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Review: Plextor PX-B900A |
We at CDFreaks would like to present a review of Plextor's first drive that supports the Blu-ray technology - the Plextor PX-B900A Blu-Ray writer.
The Plextor PX-B900A supports 2x BD-R/BD-RE (single & dual layer), 8x DVD±R, 8x/6x DVD+RW/-RW, and 4x DVD+R DL/-R DL writing technology, allowing Double/Dual Layer discs of 8.5Gb to be written. In addition this drive also supports DVD-RAM at 5x.
Company Information:
Plextor is a leading international manufacturer of extremely reliable, high quality recording equipment and is also one of the pioneers in the field of CD technology. From its parent company, Shinano Kenshi Co. Japan, Plextor has a built up tradition in the development and manufacture of advanced hardware and electronic precision equipment going back to 1918. With head offices in Japan, Europe and the United States the company mainly sells its products through a network of specialised computer dealers. Plextor Europe, established in Brussels, takes responsibility for sales, marketing and technical support in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Since opening its Brussels office in 1994, Plextor has introduced a number of award winning products, including CD/DVD-ROM drives, CD/DVD recordable drives, CD/DVD media and USB Flash Memory Drives (PlexFlash) and digital video converters.
Drive Specifications:
The specifications of the Plextor PX-B900A were found at the Plextor Belgium website:
What’s inside the box?
On this page, we will take a look at what the drive came shipped with, a look at the drive and its technology. (Please notice we have only included pictures of the box where the sides had any printing).
Front
Below you will see the contents:
- The internal drive
- Software Disc
- Beige Bezel
- Extra jumper
- Mounting screws
- Emergency eject tool
- Brochure containing:
- Installation
- Fast Warranty Service
- Support
- Caution
- Front Bezel Replacement Guide
- WEEE/RoHS Info
- BD-MV playback info
Now it's time to take a look at the drive itself:
Black Bezel
Beige Bezel
The bezel is cleanly styled. On the tray we can see Plextor Logo, the Blu-Ray logo, an emergency eject hole, a single coloured blue LED for read and write, an eject button and the Plextor model number.
Top
Label
On the top of the drive we found one label, and we can see that the drive was made in Japan, dated September 2006.
Bottom
Side
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.
Also supplied with the drive, was the PX-B900A Software Disc. (We did not however use this software in this review.)
Now let’s take a look at the drive installation and features on the next page…
Test machine:
For this review we will be using a computer with the following configuration:
Hardware:
- Motherboard: Asus A8V Deluxe
- Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (Toledo)
- RAM: 1 GB Corsair Kit PC3200 DDR
- GFX: MSI GeForce 6600 GT
- Sound: Onboard Realtek AC'97
- Hard disk: Maxtor 6V300F0 300 GB (S-ATA)
System set-up:
The Plextor PX-B900A was connected as Secondary Master and identified itself as PLEXTOR BD-R PX-B900A. 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-B900A does not support CD+G and Mount Rainer. The drive came shipped with firmware version 1.00. Furthermore, the drive uses 2MB buffer for DVD and 8MB for BD and it’s reported as AACS compliant.
Installed Software:
Windows XP Professional XP Professional is installed on the computer along with Service Pack 2 for Windows XP. We will be using the following software in this review:
Features and techniques:
The internals
The drive uses the Panasonic MN103S98HBA Chipset
An Introduction to Blu-Ray:
Until recently, optical disc technologies such as DVD, DVD±R, DVD±RW, and DVD-RAM relied on a red laser to read and write data, the Blu-Ray format uses a blue-violet laser, which explains the name Blu-ray.
Blu-ray drives can also be made backwards compatible with CDs and DVDs through the use of a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical pickup unit.
A blue-violet laser (405nm) has a shorter wavelength than a red laser (650nm); this makes it possible to focus the laser with even greater accuracy. This will allow data to be packed more tightly, so it's possible to squeeze more data on the disc even though it's the same size as a CD/DVD. This together with the change of numerical aperture to 0.85 enables Blu-ray discs to hold 25GB/50GB.
Now let’s take a look at the track pitch and compare them with that of DVD:
As we can see in the above screenshots, the storage density of Blu-Ray is much higher than DVD. The Blu-Ray laser beam spot is also much narrower than that of DVD.
