Sony BWU-100A Blu-ray Burner Review

June 26, 2007

Review: Sony BWU-100A
Reviewed by: agent009
Firmware: 1.0e
Manufactured: October 2006

Introduction

Sony Electronics Inc. was kind enough to send us their Blu-ray Disc drive, Sony BWU-100A.

Sony BWU-100A is an internal drive that reads and writes all BD, DVD and CD formats:

50 GB BD-R DL, BD-RE DL
25 GB BD-R, BD-RE
8.5 GB DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL
4.7 GB DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW
4.7 GB DVD-RAM
700 MB CD-R, CD-RW

With large 25 or 50 GB capacity, Blu-ray discs are an attractive option for many traditional applications like data storage and computer backup. They also open new possibilities such as storing 2 and 4 hours, respectively, of 1080 HD video.

The drive comes with a comprehensive CyberLink software suite that supports Blu-ray and DVD video playback, BD and DVD disc authoring, as well as general disc burning of BD, DVD and CD media.

Corporate information

Sony company logo

Sony Corporation is headquartered in Japan but it is a global company with presence on all continents.

New Sony headquarters, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Sony's history began during the first year of post-World War II occupation of Japan. In May of 1946, Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation) in Tokyo. The startup capital valued at approximately $4000 was a loan from Morita's family that ran a sake business for many generations.

By mid-1950s, the company was making and exporting hundreds of thousands of early transistor radios to Europe and North America. In January of 1958, it changed its name to an easier-to-pronounce Sony.

Sony Corporation of America (SONAM), presently known as SCA, was established in the United States in February 1960.

Sony Corporation of America provides the following corporate overview:

Sony Corporation of America, based in New York City, is the U.S. subsidiary of Sony Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo. Sony is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, communications, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Its music, motion picture, television, computer entertainment, and online businesses make Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world. Sony's principal U.S. businesses include Sony Electronics Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., and a 50% interest in Sony BMG Music Entertainment, one of the largest recorded music companies in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $70.3 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007, and it employs 163,000 people worldwide. Sony's consolidated sales in the U.S. for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007 were $18.9 billion.

Learn more about Sony Corporation of America by visiting the company website: http://www.sony.com/SCA/.

Learn more about Sony products at the Sony USA website: http://www.sony.com/.

Sony's global website is located at http://www.sony.net/.

BD (Blu-ray Disc)

Sony BWU-100A supports reading and writing BD-R and BD-RE, the write-once and rewritable versions of the Blu-ray Disc.

Blu-ray logo

Blu-ray Disc (BD) was developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), with the first version of it finalized in June of 2002.

The Blu-ray Disc Association is directed by a group of electronics, computer, and entertainment companies, currently including:

Apple Computer, Inc.
Dell Inc.
Hewlett Packard Company
Hitachi, Ltd.
LG Electronics Inc.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
Pioneer Corporation
Royal Philips Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Sharp Corporation
Sony Corporation
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
TDK Corporation
Thomson Multimedia
Twentieth Century Fox
Walt Disney Pictures
Warner Bros. Entertainment

Blu-ray media is structurally different from DVD media. The Blu-ray disc consists of a single 1.1 mm thick polycarbonate substrate with a 0.1 mm thick cover layer on the bottom side of the disc, while the DVD disc is made of two 0.6 mm thick substrates. In both cases, two substrates are bonded together by a UV-cured resin adhesive:

DVD vs. Blu-ray disc structure

The larger 25 GB and 50 GB storage capacity of the Blu-ray disc is due to the higher density of pits and tracks on the disc. Unlike previous optical discs, Blu-ray uses a shorter-wavelength, tighter-focused violet laser to read and write pits that are about three times smaller than pits used in DVDs:

CD, DVD and Blu-ray laser beam color and size

CD, DVD and Blu-ray pits and tracks as seen by a scanning electron microscope

Blu-ray disc surface mapped by an atomic force microscope

The following table compares the three current optical disc formats used for video storage:

Drive overview

Sony BWU-100A is a Blu-ray burner capable of reading and writing BD-R/RE, DVD+R/RW/DL, DVD-R/RW/DL, DVD-RAM, and CD-R/RW formats.

The drive comes 'equipped' with the right amount of front-panel logos that do not look overbearing:

Retail drive

Drive specifications

Sony BWU-100A specifications on Sony website list the following:

Sony BWU-100A uses the 66.7 MB/s ATAPI-5 ATA Packet Interface, also known as Ultra ATA/66 or Ultra DMA Mode 4.

Retail package

The drive we are reviewing is a retail package. It includes the following:

Internal 5.25" Sony BWU-100A drive
Sony Software Disc for BD (Rev. 7.00W)
Optical Storage Product Warranty card in seven European languages
48-page Blu-ray Disc Drive Operating Instructions booklet in English
12-page Blu-ray Disc Drive Product Information booklet in traditional and simplified Chinese
8-page Blu-ray Disc Drive HDV to Blu-ray Direct Recording Guide in five European languages
United States Product Warranty Registration Card
Four mounting screws

Retail box and its contents

Sony BWU-100A is made in Japan and comes in an attractive, sturdy box:

Front of the box

Back of the box

Top of the box

Sides of the box

Sony BWU-100A is longer than a typical DVD drive, which is not surprising as it includes a larger Optical Pickup Unit (OPU) that accommodates laser LEDs and optics for three different formats (CD, DVD, and Blu-ray). Including the front panel, Sony BWU-100A is 198 mm (7.8") long, exactly as long as BenQ DW1620:

The drive

The front panel of the drive is black, with a dark-grey, translucent tray cover. The tray cover is easily the largest of all drives we have seen and occupies the upper two thirds of the front.

