---

 

 

Plextor SA/NV (b) were kind enough to send us their latest flagship DVD Re-Writer, the Plextor PX-760A for review.

The Plextor PX-760A supports 18x DVD±R, 8x/6x DVD+RW/DVD-RW and 10x/6x DVD+R DL/DVD-R DL writing technology, allowing Double/Dual Layer discs of 8.5Gb to be written. So far this DVD-Burner is the world's first official released burner that will allow 18x writing speed on the DVD±R format.

Company information: 

Let us take a look at some of the company information found at Plextor Europe's website

Corporate Profile:

Corporate Highlights:

There are three Plextor companies in the world. Mission of each company is marketing and sales of:

1. Plextor Co., Ltd. (Plextor Japan)
   • Business Audio Equipment, including Professional CD Players for background
     music, etc.
   • Digital talking book for people with visual impairments
   • Computer Peripherals, including CD-ROM, CD-RW drives, and CD-Tower Systems
   • Printing Press Equipment, including IC Card Offset Printing Systems
2. Plextor Corporation (Plextor USA):
   Computer Peripherals, including CD-ROM, CD-RW drives, and CD-Tower Systems
3. Plextor S.A. (Plextor Europe):
   Computer Peripherals, including CD-ROM, CD-RW drives

SHINANO KENSHI is a global leader in providing integrated motion control solutions, multi-media solutions, printing solution and textile solutions. The company is organized into four divisions, each dedicated to a specific market. They are:

• Electrical Division - Small precision motors.
• Electronic Equipment Division - CD-ROM, and CD-R/RW optical disk drives, and Professional Audio Equipment.
• Printing Equipment Division - Offset printing presses.
• Textile Division - Spun silk yarn.

SHINANO KENSHI was founded in 1918 to manufacture Spun Silk Yarn, which at the time, was one of the most "High-Tech" industries in the world. As the years passed, SHINANO KENSHI embarked on other industrial markets that would grow more progressively, while maintaining its proud history in the Silk Industry. These ventures insights led to the successful expansion into technology-driven, knowledge-intensive fields, such as Electrical Division, Electronic Equipment Division, and Printing Equipment Division. While maintaining and strengthening its core competencies, Shinano Kenshi has continued its global expansion by establishing subsidiary companies and promoting its products on a worldwide basis. These subsidiaries are chartered with the continual growth of Resellers and OEM's in their respective territories, who have come to rely upon Shinano Kenshi for performance, quality oriented and technically superior optical peripheral products. Marketing base toward abroad.

PLEXTOR is the worldwide brand for all products manufactured by the Electronic Equipment Division and Printing Equipment Division of SHINANO KENSHI.

The Electronic Equipment Division introduced its first CD-ROM optical disk drive under the TEXEL brand name in 1989. Faced with the prospects of a healthy and ever-increasing demand for its products, Shinano Kenshi identified the importance of this segment with the Professional and IT markets demanding performance-oriented products. Through every generation of optical disk drive, Plextor has continually sought ways in which its CD-ROM's and CD-RW's could stimulate market demand by offering higher speed and higher reliability devices, while winning numerous awards worldwide.

PLEXTOR CD-R/RW drives were introduced in 1998 with technologies developed by the corporation in support of the market growing demand for CD-ROM's. High performance drives enable our users to write and re-write data on a stable platform that has evolved throughout the years. Plextor has also invested heavily on the certification of CD-RW media to give our users a wide range of compatibility between the various manufacturers.

Plextor's CD-R & CD-RW optical disk drives have been tested worldwide and evaluated as the "Professional Choice" to satisfy even the most discerning customers. Plextor products have been adopted by financial institutions and government agencies, which require highly reliable data storage technology. Recording studios have come to regard the Plextor products as the "drive of choice", which they can rely upon for the accurate extraction and creation of Digital Audio.

PLEXTOR background music systems have achieved the number 1 position in the worldwide market. Unique data compression technologies help to achieve long playback times, while maintaining high quality sound in professional background music systems for restaurants and stores. Technology leadership has been maintained based on high performance, superior electro-mechanical technology of Plextor's in-house motor technology, robust structure and audio orientation are the distinct signs of a market leader. PLEXTALK is a CD-ROM based talking book developed by Plextor for users that are visually impaired. Over fifty hours of audio information can be recorded on a single CD by Plextor's DAISY operating system. PLEXTALK offers a bookmark function that allows the user to search for the spot where a reader wants to begin.
Plextor's Printing Equipment Division manufactures compact offset printing machines with a combination of sophisticated mechanical and electronic technology. It enables the user to achieve the same quality of printing that was formally available only with the craftsmanship of highly skilled workers. CARD PLEX printing systems provide IC card and single card printing solutions, while maintaining only the highest quality possible.

Plextor's subsidiary companies are responsible for maintaining the customer database, while simultaneously adding more value-add products than ever before.

* DAISY: Digital Audio-based Information System. A set of hardware and software to record, store, transfer and read digital audio books.

If you are interested in reading more company information, please visit: Plextor

Drive specifications:

These are the specifications of this drive, found at the Plextor webpage:

Write & Read speed:

Technical Specifications:

System Requirements:

Compatible Formats:

DVD

DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, Multi-Border, Multi-Session, DVD+VR, DVD-VR, DVD+MRW (by firmware upgrade), DRT-DM

CD

CD-DA (CD-DA/CD+G/CD-TEXT), CD-ROM (Mode1/Mode2), CD-ROM XA (Mode2 Form1/2), Audio CD, Data CD, Photo CD, Video CD, CD-I, CD-I Ready, Mixed CD, CD-Extra, Multi-Session CD, Packet Write CD (Mount Rainier by firmware upgrade)), Bootable CD

Performance:

Included Software (Only for retail versions):

What's inside the box?

Now let's take a look at the drive packaging.

Box Front

Box Rear

Box Left

Box Right

Box Top

Below we can see the contents of the retail package.

• The internal drive
• Drive Support Disc (DVD)
• Bonus Disc (DVD)
• IDE Cable
• Black Bezel  
• Extra jumper
• Mounting screws
• Emergency eject tool
• Brochure containing:
  • Installation
  • Fast Warranty Service
  • Support
  • Caution
• Front Bezel Replacement Guide

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

White Bezel

Black Bezel

The bezel of the Plextor PX-760A is attractively styled. On the tray we can see various logo's, and we can also see an emergency eject hole, a dual coloured green/amber LED for read and write, and an eject button.

Top

Label

On the top of the drive we found one label, and we can see that the drive was made in China, dated February 2006, TLA # 0000 (top level assembly)

Bottom

Rear

On the rear of the drive starting from the left, we can see a digital audio connector, analogue audio connector, jumpers for cable select, slave, and master; IDE connector, and finally the power connector. We can also see extra ventilation holes to ensure the drive runs cool.

