SOHW1633s : DVD+/-RW 16x Dual Layer Internal ATA LiteOn IT $169.99 Click Here Sean Gibson - email

INTRODUCTION

I think there hasn't been a more anticipated product in the burning market than the Dual Layer DVD burner in the last 10 years. We've all wanted to burn more than the simple 4+GB we can put on a single layer DVD burner ... being able to throw 3 hours of video on a DVD or put on over 8 GB of information is something we've all been dying to do. How else to back up our gigs of MP3s and pictures from our fancy digital cameras?

Fortunately, the future is now ... the LiteOn SOHW1633 is a 16x Dual Layer DVD +/- and 48x CD burner that hits the market at a price of $169, but shopping around on the internet showed a "street price" below $90.

key features / specs

The features of the unit:

• Write:
  DVD+R 16X(21600KB/sec) maximum by CAV
  DVD-R 8X(10800KB/sec) maximum by Z-CLV
  DVD+R9 2.4X(3240KB/sec) maximum by CLV
  CD-R 48X(7200KB/sec) maximum by P-CAV

  ReWrite:
  DVD+RW 4X(5400KB/sec) by CLV
  DVD-RW 4X(5400KB/sec) by CLV
  CD-RW 24X(3600KB/sec) maximum by Z-CLV in UltraSpeed disc

  Read:
  DVD - 16X(21600KB/sec) maximum by CAV
  CD - 48X(7200KB/sec) maximum by CAV
• Access Time: 160ms
• Buffer Size: 2MB
• Compatibility:
  MS-Windows 98 / NT4.0 / ME / 2000 / XP
• MTBF (Life): 70000 Hours
• S/N Ration: >75dB
• ATAPI/ E-IDE Half-Height internal DVD+R / DVD+RW / DVD-R / DVD-RW / DVD+R9/ DVD-ROM / CD-R/ CD-RW / CD-ROM combination drive
• Support Double Layer DVD+R9 Recording Function
• SMART-BURN(*1) avoiding Buffer Under Run error, Automatically adjusting writing strategy & running OPC to provide the best burning quality
• SMART-X(*2) function adjusts CD-DA / VCD / DVD data extraction to a fastest allowable speed according to both data request rate from host and disk quality
• VAS(*3) system reduce vibration and noise during recording and reading
• Support Fixed Packet, Variable Packet, TAO, SAO, DAO, Raw Mode Burning & Over-Burn
• DVD read compliant: DVD single/ dual layer (PTP/ OTP), DVD-R(3.9GB/ 4.7GB), DVD-R multi-borders, DVD+R, DVD+R multi-sessions, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW
• CD read compliant: CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-ROM/ XA, Photo-CD, Multi-session, Karaoke-CD, Video-CD, CD-I FMV, CD Extra, CD Plus, CD-R, and CD-RW
• Support both 8cm and 12cm disc of CD and DVD family
• Conform to Orange Book: Part 2 CD-R Volume 1, Part 2 CD-R Volume 2 Multi Speed, Part 3 CD-RW Volume 1 (1x, 2x, and 4x), Part 3 CD-RW Volume2: High Speed, Part 3 CD-RW Volume 3: Ultra Speed
• Supported transfer mode: PIO mode 4, DMA mode 2 and Ultra DMA mode 2

The important things there are the 160ms access time, and the 2MB buffer. The access time is not all that astonishing a figure, and the buffer is consistent with drives in this price range.

installation

For those of you that have installed a CD or DVD RW drive into your computer you know how easy it is and how little hassle there is involved with the process. With modern BIOS technologies being what they are, there's no need to mess with it as it will automatically detect the burner and Windows XP will do the same. The burner is bundled with Nero Express, which is actually the burning software suite of my choice.

Performance

I compared the drive to a Pioneer 4X Single Layer DVD burner. The results came from Nero ...

DVD RESULTS:

CD RESULTS:

So as we can see, the LiteOn Dual Layer burner outperforms the incumbent burner in my regular PC.

Overall Impressions

It's a good thing that there are Dual Layer DVD burners now on the market, and finding the LiteOn SOHW1633s at a street price of about $90 makes it extremely affordable for regular PC consumers to buy and use. The bundle of a few blank DVDs and Nero Express was pretty solid, and the product seems extremely well manufactured, so you know you are spending your product on a product put together well and not a cheap random drive off the computer store shelf.

The performance of the drive was very solid, and compared to the aged 4x DVD burner from Pioneer, the LiteOn drive blows away the competition. Considering they retail very close to each other on the open market, it's completely beyond me why someone would purchase a drive slower, performs poorer, and writes only at a single layer level when for a few bucks more they can have this drive. The numbers don't really lie here ... this drive performs very well.

The value associated with the drive is extremely high as there is a much great range of uses for this burner than your traditional DVD burner. Things like copying movie DVDs (legally of course!), backing up large files and folders, and storing vast amounts of data on a dual layer DVD is much more convenient. The coolness factor also gets a strong score because your friends probably aren't completely aware that these drives are on the market for the price this thing goes for. The usefulness and longevity scores also get a very strong score because everyone wants to burn DVDs and CDs these days as its a common use of a PC from novices to experienced users.

Overall, the LiteOn SOHW1633S 16x DVD Burner is a fantastic upgrade for your computer and comes highly recommended for those of you that do any CD and DVD burning on a regular basis. The drive never failed in any tests that I personally put it through when burning CDs or DVDs, and the performance comparison speaks for itself. A very impressive product and highly recommended for your next upgrade purchase.

9 / 10 OVERALL SCORE 92% 9 / 10 10 / 10 10 / 10 8 / 10 8.0 / 10