Memorex F16 DVD-Writer

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Memorex was kind enough to send us their latest DVD-Writer; the Memorex F16 Double Layer, Dual Format DVD recorder. This drive supports 16x DVD+R writing, 8x DVD-R and 2.4x DVD+R9 DL writing technologies, which allows you to burn dual layer discs with a capacity of 8.5GB.

Memorex has the following to description on their website regarding this product; The 16x Dual Format, Double-Layer DVD Recorder ushers DVD Recording into a new era. The dual format capability takes the guesswork out of choosing the right discs, while the double-layer feature allows for the creation of DVD+R9 discs with as much as 8.5 GB of data. A comprehensive and powerful software suite from Nero makes recording CDs and DVDs easy and fun.

Memorex history and information:

We found the following information on the Memorex website:

Memorex Products, Inc.

Since Memorex burst onto the recording scene more than 30 years ago with "Is it live or is it Memorex?" a lot has changed. But with each generation, Memorex continues to remain one of the most widely recognized and respected names in the consumer electronics industry. By bringing to market the high performance products consumers demand, today Memorex is a dominant brand in CD and DVD media, optical drives, flash drives and computer accessories. Memorex is the number one retail provider of digital media, currently shipping more than 750 million

CD and DVD discs each year to stores nationwide '“ enough to carpet the entire state of New York!! For 2003, Memorex retained its position as the number one provider of digital media, outperforming all other brands of optical media. For the fourth consecutive year in the CD category and second consecutive year in DVDs, Memorex led its competitors in all digital media in both volume and sales. Catering to 21 of the top 25 U.S. retailers, Memorex products are available in more than 23,000 retail locations nationwide. Worldwide, Memorex sells nearly a billion optical discs annually in its major international markets, which include Europe and Canada. From the recordable audio cassette that propelled the Memorex brand into market dominance in the early 1970s, to the industry's first inkjet printable CDs, to the high-speed and double-layer DVD discs of today, no other company has achieved as much success in the digital media marketplace as Memorex, truly symbolizing the meaning of its name '“ 'memory excellence". To complement the enormous demand for media, Memorex has entered into new markets over the years '“ and succeeded. With high-speed performance, stylish looks and competitive prices, Memorex CD and DVD drives have been recognized as the industry's best. Memorex drives have been named Editor's Choice by PC Magazine, Editor's Pick and Best Buy by PC World, and have consistently been ranked among the top brands of DVD burners by countless other consumer and technology publications. For consumers looking to take important files, music, or digital photos on the go, the Memorex family of TravelDrivesTM offers sleek and stylish high performance storage in a device small enough to fit on a keychain. Currently available with 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB and 2GB of capacity and featuring the slimmest profile among portable flash drives, Memorex TravelDrives are ideal for securely transferring digital files between home, school, the office, or even between Mac and PC. Memorex also offers a complete line of media accessories, including CD and DVD labeling tools, storage cases and computer cleaning products. The Memorex brand continues to endure, serving as the ultimate benchmark for separating the 'wanna-be" from the real thing. Is it live or is it Memorex? You decide.

 

Memorex Milestones

How It All Began

1961 Memorex is formed, delivering data backup tapes for the emerging computer industry.

1971 Memorex launches recordable audio cassettes and one of the most memorable campaigns in

television history, the image of Ella Fitzgerald's recorded voice shattering a wine glass and the

phrase, 'Is it live or is it Memorex?"

1979 The video library is born with the introduction of recordable VHS tape.

Recent History

1996 Recordable CD-Rs open up a world of new possibilities where photos, music, data '“ anything

digital '“ can be saved to a portable, reliable low-cost disc for the next 70 years.

1998 Memorex launches its branded optical drives (CD Recorders).

2000 Memorex emerges the market share leader in retail sales of optical media.

2001 Memorex delivers the Recordable Pocket CD-R, a disc only three inches in diameter, but

boasting 185 MB of storage space.

2001 Memorex Recordable DVDs deliver consumers enough storage space to hold an entire set of

encyclopedias in one hand.

2002 Memorex expands its branded optical drive line-up by launching internal and external DVD

Recorders.

2002 Memorex introduces its first USB flash drive, the ThumbDrive. The ultimate in portable

storage, ThumbDrives are able to hold up to 512MB of data, music, or other digital files, with

USB 1.1 compatibility.

2003 Memorex expands its USB flash drive product line-up by introducing an all new, uniquely

designed High Speed USB 2.0 TravelDrive. The USB flash drive market grows by 1,500 percent

from 2002 to 2003.

2003 Memorex introduces an award-winning dual format DVD recorder, expanding the product line

to 10 active models, more than any other tier one retail branded optical drive marketer.

2003 Memorex remains number one in sales of digital CD and DVD media and emerges as a leader

in the DVD drive marketplace, garnering PC Magazine Editor's Choice, PC Magazine Best Of

2003, PC World Editor's Pick and PC World Best Buy honors.

2003 Memorex is the first to bring to market DVD 120 discs '“ the VHS tape replacement '“ expressly

for home video DVD recording.

2004 Memorex leads the charge to deliver standardized dual-layer DVD media and drives to market.

2004 Memorex expands its TravelDrive family to include the industry's largest storage capacities '“

1GB and 2GB '“ making portable storage virtually limitless.

 

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These are the Specifications of this drive:

 
What's inside the box?