Internal Layout:

Now let's take a brief look at the internal layout of the Plextor PX-760A.

In the above screenshot we can see the main printed circuit board (PCB) of the Plextor PX-760A

We will now take a look at the DSP chip found on the main PCB, the chip is manufactured by Sanyo and has the designation LC897496K

Software Suite:

Now it's time to take a look at the bundled software suite and comment if needed. Please note: we may not use the supplied software in this review.

The main support disc

Support disc splash screen

As we can see from the above screenshot, the main support disc contains:

⋅        PlexTools Professional (full version)
⋅        PlexTools Professional XL (trial version)
⋅        Pinnacle Systems suite version 8.3LE (full version)

In the above screenshot we can see some of the additional software included. Applications include:

⋅        Nero Express 6 SE (full version)
⋅        CyberLink (trial version)
⋅        Sonic (trial version)

In the screenshot above we have a full list of the software included, and this also lists which applications are full versions, and which are trial versions. 

Bonus Disc

On our Bonus disc we find applications (full and trial versions) from the following.

⋅         Ashampoo
⋅         Genie Soft       
⋅          interVideo.

But let us continue this review and see how the PX-760A really performs.

There are many applications to install and try out, although Plextor wisely suggests you should not install them all at once.

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

---

 

Test
machine:

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

Hardware:

⋅        
Motherboard: ASUSTeK A8N-SLI DELUXE (nForce 4 SLI
chipset)
⋅        
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (Toledo) Dual Core
⋅        
RAM: 2 GB Corsair TWINX 2CL DDR
⋅        
GFX: Leadtek Winfast 6600 TD (PCI Express nVidia)
⋅        
Sound: SoundBlaster Audigy 2
⋅        
Hard disk: 2X 200GB Seagate Barracuda (SATA)

System
set-up:

The Plextor PX-760A was connected as Secondary Master and
identified itself as PLEXTOR DVDR PX-760A. DMA (Direct Memory Access) and autorun was enabled for all devices.

And another screenshot
from Nero InfoTool below:

From the screenshot from
Nero InfoTool above, we can see the Plextor PX-760A does not support Mount
Rainier. The drive came shipped with firmware version 1.00.

Firmware
Update:

We checked Plextor's
website and found a later firmware version 1.01 and later version 1.02, so we
proceeded to update the firmware.

Below we can see the
firmware update process in action.

Our review PC was
restarted after the firmware update process had completed.

We once again run
InfoTool to check that the firmware had updated correctly (see the above
screenshot).

Installed
Software:

Windows XP Professional
x64 Edition is installed on the computer along with Service Pack 1 for x64. We
will be using the following software in this review:

• Nero Burning ROM 7
  
• Nero CD/DVD Speed
  
• Nero InfoTool
  
• Slysoft CloneCD
  
• Exact Audio Copy v0.95 beta 2
  
• K-Probe v2.5.2
  
• PlexTools Professional
  XL

Features and techniques:

AUTOSTRATEGY: The best
DVD Quality

For the best writing
quality, the drive's AUTOSTRATEGY technology selects the optimized write
strategy for every DVD disc and, if necessary, creates a new write strategy for
unknown media. (DVD+/-R)

A separate database
stores all strategies that are created by the AUTOSTRATEGY function for media
that is not currently supported in the firmware. A maximum of 31 write
strategies can be held in the non-volatile memory of the drive. The entries can
be activated or de-activated, and deleted. The list of database entries can be
viewed and saved or printed.

The user can select the
write strategy from the AUTOSTRATEGY database or from the database that resides
in the drive's firmware by activating a different Mode.

Remark: This function
is only available for DVD+R and DVD-R media (4X and higher).

1. Auto Selection
Mode:

The drive will select the
best write strategy, whether it is located in the AUTOSTRATEGY database or in
the firmware database. If no suitable strategy is found, AUTOSTRATEGY will
create a new, optimized strategy in the database.

2. AUTOSTRATEGY On
Mode (Forced):

The drive will create a
new write strategy for every new recording, whether a corresponding strategy
exists already in the firmware or not.

3. AUTOSTRATEGY On
Mode:

The drive will use the
write strategies from the AUTOSTRATEGY database for recording. If no suitable
strategy is found, a corresponding write strategy from the firmware's database
will be used.

4. AUTOSTRATEGY Off
Mode:

The drive will only use
the write strategies from the firmware's database for recording. If no
corresponding write strategy is found, the default write strategy will be
used.

Media Quality
Check

To assure you're
receiving the best results with your drive, this function checks the quality of
blank media.

Write strategy
creation

This function offers to
create a new write strategy for your blank media. The drive will create a new
write strategy in the AUTOSTRATEGY database without recording a disc. It is
possible to create several write strategies for the same media, which can be
useful if there is a quality difference among media with the same MID code.

PlexTools Professional XL Auto Strategy Database

PlexEraser

PlexEraser is a data
destruction utility that makes a recorded CD-R or DVD disc unreadable. The drive
will "re-record" over the Lead-in and data sectors of a write once disc
rendering the disc data unusable. Initially this feature will support DVD+/-R
and CD-R media. Firmware upgrades will add support for DVD+/-R DL media.

SecureRecording

The SecureRecording
function lets you write on a CD-R disc and protect the data with a password. To
view the contents of a password-protected disc-or even to see a catalog of
files-the user must enter the correct password. The password can be entered via
PlexTools Professional software, or with SecuViewer software.

Buffer underrun
proof

The buffer underrun proof
technologies offer a solution to prevent writing failures during the burning
process for CD and DVD by pausing the burn if the data to the drive write buffer
is slowed or stopped. The drive resumes the burn process after the drive write
buffer is refilled.

Silent
mode

If the drive needs to be
used in a quiet environment, the drive can be switched to silent mode. Unique
technology that sets the drive for super-silent operation. By controlling access
speed, read/write speed, and tray opening and closing speed, you reduce drive
noise to a whisper. This technology is excellent for recording studios or
offices where low noise is required.

SpeedRead

Enable reading CD-R media
up to the maximum speed of the drive. Discs that may be damaged due to
mishandling or improper use may shatter due to the higher rotational forces
reached at the maximum read speed of the drive. The drive's maximum read speed
is therefore limited as a safety function. SpeedRead enables the user to
increase the read speed of the drive to the maximum possible. Plextor recommends
examining each disc before enabling this function.

