Maxell 16x DVD+R media review

Transfer and Playback tests

So far in this review I have reported on how well/bad the Maxell 16x DVD+R media has performed on the 5 review recording devices used 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 to is just how well the recorded media can be transferred at high speeds, although I can with experience draw an educated opinion on whether the discs will transfer ok from the Disc Quality 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 I have shown up to now during previous tests I am happy that no problems with playback should occur on any of the Maxell 16x DVD+R media I have recorded to.

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.

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.

Nero CD-DVD Speed high speed transfer tests Below you will find the transfer tests carried out on the Optiarc 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 Samsung SH-S182[Retail] with firmware version SB03 Optiarc AD-7173A [OEM] with firmware version 1-01 Plextor PX-760A Premium [Retail] with firmware version 1.06

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. Choosing a recording was quite hard here as all recordings had achieved levels of quality deemed very readable for playback devices. In the end I decided upon the Samsung SH-S182M recording as it was the fastest of all the recording devices that supported bitsetting.

One thing to note here : Both the Optiarc AD-7173A and Pioneer DVR 111D do not allow changing of booktype in their default firmware for DVD+R media and so are less compatible with older standalone DVD players. Had I used one of these devices, the recordings from these drives results may of been different compatibility wise than what I have shown with the Samsung recording.

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 and I would like to think that there should not be any issues here long term.