Now we will take a look at what the drive came shipped with as well as the drive itself and its' technology.

The box advertises and highlights the 16X DVD+R writing speed, the Double Layer writing ability, and the dual ± Format writing abilities. Let us take a closer look at the contents of the box:

 

This bundle is very well stocked compared to some other retail packages and contains:

⋅         The drive itself
⋅         One 40 wire IDE cable
⋅         Audio Cable
⋅         4 mounting screws
⋅         Nero software installation CD
⋅         One Memorex 16x DVD+R disc
⋅         Quick Install guide & software manual
⋅         Quick Setup Map
⋅         Memorex LabelMaker offer
⋅         Safety Notice

Along with the standard retail package, Memorex also kindly provided an assortment of Memorex brand media to use in this review. This bundle looks very good and we especially like the included 16x DVD+R disc. We also like to see the Nero 6 software suite, which is one of our favorite recording software packages. We would have preferred an 80 wire IDE cable and we also miss a DVD±RW disc to be included in the retail bundle. The Quick Setup Map contains pictures and step-by-step instructions, which should help anyone to easily install the drive and software.

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

 

The bezel has a very unique, interesting design and color scheme. We can see that the bezel has a DVD+R DL logo, a DVD Alliance (DVD+R/RW) logo, a Memorex logo, a DVD Forum (DVD-R/RW) logo and a Compact Disc ReWriteable logo. The bottom half of the bezel contains a headphone jack, a volume control wheel, an emergency eject hole, an LED, a Double Layer graphic, a 16x graphic, and a standard eject button. It is nice to see that this drive still contains a headphone jack and volume control wheel, since many other drives are now excluding these items. The LED is a single blue color, which is lit solid blue during writing and blinks blue during reading. We really like the unique blue-colored LED, but we generally prefer separate colors for reading and writing operations.

 

The drive top contains 2 stickers. We can see that the drive was made in China and manufactured in September 2004. The FCC ID is DVD+/-DLRWL1 F16l and the Memorex part number is 32023282. It is also interesting to take notice of the small form factor of this drive, which is the same for all Lite-On based drives. The drive length measures in at just under 6 ¾ inches, which will make it easier to fit and install in most cases. This is approximately 1 inch shorter than standard length drives.

 

On the back of the drive starting from the left, we can see a set of pins that is used to calibrate the drive at the factory; an analog audio connector; a digital audio connector; pins and a jumper to set the drive to cable select, slave or master; an IDE connector and finally the power connector.

We had no trouble quickly installing the drive in our test system. Here is a screenshot from Nero InfoTools' Drive Info tab:

 

Our drive came shipped with firmware BWSE, which is the latest available firmware at the time of this review. It does not support DVD-RAM reading/writing nor Mt. Rainier, however very few drives support these features. The buffer size is listed as 2MB, however some other drives are built with an 8MB buffer. A larger buffer is preferred, but this is a minor complaint. All in all, the supported features look very good.

Here is another shot from Nero Burning ROM:

 

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:

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

Hardware:

⋅         Hard disks: Maxtor 6Y080P0 80GB and Western Digital WD1600JB-00EVA0 160GB.

System set-up:

 

The Memorex F16 was connected as Secondary Master and identified as Memorex DVD+/-DLRWL1 F16. DMA (Direct Memory Access) and autorun was enabled for all devices.

Software:

Windows XP Professional SP1 is installed on this computer. We will be using the following software in this review:

⋅         DVDIdentifier 3.5
⋅         Ahead Nero Burning ROM version 6.6.0.1
⋅         Ahead Nero CD/DVD Speed v3.55
⋅         Ahead Nero InfoTool v2.27
⋅         Slysoft CloneCD v5.0.2.2
⋅         Exact Audio Copy v0.95 prebeta 5
⋅         K-Probe v2.4.2

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 modification tool (bitsetting).

According to our information, the Memorex F16 should support bitsetting. We found that the drive burns DVD+R DL discs with a DVD-ROM book type by default. DVD+R discs are burned with a DVD+R book type by default. Fortunately, Memorex allows you to choose what book type you would like to use on a DVD+R disc through the use of CD-DVD Speeds' bitsetting utility. We recommend using the DVD-ROM booktype on all of your DVD+R and DVD+R DL discs because it will increase the discs' compatibility with standalone DVD players. Memorex gets a big plus for supporting this feature. You can download CD-DVD Speed at http://www.cdspeed2000.com/

We found it very easy to change the booktype with this tool.

We tested this functionality by burning a DVD+R disc afterwards. We found that the drive was able to write the DVD-ROM book type without any problems.

Quality Scans:

Since the Memorex F16 drive is based on the Lite-On SOHW-1633S, it can be used to measure and scan burned discs for their quality. This feature is useful because it allows you to determine what media works best with your drive and also give you an impression on the quality or state of the resulted burned disc. We tested this feature by launching Nero CD-DVD Speed and launching the Disc Quality Test from the "Extra" drop-down menu. You have the option to scan at 1x, 2x, 4x, 6x or 8x with this drive. We quickly tested a 4481MB DVD+R disc at 8x speed.

As you can see, the Memorex F16 drive had no problems performing the Disc Quality Test.

