BenQ 16x DVD-R media review

Conclusion

It is clear whilst looking through this review that the BenQ media behaved very well with all used recording devices during this review, but not two recording devices seemed to agree on which was the best way to record the BenQ 16x DVD-R media. From the Liteon SHM-165P6S offering only 12x through to the Philips DVDR1660P1 offering 16x but only achieving a very slow 12x recording speed, recordings where variable in their results. That said, all used recording devices achieved very decent results with none of them showing any real cause for concern in this reviewers opinion.

Disabling Auto Strategy on the Plextor PX-760A Premium under firmware 1.03 produced much faster recording times but the amount of potential errors rose as the recording neared 16x and quite often Power record would still kick in and slow down the recording at around the 14x stage of the recording. I recommend keeping Auto strategy and Power record enabled for this software after learning as I feel it is the best method at the moment for this media/hardware combination.

Likelwise, as with the Plextor unit, disabling the advanced logic of the Philips DVDR 1660P1 offered a faster recording but still 16x was not attainable on this batch of media, with jitter levels rising towards the end. Philips offer no way to disable Solidburn officially and also recomend having it enabled for best results as do I. The logic of the Philips drive does seem to work overtime with this media to achieve the best quality results.

The Pioneer DVR 111D with firmware 1.23 achieved a very good level of recording quality in a very respectable time at 16x and is to be considered a very reliable recording device for the BenQ 16x DVD-R media on a consistent basis. All that I may complain about is that Jitter is higher than preferred near the beginning of the recording. It is normal to see BenQ media having good support from Pioneer and the trend continues here. The NEC ND-4551A also achieved a very decent level of quality with all tested areas of Disc quality well within set specifications for a good result.

The newest member of the CDR-Zone.COM recording family, The Liteon SHM-165P6S under firmware MV9N offered two new fuctions compared to older Liteon drives and I want to mention these options here as they really seemed to help the quality of its recording to the BenQ 16x DVD-R media. Using Hyper tuning technology, this new Liteon drive learnt this media within 3 recordings and offered very good levels of quality even if only 12x was attainable by design in the firmware. A few models earlier, this would of probarly recorded at 16x with questionable results but I am happy to announce that the recordings achieved with the Hyper tuning technology enabled where of a high quality compared to any of the other used recording devices.

To sum up, the BenQ 16x DVD-R media delivered some very pleasing results where hardware support was good/optimised. Also, the claims of the PicPerfect tchnology seemed to be proven right, with almost all recording devices offering low levels of potential Sum1 on a consistent basis. No obvious flaws in the dye side where noted and the recorded media didn't detoriate upon high speed transfer tests. Of course the tests carried out in this review are really only a gauge of quality and it is the long term reliability that I am keen to test at a later date. As always I look forward to hearing your comments and results with this media in the Media forum.

About BenQ: ( from Wikipedia )

BenQ Corporation is a Taiwan-based company specializing in the manufacturing of computing, communications, and consumer electronics devices. The name reflects their corporate motto or vision: Bringing Enjoyment and Quality to life.

The company was established in 1984, initially known as Continental Systems Inc., then Acer CM (Communications and Multimedia), and finally rebranded as BenQ in December 2001. BenQ manufactures technology products, including communication and personal computer related products. Its principal products include TFT LCD monitors, LCD TVs, scanners and printers, digital cameras, projectors, laptops, computer keyboards and mice, and mobile phones.

The head office is located in Taoyuan, Taiwan, and the company operates worldwide. BenQ owns and operates seventy-two branch offices, and employ over 18,000 individuals. Three business groups manage BenQ's product lines: Computing Products Business Group, Digital Media Business Group and BenQ Mobile Business Group.

On October 1, 2005, BenQ acquired the mobile devices division of Germany's Siemens AG, becoming the 6th largest company in the mobile phone industry by accumulated market share. The acquisition results in a new business group, BenQ Mobile, of BenQ Corporation entirely dedicated to wireless communications. Mobile phones of the new group are marketed under a new brand, BenQ-Siemens.

BenQ Corporation is part of the BenQ Group, which also includes AU Optronics.

Sponsors of this review

I would like to take this moment to thank the companies who provided the media as well as most of the hardware for this review. Without the generous and ongoing support of these companies this review would not of been possible in such detail - Thank you!

• Dvdshoponline for providing the BenQ 16x DVD-R media as well as the Pioneer DVR 111D DVD writer used in this review.
• Plextor Europe for providing the Plextor PX-760A Premium DVD writer used in this review.
• Philips For providing the Philips DVDR 1660P1 DVD writer used in this review.
• SVP communications for providing the NEC ND-4551A writer used in this review.