Infiniti Electric Blue16x DVD-R review

Transfer and Playback tests

So far in this review I have reported on how well/bad the Infiniti Electric Blue 16x DVD-R media has performed on our 5 used review recording devices and given you a good idea as to how many potential errors may be seen on playback and transfer devices. One thing this hasn't proven is just how well the recorded media may be transfered at high speeds, although a reader of this review can with experience draw an educated opinion on whether the discs will transfer ok from the Disc Quality results shown earlier in this review.

But there are other factors besides basic Disc Quality that can have an effect on transfer tests. At 16x introduced levels of excess noise created at any given speed on certain devices can have a big impact. Its a common reason why many drives usually only offer a 12x max transfer speed on recordable DVD media. Another common factor is that certain devices just don't like the way other devices record to certain media ( too high laser power at certain points of the disc can affect certain reading devices ). The Optiarc AD-7173A device used in this part of the review is based on some of the same hardware as our NEC writers and seems to cope just as well as any device at transfer speeds of 16x. More times than not, if this device slowdowns during transfer, then it can usually be attributed to higher amounts of potential errors such as Sum1, Sum8, Beta and Jitter than would be preferred for best quality.

Small slowdowns are accepted during a transfer but what we don't want to see is any places where data refuses to transfer on the Optiarc AD-7173A or any of the recordings refusing to playback properly on our review playback devices.

Nero CD-DVD Speed high speed transfer tests Below you will find the transfer tests carried out on the NEC ND-7173A at its fastest reading speed of 16x for single layer media. Please click on a drive thumbnail for the results of the transfer tests on that device. Philips DVDR1660P1[Retail] with firmware version P1.6 Pioneer DVR 111D[OEM] with firmware version 1.29 Optiarc AD-7173A [OEM] with firmware version 1-01 Plextor PX-760A Premium [Retail] with firmware version 1.05 Samsung SH-182M with firmware version SB02

Results show that the Optiarc AD-7173A encountered no fatal errors during the CD Speed transfer tests, reaching its maximum single layer reading speed of 16x for all tested recording devices. MOst transfer results are very smooth and some of the increased potential errors found do not seem to interfere in this test.

One final but no less important final test is the playback test of a DVD Video. For this review I have chosen to record a DVD Video compilation with CopyToDVD from VSO Software. I have also chosen the Pioneer DVR 111D with firmware revision 1.29 as it showed the most potential Sum 1 errors on the Infiniti Electric Blue 16x DVD-R media. Would this this extra concentration of potential Sum 1 errors intefere with DVD playback?

At a read speed of 1x the recording showed no problems with playback in almost all of the tested playback devices, whether they be PC based, standalone or console driven. So short term the quality of the recording is usuable and playable but there could be issues here longterm.