Included software:

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

Nero OEM suite:

The Nero program suite is owned and developed by Nero (formerly Ahead) Software; it contains programs for creating most types of CD/DVD discs, a packet writing program, a media player etc. This is one of our preferred writing program suites, and thus Memorex gets a plus in our book for including it. We can also see that Nero has created a custom Memorex splash screen for the Nero software installation.

Now that we have finished examining the features, techniques and bundled software, it's time to head on to the next page. Reading performance tests…

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Reading performance:

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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 sports a specified read speed of 16X for DVD's and 48X for CD's.

Pressed discs:

For this test we used a pressed CD-ROM disc containing Canon Digital Camera Solution Disk ver 9.0 that is 73:12.38 minutes long. Below you will see the produced result:

 

The drive had absolutely no trouble reading the Canon disc. To see how this compares to other drives, look below:

The Memorex F16 was one of the fastest CD-ROM readers of all the drives tested. The Memorex F16 did not impress us with the seek times, since it reported the highest numbers compared to the other drives.

CD-Recordable Discs:

For this test we made a copy of the original Canon Digital Camera Solution CD. The disc we used was a Verbatim 48X certified CD-R disc manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation.

 

There were no problems reading the CD-R disc copy and it had no problems reaching near 48x. The usual comparison table is found below.

The Memorex F16 achieved excellent reading speeds with the CD-R disc. But once again, the seek times were higher than the other drives.

CD-ReWritable discs:

We made a copy of the original Canon disc, this time we used a Verbatim High Speed (12X) CD-RW disc made by Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation.

 

The drive reads CD-RW discs slightly above 32x speed, to see how this compares to other drives; look below:

The Memorex F16 performed average with CD-RW reading speeds. It can't compete with the drives that read CD-RW discs at full speed, such as the BenQ DW822A. We also once again notice the higher seek times.

Audio '“ Digital Audio Extraction:

To test the digital audio extraction performance of the Memorex F16, we again used Nero CD/DVD-Speed to measure the transfer rate. The audio disc we used is approximately 74 minutes long (74:02:70).

 

This drive is able to read Audio CDs at full speed! Let us compare the results with other drives:

The Memorex F16 performed very well with digital audio
extraction, the values are about average compared to other drives. This is
particularly evident when comparing to some of our other recent reviews such as
the Samsung TS-H552B and Philips ED16DVDR.

We performed additional Audio tests using Exact Audio Copy
(EAC) to extract the audio to our hard drive. According to EAC, the Memorex
drive supports both Accurate stream and C2 error reporting, which is good. It
also supports caching, which is a negative.

Below is the results produced by EAC:

 

Burst mode

 

Secure mode

The drive performed very well in the burst mode test, but
slow in secure mode.

Advanced audio '“ DAE quality test:

Before we move on to testing DVD read speeds, we perform one
last audio test. This time we used the 'Advanced DAE Quality Test" feature in
CD-Speed.

 

The extracting quality is excellent! It supports all
Advanced features including Read Leadin, Read Leadout, Read CD Text and Read
Subchannel Data. This drive will have no problems backing up Audio CDs quickly
and accurately.

DVD reading
performance:

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

DVD '“ DVD-Video:

For our DVD reading performance tests we are going to start
with single and dual layered DVD video discs. While only 1X speed is required to
watch DVD movies, it is 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.

Single Layer DVD
Video

 

Double Layer DVD Video

From these tests, we can see that this drive can read
SL DVD-Video discs at full 16x speed and DL DVD-Video discs at 8x speed. How
this compares to other drives can be seen in the table below.

The Memorex F16 performs excellent with SL DVD Video discs,
and is our fastest drive in this test. It also performed well in the DL Video
disc read test.

DVD '“
DVD+R(W):

For this test we used a Taiyo Yuden 4X DVD+R and a Verbatim
4X DVD+RW with about 4.38GB of data. Below are the results:

 
DVD+R

DVD+RW

The reading speed is locked to 8x CAV (Constant Angular
Velocity) for DVD+R and DVD+RW discs. You can compare these Memorex speeds to
other drives using the table below:

The Memorex drives shows average performance in DVD+R and
DVD+RW reading speeds.

DVD '“
DVD-R/RW:

For this test we used a Taiyo Yuden 8X DVD-R disc and a
Verbatim 4X DVD-RW disc filled with approximately 4.38GB of data. Our test
results are found below:

DVD-R

 
DVD-RW

 Results look very similar to the DVD+R / DVD+RW read
tests.

Once again we find the Memorex F16 read speeds are about
average for DVD-R/RW discs.

Overall Reading Performance thoughts:

Single Layer DVD Video discs are read at a full 16X CAV
while Double Layer DVD Video discs are read at 8X CAV. It was our fastest drive
for reading Single Layer DVD Video discs! These higher reading speeds for DVD
Video are very good and allow for expedient backups of DVD Video discs. CD Audio
speeds are also excellent and the drive performed perfectly in the Advanced DAE
tests. These tests show that the drive is a very good choice for backing up DVD
Video and CD Audio discs. The seek times for the Memorex were higher than other
drives and could use some improvement. We would also really like to see higher
reading speeds DVD+R and DVD-R discs, especially since the competition can read
these disc types at 16X CAV.

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

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The specifications of the Memorex F16 state that the drive
is able to write CD-R discs at 48x. Let us find out how the drive really
performs in speed and quality.