Blu-Ray Error specification:
|
Parameters |
Description |
Limits |
|
RSER10k |
Random Symbol Error Rate – The number of random errors (without Burst Errors) within a 10 000 64K-Block |
Up to 2E-4 |
|
BC |
Burst Count – The number of Burst-Errors with an length of minimum 40 Bytes within a 64K-Block |
Up to 8 |
|
BL |
Burst Length – The total length of Burst-Error (>= 40 Bytes) within one 64K-Block |
Up to 600 Byte |
|
UNC |
Un-correctable errors - Numbers of Code Words within one 64K-Blocks that Long Distance Code (LDC) could not correct. |
0 |
|
Jitter LEq |
Length difference in the written marks after the Signal enhancement through the Limit Equalizer. |
Up to 6.5 % |
|
NPPa |
Push-Pull-Signal - The strength of the track control needed Push-Pull-Signals. |
0.21 to 0.45 |
|
NWS |
Wobble-Signal - The strength of the Wobble-signal in relation to the Push-Pull-Tracking-Signal. |
0.20 to 0.55 |
In the above table we present some of the specifications for reported errors on Blu-Ray media. At present we have no equipment or software available for measuring these errors.
Writing Technology:
In the following tests, we take a look at the disc writing technology used by the Plextor PX-B900A.
For these tests we simply burned a disc with Nero CD-Speed’s “create data disc” function.
CD-Recordable:
The Plextor PX-B900A uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 24X. This gives an average speed of 19.50x and writing time of 4 minutes and 43 seconds.
CD-Rewritable:
The Plextor PX-B900A uses Z-CLV (Zone - Constant Linear Velocity) to write CD-RW media at its maximum speed of 16x, with an average write speed of 15.57x and writing time of 5 minutes and 35 seconds.
8x DVD+R Writing speed:
The Plextor PX-B900A uses Z-CLV (Zone - Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+R at the maximum supported speed of 8x. This gives an average write speed of 6.77x and a writing time of 9 minutes.
8X DVD-R Writing speed:
The Plextor PX-B900A uses Z-CLV (Zone - Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-R at the maximum supported speed of 8x. This gives an average write speed of 6.78x and a writing time of 9 minutes and 9 seconds.
8X DVD+RW writing speed:
The Plextor PX-B900A uses Z-CLV (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+RW at 8x. The average speed is 6.86x and total writing time is 9 minutes and 12 seconds.
6X DVD-RW writing speed:
The Plextor PX-B900A uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-RW at 6x. The average speed is 5.89x and total writing time is 10 minutes and 16 seconds.
4X DVD+R DL writing speed:
The Plextor PX-B900A uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+R DL at 4x. The average speed is 3.93x and total writing time is 27 minutes and 7 seconds.
4X DVD-R DL writing speed:
The Plextor PX-B900A uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-R DL at 4x. The average speed is 3.93x and total writing time is 27 minutes and 34 seconds.
5x DVD-RAM writing speed:
According to the specifications the Plextor PX-B900A should be able to write DVD-RAM media at 5x.
For this test we used Nero CD-DVD Speed to create a test disc. To test the drives maximum write speed, we turned off “Write and verify.”
The Plextor PX-8900A uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-RAM at its maximum speed of 5x. This resulted in an average write speed of 4.94x and a total write time of 11 minutes and 10 seconds.
2x BD-R (Single Layer) writing speed:
According to the specifications the Plextor PX-B900A should be able to write BD-R 25GB Single Layer media at 2x.
The Plextor PX-B900A uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write BD-R at its maximum speed of 2x. This resulted in an average write speed of 1.99x and a total write time of 45 minutes and 20 seconds.
2x BD-RE (Single Layer) writing speed:
According to the specifications the Plextor PX-B900A should be able to write BD-RE 25GB Single Layer media at 2x.
The Plextor PX-B900A uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write BD-R at its maximum speed of 2x. This resulted in an average write speed of 1.99x and a total write time of 45 minutes and 6 seconds.
Book type (bitsetting):
The Plextor PX-B900A does not support bitsetting on DVD+R, DVD+RW nor on DVD+R DL.
Let’s continue to the next page where we will examine the reading performance...
Reading Performance:
For these tests we will use Nero CD/DVD-Speed to read various CD, DVD and BD media. As already mentioned in the introduction, this drive supports:
- BD : 2x
- DVD : 8x
- CD : 32x
CD-ROM pressed discs:
For this test we used a pressed CD-ROM disc containing Creative Blaster Audigy install CD that is close to 74 minutes long. Below you will see the produced result:
The Plextor PX-B900A reads CD-ROM discs at 32x speed.
