Transfer tests
So far in this review we have reported on how well/bad the BeAll Best 16x DVD-R media has performed on our 6 review recording devices and given you a good idea as to how many errors may be left on the media. These are some of the main influences for a playback or Transfer device to correct according to our Liteon-IT 1673S with KProbe and the Plextor PX-716A using PX Scan. One thing this hasn't proofed to us is just how well the recorded media can be transfered at high speeds, although we can with experience draw an educated opinion on whether the discs will transfer ok from the KProbe and PX Scan results shown earlier in this review.
Of course playback will be performed at 1x on a DVD playback device and so judging by the results we have shown up to now during our other tests we are happy that we should have no problems with playback on any of the BeAll Best 16x DVD-R media we have recorded to. One exception to this maybe the NEC ND-3520 recording with firmware 3.04 which exhibited a PI Failure grouping towards the end of the disc which was higher than preferred. Because this grouping never exceeded the max error rate of 32 this recording should stay readable for good DVD Video playback but maybe a slowdown could occur at maximum transfer speeds towards the end of the disc.
Small slowdowns are accepted for a perfect transfer but what we don't want to see is any places where data refuses to transfer on the NEC ND-3540 or any of the recordings refusing to playback properly on our review playback devices.
Below you will find the results of the Transfer tests on the NEC ND-3540 which we feel is a most reliable PC DVD reading device.
Results show that the NEC ND-3540 encountered no fatal errors during the CD Speed transfer tests, reaching its maximum single layer reading speed of 16x for all pieces of the BeAll Best 16x DVD-R media used for this review. Given these facts we feel there are no reasons why we should see any problems with playback on these devices.
| Standalone DVD Players | Media readable | | Cyberhome 512 | Yes | | Bush 2520 | Yes | | Technics SL-DV250 | Yes | | Yukai DVD Player | Yes | | Sony RDR GX3 | Yes | | Aiwa XPD-15 | Yes | | Toshiba SD 125E | Yes | | PRISM 30162 | Yes | | PC DVD Readers | Media readable | | Pioneer DVD ROM 115 (firmware: 1.33) | Yes | | LiteOn LTD-83D (firmware: GHR8) | Yes | | PC DVD Writers | Media readable | | BenQ DW 1620A (firmware: B7V9) | Yes | | NEC ND-3520 (firmware: 3.04) | Yes | | Plextor PX-716A (firmware: 1.08) | Yes | | LiteOn 1673S (firmware: JS07) | Yes | | Pioneer DVR 109 XL (firmware: 1.57) | Yes | | DVD Consoles | Media readable | | Sony Playstation 2 (SCPH 50003) | Yes | | XBox v1.4 | Yes |
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Our final test is the playback test of a DVD Video. For this review we chose the NEC ND-3520 with firmware 3.04 to record a DVD Video compilation with CopyToDVD of 4464Mb (4.36GB) in size to the BeAll Best 16x DVD-R media, again at 16x. During the Recording and Disc Quality tests we kept finding that the NEC ND-3520 produced arguably the least favourable of recordings with problems noted at the end of the recordings.
Again we will back this up by doing a Transfer test at high speed on the NEC 3500 AG.
As expected at a read speed of 1x the recording showed no problems with playback in any of tested playback devices, whether they be PC based, standalone or console driven. Fast forwarding the DVD Video compilation at 16x on our PRISM standalone DVD player did not show any areas where the high speed fast forwarding stopped. We would also like to reconfirm that a high speed transfer on this disc did not produce any slowdowns either that may have an impact on the quality of the disc.
This of course all looks very good for the BeAll best media as even though the reported PI failures shown earlier in the Disc Quality tests may be higher than we we would like to see for a top quality media, the recorded pits where good and this has been backed up by good transfer test results.
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