GigaRec

GigaRec lets you change
the recording capacity of a standard CD-R disc from 70 percent up to 130 percent
of its standard capacity. You can use GigaRec for CD-DA or data writing at 4X
and 8X disc-at-once (DAO). The feature allows you to get that extra storage on a
single disc for a larger project. For smaller projects, like an audio master,
the feature enables you to use the entire capacity of the disc, increasing the
size of the pits and lands for higher reproductive quality.

VariRec

VariRec provides user
adjustment of the recording power above or below a default level. The default
level reflects an optimized laser power setting with reduced jitter. Changing
this setting will result in a change of sound or sound quality and may increase
the playability or compatibility with existing players.

Q-Check

PlexTools Professional
software provides a suite of diagnostic tests for blank and recorded media. The
pre-recording tests of blank media allow you to choose the best media brands and
recording parameters for your drive. The post-recording tests quantify the
recording session and provide analyzer-type results to guarantee you're getting
the best recording possible.

 

PoweRec

Plextor Optimized Writing
Error Reduction Control (PoweRec) adjusts laser power and writing speed so
they're at the optimum settings for that particular disc. Using real-time
monitoring of the write data, PoweRec can increase or decrease write power and
speed to guarantee the best possible writing quality with whatever brand media
is used.

PlexTools
Professional

This software tool offers
a complete suite of recording applications and supports your drive's advanced
quality check functions. Advanced drive settings such as GigaRec or Silent Mode
can be changed. High quality audio extraction, various recording modes, and
copying of files or disc images can be selected. Media testing with the drive's
Q-Check function allows you to select the best media for your drive and examine
the quality of your recordings. (www.plextools.com)

PlexTools Professional
XL

Based on the existing
solid code of PlexTools Professional, PlexTools Professional XL offers more
features and extra options. The new layout with resizable windows and improved
graphs, enhanced audio functions and project options, as well as the unique
update check system, is designed and tuned for the demanding user. (www.plextools.com)

Media
Diagnostics:

The Plextor PX-760A in
conjunction with PlexTools Professional/XL supports some pretty impressive media
diagnostic tools.

Let's take a look at the
'All In One test"

For this test we used a
Plextor branded DVD+R media (YUDEN000T03) and burned the disc at 18x.

We choose to use 4 tests
in our 'All In One Test"

• DVD Q-Check PI/PO SUM8
  Test
  
• DVD Q-Check PI/PO SUM1
  Test
  
• DVD Q-Check
  Beta/Jitter Test
  
• DVD Q-Check TA
  Test

The amount of good
information given by these tests, make the Plextor PX-760A drive, the ideal
drive for media diagnostic testing.

Writing
Technology:

In the following tests,
we take a look at the disc writing technology used by the Plextor
PX-760A.

For these tests we simply
burned a disc with Nero CD-Speed's 'create data disc" function.

CD-Recordable:

The Plextor PX-760A used
CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write our CD-R media at
48x, this gave an average write speed of 36.81x and a total writing time of 2
minutes and 38 seconds.

Below we have 3 other
drives for comparison.

The Pioneer DVR-111 used
CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write our CD-R media at
40x, this gave an average write speed of 30.31x and a total writing time of 3
minutes and 15 seconds.

The Samsung SE-W164C uses
CAV (Constant Angular Velocity), to write at its maximum
speed of 48x. This gives an average write speed of 37.22x.

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

 For comparison we have made the
following table: 

As we can see from the
table, the Plextor PX-760A was the fastest drive when it comes to writing
CD-R's.

CD-Rewritable:

The Plextor PX-760A used
Z-CLV (Zone Constant Linear Velocity) to write our
CD-RW at its maximum speed of 24x, this gave an average write speed of 23.49x
and a total writing time of 3 minutes and 43 seconds.

Below are some other
drives for comparison.

The Pioneer used Z-CLV
(Zone Constant Linear Velocity) to write our CD-RW
at its maximum speed of 32x, this gave an average write speed of 24.90x and a
total writing time of 3 minutes and 49 seconds.

The Samsung SE-W164C uses
Z-CLV (Zone Constant Linear Velocity) to write CD-RW
media at its maximum speed of 32x, with an average write speed of 28.32x and a
total writing time of 3 minutes 35 seconds.

The NEC ND-3540A uses Z-CLV,
(Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) writing
technology to write at 32X for CD-RW discs, the average speed is 29.75x.

For a better overview we
present the following comparison table:

As we can see from the
table, the Plextor PX-760A was above average when writing CD-RW
media.

18X DVD+R
Writing speed:

The Plextor PX-760A uses
CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at the
maximum supported speed of 18x. This gives an average write speed of 12.41x and
a writing time of 5 minutes and 34 seconds.

18X DVD-R
Writing speed:

The Plextor PX-760A uses
CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD-R at the
maximum supported speed of 18x. This gives an average write speed of 12.35x and
a writing time of 5 minutes and 41 seconds.

Below are some write
graphs from some other drives for comparison.

The NEC 3540A uses CAV
(Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. This gives an average writing speed of 11.81x and a writing time of 5 minutes and 58
seconds.

The Philips DVDR16LS uses
CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. The
average speed is 11.33x and total writing time is 6 minutes and 8 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 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.

Below, we made a
comparison table:

From the table above, we
can see that the Plextor PX-760A was the fastest drive when it comes to burning
DVD±R media.

8X DVD+RW
writing speed:

The Plextor PX-760A uses
P-CAV, (Partial Constant Angular Velocity) to write
DVD+RW at 8x. The average speed is 7.87x and total writing time is 7 minutes and
15 seconds.

Below are two drives for
comparison.

The Pioneer DVR-111 uses
Z-CLV, (Zone Constant Linear Velocity) to write
DVD+RW at 8x. The average speed is 7.83x and total writing time is 7 minutes and
26 seconds.

The NEC ND-4550A uses
Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write
DVD+RW at 8x. The average speed is 7.98x and total writing time is 7 minutes and
15 seconds.

We made the table below
for easy comparison.

The Plextor was one of
the fastest drives when it came to writing DVD+RW at 8x.

6X DVD-RW
writing speed:

The Plextor PX-760A uses
CLV, (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-RW at 6x. The
average speed is 6.03x and the total writing time is 10 minutes.

Below are two other
drives for comparison.

The Pioneer DVR-111 uses
CLV, (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-RW at 6x. The
average speed is 6.01x and the total writing time is 9 minutes and 56
seconds.

The NEC ND-4550A uses
Z-CLV, (Zoned Constant Linear Velocity) to write
DVD-RW at 6x. The average speed is 5.80x and total writing time is 11 minutes 6
seconds.

We present the table
below for easy comparison.