CD-Recordable Discs:
For this test we made a copy of the original Creative Blaster Audigy install CD. The disc we used was a Verbatim 48X certified CD-R disc manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation.
The Plextor PX-B900A reads CD-R discs at 32x speed.
CD-Rewritable discs:
Again, we made a copy of the original Creative Blaster Audigy install CD; this time we used a Verbatim Ultra Speed (32X) CD-RW disc made by Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation.
The Plextor PX-B900A reads CD-RW discs at 24x speed.
Audio – Digital Audio Extraction:
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 about 78 minutes long (77:43:45).
The Plextor PX-B900A reached 24x reading Audio-CD.
Advanced audio – EAC test:
For this test we used EAC (Exact Audio Copy) to test the drive’s audio extraction performance..
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According to EAC the Plextor drive support Caching, which is considered negative - while ripping audio. |
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Below is the results produced by EAC:
Burst mode
Secure mode
The drive performed slowly in burst mode and secure mode.
Advanced audio – DAE quality test:
Before we move on to testing DVD read speeds, we will take a last audio test, and this time we used the 'Advanced DAE Quality Test" feature in CD-Speed. For this test we used a CD-R DA media from MMORE (Thanks to MMORE (NL) for sending us this media).
The extracting quality is excellent and we can see that the drive is to slow for 12x and 16x On-the-fly copying.
DVD reading performance:
Again, we will use Nero CD-Speed to measure the reading performance, this time for various types of DVD discs.
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 (OTP)
DVD-Video Double Layer (PTP)
The Plextor PX-B900A reads pressed DVD-VIDEO SL at 8x, DVD-VIDEO (OTP) at 6x and DVD-VIDEO (PTP) at 8x.
DVD – DVD+R/RW:
For this test we used a Verbatim 16x DVD+R and a Verbatim 8x DVD+RW with 4.38GB of data. Below are the results:
DVD+R
DVD+RW
The Plextor PX-B900A reads DVD+R and DVD+RW at 8x speed.
DVD – DVD-R/RW:
For this test we used a Verbatim 16X DVD-R disc and a Verbatim 6X DVD-RW disc filled with 4.38GB of data. Our test results are found below:
DVD-R
DVD-RW
The Plextor PX-B900A reads DVD+R and DVD+RW at 8x speed.
DVD – DVD±R DL:
For this test we used a Verbatim 2.4x DVD+R DL disc and a Verbatim 4X DVD-R DL disc filled with 7.96GB of data. Our test results are found below:
DVD+R DL
DVD-R DL
The Plextor PX-B900A reads DVD-R and DVD-RW at 8x speed.
DVD – DVD-RAM:
For this test we used a Verbatim 5x DVD-RAM filled with 4.27GB of data. Our test results are found below:
DVD-RAM
The Plextor PX-B900A reads DVD-RAM at 5x.
Blu-ray Reading performance:
BD – BD-R SL:
For this test we used a Verbatim BD-R media filled with 22.56GB of data. (Thanks to Verbatim Germany for sending us this media.) Our test results are found below:
BD-R SL
The Plextor PX-B900A reads BD-R Single Layer 25GB at 2x without any issue.
BD – BD-RE SL:
For this test we used a Verbatim BD-RE media filled with 22.56GB of data. (Thanks to Verbatim Germany for sending us this media.) Our test results are found below:
BD-RE SL
The Plextor PX-B900A reads BD-RE Single Layer 25GB at 2x without any issue.
Now it’s time to head on to a more interesting part: Writing CD-R and CD-RW discs…
The specifications of the PX-B900A state that the drive is able to write CD-R discs at 24x and CD-RW at 16x. Let us find out how the drive really performs in speed and quality.
Write Quality:
We will test CD-R discs from 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 KProbe 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:
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Brand: |
BenQ - Thanks to Daxon |
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Manufacturer: |
Daxon Inc. |
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Code: |
97m22s67f |
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Disc Type: |
CD-R |
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Recording Layer: |
Dye Type 7: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine) |
|
Capacity: |
79:59.74 (703MB) |
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Certified Speed: |
52x |
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Write Speed: |
24x |
|
Write Time: |
4m:44s |
|
C1 Average/Sec: |
0.64 |
|
C2 Average/Sec: |
0.0 |
BenQ media with average C1 errors of 0.64 - it goes into the group “best quality discs” category.