Writing Data CD-R discs:

First, let us examine the CD-R writing technology used by the Memorex F16 by burning a data disc in CD-DVD Speed:

We can see that the Memorex F16 uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write at its' rated CD-R speed of 48x. This gives an average speed of 37.23x. Let us compare this to some other DVD writers:

 

The Mad Dog MD-16XDVD9 uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write at its' rated CD-R speed of 48x. The average speed of 36.38x.

 

The Plextor PX-708A uses P-CAV (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) to reach it rated speed of 40X. This gives an average speed of 33.38x.

We also wrote a disc with 700Mb of data 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 Memorex F16 used 3 minutes and 11 seconds to write the disc at 48X. For comparison we have made the following table: 

 

The Memorex F16 obtained the fastest CD-R writing time in CD-Speed! The Nero writing times are about average, but still good. Writing speeds are important, but writing quality is even more important. Let us now examine the CD-R writing quality of the Memorex F16.

CD-R Write Quality:

We will test a total of 8 different CD-R discs for speed and write quality. To really measure the write speed, we used the 'create data CD" 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-32123S drive with firmware XS0Z and scanned the discs at 40X speed (Actual speed is approximately 43X CAV on 80 minute CD-Rs).

A written CD-R disc will always have some C1 errors; C1 errors are easily corrected by the drives' error correction capabilities. The next level of errors is C2, while C2 errors could also be corrected by most drives' 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 a 10.0 average for good quality discs. After C2 errors there are only un-correctable errors that will make a disc unusable.

There is no need to hold you in suspense! Below are the obtained results:

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Brand:	Verbatim Data Life Plus '“ (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:	32x
Write Time:	3m:13s
C1 Average/Sec:	0.26
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

These results are excellent. This is exactly what we like to see from a C1/C2 scan. These Verbatim CD-Rs are highly recommended and jump straight into our 'best discs" category.

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Brand:	Office Depot
Manufacturer:	Moser Baer India
Code:	97m17s06f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59.74 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	52x
Write Speed:	48x
Write Time:	2m:37s
C1 Average/Sec:	2.58
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

Another good result with the Moser Baer CD-R media. We can consider these as 'good discs".

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Brand:	Imation
Manufacturer:	CMC Magnetics
Code:	97m26s66f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59.71 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	48x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	2m:55s
C1 Average/Sec:	6.63
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

This is a good result with a 6.63 C1 average and no C2 errors. There should be no trouble using these discs.

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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:	Na
Write Time:	Na
C1 Average/Sec:	Na
C2 Average/Sec:	Na

The Memorex F16 refused to recognize this type of CD-R! We
tried many different discs to rule out a media defect, and none of them could be
recognized in the drive. Interestingly enough, the LiteOn 1633S can recognize
and write to these same CD-Rs without any trouble.  This problem must
be particular to the Memorex firmware.

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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:	40x
Write Time:	2m:59s
C1 Average/Sec:	36.67
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

Even though there are not any C2 errors, these results are
not very good. It might have been better to limit this media to a lower write
speed due to the media quality. We do not recommend these discs.

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Brand:	GQ
Manufacturer:	Lead Data Inc. with SONY ATIP (SONY)
Code:	97m24s16f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59.74 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	52x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	3m:02s
C1 Average/Sec:	3.26
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

What a difference! The GQ discs with a SONY ATIP burned
very well and can be considered 'good discs".

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Brand:	FujiFilm '“ (Thanks to FujiFilm USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Prodisc Technology Inc.
Code:	97m32s19f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 9: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59.73 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	32x
Write Speed:	40x
Write Time:	2m:58s
C1 Average/Sec:	2.17
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

Good results and a nice low 2.17 value for the C1 error
average. These go into our 'good discs" category.

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Brand:	IO Magic
Manufacturer:	RiTEK Corporation
Code:	97m15s17f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 7: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59.70 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	48x
Write Speed:	48x
Write Time:	2m:37s
C1 Average/Sec:	1.99
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

The scan shows good results and this disc qualifies into
our 'best discs" category.

 Writing data CD-RW
discs:

The specifications of the Memorex F16 state that the drive
is able to write CD-RW discs at 24x. Let us find out how the drive really
performs in speed and quality. First, let us examine the CD-RW writing
technology used by the F16;

 

Unfortunately, our Ultra Speed Verbatim 32X CD-RW discs
could only be written at 16X with the Memorex F16. The Memorex drive uses CLV
(Constant Linear Velocity) writing technology to write these ultra speed
CD-RW discs. The average speed is 16.01x. Let us compare this to the writing
technology of two other drives:

 

The Pioneer
DVR-A08XLA also uses Z-CLV,
(Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) with 3 zones, to write at its rated
speed of 24x. This gives an
average speed of 22.47x.

 

The Plextor PX-708A, with its P-CAV (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) write
speed of 24X for Ultra Speed CD-RW discs is among the faster writers due to its
high starting speed of 20.01x.

We also wrote a disc with 650Mb of data 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.

 

For a better overview we present the following comparison
table:

*74min CD-RW used.
**Maximum
specification for this drive is actually 24x, however it could only burn
Verbatim 32x CD-RW at 16x.