The Plextor PX-760A was
one of the fastest drives when writing DVD-RW media

10X DVD+R DL
writing speed:

The Plextor PX-760A uses
P-CAV, (Partial Constant Angular Velocity) to write
DVD+R DL at 10x. The average speed is 8.71x and total writing time is 13 minutes
and 55 seconds.

Reviewers
note
We were
unable to obtain a true 10x P-CAV burn with our tested media.

Below are three other
drives for comparison.

The Plextor PX-755A used
P-CAV, (Partial Constant Angular Velocity) to write
the Verbatim DVD+R DL disc at 10x. The average speed was 8.61x and the total
writing time was 14 minutes and 14 seconds.

The NEC ND-4550A uses
Z-CLV (Zone Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+R
DL media at 8x which gives an average write speed of 6.55x and a total write
time of 18 minutes and 40 seconds.

The BenQ DW1640 uses
P-CAV (Partial Constant Angular Velocity) to write
DVD+R DL at its maximum speed of 8x. This gives an average write speed of 7.32x
and a total write time of 15 minutes and 36 seconds.

6X DVD-R DL
writing speed:

The Plextor PX-760A uses
CLV, (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-R DL at 6x.
This gives an average writing speed of 5.92x and a total write time of 18
minutes and 33 seconds.

Below are three other
drives for comparison.

The Pioneer DVR-111 uses
Z-CLV, (Zone Constant Linear Velocity) to write
DVD-R DL at 8x. This gives an average writing speed of 7.40x and a total write
time of 16 minutes and 57 seconds.

The Lite-On SHW-16H5S
used CLV, (Constant Linear Velocity) to write the Verbatim
DVD-R DL disc at 4x. The average speed was 4.02x and the total writing time was
27 minutes and 32 seconds.

The Pioneer DVR-110 uses
Z-CLV, (Zone Constant Linear Velocity) to write
DVD-R DL at 8x. This gives an average writing speed of 7.06x and a total write
time of 17 minutes and 55 seconds.

We present the table
below for easy comparison.

With its 10x DVD+R DL
write speed, the Plextor PX-760A was the fastest drive writing our test DVD+R DL
media, and was around average when writing our DVD-R DL media.

Book type
(Bitsetting):

The Plextor PX-760A
supports auto Bitsetting, and supports DVD+R/DVD+R DL media with DVD-ROM book
type.

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 the following
screen:

DVD+R DL with
book type DVD-ROM.

Another quick test is to
start Nero CD-Speed and look at the disc information:

This
should say DVD-ROM.

Now let us take a look
at the reading performance of the Plextor PX-760A on the next page….

---

 

Reading
performance:

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

• DVD-ROM :
  16x
  
• CD-ROM :
  48x 

Pressed
discs:

For this test we used a
pressed CD-ROM disc containing the Roxio Media Creator 7.5 install CD that is
close to 75 minutes in length. Below you will see the produced
result:

The Plextor PX-760A
reached 47.20x, and will reach faster speeds on a full disc. Let's compare the
result in the table below:

The Plextor PX-760A was
above average reading a pressed CD-ROM.

CD-Recordable
Discs:

For this test we made a
copy of the original Roxio Media Creator 7.5 install CD. The disc we used was a
Ricoh 52X certified CD-R disc manufactured by Moser Baer India. 

As we can see from the
above screenshot, the Plextor-760A reached 47.21x when reading CD-R. This gives
an average read speed of 35.71x.

Now let us compare with
the drives below.

Once again the
Plextor PX-760A was above average for reading CD-R media. Seek times were also
good.

* Some drives
including the NU HDW-164 will simply execute the seek command without actually
moving the pickup.

CD-Rewritable
discs:

Again, we made a copy of
the original Roxio Media Creator 7.5 install CD; this time we used a Verbatim
Ultra Speed (32X) CD-RW disc made by Mitsubishi Chemicals
Corporation.

As we can see above, the
Plextor PX-760A is speed locked to 40x when reading CD-RW; now let us compare it
to other drives below.

The Plextor PX-760A was
one of the fastest drives when reading CD-RW media.

* Some
drives including the NU HDW-164 will simply execute the seek command without
actually moving the pickup.

100
minutes CD:

We used Nero CD-DVD Speed
to measure the transfer rate. The 100 min disc we used is slightly larger than
the disc used for the other tests, to be exact it is 97 minutes and 50 seconds
long.

As we can see, the
Plextor PX-760A had no problems in reading the disc, and reached an impressive
50.83x read speed.

Audio '“
Digital Audio Extraction:

To test the digital audio
extraction performance of the Plextor PX-760A, again we 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 nearly 79 minutes in length
(78:53:31).

The Plextor PX-760A
reached 42.55x when reading our Audio-CD; let us compare the result with other
drives:

The Plextor PX-760A
performed about average reading the Audio-CD. Seek times were once again very
good.

* Some
drives including the NU HDW-164 will simply execute the seek command without
actually moving the pickup.

For this test we used EAC
(Exact Audio Copy) to test the drives Audio extraction performance. As we can
see from the screenshot below, the drive supports accurate stream and caching.

Below is the results
produced by EAC:

 Burst
mode

 Secure
mode

The drive performed very
well in burst mode, but was much slower in 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. For this test we used a
CD-R media from RICOH (Thanks to RICOH Europe (BV) for sending us this
media).

The extracting quality is
excellent, and the Plextor PX-760A performed flawlessly with our DAE
test.

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 Double 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 (OPT)

DVD-Video Double Layer (PTP)

The Plextor PX-760A is
not RIPLOCKED and reads a pressed DVD-Video at up to 16x for a Single Layer
disc, and at 12x for a Double Layer disc.

We present the table
below for easy reference. 

The Plextor PX-760A
performed well with our SL DVD-Video test. It was one of the fastest drives at
reading a pressed SL DVD-Video disc. With the Double Layer DVD-Video it was also
among the fastest drives.

DVD
'“ DVD+R/RW:

For this test we used a
Verbatim 16X DVD+R and a Verbatim 8X DVD+RW with about 4.4GB of data. Below are
the results:

DVD+R

 
DVD+RW

The Plextor PX-760A read
speed is locked at 12x when reading DVD+R/RW media. DVD+R reading speed was
around average. The Plextor PX-760A was one of the fastest drives at reading
DVD+RW media.

DVD
'“ DVD-R/RW:

For this test we used a
Verbatim 16X DVD-R disc and a Verbatim 6X DVD-RW disc filled with about 4.4GB of
data. Our test results are found below:

DVD-R

 
DVD-RW

The Plextor PX-760A read
speed is locked at 12x when reading DVD+R/RW media. DVD-R reading speed was
around average. The Plextor PX-760A was one of the fastest drives at reading
DVD-RW media.