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Brand: |
Miflop Extreme Printable - Thanks to Miflop Media |
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Manufacturer: |
Taiyo Yuden |
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Code: |
97m24s01f |
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Disc Type: |
CD-R |
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Recording Layer: |
Dye Type 1: Long Strategy (Cyanine, AZO) |
|
Capacity: |
79:59.72 (703MB) |
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Certified Speed: |
48x |
|
Write Speed: |
24x |
|
Write Time: |
4m:44s |
|
C1 Average/Sec: |
0.26 |
|
C2 Average/Sec: |
0.0 |
Media made by Taiyo Yuden have always had a good reputation and with the average C1 errors of 0.26 it goes into the group “best quality discs” category.
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Brand: |
RICOH – Thanks to RICOH Europe (D) |
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Manufacturer: |
Moser Baer India Limited |
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Code: |
97m17s06f |
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Disc Type: |
CD-R |
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Recording Layer: |
Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine) |
|
Capacity: |
79:59.74 (703MB) |
|
Certified Speed: |
1x-52x |
|
Write Speed: |
12x |
|
Write Time: |
7m:07s |
|
C1 Average/Sec: |
1.63 |
|
C2 Average/Sec: |
0.0 |
RICOH media – manufactured by Moser Baer India Limited and with its average of 1.63 it goes in the “best quality” category. This media was burned at max 12x.
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Brand: |
Ultron – Thanks to Ultron AG (D) |
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Manufacturer: |
SONY Corporation |
|
Code: |
97m24s16f |
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Disc Type: |
CD-R |
|
Recording Layer: |
Dye Type 6: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine) |
|
Capacity: |
79:59.73 (703MB) |
|
Certified Speed: |
52x |
|
Write Speed: |
24x |
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Write Time: |
4m:44s |
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C1 Average/Sec: |
1.30 |
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C2 Average/Sec: |
0.0 |
Ultron media and with the average C1 errors of 1.30 it goes into the group “best quality discs” category.
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Brand: |
Verbatim – Thanks to Verbatim (D) |
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Manufacturer: |
Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation |
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Code: |
97m34s23f |
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Disc Type: |
CD-R |
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Recording Layer: |
Dye Type 3: Long Strategy (Cyanine, AZO) |
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Capacity: |
79:59.73 (703MB) |
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Certified Speed: |
52x |
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Write Speed: |
24x |
|
Write Time: |
4m:43s |
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C1 Average/Sec: |
0.46 |
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C2 Average/Sec: |
0.0 |
Verbatim – a well-known brand showed us a C1 average of 0.46 - it goes into the category “Best Discs”.
Writing Quality with CD-RW discs:
We will also test CD-RW discs from different CD-RW manufacturers. Settings and testing procedures is 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.
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Brand: |
Traxdata – Thanks to Conrexx (NL) |
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Manufacturer: |
Plasmon Data Systems Ltd. |
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Code: |
97m27s12f |
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Disc Type: |
CD-RW 8-24x |
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Recording Layer: |
Phase Change |
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Capacity: |
74:41.00 |
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Certified Speed: |
8x-24x |
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Write Speed: |
16x |
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Write Time: |
5m:15s |
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C1 Average/Sec: |
11.95 |
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C2 Average/Sec: |
0.0 |
Traxdata CD-RW 74 min media made by Plasmon Data Systems Ltd, the quality is ok for this CD-RW media.
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Brand: |
Verbatim – Thanks to Verbatim (D) |
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Manufacturer: |
Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation |
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Code: |
97m34s24f |
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Disc Type: |
Ultra Speed CD-RW 24x |
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Recording Layer: |
Phase Change |
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Capacity: |
79:59.74 (703MB) |
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Certified Speed: |
24x |
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Write Speed: |
16x |
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Write Time: |
5m:35s |
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C1 Average/Sec: |
0.93 |
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C2 Average/Sec: |
0.0 |
Incredible low C1 errors on this Verbatim 24x CD-RW media.
Summary:
The CD-R writing quality is excellent, and the CD-RW quality is good/excellent.
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 8x 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+R media compatibility and write quality:
In these tests we will be using a Lite-On SHW-165P6S with firmware MS0P along with KProbe to measure the disc quality. We will also be using the Optiarc AD-7173A with firmware 1-01 along with CD-Speed for our read-back tests.