Sony BWU-100A is equipped with a blue LED activity light that illuminates during disc recognition and data transfers.

A small white Sony logo is pushed to the upper left corner of the tray. Grey-colored DVD+, DVD- and CD logos are relegated to the lower left corner to give prominence to the light-blue Blu-ray logo shrewdly located in the center.

Front panel

Top view

The sticker lists the drive model (BWU-100A), manufacturing date (October 2006) and country (Japan), and power ratings (1.4A of 5V DC and 1.5A of 12V DC):

Drive sticker

Left, right, and bottom sides of the drive provide standard mounting holes for case or rail screws:

Bottom view

Left-side view

Right-side view

The rear side houses a 4-pin DC power connector, a 40-pin EIDE/ATA connector, jumper pins that set the drive to IDE master, slave, or cable-select mode, and a four-pin analog audio connector:

Rear view

Inside the drive a larger than usual PCB (printed circuit board) accommodates a big DSP chip:

Inside view

The drive's electronics is based on a Panasonic chipset:

Panasonic MN103S98HBA chip

This chipset consists of the digital signal processor MN103S98H (or MN103SA8H in Serial ATA drives) and the analog signal processor AN22141A. The chipset was first announced in late 2005, went into production in early 2006, and has been used in Panasonic, Sony, IODATA and Plextor Blu-ray drives:

Panasonic MN103S98HBA and AN22141A chips

Test machine

We will be using a computer with the following configuration:

Hardware

Controller and optical drives

Sony BWU-100A is connected to the primary channel on the motherboard's ICH7 south bridge parallel ATA port.

It identifies itself as "SONY BDRW BWU-100A."

DMA (Direct Memory Access) is enabled, and connection mode is reported as Ultra DMA Mode 4:

Drive transfer mode

CD-DVD Speed reports burst rate of 41 MB/s, consistent with Ultra DMA Mode 4:

Burst rate

Software

The computer is running Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit (build 6.0.6000).

We will be using the following software:

Installation

Drive installation was uneventful. We set the jumper to "cable select" and let the two drives sharing an ATA cable pick master and slave modes automatically.

Features

Feature summary

Nero InfoTool reports the following configuration and drive features:

Nero InfoTool report

The drive's hardware memory buffer used to ensure uninterrupted recording is 8 MB, four times larger than the 2 MB used in most DVD drives. This amounts to about one second worth of data at 2x BD speed.

Firmware update

Our drive came with firmware revision 1.0c, but we have updated to version 1.0e when it became available:

Firmware flash (1 of 5)

Firmware flash (2 of 5)

Firmware flash (3 of 5)

Firmware flash (4 of 5)

Firmware flash (5 of 5)

Software

Software CD contents

Our drive came with the 'Sony Software Disc for BD (Rev. 7.00W)':

Software CD

The following software is included on the CD:

CyberLink PowerDVD 6.6 Blu-ray (BD and DVD playback)
CyberLink Power2Go 5.5 Next-Gen (a complete burning solution)
CyberLink InstantBurn 5.0 (packet writing)
CyberLink PowerProducer 3.7 (video capture, editing, burning)
CyberLink PowerDirector 5.0 (video editing)
CyberLink PowerDVD Copy 1.0 (DVD copying)
CyberLink Medi@Show 3.0 (photo editing/slideshow)
CyberLink LabelPrint 1.0 (label design and printing)
CyberLink PowerBackup 2.5 (backup/restore)

Software installation

This is a pretty complete set of major CyberLink products updated to support Blu-ray playback and burning.

CyberLink PowerStarter

Sony also provides PowerDVD (Blu-ray and DVD playback software) updates on its website.

CD writing performance

In the tests below, we will explore CD writing capabilities and performance of Sony BWU-100A. We will use Nero CD-DVD Speed to write various types of CDs.

Summary

The following table lists all writing speeds and strategies used by Sony BWU-100A when writing CD media:

Some of these strategies are presented below.

24x CD-R

Sony BWU-100A uses a 12x-16x-24x Z-CLV (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) strategy to write CD-R media at 24x.

Average speed is 19.54x and full-disc burn time is 4 minutes and 43 seconds:

24x CD-R writing

16x CD-RW

Sony BWU-100A uses a 12x-16x Z-CLV (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) strategy to write CD-RW media at 16x.

Average speed is 15.59x and full-disc burn time is 5 minutes and 11 seconds:

16x CD-RW writing

DVD writing performance

In the tests below, we will explore DVD writing capabilities and performance of Sony BWU-100A. We will use Nero CD-DVD Speed to write various types of DVDs.

Summary

The following table lists all writing speeds and strategies used by Sony BWU-100A when writing DVD media:

Some of these strategies are presented below.

8x DVD+R

Sony BWU-100A uses a 6x-8x Z-CLV (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) strategy to write DVD+R media at 8x.

An unusual 6x-8x Z-CLV writing strategy used in some drives with Panasonic chipsets extends the 6x area to about 2.1 GB, requiring an extra minute to complete an 8x burn.

Average speed is 6.79x and full-disc burn time is 9 minutes and 9 seconds:

8x DVD+R writing

8x DVD+RW

Sony BWU-100A uses a 6x-8x Z-CLV (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) strategy to write DVD+RW media at 8x.