Overall
thoughts:

Overall reading
performance is good with DVD media, and very good with CD media. Audio
extraction quality and performance is excellent.

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

---

 

The specifications of the
Plextor PX-760A state that the drive is able to write CD-R discs at 48x 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 703Mb 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 took 2 minutes
and 54 seconds to write the disc at 48x. Let us see how this compares to other
drives in the table below:

The Plextor PX-760A was
among the fastest drives when writing CD-R media.

Write
Quality:

We will test CD-R discs
from many 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 4S09 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.

Below are the obtained
results:

 

Brand:	Unbranded Printable. Thanks to SVP UK for sending us this media
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:	48x (CAV)
Write Time:	2m:39s
C1 Average/Sec:	0.19
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

Media made by Taiyo Yuden
have always had a good reputation and with the average C1 errors of 0.19 it goes
into the group 'best
quality disc" category. Highly recommended!

 

Brand:	RICOH '“ Thanks to RICOH Europe (BV) 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:	48x (CAV)
Write Time:	2m:40s
C1 Average/Sec:	2.59
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

RICOH media '“ manufactured
by Moser Baer India Limited and with its average of 2.59 it goes in the
'good quality disc"
category. 

The result on this
Verbatim Super AZO+Crystal DL disc is very good. With a C1 error average of
0.88, this disc goes into our 'best quality disc" category. Highly recommended!
However the disc was only written at 32x

Another excellent result
from the Emgeton branded CD-R media manufactured by Fornet International. With
its C1 average of 1.68, it places this disc in our 'best quality disc"
category.

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:	48x (CAV)
Write Time:	2m:45s
C1 Average/Sec:	1.40
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

The Traxdata CD-R
manufactured by RITEK, with its C1 average of 1.40 places this disc in our 'best
quality disc" category. Recommended!

Brand:	BenQ '“ Thanks to Daxon (Taiwan) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Daxon
Code:	97m22s67f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 7: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59.70 (703MB)
Certified Speed:	48x
Write Speed:	48x (CAV)
Write Time:	2m:45s
C1 Average/Sec:	0.52
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

Another excellent burn,
with a C1 average of 0.52, this places this disc in our 'best quality disc"
category. Highly recommended!

Brand:	HP '“ Thanks to Medea International (UK) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	CMC Magnetics
Code:	97m26s66f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59.71 (703 MB)
Certified Speed:	52x
Write Speed:	48x (CAV)
Write Time:	3m:15s
C1 Average/Sec:	2.62
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

Once again we have an
very good result, with a C1 average of 2.62, this places the HP CD-R
manufactured by CMC Magnetics in our 'good quality disc" category.

Brand:	Infiniti Printable '“ Thanks to Medea International (UK) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	SKC
Code:	97m26s26f
Disc Type:	CD-R
Recording Layer:	Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Capacity:	79:59.09 (703 MB)
Certified Speed:	52x
Write Speed:	48x (CAV)
Write Time:	2m:44s
C1 Average/Sec:	1.29
C2 Average/Sec:	0.0

Another very good result,
with a C1 average of only 1.29, this places this disc in our 'best quality disc"
category. Recommended!

Another excellent result,
with a C1 average of 0.50, this places this disc in our 'best disc's" category.
Highly recommended!

 

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

CD-ReWritable
media:

Brand:	Verbatim Ultra speed 24x '“ Thanks to Verbatim UK 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:	24x
Write Speed:	24x (Z-CLV)
Write Time:	3m:43s
C1 Average/Sec:	3.48
C2 Average/Sec:	0.00

The result is good, with
a C1 average of 3.48, this places this disc in our 'good disc"
category.

The result
is good.

Summary:

CD-R writing
performance is excellent, with some very fast burn times recorded with our test
media. Writing quality was also very good. CD-RW write quality was also
good.

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 at 18x and DVD+RW/-RW at 8x/6x. In
this part, we will measure the write time for various types of DVD+R/RW and
DVD-R/RW discs. We will also focus on write quality and media compatibility.

DVD-Writing
performance:

In this test we will
measure the time for writing to DVD±R discs. We used Nero Burning Rom to burn an
ISO compilation containing 4480MB of data. We used the Disc-At-Once write
method.

For these DVD writing
tests, the Plextor PX-760A was set to the following.

⋅        
PoweRec
on
⋅        
Auto Strategy
on
⋅        
All media had
been stored in the Auto Strategy database prior to writing the disc.

DVD+R

DVD-R

Look below for the
results.

The Plextor PX-760A
was the fastest drive at writing DVD±R media.

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 SHW-16H5S
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-Video disc
(GoldenEye).

 

This scan
shows the result from a pressed DVD-Video disk (The Green Mile). 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
that a PI error is defined as a row in an ECC block having 1 byte
or more containing errors and that the sum of PI errors in 8 ECC blocks after each
other should not exceed 280 PI errors.

But what is
a row and what is an ECC block? Again we
refer to the ECMA standards. We do
not copy and paste everything, but if you're interested, look in the
ECMA standards. A row is
182 bytes long where the last 10 bytes contain PI (Parity Inner)
information. An ECC block is 208 rows
long where the last 16 rows contain the PO (Parity Outer)
information. This gives us a maximum possible PI error amount of 208 errors per
block and for 8 blocks after each other this sum is of course 8 times higher,
giving a maximum possible amount of 1664 PI-8 errors. In practical use, a disc
with 1664 PI-8 errors is unreadable.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To see if
there is a connection between the reported amount of errors and readability of
the discs we also include the reading curve from a NEC ND-3540A DVD-Writer. The
reason why we have changed the 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 DVD+R/-R 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
has got too technical, and you are wondering what to look for in KProbe reports?

Use this as
a guideline for good discs:

• PI (Parity
  Inner): No larger areas
  on the disc should exceed 280 PI-8 errors, do not worry too much about high
  single spikes that exceed 280.
  
• PIF (Parity Inner
  Failures): No larger areas
  on the disc should exceed 4 PIF-1 errors, do not worry too much about high
  single spikes that exceed 4.

And as
always; lower is better

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

DVD+R media compatibility and write quality:

In these tests we will be
using a Lite-On SHW-16H5S with firmware LS0W along with K-Probe to measure the
disc quality. We will also be using the NEC ND-4570A with firmware 1.02 along
with CD-Speed for our read-back tests. 

Brand:	Ricoh '“ Thanks to Ricoh Europe for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Ricoh Company Limited
Code:	RICOH JPN R03
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	1x-16x
Write Speed:	12x (P-CAV)
Write Time:	7m:33s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	0.38
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.02

There are a few single
PIF spikes but these should not cause a problem and our read-back test is
perfect. The result is very good but the burn speed was only 12x

Brand:	Verbatim '“ Thanks to SVP (UK) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation
Code:	MCC 004
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	18x (CAV)
Write Time:	5m:34s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	2.25
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.05

PI and PIF errors are
rising towards the end of the disc, but are well within specification. The
result is good and we have a very fast burn time.