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Brand: |
Maxell |
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Manufacturer: |
Maxell |
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Code: |
MAXELL003 |
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Disc Type: |
DVD+R |
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Capacity: |
4483MB |
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Certified Speed: |
16x |
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Write Speed: |
8x |
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Write Time: |
9m:09s |
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PI-8 errors Average/Sec: |
0.51 |
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PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec: |
0.01 |
The result is excellent.
|
Brand: |
Miflop Extreme – Thanks to Miflop |
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Manufacturer: |
Taiyo Yuden Company Limited |
|
Code: |
YUDEN 000 T03 |
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Disc Type: |
DVD+R |
|
Capacity: |
4483MB |
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Certified Speed: |
16x |
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Write Speed: |
8x |
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Write Time: |
9m:09s |
|
PI-8 errors Average/Sec: |
7.49 |
|
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec: |
0.02 |
Miflop extreme media with Taiyo Yuden media code, the result is very good.
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Brand: |
Pleomax – Thanks to Pleomax (NL) |
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Manufacturer: |
Opto Disc |
|
Code: |
OPTODISC R16 |
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Disc Type: |
DVD+R |
|
Capacity: |
4483MB |
|
Certified Speed: |
16x |
|
Write Speed: |
8x |
|
Write Time: |
9m |
|
PI-8 errors Average/Sec: |
2.07 |
|
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec: |
0.04 |
The result is very good.
|
Brand: |
TDK |
|
Manufacturer: |
TDK Corporation |
|
Code: |
TDK003 |
|
Disc Type: |
DVD+R |
|
Capacity: |
4483MB |
|
Certified Speed: |
16x |
|
Write Speed: |
8x |
|
Write Time: |
9m:09s |
|
PI-8 errors Average/Sec: |
0.84 |
|
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec: |
0.07 |
The result is very good.
|
Brand: |
Verbatim – Thanks to Verbatim (Germany) |
|
Manufacturer: |
Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation |
|
Code: |
MCC 004 |
|
Disc Type: |
DVD+R |
|
Capacity: |
4483MB |
|
Certified Speed: |
16x |
|
Write Speed: |
8x |
|
Write Time: |
9m:08s |
|
PI-8 errors Average/Sec: |
0.35 |
|
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec: |
0.00 |
The result is excellent.
DVD+ReWritable media:
DVD+RW at 8x:
|
Brand: |
Ricoh – Thanks to Ricoh Europe |
|
Manufacturer: |
RICOH Company Limited |
|
Code: |
RICOH JPNW21 |
|
Disc Type: |
DVD+RW |
|
Capacity: |
4483MB |
|
Certified Speed: |
8x |
|
Write Speed: |
8x |
|
Write Time: |
9m:12s |
|
PI-8 errors Average/Sec: |
10.41 |
|
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec: |
0.06 |
The result is good for this DVD+RW media.
Summary:
The Plextor PX-B900A produced very good quality results with the tested DVD+R/RW media.
On the next page you will find the DVD-R/RW writing results…
DVD+R media compatibility and write quality:
In these tests we will be using a Lite-On SHW-165P6S with firmware MS0P along with KProbe to measure the disc quality. We will also be using the Optiarc AD-7173A with firmware 1-01 along with CD-Speed for our read-back tests.
|
Brand: |
Maxell |
|
Manufacturer: |
Maxell |
|
Code: |
MXLRG04 |
|
Disc Type: |
DVD-R |
|
Capacity: |
4483MB |
|
Certified Speed: |
16x |
|
Write Speed: |
8x |
|
Write Time: |
9m:09s |
|
PI-8 errors Average/Sec: |
0.94 |
|
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec: |
0.02 |
The result is excellent.
|
Brand: |
Miflop Extreme – Thanks to Miflop |
|
Manufacturer: |
Taiyo Yuden Company Limited |
|
Code: |
TYG03 |
|
Disc Type: |
DVD-R |
|
Capacity: |
4483MB |
|
Certified Speed: |
16x |
|
Write Speed: |
8x |
|
Write Time: |
9m:09s |
|
PI-8 errors Average/Sec: |
4.89 |
|
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec: |
0.01 |
Miflop extreme media, with Taiyo Yuden media code and the result is excellent.
|
Brand: |
Pleomax – Thanks to Pleomax (NL) |
|
Manufacturer: |
Opto Disc |
|
Code: |
OPTODISCR016 |
|
Disc Type: |
DVD-R |
|
Capacity: |
4483MB |
|
Certified Speed: |
16x |
|
Write Speed: |
8x |
|
Write Time: |
9m:10s |
|
PI-8 errors Average/Sec: |
13.71 |
|
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec: |
0.03 |
The result is OK.