The Memorex drive is one of the slowest CD-RW burners here
because it could not support writing to the 32x Verbatim CD-RW at full 24x
speed. Now we will examine the CD-RW writing quality;

 

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Brand:	Verbatim '“ (Thanks to Verbatim USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation
Code:	97m34s25f
Disc Type:	CD-RW
Recording Layer:	Phase Change
Capacity:	74:43.00 (656MB)
Certified Speed:	32x
Write Speed:	16x
Write Time:	5m:13s
C1 Average/Sec:	37.09
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

The C1 errors are pretty elevated, but at least there are
no C2 errors, and the disc is fully readable.

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Brand:	Verbatim '“ (Thanks to Verbatim USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation
Code:	97m34s23f
Disc Type:	CD-RW
Recording Layer:	Phase Change
Capacity:	74:43.00 (656MB)
Certified Speed:	4-12x
Write Speed:	10x
Write Time:	8m:09s
C1 Average/Sec:	78.08
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

Owie! There is a very large spike of C1 errors near the
beginning of the disc, but at least the disc has no C2 errors and is fully
readable. We have seen much better results on this media from other
writers.

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Brand:	Maxell
Manufacturer:	Plasmon Data Systems Ltd.
Code:	97m27s10f
Disc Type:	CD-RW
Recording Layer:	Phase Change
Capacity:	74:41.00 (656MB)
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	19m:50s
C1 Average/Sec:	12.68
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

Good results here! The C1/C2 scan is good for a CD-RW disc
and the transfer-rate reading curve is perfect.

 

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CD-R/RW performance Summary:
The CD-R writing performance is
good overall on most media, but the drive did have a couple of problems in this
area. Notably; the drive was unable to recognize our Digital Storage Technology
CD-R discs at all. CD-RW writing was not so great at higher speeds, and the
drive could not write our 32X Verbatim CD-RW at the advertised specification of
32X.

But after all, it's a DVD-Writer, so head on to next page
and read about DVD-Writing performance and DVD media
compatibility…

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

DVD-Writing performance:

First,
we shall take a look at the writing technology used for DVD+R and DVD-R
writing.

16X
DVD+R Writing speed:

The
Memorex F16 uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write
DVD+R at 16X.

8X
DVD-R Writing speed:

The
Memorex F16 uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant
Linear Velocity) to write at DVD-R at 8X. Let us compare these to
the write technologies used by some other drives:

 

The
Pioneer DVR-A08XLA uses Z-CLV,
(Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write to DVD+R
and DVD-R discs at 16x. The above image shows a DVD-R disc written at
16x.

 

The
BenQ DW1620 uses CAV
(Constant Angular Velocity) to write at 16x. The dips that you see in the graph are caused by the
BenQs' Walking OPC technology, which is used to improve burn quality. The above image shows a 16x DVD+R disc written at 16x.

Next we
will test and measure the time for writing to DVD-R and DVD+R discs within Nero.
We used Nero burning Rom to burn an ISO compilation containing 4483MB of data.
We used the Disc-At-Once write method.

DVD+R test burn

DVD-R test burn

How does
the Memorex F16 compare to other writers on the market? We have built a table to
analyze these write times. Please reference below for
comparisons:

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

As we
can see, the Memorex F16 is about average for 16X speed DVD+R writing. It is the
slowest DVD-R writer due to the 8X maximum write speed limitation.

Please
note that the Memorex F16 uses a P-CAV (Partial-Constant
Angular Velocity) write method when burning DVD+R at 8X, which
allows for a much faster 8X DVD+R writing time when compared to other
writers.

A more
important question would be; how is the DVD±R/RW write quality of this drive?
After all, you do want to be able to produce discs that are readable and useful.
Let us find out now!

Write quality:

You
should first take note that this is not a scientific and professional way to
test the discs. But according to our testing done in the past, 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 use 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/PIF 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 Failueres) 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.
This is due to the fact that different drives report different amounts of
errors, some players are more picky about media than others and many other
factors. For comparison purposes we present you with a scan from two pressed DVD
discs.

Please
note that the example scans below were performed with an older version of
Kprobe. In this older version, PIF is mistakenly labelled as
'PO".

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.

And
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 use the 4X CLV scan speed for all of our PI/PIF tests.

To
see if there is a connection between the reported amount of errors and
readability of the discs, we also include a transfer rate test reading curve
from the Mad Dog MD-16XDVD9 DVD-Writer. 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. Lower error levels are always
better.
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. Lower error levels are always better.

What
about the reading curve? If the graph looks clean with no dips then the disc
should be very good. A small slowdown near the end is acceptable.

DVD+R media compatibility and write quality:

 

 

Brand:	Memorex '“ (Thanks to Memorex for providing)
Manufacturer:	CMC Magnetics
Code:	CMC MAGM01
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	16x
Write Time:	5m:59s
PI-8 errors Avg/Sec:	19.71
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.16

 

The Kprobe scan and
the reading curve are both acceptable here. What do you know? Memorex brand
media will work fine with the Memorex F16 DVD writer.

 

---

  

 

Brand:	Verbatim '“ (Thanks to Verbatim USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation
Code:	MCC004
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	16x
Write Time:	5m:50s
PI-8 errors Avg/Sec:	41.19
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.06

The PI
levels are higher than what we would have liked, but the read-back curve is
acceptable and the disc was fully readable. We tested with multiple MCC004 discs
and the results were all similar. We believe the writing strategy for this media
type may need some improvement.