Average speed is 6.88x and full-disc burn time is 9 minutes and 12 seconds:

8x DVD+RW writing

4x DVD+R DL

Sony BWU-100A uses a 4x CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) strategy to write DVD+R DL media at 4x.

Average speed is 3.94x and full-disc burn time is 27 minutes and 18 seconds:

4x DVD+R DL writing

8x DVD-R

Sony BWU-100A uses a 6x-8x Z-CLV (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) strategy to write DVD-R media at 8x.

Average speed is 6.79x and full-disc burn time is 9 minutes and 9 seconds:

8x DVD-R writing

6x DVD-RW

Sony BWU-100A uses a 6x CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) strategy to write DVD-RW media at 6x.

Average speed is 5.90x and full-disc burn time is 10 minutes and 10 seconds:

6x DVD-RW writing

4x DVD-R DL

Sony BWU-100A uses a 4x CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) strategy to write DVD-R DL media at 4x.

Average speed is 3.94x and full-disc burn time is 27 minutes and 32 seconds:

4x DVD-R DL writing

5x DVD-RAM

Sony BWU-100A uses a 5x CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) strategy to write DVD-RAM media at 5x, without verification.

Average speed is 4.99x and full-disc burn time is 11 minutes and 4 seconds:

5x DVD-RAM writing without verification

With verification, average speed is 2.00x and full-disc burn time is a much longer 27 minutes and 35 seconds:

5x DVD-RAM writing with verification

DVD book type (bitsetting)

Sony BWU-100A supports bitsetting, and is capable of writing all types of +R media, DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD+R DL, with the DVD-ROM book type:

The drive comes preconfigured with all +R media set to be written with the DVD-ROM book type. Though this configuration cannot be changed, it is not likely to be missed by many as bitsetting has become almost universally applied to all DVD+ media.

For more information about book types and bitsetting, see Increased compatibility: DVD bitsetting.

BD (Blu-ray Disc) writing performance

In the tests below, we will explore BD writing capabilities and performance of Sony BWU-100A. We will use Nero CD-DVD Speed to write various types of BDs.

Summary

The following table lists all writing speeds and strategies used by Sony BWU-100A when writing BD media:

Some of these strategies are presented below.

2x BD-R

Sony BWU-100A uses a 2x CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) strategy to write BD-R media at 2x.

Average speed is 1.99x and full-disc burn time is 45 minutes and 23 seconds:

2x BD-R writing

2x CLV BD-R writing of 2x-certified media is the standard speed at the time of this writing, with the exception of one drive that overspeeds some 2x media.

2x BD-RE

Sony BWU-100A uses a 2x CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) strategy to write BD-RE media at 2x.

Average speed is 1.99x and full-disc burn time is 45 minutes and 13 seconds:

2x BD-RE writing

All Blu-ray drives write 2x-certified BD-RE media at the same 2x CLV speed.

2x BD-R DL

Sony BWU-100A uses a 2x CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) strategy to write BD-R DL media at 2x.

Average speed is 2.00x and full-disc burn time is 90 minutes and 5 seconds:

2x BD-R DL writing

2x BD-RE DL

Sony BWU-100A uses a 2x CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) strategy to write BD-RE DL media at 2x.

Average speed is 2.00x and full-disc burn time is 89 minutes and 20 seconds:

2x BD-RE DL writing

BD book type (bitsetting)

Although this feature is not presented in the CD-DVD Speed bitsetting report, Sony BWU-100A supports Blu-ray bitsetting as well, and writes BD-R media with the BD-ROM book type, and BD-R DL media with the BD-ROM DL book type:

Conclusion

Sony BWU-100A is limited to 24x CD, 8x DVD and 4x DVD DL burning speeds, making it noticeably slower than the fastest burners available today. Users who expect to burn a fair number of CDs or DVDs with this drive will need some patience.

DVD+ bitsetting support described above is important for standalone player compatibility. Blu-ray bitsetting is a welcome feature as well.

CD reading performance

In the tests below, we will explore CD reading capabilities and performance of Sony BWU-100A. We will use Nero CD-DVD Speed to read various types of CDs.

Summary

The following table lists reading speeds and strategies used by Sony BWU-100A when reading CD media:

Some of these strategies are presented below.

CD-ROM

Sony BWU-100A reads CD-ROM at 14x-34x CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) speed.

With a pressed CD-ROM data disc, about 73 minutes in length, average speed is 25.28x and read time is 3 minutes and 1 second:

CD-ROM reading

CD-Audio

While only 1x speed is required to listen to sound stored on CD-Audio discs, it is useful to be able to read the discs at higher speeds when extracting the content of the disc to a hard drive.

Sony BWU-100A reads CD-audio at 5x-13x CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) speed.

With a 74-minute pressed CD-Audio disc, average speed is 9.42x and read time is 8 minutes and 13 seconds:

CD-Audio reading

CD-R

Sony BWU-100A reads CD-R at 14x-34x CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) speed.

Average speed is 25.29x and read time is 3 minutes and 19 seconds:

CD-R reading

CD-RW

Sony BWU-100A reads CD-RW at 11x-25x CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) speed.

Average speed is 18.96x and read time is 4 minutes and 8 seconds:

CD-RW reading

DVD reading performance

In the tests below, we will explore DVD reading capabilities and performance of Sony BWU-100A. We will use Nero CD-DVD Speed to read various types of DVDs.

Summary

The following table lists reading speeds and strategies used by Sony BWU-100A when reading DVD media:

Some of these strategies are presented below.