|
Brand: |
TDK |
|
Manufacturer: |
TDK |
|
Code: |
TTH02 |
|
Disc Type: |
DVD-R |
|
Capacity: |
4483MB |
|
Certified Speed: |
16x |
|
Write Speed: |
8x |
|
Write Time: |
9m:09s |
|
PI-8 errors Average/Sec: |
4.38 |
|
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec: |
0.09 |
The result is good.
|
Brand: |
Verbatim – Thanks to Verbatim (Germany) |
|
Manufacturer: |
Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation |
|
Code: |
MCC 03R G20 |
|
Disc Type: |
DVD-R |
|
Capacity: |
4483MB |
|
Certified Speed: |
16x |
|
Write Speed: |
8x |
|
Write Time: |
9m:09s |
|
PI-8 errors Average/Sec: |
0.90 |
|
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec: |
0.01 |
The result is excellent.
DVD-ReWritable media:
DVD-RW at 6x:
|
Brand: |
Verbatim - Thanks to Verbatim |
|
Manufacturer: |
Mitsubishi Kagaku Media |
|
Code: |
MKM 01RW 6X01 |
|
Disc Type: |
DVD-RW |
|
Capacity: |
4483MB |
|
Certified Speed: |
6x |
|
Write Speed: |
6x |
|
Write Time: |
10m:16s |
|
PI-8 errors Average/Sec: |
2.58 |
|
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec: |
0.00 |
The result is excellent.
Summary:
The Plextor PX-B900A produced very good quality results with the tested DVD-R/RW media.
Head on to the next page for the DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL writing performance…
DVD+R/-R Double/Dual Layer writing performance:
The Plextor PX-B900A 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 4x.
DVD+R DL at 4x:
|
Brand: |
Verbatim – Thanks to Verbatim (D) |
|
Manufacturer: |
Mitsubishi Kagaku Media |
|
Code: |
MKM 001 |
|
Disc Type: |
DVD+R DL |
|
Capacity: |
8103MB |
|
Certified Speed: |
2.4x |
|
Write Speed: |
4x |
|
Write Time: |
27m:07s |
|
PI-8 errors Average/Sec: |
3.97 |
|
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec: |
0.06 |
The result is good.
DVD-R DL at 4x:
|
Brand: |
Verbatim – Thanks to Verbatim |
|
Manufacturer: |
Mitsubishi Kagaku Media |
|
Code: |
MKM 01RD30 |
|
Disc Type: |
DVD-R DL |
|
Capacity: |
8103MB |
|
Certified Speed: |
4x |
|
Write Speed: |
4x |
|
Write Time: |
27m:34s |
|
PI-8 errors Average/Sec: |
14.87 |
|
PI-1 failures (PIF) Avg/Sec: |
0.08 |
The result is good.
Head on to next page and read about DVD-RAM writing performance...
DVD-RAM writing performance:
The Plextor PX-B900A supports writing and reading the DVD-RAM format. Lets us look at the recording side of the disc, and as you can see it has differences from the other DVD+R/W/R9 DL and DVD-R/W discs.
We can see a very fascinating pattern of darker spots. These tick marks are "address information" ("Pre-mastered Pit Header Field") which are embedded onto the disc. This is header information in front of data sector area, and is the same format as HDD and MO.
A DVD-RAM’s disc can be formatted in the following formats:
- FAT32
- UDF 1.02
- UDF 1.50
- UDF 2.00
- UDF 2.01
- UDF 2.50
By formatting a DVD-RAM disc with FAT32 it will act like a removable hard drive and all writing will be done as “background processes”. Meaning you do not have to wait for it to finish, you can start or work with other applications while the DVD-RAM is working without noticing any “hangs” or CPU slowdowns.
Lets us take a look at the media we are going to use in these tests:
Verbatim 5x media manufactured by Matsushita
Now let’s see how DVD-RAM media is written and read by the Plextor PX-B900A:
Verbatim 5x without verification
Verbatim 5x with verification
For those of you who are not familiar with DVD-RAM, you may probably think that something went wrong during the write process with the verification turned on, since the 5x media was written at 2x. But not to worry, that is pretty normal for DVD-RAM discs, the reason for the “low” speed is, the drive constantly reads back the data after writing it to verify that it’s written correctly. We can also call it a “bullet proof” writing/verify technique, with no data loss/errors.