---

Brand:	FujiFilm '“ (Thanks to Fujifilm USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Taiyo Yuden
Code:	YUDEN000T02
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	8m:25s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	19.20
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.02

PI and
PIF error levels are all within acceptable ranges, but this is far from the best
results we've seen with this media. The read-back curve had some slight problems
but this is nothing major as the disc was fully readable. We would also like to
see this media supported at 16X since many of the competing writers on the
market already have the capability to write this media at higher
speeds.

---

 

 

Brand:	Prodisc
Manufacturer:	Prodisc
Code:	PRODISC R03
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	8m:10s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	2.57
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.14

The
PI/PIF results are perfect here, but the CD-Speed test showed some reading
problems. Overall it is a fair result and it unlikely that you should have any
major problems with this media.

---

 

Brand:	RiDATA '“ (Thanks to Advanced Media/Ritek USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Ritek
Code:	RITEK R03 (Revision 02)
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	8m:12s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	1.04
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.03

Spectacular
results! It cannot get much better than this. Highly
recommended.

---

 

Brand:	Verbatim '“ (Thanks to Verbatim USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation
Code:	MCC 003
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	8m:12s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	1.70
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.01

The
Kprobe scan here is excellent and the reading curve is pretty good. There is
some slow-down on the reading curve, but nothing too major. We don't have any
problems recommending these discs.

---

 

Brand:	Memorex
Manufacturer:	CMC Magnetics
Code:	CMCMAG E01
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	8m:19s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	0.88
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.02

The 3
spikes in the Kprobe scan can be ignored since they did not affect readability.
Keeping that in mind, these are great results! The slowdown near the very end of
the transfer rate test is very minor and is nothing to be concerned about. The
Memorex F16 works great with Memorex media. Are you surprised?

---

 

Brand:	GQ
Manufacturer:	Optodisc
Code:	OPTODISC OR8
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	8m:11s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	26.28
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.06

The
produced disc failed the reading test on our transfer rate test. An unreadable
disc is obviously not desirable. Memorex needs some improvements with this
media.

---

 

Brand:	Value Disc
Manufacturer:	Philips (Made at CMC Magnetics)
Code:	PHILIPS C08
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	8m:11s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	0.83
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.06

Here we
can see again that the resulting disc had a few singular spikes that can be
ignored near the beginning of the disc. The reading test showed some slow downs
near the last 1/3 of the disc, but the overall results here are
good.

---

 

Brand:	GQ
Manufacturer:	Lead Data
Code:	LD S03
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	8m:15s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	7.32
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.10

The disc
was not fully readable. The PI/PIF spike near the end of the Kprobe scan appears
to coincide with the unrecovered read error in the transfer rate test. These
discs are not recommended.

---

 

Brand:	TDK
Manufacturer:	Ricoh
Code:	RICOHJPN R01
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	14m:43s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	0.89
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.36

These are
very good results here on RICOH media. We can easily recommend these 4X discs.

---

 

 

Brand:	Samsung
Manufacturer:	Taiyo Yuden
Code:	YUDEN000 T01 (revision 00)
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	14m:48s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	0.44
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.02

The
Kprobe results look great with very low PI/PIF averages. The transfer rate test
had some reading slowdowns, but there should be no trouble with this
media. 
 

---

We also
tested some other media types to see if they are supported at certified speed.
We include the following table:

Supported
write speeds look good except for the 16x Fujifilm and 16x RiDATA DVD+R discs.
These 16x discs have been available for quite some time and there is no reason
they should not be supported at 16x. Hopefully Memorex will fix this
soon.

DVD+RW media compatibility and write quality:

Brand:	Memorex '“ (Thanks to Memorex for providing this media)
Manufacturer:	Ricoh
Code:	RICOH JPNW11
Disc Type:	DVD+RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	14m:02s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	6.37
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.27

Very
nice results here and we can highly recommend these Memorex DVD+RW
discs!

---

 

Brand:	Optodisc
Manufacturer:	Optodisc
Code:	OPTODISC OP4
Disc Type:	DVD+RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	14m:07s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	69.33
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	5.37

We don't
like the PI error mountains in the Kprobe scan, but the values are still within
the acceptable ranges for this test. The reading graph is
perfect.

---

 

Brand:	Verbatim
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation
Code:	MKM A02
Disc Type:	DVD+RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	14m:07s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	217.70
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	4.73

The
PI/PIF levels are way too high for our liking on this high quality Verbatim
DVD+RW. Memorex needs some improvements with this media.

---

Summary: Memorex
did a great job with its' own Memorex brand media, as the drive performs good
with all of the Memorex brand DVD+R/RW. On the other hand, the Memorex F16 seems
to be somewhat picky on other media types and could use writing quality
improvements. The drive was also unable to produce a readable disc with Optodisc
or Lead Data 8x DVD+R.Head
on to next page and read about DVD-R/RW compatibility and write
quality...

---

DVD-R/RW media compatibility and write quality:

Brand:	BenQ
Manufacturer:	Daxon
Code:	SONY08D1
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	9m:32s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	6.42
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.39

The
Kprobe scan looks good and the disc is fully readable at 16X with no problems.
Highly recommended.

---

 

Brand:	Verbatim Data Life Plus
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemicals Singapore
Code:	MCC 02RG20
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	9m:30s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	9.38
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.02

The
single spike in the Kprobe scan can be ignored. Perfect reading curve. These
results are good.