Brand:	Datawrite '“ Thanks to SVP (UK) for sending us this media
Manufacturer:	CMC Magnetics Corporation
Code:	CMC MAG M01
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	16x (CAV)
Write Time:	6m:12s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	1.27
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.03

A very good result from
this difficult to handle media.

Brand:	Verbatim '“ Thanks to SVP UK for sending us this media
Manufacturer:	Taiyo Yuden
Code:	YUDEN000T02
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	12x (P-CAV)
Write Time:	6m:33s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	0.74
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.00

No surprises here, an
excellent result from the Verbatim 8x media manufactured by Taiyo Yuden, and the
disc was written at 12x. Highly recommended!

Once again the result is
excellent. Highly recommended!

Brand:	Plextor '“ Thanks to Plextor for sending us this media
Manufacturer:	Taiyo Yuden
Code:	YUDEN000T03
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	18x (CAV)
Write Time:	5m:36s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	1.76
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.06

PI and PIF errors are
rising towards the end of the disc but are well within specification, we also
have a perfect read-back curve. The result is good and again we have a very fast
burn time.

Brand:	Verbatim Thanks to SVP (UK) for sending us this media
Manufacturer:	Verbatim
Code:	MCC003
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	12x (P-CAV)
Write Time:	6m:31s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	0.51
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.03

The PI errors are low
considering this media was burned faster than its rated speed, we have another
excellent result. Highly recommended!

Brand:	BenQ '“ Thanks to Daxon Taiwan for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Daxon
Code:	Daxon AZ3
Disc Type:	DVD+R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	16x (CAV)
Write Time:	6m:04s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	1.77
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.03

We have a few single PIF
spikes which should not cause any concern. The result is good.

We have another very good
result from the HP media manufactured by CMC Magnetics.

DVD+ReWritable media:

We used the same test
procedures as in our DVD+R tests.
Below are our obtained results.

PI errors are out of
specification at the start of the disc, PIF errors are within specification and
we have a perfect read-back test. The result is ok but could be
improved.

The result is very
good.

To sum
it up: So far the
Plextor PX-760A is a very fast burner, and write quality is very good to
excellent on most of our tested media.

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

---

NEW PAGE '“ NEW PAGE '“
NEW PAGE

DVD-R media compatibility and write quality:

In these tests we will be
using a Lite-On SHW-16H5S with firmware LS0W along with K-Probe to measure the
disc quality. We will also be using the NEC ND-4570A with firmware 1.02 along
with CD-Speed for our read-back tests. 

Brand:	Taiyo Yuden unbranded '“ Thanks to SVP (UK) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Taiyo Yuden
Code:	TYG03
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	18x (CAV)
Write Time:	5m:41s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	25.25
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.09

PI errors are a high
throughout the disc but well within specification, PIF errors are fairly low,
although there is a cluster of PIF errors at the end of the disc. The read-back
curve is perfect; we have a good result.

Brand:	Verbatim '“ Thanks to Verbatim for providing this media.
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
Code:	MCC 03RG20
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	16x (CAV)
Write Time:	6m:10s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	3.29
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.04

The result is very
good.

Brand:	Taiyo Yuden unbranded '“ Thanks to SVP (UK) for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Taiyo Yuden
Code:	TYG02
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x (P-CAV)
Write Time:	8m:10s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	1.76
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.02

PI and PIF errors are low
on this disc, an excellent result.

Brand:	Traxdata '“ Thanks to Conrexx for sending us this media
Manufacturer:	RITEK
Code:	RITEK F1
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	12x (P-CAV)
Write Time:	6m:51s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	19.27
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.06

A good result from this
difficult to handle media, although the disc was only burned at 12x.

Brand:	BenQ '“ Thanks to Daxon (Taiwan) for sending us this media
Manufacturer:	Daxon Inc.
Code:	DAXON 016S
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	12x (Z-CLV)
Write Time:	6m:16s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	6.96
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.10

The result is
good.

Brand:	Sony
Manufacturer:	Sony Corporation
Code:	SONY 08D1
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x (P-CAV)
Write Time:	8m:05s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	5.56
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.06

Once again we have a good
result.

Brand:	Ricoh '“ Thanks to Ricoh Europe for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	CMC Magnetics
Code:	CMC MAG AM3
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	16x (CAV)
Write Time:	6m:18s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	3.17
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.07

PI errors are fairly
constant throughout the disc, but well within specification. We have a perfect
read-back curve, the result is good.

Brand:	TDK
Manufacturer:	TDK
Code:	TTH02
Disc Type:	DVD-R
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	16x
Write Speed:	16x (CAV)
Write Time:	6m:12s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	24.38
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.05

PI errors are fairly high
but within specification, PIF errors are fairly low, the result is
good.

DVD-ReWritable media:

We used the same testing
procedures as we did for DVD-R media.
Our obtained results can be seen
below. 

Brand:	Verbatim '“ Thanks to Verbatim for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
Code:	MKM01RW6X01
Disc Type:	DVD-RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	6x
Write Speed:	6x (CLV)
Write Time:	10m:00s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	5.83
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.04

The result is
good.

Brand:	Traxdata - Thanks to Conrexx Europe for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	RITEK
Code:	RITEK W06
Disc Type:	DVD-RW
Capacity:	4483MB
Certified Speed:	6x
Write Speed:	6x (CLV)
Write Time:	10m:04s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	4.22
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.11

Once again we have good
result.

To sum it
up: Good to very
good writing quality with DVD-R/RW media.

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

---

 

DVD+R/-R Double Layer writing speed and
compatibility:

The Plextor PX-760A
supports the DVD+R DL/-R DL standard for writing Double Layer/Dual Layer discs
with a size around 8.5 GB at a writing speed of 10x for DVD+R DL and 6x for
DVD-R DL. Let us first take a look at the media we will use:

Let's find
the manufacturer and media information too, for this we will use Nero CD-DVD
Speed.

Verbatim 8x '“
Manufactured by Mitsubishi Kagaku Media. Thanks to Verbatim for sending us this
media.

Verbatim 2.4x '“
Manufactured by Mitsubishi Kagaku Media. Thanks to Verbatim for sending us this
media.

Ricoh JPN D01,
manufactured by Ricoh. Thanks to Ricoh Europe for sending us this
media.

Infiniti reference series
- Manufactured by CMC Magnetics. Thanks to Medea International UK for sending us
this media.

