A Simpler Way To Get Burned

Priced at $70 and embedded with LightScribe software, the SH-W164C drive engraves labels onto CD and DVD discs quickly and easily.

The drive is Samsung’s fastest dual-layered DVD recorder, running at 16X for DVD+R and DVD-R, and at 8X for rewritable DVD+RWs. The drive has built-in balancing systems and speed adjustment technology to make it run stable when recording, so it is suitable for backup work.

The drive can record 8.5 Gbytes of data on dual-layered DVD+R running at 8X. It is perfect for users that need to back up large amounts of data quickly or those working with many media files.

System builders will find the drive quite suitable for video production. The SH-W164C also performed quietly when tested with various DVDs and CDs. To test its speed, CRN Test Center engineers split a large 16-Gbyte database and performed a batch backup using Nero and Roxio software. Only dual-layered DVDs were selected for this test. Engineers also used two white-box PCs with similar configurations to get a better average measurement based on the DVD drive’s performance. After running four tests, the average burn time was 15 minutes.

Engineers created a recursive batch test to check the drive’s accuracy when using rewritable DVD and CD media. To push the limit, more than 1,000 files were used recursively. Formatting and multiple deletes were added into the test as well. Engineers did not find any errors during a full hour of rewriting data.

To create labels, the SH-W164C drive requires CDs and DVDs that have a LightScribe dye coating on the topside. Engineers used a variety of low- and high-contrast bitmaps to check the performance and output quality of LightScribe.

After several tests using the dye, the SH-W164C performed admirably and results were consistent. Test Center engineers did not notice any aberrations on any image used in the tests. The LightScribe dye did not smudge on any media either, even after several burns.