---

 

Brand:	Taiyo Yuden
Manufacturer:	Taiyo Yuden
Code:	TYG02
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	9m:26s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	13.19
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.05

Again we
can ignore the singular spikes since they did not affect readability. The
transfer rate test is perfect. Highly recommended.

---

 

Brand:	RiDATA (Thanks to Advanced Media/Ritek USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Ritek
Code:	RITEKG05
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	9m:28s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	32.78
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.11

The
Kprobe results look ok but the reading curve has major issues near the end of
the disc. We also had one of our test burns fail in mid-burn process with
this media type. Memorex needs to improve their RitekG05 writing
support.

---

 

Brand:	Unbranded
Manufacturer:	Prodisc
Code:	ProdiscF01
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	8X
Write Speed:	8X
Write Time:	9m:40s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	577.40
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	134.10

Do not
pass Go, do not collect 200 dollars! The graphs show a lot of trouble and
results in an unreadable disc. Needs improvement!

---

 

Brand:	Memorex '“ (Thanks to Memorex for providing)
Manufacturer:	CMC
Code:	CMC MAG. AE1
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x
Write Time:	9m:29s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	18.37
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.03

Once
again the Memorex F16 DVD writer works well with Memorex brand media.

---

 

Brand:	Khypermedia
Manufacturer:	CMC
Code:	CMC MAG. AF1
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	15m:02s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	10.44
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	1.22

We
obtained acceptable results with this media.

---

 

 

Brand:	SpinX
Manufacturer:	Moser Baer India
Code:	MBI 01RG20
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	15m:07s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	3.90
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.23

Another
acceptable result from Moser Baer made 4X DVD-R. The slow down near the end of
the reading curve is a little troubling. There could be some improvements made
with the write quality on these discs. 

---

 

 

Brand:	Unbranded
Manufacturer:	Unknown
Code:	VANGUARD
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	15m:15s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	4.08
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.14

Good
Kprobe results on this lower quality DVD-R. The transfer rate read test has
problems near the end of the disc, but this behavior occurs with all of these
discs and it is not the fault of the writer. Not recommended
media.

---

 

 

Brand:	Sonic
Manufacturer:	Unknown
Code:	LONGTEN 001
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	14m:30s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	496.60
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	1.23

This is
very low quality media, so we did not expect great results. Some other DVD
writers can at least make better readable discs with this media. Please avoid
these low quality discs!

---

Again we
present a small table with a few other media types, to check supported write
speeds.

Supported
write speeds all look mostly good with the selection of DVD-R media here. The
16x Verbatim DVD-R media is brand new and we don't hold it against Memorex that
it is only supported at 4x currently. 

DVD-RW media compatibility and write quality:

Brand:	Verbatim '“ (Thanks to Verbatim for providing)
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation
Code:	MCC 01RW4X
Disc Type:	DVD-RW
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	4x
Write Time:	14m:38s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	7.56
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.19

Great
job here Memorex! Highly recommended, high quality Verbatim
media.

---

 

Brand:	RiDATA '“ (Thanks to Advanced Media/Ritek USA for providing)
Manufacturer:	Ritek
Code:	RITEKW04
Disc Type:	DVD-RW
Capacity:	4489MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	2x
Write Time:	30m:06s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	15.96
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	1.99

Unfortunately
the Memorex F16 only supports this 4x Ritek DVD-RW at 2x. At least the writing
quality was good and the read test is perfect.

---

Summary: DVD-R
writing quality is questionable on a few very popular media types. In
particular, Ritek and Prodisc 8X DVD-R both need improvements. The drive also
seems to have trouble with lower quality DVD-R media. DVD-RW writing performance
is good but we need 4x support added for Ritek 4x DVD-RW
media.

Now let
us take a look at the DVD+R DL writing abilities of this
drive…

---

 

DVD+R Double Layer writing speed and compatibility:

The Memorex F16 supports the DVD+R9 DL standard for writing Double Layer discs with a size of 8.5 GB, at a writing speed of 2.4x.

Testing procedure:

We wrote a DVD ISO image in Nero 6 using the Disc-at-once writing method: 

Verbatim 2.4x DVD+R9 Double layer, written at 2.4x. Total writing time is 43 minutes and 48 seconds. 

RiDATA 2.4x DVD+R9 Double layer, written at 2.4x. Total writing time is 43 minutes and 46 seconds.

Testing results:

 
 

Brand:	Verbatim '“ (Thanks to Verbatim USA for providing this media)
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi (Singapore)
Code:	MKM 001
Disc Type:	DVD+R DL
Capacity:	8152MB
Certified Speed:	2.4x
Write Speed:	2.4x
Write Time:	43m:48s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	2.82
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.03

Very good results! This is an excellent quality DL burn that was perfectly readable. Highly recommended.

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:	2.4x
Write Time:	43m:38s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	10.33
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.60

The RiDATA DVD+R9 DL disc showed some PIF spikes that were a little too high. We can also see that the resulting disc had some problems in the reading test performed on the Mad Dog DVD writer, but at least the disc is fully readable. These DL discs should be adequate for use with the Memorex drive, but you will get better results with Verbatim brand DL discs.