DVD-ROM

Sony BWU-100A reads DVD-ROM at 3x-8x CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) speed.

With a pressed DVD-ROM data disc, about 2.7 GB in length, average speed is 5.29x and read time is 6 minutes and 47 seconds:

DVD-ROM reading

DVD-Video (DVD-5)

While only 1x speed is required to watch movies stored on DVD-Video discs, it is useful to be able to read the discs at higher speeds when extracting the content of the disc to a hard drive.

Sony BWU-100A reads single-layer DVD-Video at 3x-6x CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) speed.

With a pressed single-layer DVD-Video data disc, about 4.3 GB in length, average speed is 4.62x and read time is 12 minutes and 47 seconds:

DVD-Video (DVD-5) reading

DVD-Video DL (DVD-9)

Sony BWU-100A reads double-layer DVD-Video at 3x-6x CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) speed.

With a pressed double-layer DVD-Video data disc, about 7.8 GB in length, average speed is 4.63x and read time is 22 minutes and 51 seconds:

DVD-Video DL (DVD-9) reading

DVD+R

Sony BWU-100A reads DVD+R at 3x-8x CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) speed.

Average speed is 6.17x and read time is 9 minutes and 41 seconds:

DVD+R reading

DVD+RW

Sony BWU-100A reads DVD+RW at 3x-8x CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) speed.

Average speed is 6.16x and read time is 9 minutes and 42 seconds:

DVD+RW reading

DVD+R DL

Sony BWU-100A reads DVD+R DL at 3x-8x CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) speed.

Average speed is 6.17x and read time is 17 minutes and 32 seconds:

DVD+R DL reading

DVD-R

Sony BWU-100A reads DVD-R at 3x-8x CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) speed.

Average speed is 6.15x and read time is 9 minutes and 43 seconds:

DVD-R reading

DVD-RW

Sony BWU-100A reads DVD-RW at 3x-8x CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) speed.

Average speed is 6.15x and read time is 9 minutes and 43 seconds:

DVD-RW reading

DVD-R DL

Sony BWU-100A reads DVD-R DL at 3x-8x CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) speed.

Average speed is 6.18x and read time is 17 minutes and 30 seconds:

DVD-R DL reading

DVD-RAM

Sony BWU-100A reads DVD-RAM at 5x CLV (Constant Linear Velocity).

Average speed is 5.00x and read time is 11 minutes:

DVD-RAM reading

BD (Blu-ray Disc) reading performance

In the tests below, we will explore BD reading capabilities and performance of Sony BWU-100A. We will use Nero CD-DVD Speed to read various types of BDs.

Summary

The following table lists reading speeds and strategies used by Sony BWU-100A when reading BD media:

Some of these strategies are presented below.

BD-ROM

Sony BWU-100A reads BD-ROM at 2x CLV (Constant Linear Velocity).

With a pressed single-layer BD-ROM disc, 22.4 GB in length, average speed is 2.00x and read time is 44 minutes and 21 seconds:

BD-ROM reading

BD-ROM DL

Sony BWU-100A reads BD-ROM DL at 2x CLV (Constant Linear Velocity).

With a pressed double-layer BD-ROM DL disc, 45.4 GB in length, average speed is 2.00x and read time is 89 minutes and 59 seconds:

BD-ROM DL reading

BD-R

Sony BWU-100A reads BD-R at 2x CLV (Constant Linear Velocity).

Average speed is 2.00x and read time is 44 minutes and 45 seconds:

BD-R reading

BD-RE

Sony BWU-100A reads BD-RE at 2x CLV (Constant Linear Velocity).

Average speed is 2.00x and read time is 44 minutes and 45 seconds:

BD-RE reading

BD-R DL

Sony BWU-100A reads BD-R DL at 2x CLV (Constant Linear Velocity).

With a recorded single-layer BD-R DL disc, 45.0 GB in length, average speed is 2.00x and read time is 89 minutes and 9 seconds:

BD-R DL reading

BD-RE DL

Sony BWU-100A reads BD-RE DL at 2x CLV (Constant Linear Velocity).

With a recorded double-layer BD-RE DL disc, 45.1 GB in length, average speed is 2.00x and read time is 89 minutes and 34 seconds:

BD-RE DL reading

Conclusion

Sony BWU-100A is limited to 32x CAV CD and 8x CAV DVD reading speeds, with CSS-protected DVD-Video speed further reduced to 6x CAV, quite slow by today's standards.

BD-R reading is a predictable 2x CLV in all cases: 45 minutes to read a full single-layer BD, 1.5 hours to read a full double-layer BD.

While 2x BD reading is more than sufficient for high-definition movie playback, in terms of data transfer rates, it is roughly equivalent to 6.5x DVD speed: 9 MB/s or 0.5 GB/minute.

CD-R writing quality

In CD writing tests below, we will use Nero CD-DVD Speed to write CDs at the maximum speed supported by Sony BWU-100A.

We will then test their quality using a Sony CRX230EE drive. Quality scans will be conducted at the maximum scanning speed of 48x. (Note that using different scanning drives and speeds may dramatically alter results obtained in quality tests.)

In CD quality tests, the testing drive reports two types of errors: C1 errors and C2 errors.

In practice, a pressed or recorded CD will always have some C1 errors, but they are easily corrected by the drive's error correcting decoder.

C2 errors are the next level of errors. While C2 errors can also be corrected by drive, they are not wanted in a good quality disc. A good disc should not contain any C2 errors, and have an average C1 error amount below 2.0 to be considered a best-quality disc, or at least below 10.0 to be considered a good-quality disc.