DVD-RAM has error correction, but also has error replacement to spare sectors as a "defect management" function. This gives higher reliability than other DVD format.
Another advantage with DVD-RAM is that the discs can be formatted/erased/written at over 100.000 times before it will/can cause/report any errors. Let’s try to read back the disc that we wrote:
As we can see, the Plextor PX-B900A use a CLV reading method, and reads the disc at its rated write speed, meaning our 5x media was read at 5x.
Head on to next page and read about the most interesting part: Blu-ray features and performance...
Blu-ray Features:
The Plextor PX-B900A supports writing and reading the Blu-ray Discs (BD-R/BD-RE SL/DL) at a maximum 2x speed.
A Blu-ray Disc (BD) is a next generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of many leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers. The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of High Definition (HD) video, as well as high capacity of data storage.
|
Parameters |
Blu-ray |
DVD |
|
Storage capacity |
25GB (single-layer) |
4.7GB (single-layer) |
|
Laser wavelength |
405nm (blue laser) |
650nm (red laser) |
|
Numerical aperture (NA) |
0.85 |
0.60 |
|
Disc diameter |
120mm |
120mm |
|
Protection layer |
0.1mm |
0.6mm |
|
Track pitch |
0.32µm |
0.74µm |
|
Data transfer rate (data) |
36.0Mbps (1x) 54.0Mbps (1.5x) |
11.08Mbps (1x) 10.08Mbps (<1x) |
|
Video resolution (max) Video bit rate (max) |
1920×1080 (1080p) |
720×480/720×576 (480i/576i) |
|
Video codecs |
MPEG-2 |
MPEG-2 |
|
Audio codecs |
Linear PCM |
Linear PCM |
|
Interactivity |
BD-J |
DVD-Video |
More information on Blu-ray can be found from our own article: Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD
Blu-ray (BD-R) Disc Writing Speed and Quality:
To demonstrate burning data on a Blu-ray (BD-R) disc, we use Nero CD/DVD speed with the create disc feature. The ScanDisc test is performed in the Plextor PX-B900A drive to check if there is any issue with the burned disc. Below are the results:
As we can see, the media is made by the TDK Corporation and the MID is: TDKBLDRBA
The Plextor PX-B900A used 45 minutes and 22 seconds to writing this TDK BD-R media at 2x CLV.
The ScanDisc test
As we can see, the Plextor PX-B900A had no problems in reading back our test disc.
|
Brand: |
TDK – Thanks to Firefly Communication/TDK |
|
Manufacturer: |
TDK Corporation |
|
Code: |
TDKBLDRBA |
|
Disc Type: |
BD-R |
|
Capacity: |
23098MB (22.56GB) |
|
Certified Speed: |
2x |
|
Write Speed: |
2x |
|
Write Time: |
45m:22s |
No problem with writing and reading onto this TDK Blu-ray media.
As we can see, the media is made by Mitsubishi Kagaku Media and the MID is: VERBATIMa
The Plextor PX-B900A used 45 minutes and 20 seconds to writing this Verbatim BD-R media at 2x CLV.
The ScanDisc test
As we can see, the Plextor PX-B900A had no problems in reading back our test disc.
|
Brand: |
Verbatim – Thanks to Verbatim Germany |
|
Manufacturer: |
Mitsubishi Chemicals Corporation |
|
Code: |
VERBATIMa |
|
Disc Type: |
BD-R |
|
Capacity: |
23098MB (22.56GB) |
|
Certified Speed: |
2x |
|
Write Speed: |
2x |
|
Write Time: |
45m:20s |
No problem with writing and reading onto this TDK Blu-ray media.
On the next page - Blu-ray (BD-RE) writing performance...
Blu-ray (BD-RE) Disc Writing Speed and Quality:
Again, we use Nero CD/DVD speed with the create disc feature. The ScanDisc test is performed in the Plextor PX-B900A drive to check if there is any issue with the burned disc. Below are the BD-RE results:
As we can see, the media is made by Philips and the MID is: PHILIPW02
The Plextor PX-B900A used 45 minutes and 11 seconds to writing this Philips BD-RE media at 2x CLV.
The ScanDisc test
As we can see, the Plextor PX-B900A had no problems in reading back our test disc.
|
Brand: |
Philips |
|
Manufacturer: |
Philips |
|
Code: |
PHILIPW02 |
|
Disc Type: |
BD-RE |
|
Capacity: |
23866MB (23.31 GB) |
|
Certified Speed: |
2x |
|
Write Speed: |
2x |
|
Write Time: |
45m:11s |
No problem with writing and reading onto this Philips Blu-ray media.