Here are the comparison results obtained with Verbatim DVD+R DL discs, measured against other drives:

Both the Verbatim and the Ritek DVD+R9 DL discs written by the Memorex F16 were tested in our standalone players. Players that we tested on include the Philips DVP642, Koss KD365 and Toshiba SD-2300. The Memorex F16 burns DVD+R DL discs with a DVD-ROM booktype by default, which is a positive and helps to improve compatibility with standalone players. We ran into a problem with the Ritek DVD+R9 DL disc when testing on the Toshiba SSD-2300, the player would not recognize the Ritek DL disc, but it had no problems playing the Verbatim DL disc.

Summary: The Memorex F16 is an ok choice for DVD+R9 DL writing and will produce reliable quality Verbatim DL discs. However, the competition can write DVD+R9 DL discs at 4x speed (almost twice as fast as the Memorex F16) and can perform better when writing to Ritek DL discs.

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 Memorex F16.

Copy protection:

For this
test, we will use the Sheep tests made by Alexander
Noé. Why is
it called sheep test? That is because the symbol 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 we see that the Memorex F16 supports all available write and
read features in CloneCD:

The
Memorex F16 supports DAO-RAW96 recording mode. This means that it can write
uncorrected data and subchannel data.

Below
are our results from the 'Sheep Tests":

The
Memorex F16 qualifies as a two sheep writer and can produce functional backups
of Safedisc 2.90 protected discs. This Memorex writer is a good choice for
backing up copy-protected content.

Overburning:

 

To test
the overburning capabilities of the Memorex F16, we used the overburning test in
Nero CD/DVD-Speed.

According
to Nero CD-DVD speed, the drive can overburn 99 minutes.

This
completes our Memorex F16 review, head on to the last page to read our
conclusion…

Positive:

• Solid retail package and bundled items.
• Small form-factor makes it easier to install in smaller cases.
• Unique blue LED.
• Bitsetting support.
• Disc Quality Testing support.
• Fast reading
  & ripping speeds with DVD-ROM Video discs.
• Supports reading and writing of full SubChannel data and all advanced DAE features.
• Ok CD-R writing quality.
• Good writing quality with Memorex brand DVD±R/RW media.
• P-CAV (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) 8x DVD+R writing leads to faster 8x burning.
• Good DVD-RW writing quality.
• Good performance with Verbatim DVD+R9 DL discs.
• Supports DAO-RAW writing.
• Qualifies as a '2 sheep" writer, making it a good choice for backing up copy-protected discs.
• Supports overburning CD-R up to 99 minutes.

Negative:

• Only 8x DVD-R write speed compared to the competition.
• Uses Z-CLV to write DVD-R's, which is slower compared with P-CAV & CAV.
• Only 2.4x DVD+R9 DL write speed compared to the competition.
• Only 32x maximum CD-RW read speed.
• High seek times.
• Only 8x reading speed on DVD+R/RW/DL & DVD-R/RW media.
• CD-RW compatibility; does not support Verbatim 32x CD-RW discs at full speed.
• Questionable CD-RW writing quality.
• Questionable DVD+R and DVD-R writing quality.
• Media compatibility: does not support 16X writing on some 16X DVD+R discs.
• Only 8x maximum reading speed on DVD+R/RW & DVD-R/RW media.
• Only 6x maximum reading speed on DVD+R9 DL media.
• Noisier than other drives during reading and writing operations.

Conclusion:

---

 The Memorex F16 has its' share of both positive and negative aspects. Let us detail and discuss the most important items below:

 

The main positive points: The Memorex F16 DVD writer comes packaged inside of a solid retail bundle, which even includes one Memorex 16X DVD+R disc. The included Nero program suite should take care of almost anyone's' CD & DVD content authoring and burning needs. The Disc Quality Scanning support is a plus, and will allow the home user to better analyse their recorded media if desired. The drive is fast at reading and ripping pressed discs; including DVD-ROM Video and CD Audio disc types. Due to qualifying as a 'two sheep" burner as well as the DAO-RAW writing mode support, the drive can be used to backup copy protected CD's. The DVD+R/RW & DVD+R9 DL bitsetting support can help to produce discs that are compatible with more devices, such as older standalone DVD players. The P-CAV writing technology used for burning 8x DVD+R discs allows the writing process to complete faster (on 8x DVD+R discs only). According to CD-DVD Speed, the drive has overburning support all the way up to 99 minutes on compatible CD-R media. The Memorex F16 worked very well in conjunction with all types of Memorex brand DVD media. Memorex did a good job ensuring that their products are compatible with one another. 

The main negative points: The Memorex drive has writing quality issues with some very popular media types such as Optodisc, Lead Data, Ritek and Prodisc. The 8x DVD-R and 2.4x DVD+R9 DL writing speeds are slower than the competition. The seek times are high on all types of media. We were also disappointed to see that Ritek 16x DVD+R and Philips 16x DVD+R discs are only supported at 8x. Even though the drive boasts a specification of 24x CD-RW writing, it was only able to write our Verbatim 32x CD-RW disc at a maximum of 16x. The CD-RW writing quality is questionable. And finally, we would also like to see higher reading speeds on recordable DVD media.

The drive is priced at $ 113.54 USD (Price from http://cdfreaks.pricegrabber.com per 12.20.2004).

To sum it all up, this is the best we could say: 'Good when used with Memorex brand recordable DVD media, but questionable writing quality with other media types". If Memorex would have added support for all of the available 16X media on the market and fixed the writing quality problems on other media types, we would have definitely brought out an award for this drive.

You may discuss/comment this review in this forum thread. This forum thread may also be used to ask questions about this drive or request additional tests.

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