+RW 4x and DVD-R 8x, CD-R 52x media used in this review.

 

 

Sky Media Manufacturing sa '“ Switzerland for providing the DVD+R 8x, DVD-R 8x and CD-R 52x media used in this review.

 

 

Verbatim GmbH - Germany for providing the DVD+R 8x, DVD+RW 4x, DVD-R 8x, DVD-RW 4x, CD-R 52x and CD-RW 24x media used in this review.