Beyond C2 errors, there are uncorrectable errors that make a disc unreadable.

In the tests below, we will explore CD-R writing speed and quality of Sony BWU-100A with media from several manufacturers.

Fujifilm 48x CD-R

Quality test

An excellent burn with this This Taiyo Yuden media.

Verbatim 52x CD-R

Quality test

Excellent quality with CMC-manufactured media as well.

Memorex 52x CD-R

Memorex 52x CD-R
(Thanks to Memorex USA for providing this media)

Quality test

Excellent burn with Ritek media.

Summary

Sony BWU-100A is not a very fast CD-R writer, but it created high quality CD-R discs with three media types we tested.

CD-RW writing quality

In the tests below, we will explore CD-RW writing speed and quality of Sony BWU-100A with media from several manufacturers.

Verbatim DataLifePlus 32x CD-RW

Verbatim DataLifePlus 32x CD-RW
(Thanks to Verbatim USA for providing this media)

Quality test

Transfer rate test

High levels of C1 errors but no C2 errors. Acceptable quality for ultra-speed+ CD-RW media, confirmed by the full-speed transfer rate test.

Memorex 12x CD-RW

Memorex 12x CD-RW
(Thanks to Memorex USA for providing this media)

Quality test

C1 error rates significantly increase toward the end of the disc but there are no C2 errors.

Summary

Sony BWU-100A produces acceptable quality CD-RW burns.

DVD+R writing quality

In DVD writing tests below, we will use Nero CD-DVD Speed to write DVDs at the maximum speed supported by Sony BWU-100A.

We will use Nero CD-DVD Speed to write DVDs at the maximum speed supported by Sony BWU-100A.

We will then test their quality using a BenQ DW1680 drive and KProbe 2, a software tool developed by a Lite-On employee. Quality scans will be conducted at the scanning speed of 4x, our standard speed for Lite-On scanning. (Note that different scanning drives and speeds may dramatically alter results obtained in quality tests.)

In DVD quality tests, the testing drive reports two types of errors: PI (Parity Inner) errors (PIE) and PI failures (PIF).

In practice, a pressed or recorded DVD will always have some PI errors and PI failures. PI errors are easily corrected by the drive's error correcting decoder.

PI failures are the next level of errors. While PI failures are corrected by the second and last stage of the error correcting decoder, they are a more dangerous kind of errors because they can overwhelm the error correcting decoder if they occur in large enough numbers. A good-quality DVD should not contain PI errors above 280 or PI failures above 4.

Beyond PI failures, there are PO (Parity Outer) failures that are uncorrectable and make a disc unreadable.

To see if there is a connection between the reported amount of errors and the readability of discs we will include reading curves from Nero CD-DVD Speed transfer rate tests performed on an LG GSA-H42N drive. We will be looking for any drops in transfer rates which would indicate readability issues with the discs created by Sony BWU-100A.

In the tests below, we will explore DVD+R writing speed and quality of Sony BWU-100A with media from several manufacturers.

Verbatim 16x DVD+R

Verbatim 16x DVD+R
(Thanks to Verbatim USA for providing this media)

Quality test

Transfer rate test

A nearly perfect burn.

Taiyo Yuden 16x DVD+R

Taiyo Yuden 16x DVD+R
(Thanks to Rima.com for providing this media)

Quality test

Transfer rate test

Another excellent result, as expected from Taiyo Yuden media.

Ridata 16x DVD+R

Ridata 16x DVD+R
(Thanks to Ritek USA | Advanced Media, Inc. for providing this media)

Quality test

Transfer rate test

An outstanding burn.

Imation 16x DVD+R

Quality test

Transfer rate test

Another beautiful burn, completed in 9 minutes flat.

Verbatim 8x DVD+R

Quality test

Transfer rate test

An amazingly good burn on now discontinued 8x media. PI errors and PI failures are very, very rarely this low.

Fujifilm 8x DVD+R

Quality test

Transfer rate test

An excellent result that we have come to expect from Taiyo Yuden media, and one of the best we have seen with this drive.

Summary

Sony BWU-100A is a great DVD+R writer, producing consistently excellent results with all media we tested.

DVD+RW writing quality

In the tests below, we will explore DVD+RW writing speed and quality of Sony BWU-100A with media from several manufacturers.

Ridata 8x DVD+RW

Ridata 8x DVD+RW
(Thanks to Ritek USA | Advanced Media, Inc. for providing this media)

Quality test

Transfer rate test

Great DVD+RW quality at maximum speed, better than with many DVD+R media.

Memorex 4x DVD+RW

Memorex 4x DVD+RW
(Thanks to Memorex USA for providing this media)

Quality test

Transfer rate test

Another excellent DVD+RW burn, at 4x this time.

Summary

Sony BWU-100A is an excellent DVD+RW writer, producing very good quality burns with DVD+RW media we tested.

DVD-R writing quality

In the tests below, we will explore DVD-R writing speed and quality of Sony BWU-100A with media from several manufacturers.

Verbatim 16x DVD-R

Verbatim 16x DVD-R
(Thanks to Verbatim USA for providing this media)

Quality test

Transfer rate test

A remarkably clean burn, not surprising given the consistency of this media.

Sony 16x DVD-R

Quality test

Transfer rate test

Excellent quality.

Ridata 16x DVD-R

Ridata 16x DVD-R
(Thanks to Ritek USA | Advanced Media, Inc. for providing this media)

Quality test

Transfer rate test

A low-quality burn with PI errors steadily increasing in the second half of the disc and PI failures growing to values that suggest readability problems.