Testing
procedure:
We
created an ISO Image from a pre-authored DVD-Video compliant file set, with a
total on-disc size of 8146 MB. We then wrote this image file using Nero Burning
ROM 6. Below are the results:

Verbatim 8x media

Nero reported a
successful burn with the Verbatim 8x media in 13 minutes and 48 seconds. (write
speed 10x)

Let us take a look at the
K-Probe result:

Brand:	Verbatim '“ Thanks to SVP UK for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Kagaku Media
Code:	MKM 003
Disc Type:	DVD+R DL
Capacity:	8145MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	10x (P-CAV)
Write Time:	13m:48s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	2.45
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.08

We have the usual spike
at the layer break but nothing to worry about. The result is good.

Verbatim 2.4x Media

Nero reported a
successful burn with the Verbatim 2.4x media in 18 minutes and 56 seconds.
(write speed 6x)

Let us take a look at the
K-Probe result:

Brand:	Verbatim '“ Thanks to SVP UK for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Kagaku Media
Code:	MKM 001
Disc Type:	DVD+R DL
Capacity:	8145MB
Certified Speed:	2.4x
Write Speed:	6x (CLV)
Write Time:	18m:56s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	6.05
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.13

The result is good,
considering this 2.4x media was written at 3 times its rated speed.

Ricoh Media

Nero reported a
successful burn with the Ricoh 8x media in 15 minutes and 36 seconds. (write
speed 8x)

Let us take a look at the
K-Probe result:

Brand:	RICOH '“ Thanks to Ricoh Europe for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	RICOH
Code:	JPN D01
Disc Type:	DVD+R DL
Capacity:	8145MB
Certified Speed:	8x
Write Speed:	8x (P-CAV)
Write Time:	15m:36s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	6.96
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	1.58

There is a worrying spike
at the layer break, other than this the write quality is ok.

Infiniti 2.4x Media

Nero reported a
successful burn with the Infiniti 2.4x media in 27 minutes and 35 seconds.
(write speed 4x)

Now let us take a look at
the K-Probe result:

Brand:	Infiniti '“ Thanks to Medea International UK for sending us this media.
Manufacturer:	CMC Magnetics
Code:	CMC MAD D01
Disc Type:	DVD+R DL
Capacity:	8145MB
Certified Speed:	2.4x
Write Speed:	4x (CLV)
Write Time:	27m:35s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	3.08
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.17

The result is very good
considering this 2.4x media was written and 4x

Now let us try and read
the Double Layer media back, first on the Plextor PX-760A and then the BenQ
DW1640.

Plextor PX-760A read-back test (MKM 003)

BenQ DW1640 read-back test (MKM 003)

Plextor PX-760A read-back test (MKM001)

BenQ DW1640 read-back test (MKM001)

Plextor PX-760A
read-back test (RICOH JPN D01)

BenQ DW1640 read-back test (RICOH JPN D01)

Plextor PX-760A read-back test (Infiniti CMC MAG D01)

Benq DW1640 read-back test (Infiniti CMC MAG D01)

As we can see from our
results, the Plextor PX-760A was able to read our test discs without any
problems. The Benq had some problems reading some of our test discs, in some
cases showing some slowdowns, and in the case of our Ricoh media, the BenQ drive
failed with a read error.

Let's compare the Plextor
PX-760A with some other DL capable drives.

*1 Verbatim DVD+R DL
(MKM001)
*2 Traxdata DVD+R DL (RITEK D01)
*3 Ricoh DVD+R DL (RICOH JPN
D00)
*4 Infiniti DVD+R DL (CMC MAG D01)
*5 Verbatim DVD+R DL (MKM
003)
*6 Ricoh DVD+R DL (JPN D01)

DVD-R
DL

As mentioned at the top
of this page, the Plextor PX-760A supports the DVD-R DL standard at 6x. Let us
first take a look at the media we will use:

Let's find
the manufacturer and media information too, for this we will use CD-Speed
4.50:

This media is
manufactured by Mitsubishi Kagaku Media. Thanks to SVP UK for sending us this
media.

Again, we used Nero
Burning Rom 6 to write the DVD Image:

The Plextor PX-760A took
18 minutes and 36 seconds to write the Verbatim DVD-R DL media at 6x.

Now let's take a look at
the Kprobe result:

Brand:	Verbatim '“ Thanks to SVP UK for providing this media.
Manufacturer:	Mitsubishi Kagaku Media
Code:	MKM 01RD30
Disc Type:	DVD-R DL
Capacity:	8145MB
Certified Speed:	4x
Write Speed:	6x (CLV)
Write Time:	18m:36s
PI-8 errors Average/Sec:	3.69
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec:	0.10

The Plextor PX-760A has
managed to burn the Verbatim DVD-R DL media with very good quality.

We will now check the
read-back curves on two different drives.

Plextor PX-760A read-back test

BenQ DW1640 read-back test

As we can see from the
above read-back tests; both drives were able to read the Verbatim DVD-R DL media
without problems.

Standalone DVD-Player compatibility:

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

• Panasonic
  DVD-RV32
  
• Panasonic
  SA-HT520
  
• Proline DVDP350

• Panasonic DMR-E50
  recorder

Compatibility
results: 

All our DVD Standalone
devices played the DVD+R DL media burned by the Plextor PX-760A without any
problems apart from the Ricoh DVD+R DL media.

Only one DVD Standalone
device would play the Plextor PX-760A burned DVD-R DL media without any
problems.

We would like to mention,
that the compatibility issue with standalone DVD Players/Recorders and the DVD-R
DL media format is caused by incompatibilities with the standalone devices used
in this review, and not the Plextor PX-760A or media format used.

Summary: The Plextor PX-760A burned most of
our Double Layer media with good quality.

To round off this
review, we will now carry out some advanced tests on the next
page…..

---

 

 

 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 can be found here.

In the screenshot below taken from CloneCD, we see the Plextor PX-760A supports all the required features.

The Plextor PX-760A supports DAO-RAW96 recording mode, which basically means, it should be able to write uncorrected data and sub-channel data.

 

As we can see from the table the Plextor PX-760A is a 'No Sheep Burner".

.

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: 

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

 

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

And Michelle: Leben!; protected with Cactus Datashield 200.5.1.91 '“ 5.10.090.

Results:

From our 'copy protected audio disc" tests, we would have to conclude the Plextor PX-760A is a good drive for ripping protected Audio CD's

Overburning:

CD-R 900MB (99 minute) over-burn test:

For this test we used an Infiniti Professional Compax 99min/900mb CD-R. (Thanks to Medea International (UK) for providing the disc).