As we can see, the media is made by Sony and the MID is: SONYES1
The Plextor PX-B900A used 45 minutes and 19 seconds to writing this Sony BD-RE media at 2x CLV.
The ScanDisc test
As we can see, the Plextor PX-B900A had no problems in reading back our test disc.
|
Brand: |
Sony |
|
Manufacturer: |
Sony Recording Media Co. |
|
Code: |
SONYES1 |
|
Disc Type: |
BD-RE |
|
Capacity: |
23866MB (23.31 GB) |
|
Certified Speed: |
2x |
|
Write Speed: |
2x |
|
Write Time: |
45m:19s |
No problem with writing and reading onto this Sony Blu-ray media.
As we can see, the media is made by TDK and the MID is: TDKBLDWBA
The Plextor PX-B900A used 45 minutes and 6 seconds to writing this TDK BD-RE media at 2x CLV.
The ScanDisc test
As we can see, the Plextor PX-B900A had no problems in reading back our test disc.
|
Brand: |
TDK |
|
Manufacturer: |
TDK Corp. |
|
Code: |
TDKBLDWBA |
|
Disc Type: |
BD-RE |
|
Capacity: |
23866MB (23.31 GB) |
|
Certified Speed: |
2x |
|
Write Speed: |
2x |
|
Write Time: |
45m:06s |
No problem with writing and reading onto this TDK Blu-ray media.
As we can see, the media is made by Mitsubishi Kagaku Media and the MID is: VERBATIM0
The Plextor PX-B900A used 45 minutes and 19 seconds to writing this Verbatim BD-RE media at 2x CLV.
The ScanDisc test
As we can see, the Plextor PX-B900A had no problems in reading back our test disc.
|
Brand: |
Verbatim – Thanks to Verbatim Germany |
|
Manufacturer: |
Mitsubishi Kagaku Media |
|
Code: |
VERBATIM0 |
|
Disc Type: |
BD-RE |
|
Capacity: |
23866MB (23.31 GB) |
|
Certified Speed: |
2x |
|
Write Speed: |
2x |
|
Write Time: |
45m:19s |
No problem with writing and reading onto this Verbatim Blu-ray media.
Next you can read the conclusion from our tests…
Positive:
- Supports BD-R/RE read and write at 2x
- Supports DVD±R DL writing at 4x
- Supports DVD-RAM read and write at 5x
- Supports DVD±R/CD-R/RW writing at 8x/24x/16x
- Reads DVD±R/RW/±R DL/CD-R/CD-ROM at 8x/8x/8x/32x/32x
- Virtually silent operation
- Very good retail package
- Blue operation LED
- 2 year Fast Warranty Service (in EU, Norway and Switzerland: Collect & Return)
- RoHS Compliant
Negative:
- Does not support Mt. Rainier
- Read CD-RW/DA only at max 24x
- No Bitsetting support for DVD+R/RW/+R DL media
Conclusion:
Let us summarize the most important positive and negative points below:
The main positive points: Belonging to the first generation of Blu-ray writers, the device seems to operate very good on most supported media types.
As the drive is RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive) Compliant, means it should be “Lead-, Mercury- and Cadmium-free” and an environment friendly product.
Last but by no means least. The 2 year collect and return warranty (within the EU) is one of the best ones around.
The main negative points: As the Plextor PX-B900A lacks the bitsetting support (BookType DVD-ROM) on DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD+R DL media, this could lead to playback problems with some DVD Standalone devices. So any future firmware updates allowing bitsetting support are most welcome.
To sum it all up, this is what we would say: "The Plextor PX-B900A is overall a very good CD/DVD/Blu-ray drive".
By using our price grabber feature cdfreaks.pricegrabber we found the drive listed at 868 USD and at geizhals the drive is listed at 734 EUR (November 2006).
You may discuss/comment this article below or in this forum thread.
Thanks to:
 |
Miflop Media – Spain for providing the media used in this review. |
|
|
Conrexx Technology B.V./RITEK Europe – The Netherlands for providing the media used in this review.
|
 |
Daxon Technology Inc – Taiwan for providing the BenQ media used in this article. |
 |
Ricoh Europe – For providing the media used in this review. |
 |
Ultron AG – Germany for providing the media used in this review. |
 |
Verbatim - Germany and United Kingdom for providing the media used in this review. |