The disc is read fine and at full speed by LG GSA-H42N. Whether this is due to exceptional reading capability of LG GSA-H42N, or poor scanning by BenQ DW1680, we don't know, but at least this has a happy ending.

TDK 16x DVD-R

Quality test

Transfer rate test

A great burn of CMC media, one of the best we've seen for media from this particular pack, with any drive.

Fujifilm 16x DVD-R

Quality test

Transfer rate test

A good quality burn of Prodisc-manufactured media.

Fujifilm 8x DVD-R

Quality test

Transfer rate test

Although this is an excellent quality burn, this media burns better in other drives.

TDK 8x DVD-R

Quality test

Transfer rate test

Compare to the same media type above. This time Sony BWU-100A produces a burn more in line with what we expect from TYG02.

Unifino 4x DVD-R

Quality test

Transfer rate test

We have used one piece of old media to test the slower 4x speed. Sony BWU-100A applies ROPC (Running Optimal Power Control) to 4x burns. The quality test suggests a good burn, but a slowdown at the end of the transfer rate test shows a potential problem.

Summary

Sony BWU-100A is a good DVD-R writer, producing solid, sometimes excellent results with almost every DVD-R disc we tested.

DVD-RW writing quality

In the tests below, we will explore DVD-RW writing speed and quality of Sony BWU-100A with media from several manufacturers.

Verbatim 6x DVD-RW

Verbatim 6x DVD-RW
(Thanks to Verbatim USA for providing this media)

Quality test

Transfer rate test

High-speed Verbatim DVD-RW media, burned at 6x CLV, in near-record time. Disc quality can only be described as insanely great!

TDK 4x DVD-RW

Quality test

Transfer rate test

A very good burn. Elevated PIE levels at the end of the disc are typical for discs from the particular 25-pack we use. No apparent problems in the transfer rate test with LG GSA-H42N.

Summary

Sony BWU-100A is a good DVD-RW writer, producing good or excellent results with two types of DVD-RW media we tested.

DVD+R DL writing quality

In the tests below, we will explore DVD+R DL writing speed and quality of Sony BWU-100A with widely available media from two manufacturers.

Verbatim 2.4x DVD+R DL

Verbatim 2.4x DVD+R DL
(Thanks to Verbatim USA for providing this media)

Quality test

Transfer rate test

High-quality Verbatim 2.4x DVD+R DL media made in Mitsubishi's Singapore facility never fails to burn well, even at speeds well above its certified 2.4x.

Sony BWU-100A produces a great burn, while also overspeeding this media to 4x.

Memorex 2.4x DVD+R DL

Memorex 2.4x DVD+R DL
(Thanks to Memorex USA for providing this media)

Quality test

Transfer rate test

This DVD+R DL media often presents a problem to other drives. Sony BWU-100A burns this media remarkably well at its 2.4x certified speed.

Summary

From our limited testing, Sony BWU-100A appears to be an excellent DVD+R DL writer, capable of very good burns with Verbatim and Ritek media.

DVD-R DL writing quality

In the tests below, we will explore DVD-R DL writing speed and quality of Sony BWU-100A with media from one manufacturer.

Ridata 4x DVD-R DL

Ridata 4x DVD-R DL
(Thanks to Ritek USA | Advanced Media, Inc. for providing this media)

Quality test

Transfer rate test

This disc has a problem at about 20% into the second layer. This result, while it appears to be of very low quality, is still readable, though at a reduced speed.

Summary

Given the very limited nature of the test, it difficult to draw conclusions. Sony BWU-100A created a readable burn with the generally difficult media type that we had available for the test.

DVD-RAM writing performance

Sony BWU-100A supports reading and writing DVD-ROM.

DVD-RAM is a veteran among the three DVD formats. It is a ten-year old format, and it predates the DVD-R format by one year.

The DVD-RAM format is inherently more reliable than other DVD rewritable formats due to its superior error control, defect management, and the option of hardware data verification during writing.

DVD-RAM defect management provides data structures, stored on each disc, that allow unusable sectors to be relocated. It also allows the number of relocated sectors to grow over time, effectively reversing the negative effect of gradual media deterioration.

Looking at the recording side of a DVD-RAM disc, it is easy to notice that the data surface is very different from DVD+R and DVD-R discs. It has a fascinating pattern of small rectangles:

DVD-RAM recording surface

The rectangles are embossed (pre-recorded) areas that contain addressing information and other sector header data. The data portions of track sectors cover the remaining bulk of the surface.

A 4.7 GB DVD-RAM disc is divided into 34 zones, each comprising 1,888 tracks. The number of sectors increases from 25 sectors per track in the innermost zone 0 to 59 sectors per track in the outermost zone 33. This track layout explains the pattern we see on the recording side of a DVD-RAM disc.

In our setup, running on Windows Vista, a DVD-RAM disc can be formatted in any of the following formats: FAT32, UDF 1.02, UDF 1.5, UDF 2.0, UDF 2.01, or UDF 2.5:

DVD-RAM format choices

Formatting a DVD-RAM disc takes only a few seconds:

DVD-RAM format confirmation

DVD-RAM format complete

Once formatted, DVD-RAM appears as one of the storage devices:

DVD-RAM drive properties

Many operating systems (Mac OS X, Windows XP, Windows Vista) support DVD-RAM formatting, reading and writing directly, without the need to install any additional drivers or software. Once a DVD-RAM disc is formatted, it acts like a removable hard drive and all writing is done in the background. This means that you do not have to wait for the drive to finish writing and can continue working with applications while the DVD-RAM drive is doing the burning.