The Plextor PX-760A reported an maximum overburn capacity of 101:38.53. We then setup CD-Speed to overburn a disc with slightly less than the maximum, 100:54.50 to be exact.

The Plextor PX-760A successfully created our test disc. We then tested to see if the Plextor PX-760A could read our created disc. As you can see from the screenshot below, the Plextor PX-760A had no problems in reading our created disc.

DVD+R over-burn test (5000MB):

For this test we used a DataWrite branded RICOH JPNR01 DVD+R media. (Thanks to SVP UK for providing this media)

The Plextor PX-760A reported an overburn capacity of 4614Mbytes for our DVD+R media.

We set CD-Speed to burn a disc with a  capacity of 4606Mbytes. The Plextor PX-760A successfully created our test DVD+R media. Now let's see if the Plextor PX-760A can read our test disc.

The Plextor PX-760A had no problems in reading our test disc.

DVD-R over-burn test (5000MB):

For this test we used a Infiniti branded MCC03RG20 16x DVD-R media. (Thanks to SVP UK for providing this media)

The Plextor PX-760A reported no support for overburning our DVD-R media.

GigaRec:

One of the nice features of the Plextor Premium series drives is that they support GigaRec. But what is GigaRec? GigaRec lets you change the recording capacity of a standard CD-R disc from 70 percent up to 130 percent of its standard capacity.

GigaRec enable/setup screen

First of all we enabled GigaRec and set the (rate) to 1.3x

In this test we used PlexTools Professional XL and an Infiniti CD-R media rated at 700MB (80 minutes), and attempted to write 900.27MB of data to the disc with GigaRec enabled.

Write dialog

We then set the options for our burn; GigaRec only allows 8x maximum writing speed.

Burn completed successfully

As we can see from the above screenshot, our burn completed successfully at 8x. We then tried to read the disc with the Plextor PX-760A.

Mini DVD-R discs:

In this section we are going to test if the Plextor PX-760A is capable of writing and reading mini DVD-R discs with a capacity of 30 minutes/1.46 GB.

The Verbatim MINI DVD-R was manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation. Thanks to SVP UK for providing this media.

Now it was time to see if the Plextor PX-760A could write our MINI DVD-R disc.

The Plextor PX-760A had no problems writing our MINI DVD-R disc. Now let's see if the drive can read back the disc.

The Plextor PX-760A successfully read back our MINI DVD-R disc.

Video-CD disc:

For our final test we wanted to see how the Plextor PX-760A would read a Video-CD, for this test we created a Video-CD with Nero Burning ROM 6, and used NERO CD-DVD Speed to read the disc back. Below is our result:

The Plextor PX-760A read our test VCD disc at its maximum read speed of 40x without any problems.

This concludes our Plextor PX-760A review, let's head on to the last page to read our conclusion…

 

Positive:

• Good/very good write
  quality with CD-R media
  
• Good/very good write
  quality with DVD±R media
  
• Supports 18x writing
  speed on DVD±R media
  
• Supports DVD+RW/-RW at
  8x/6x
  
• Supports DVD+R DL/-R
  DL at 10x/6x writing speed
  
• Can write DVD±R/DL
  media at higher than its rated speed
  
• Supports auto
  Bitsetting for DVD+R/DL (BookType to DVD-ROM)
  
• Can read Pressed
  DVD-ROM/DVD-Video SL/DL at 16x/12x
  
• Supports overburning
  of CD-R and DVD+R media
  
• Excellent media
  diagnostic features
  
• Excellent DAE quality
  and performance
  
• Two coloured LED for
  read/write
  
• Very good build
  quality
  
• Supports DAO-RAW
  writing
  
• Supports Mini DVD-R
  discs
  
• Excellent software
  bundle
  
• Excellent 2 years
  warranty

Negative:

• Read speed is locked
  at 12x for DVD±R media
  
• Write quality on some
  DVD+R DL media could be improved
  
• Write quality on some
  DVD+RW media could be improved
  
• 'No Sheep"
  burner.

Conclusion:

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

The main
positive points: The Plextor PX-760A has excellent
DVD±R writing
performance, with its 18x writing speed cutting the time taken to burn this
media type. Setting aside the 18x writing speed, the Plextor PX-760A 16x and 12x
burns return very respectable writing times.

The Plextor PX-760A can
write most DVD±R with very good quality. PoweRec and Auto Strategy assured the
best results possible over our range of tested media.

CD-R/RW write quality was
also very good, the Plextor PX-760A handling some troublesome media with ease.
CD-R/RW media compatibility was also very good.

The supplied software is
also of very good quality, with PlexTools Professional supplied with the drive.
Also included is the ever popular Nero suite, and Pinnacle suite 8.3 LE. 
This should provide enough software for the beginner and the more advanced user.
There are also trial versions of many other software packages, which will allow
the end user a chance to try out software before they buy it.

The build quality of the
Plextor PX-760A is of a very high standard, the media tray being very smooth in
operation, and the drive itself feeling very well built.

The media testing
capabilities of the Plextor PX-760A is second to none, with PlexTools
Professional/XL providing the most sophisticated media tests yet seen on a home
user drive.

Last but by no means
least. The 2 year collect and return warranty (within the EU) is the best
around.

The main
negative points:   There are very few negative
things to say about the Plextor PX-760A.

Some work is required to
improve DVD+R DL write quality with certain DVD+R DL media.

The Plextor PX-760A
performed very poorly in our 'Sheep tests". Let us hope this can be improved
with a future firmware update.

To sum it
all up, this is
what we would say: 'The Plextor PX-760A is
a very sophisticated and  very good performing drive, and its feature set
makes it stand out from the crowd" An excellent effort from
Plextor.

We at CDFreaks would like
to award the Plextor PX-760A our 'Safe Buy" award

By using our price
grabber feature cdfreaks.pricegrabber we found the
Plextor PX-760A listed at $99.99 (May
2006). 

You
may comment on this review below or in this forum
thread

Thanks
to:

Bell Technology spol s.r.o. '“ Czech
Republic for providing the media used in this review.

 

SVP Communications '“ The United Kingdom for
providing the media used in this review.

 

Conrexx Technology B.V./RITEK Europe '“
The Netherlands for providing the media used in this review.

 

Medea International '“ United
Kingdom for providing the Infiniti and HP media used in this review.

 

 Plextor SA/NV (B) for providing the Plextor
media used in this review.

 

Ricoh Europe '“ For providing the media used
in this review.

 

E-Net Distribution '“ United Kingdom
for providing the media used in this review.

 

 

Verbatim
- Germany and United Kingdom for providing the media used in this
review.

 

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.

 

Daxon (Taiwan) for providing
the Daxon media used in this review.