Sony 16x DVD-R review

Conclusion

So what did I think about this latest 16x DVD-R offering from Sony? Well according to all the results of the tests carried out during this review I found low amounts of potential errors during the Disc Quality tests where firmware support allowed, although as already mentioned the LG GSA-4166B did not seem to handle this particular batch very well at all. If all versions of the LG GSA 4166B available on the market handle this media the same then it is clear a firmware upgrade may wel be required. This would seem to tie in with the fact that VSO Inspector from VSO software mentioned that this drive had the lowest recording success rate with the Sony 16x DVD-R media.

The Plextor PX-760A Premium under firmware 1.03 was not the fastest of the recording devices for this media under default settings of Auto strategy and Power record enabled. It did howevercertainly produce one of the most overall pleasing results and is to be considered a recommended drive with the Sony 16x DVD-R media.

The Philips DVDR 1660P1 offered a quite slow recording at 16x with its Solidburn technology enabled limiting the maximum recording speed to 12x but the recording quality is to be considered very good indeed. Philips offer no way to disable Solidburn officially and also recomend having it enabled for best results. Anyone with Nero CD-DVD Speed installed may find that they can disable Solidburn and achieve a 16x recording strategy but total recording times will still be nearer that of a 12x recording. 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 Sony 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 Sony media having good by 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.

To sum up, the Sony 16x DVD-R media delivered some very pleasing results where hardware support was good/optimised. Also, the claims of high compatibility seemed to be proven right, with almost all recording devices offering the rated recording speed of 16x on a consistent basis. No obvious flaws in the dye side where noted and the protective layer 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. Sonys range of 8x media with the AccuCore technology seemed to last well and so there is no reason to doubt that the 16x version will be any different. I have not however been able to determine who manufacturered the media for Sony as Sony do not mention this fact on the spindle ( only the country is mentioned as Taiwan ). It is unconfirmed as being manufactured by Daxon Tech who produce 16x media for companies such as BenQ also.

About Sony:

Sony Corporation (Sonī Kabushiki-gaisha) is one of the world's largest media conglomerates founded in Tokyo, Japan. One of its divisions Sony Electronics is one of the leading manufacturers of video, communications, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets.

Sony Corporation is the parent company of the Sony Group and is engaged in business through its six operating segments - electronics, music, games, pictures, financial services and other. These 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, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., and a 50% interest in Sony BMG Music Entertainment, the second-largest record company in the world.

Read more about Sony at Wikipedia - our favourite place on the net to find out what you need to know about companies today.

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 Sony 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 and LG GSA 4166B DVD writers used in this review.