In the tests below, we will explore DVD-RAM writing by Sony BWU-100A with media from several manufacturers.

Maxell 5x DVD-RAM

Maxell 5x DVD-RAM
(Thanks to Maxell USA for providing this media)

Disc information

Disc creation test

Transfer rate test

Disc creation test (with verification)

Sony BWU-100A writes 5x DVD-RAM using a fast CLV strategy.

Please note how turning on data verification has slowed writing speed from an average of 4.99x to 2.00x. This is due to the drive constantly reading back the data after writing it, to verify that it has been correctly stored. It is a slow writing technique but in combination with the defect management mechanism of DVD-RAM it is as close to "bullet proof", in terms of preventing data loss, as one can get with optical media.

BD-RE writing

Rewritable Blu-ray discs are supported by Windows Vista without any additional drivers.

On our Windows Vista machine, we started with a blank BD-RE disc, right-clicked on its drive icon and selected 'Erase this disc':

BD-RE disc menu

Erasing the disc took only a few seconds:

BD-RE disc erased

Once erased, BD-RE appeared as one of the available drives:

BD-RE disc as a blank Windows drive

Next, we right-clicked on the drive icon, selected 'Format', specified a volume name and selected the only filesystem available, UDF 2.5:

BD-RE disc formatted (step 1 of 4)

BD-RE disc formatted (step 2 of 4)

BD-RE disc formatted (step 3 of 4)

BD-RE disc formatted (step 4 of 4)

A few seconds later, we had a new volume ready to be used:

BD-RE disc as a formatted Windows drive

BD-RE disc properties

Files could be copied to and from BD-RE, as with any other volume:

Copying files to BD-RE

As you may have noticed, effective copy speed is only 3.7 MB/s, a little under 1x in BD terms. This is due to verification being enabled by the operating system. While slow, this copying process provides reliability similar to DVD-RAM at a speed roughly equivalent to 8x DVD-RAM writing with verification.

BD-R writing quality

In the tests below, we will explore BD-R writing speed and quality of Sony BWU-100A with media from several manufacturers.

Sony 2x BD-R

Sony 2x BD-R
(Thanks to Sony Electronics Inc. for providing this media)

Media information

Disc creation test

Transfer rate test

Disc scan test

A trouble-free burn, correctly read back.

Memorex 2x BD-R

Memorex 2x BD-R
(Thanks to Memorex USA for providing this media)

Media information

Disc creation test

Transfer rate test

Disc scan test

Another trouble-free burn.

Verbatim 2x BD-R

Verbatim 2x BD-R
(Thanks to Verbatim USA for providing this media)

Media information

Disc creation test

Transfer rate test

Disc scan test

This media has performed perfectly.

Panasonic 2x BD-R

Media information

Disc creation test

Transfer rate test

Disc scan test

The same perfect performance.

Imation 2x BD-R

Media information

Disc creation test

Transfer rate test

Disc scan test

The fifth, and last, trouble-free burn.

Summary

Sony BWU-100A is a reliable BD-R writer, producing good results with five types of BD-R media we tested.

BD-RE writing quality

In the tests below, we will explore BD-RE writing speed and quality of Sony BWU-100A with media from several manufacturers.

Sony 2x BD-RE

Sony 2x BD-RE
(Thanks to Sony Electronics Inc. for providing this media)

Media information

Disc creation test

Transfer rate test

Disc scan test

A trouble-free burn, correctly read back.

Memorex 2x BD-RE

Memorex 2x BD-RE
(Thanks to Memorex USA for providing this media)

Media information

Disc creation test

Transfer rate test

Disc scan test

Another media works perfectly.

Verbatim 2x BD-RE

Verbatim 2x BD-RE
(Thanks to Verbatim USA for providing this media)

Media information

Disc creation test

Transfer rate test

Disc scan test

Verbatim media is supposed to work well, and it does.

Imation 2x BD-RE

Media information

Disc creation test

Transfer rate test

Disc scan test

Another media type works fine.

Maxell 2x BD-RE

Media information

Disc creation test

Transfer rate test

Disc scan test

Ten discs down, not a single problem.

Summary

Sony BWU-100A is a reliable BD-RE writer, producing good results with all five types of BD-RE media we tested.

BD-R DL writing quality

In the tests below, we will explore BD-R DL writing speed and quality of Sony BWU-100A with media from one manufacturer.

Sony 2x BD-R DL

Sony 2x BD-R DL
(Thanks to Sony Electronics Inc. for providing this media)

Media information

Disc creation test

Transfer rate test

Disc scan test

This is the only type of BD-R DL media we had available for testing. BD-R DL media is still rare, with only Sony, Panasonic, and TDK brands available at this time.

Nevertheless, this media has performed perfectly well.

Summary

Sony BWU-100A performed well with the BD-R DL media we tested.

BD-RE DL writing quality

In the tests below, we will explore BD-RE DL writing speed and quality of Sony BWU-100A with media from one manufacturer.

Panasonic 2x BD-RE DL

Media information

Disc creation test

Transfer rate test

Disc scan test

This media has performed perfectly.

This is the only type of BD-RE DL media we had available for testing. BD-RE DL media is even rarer than BD-R DL, with only Panasonic and TDK brands available so far.

It is remarkable that BD-RE DL media is being manufactured and sold (and appears to work well too) while DVD+RW DL is not available yet.

Summary

Sony BWU-100A performed well with the BD-RE DL media we tested.

Advanced DAE (Digital Audio Extraction) test

In this test, we will use the "Advanced DAE Quality Test" feature of Nero CD-DVD Speed.

The CD-R media is a 40x certified Memorex Music CD-R made by CMC:

Memorex 40x Music CD-R
(Thanks to Memorex USA for providing this media)

Sony BWU-100A shows only 24x as the maximum speed available with this media, and we create a 74-minute test disc at 24x:

DAE test disc creation

The test shows that audio extraction quality is perfect, with a quality score of 100, and that the drive supports reading CD text, subchannel data and the lead-in. On-the-fly copying works at speeds up to 10x:

DAE (Digital Audio Extraction) test

The "Sheep Test"

In this test we will rate the drive with a certain number of sheep by using the sheep test program made by Alexander Noé.

Why sheep? That's because the official logo of the first 1-to-1 copy program called CloneCD is a sheep:

CloneCD logo

We are interested in the drive's ability to make exact copies of CDs by writing weak sectors. This feature is also known as "Correct EFM encoding of regular bit-patterns."

0 sheep: Can't backup any Safedisc 2 versions without software help.
1 Sheep: Can backup Safedisc 2 up to version 2.4x without software help.
2 Sheep: Can backup Safedisc 2, including version 2.5x.
3 Sheep: Can write all possible weak sectors, few if any writers can do this.

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

CloneCD reports that Sony BWU-100A supports all features CloneCD tests for, with one exception of the RAW Disc-At-Once mode:

CloneCD report

Our sheep test indicates that Sony BWU-100A is a two-sheep burner capable of writing Safedisc CDs up to version 2.5x:

Of the four files involved in the test, sd290.dat and sheep3.dat failed to copy:

Safedisc version 2.9 is not supported

Safedisc version 3 is not supported

Conclusion

Sony BWU-100A is one of the first commercially available Blu-ray burners, and the first to offer support for all common optical discs in one device. Its capabilities cover the entire spectrum of formats, from 700 MB CD-R to 50 GB BD-RE DL, with DVD-RAM support included as well.

As an early, first-generation design, Sony BWU-100A is very impressive. We have played (and enjoyed) about a dozen Blu-ray movies, single- and double-layer, encoded with everything from MPEG-2 to VC-1. We have burned about 50 pieces of recordable and rewritable BD media, and there was not a single error, reading slowdown or glitch with any of them. In our multiple CD and DVD burns the drive proved to be very reliable too; particularly good with DVD+R media.

CD and DVD reading and writing speeds are far from the fastest on the market, usually only about half of maximum speeds available with dedicated CD or DVD burners. Although we do not consider 24x CD and 8x DVD burning slow, Blu-ray disc speeds could use some extra speed. We can live with 5-minute CD burns and 9-minute DVD burns, but 45 minutes to read or write a single-layer Blu-ray disc requires a good dose of patience.

Sony BWU-100A includes all software necessary for playing DVD and BD media, video editing and CD, DVD, and BD burning and copying.

While early Blu-ray burners are quite expensive, HD video enthusiasts and computer users who want to archive or backup large amounts of data will welcome an all-in-one, cutting edge drive like Sony BWU-100A.

Here is a list of important positive and negative points about Sony BWU-100A:

Positive

Sony BWU-100A reads and writes all CD, DVD+, DVD- and BD media types
Very reliable reading and burning of BD media
Reliable Blu-ray movie playback
Writing quality on CD and DVD media ranges from very good to excellent
Included software is very extensive and covers all aspects of drive use
Clean look
Bitsetting for DVD+R/DVD+RW/DVD+R DL and BD-R/BD-R DL media
Regular firmware and software updates from Sony

Negative

Large size: the drive is 190 mm long
2x Blu-ray reading and writing requires patience

Final thoughts

We like Sony BWU-100A. This drive can handle any media from five-cent CD-Rs up to the newest, still rare 50 GB Blu-ray media. If we were allowed only one drive in a computer, it would be our first choice.

Given the reliability Sony BWU-100A has shown in our tests, we would not hesitate to trust it with even the most expensive, $35-50 double-layer Blu-ray recordable and rewritable media.

This is how we sum it up: "Sony BWU-100A is a comprehensive, cutting-edge drive that handles all optical media; a consistently reliable device with the largest storage capacity on the market. We recommend it."

Where to buy

At the time of this review (June 2007), Sony BWU-100A costs between $599 and $799 in the United States. It can be purchased directly from Sony for $699.

European prices range from €710 to €914 ($940-1215).

In Japan, a similar IODATA BRD-AM2SB drive can be found for ¥65,800-67,700 ($535-550).

Have a comment?

You are welcome to discuss this review or the drive in the comments below or in our forum thread: CDFreaks presents: Sony BWU-100A Blu-ray Burner Review.

Acknowledgements

We thank the following companies for providing media used in this review:

	Maxell USA - For providing Maxell DVD media used in this review.
	Memorex USA - For providing Memorex CD, DVD and Blu-ray media used in this review.
	Rima.com - For providing Taiyo Yuden DVD media used in this review.
	Ritek USA \| Advanced Media, Inc. - For providing Ridata DVD media used in this review.
	Sony Electronics Inc. - For providing Sony Blu-ray media used in this review.
	Verbatim USA - For providing Verbatim CD, DVD and Blu-ray media used in this review.