How to choose a DVD drive for your computer
The fact that DVD media is slowly but surely disappearing into oblivion is difficult to dispute. They repeat the fate of their predecessors - floppy disks and CDs. No “revolutionary” solutions such as the release of double-layer or double-sided DVDs could radically change the situation, and the digital media market in small batches is falling into the hands of flash memory and Blu-ray disc manufacturers. Nevertheless, the DVD format is still the most widespread in the field of film distribution, software, games and music (together with CDs), so the DVD drive is still considered an integral part of a personal computer.
Let's start, as usual, with the basics. “Scientifically”, a DVD drive is an optical drive, a device designed for reading and writing data from digital media, which, in particular, includes CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-/+R and DVD-/ +RW. Many still remember the times when a DVD burner was more of a luxury than a necessity. Today, finding a simply “reading” disk drive on sale is almost impossible, and there is no particular need for it. Even if you rarely or never use this function (recording), this has practically no effect on the final price, so it makes no sense to purchase a regular DVD drive or even a CD-ROM writer. Unless you collect them.
If you buy a computer from scratch, then by default the internal one (packed in system unit) A DVD drive is included in the package. This applies to both desktop PCs and laptops with netbooks, although the latter are equipped with their own, thinner and more expensive, drive models. The need to separately purchase a DVD drive may arise for only two reasons. Either your drive has failed for some reason (there can be many reasons - from factory defects to carelessness in operating the device), or this model does not suit you for some reason (noise, speed, design, compatibility), but find out This was only possible while working with the drive.
Drive speed and major media formats
The question arises, what could be wrong with this or that drive? The main parameter that you should pay attention to is the read and write speed. Because in fact, you can only experience this speed if you are going to read or write disks on a truly industrial scale. It is also worth deciding what media you will most often “feed” the device, because the same CDs are read much slower (more than 9 times) than DVDs. It is logical to assume that if most of the information on the market today is sold on DVD media, then you will mostly be stuffing discs of this format into the drive.
Drive speed is indicated in 1x, where 1 corresponds to 150 Kb/s for CD-ROM, and 1.385 MB/s for DVD-ROM. The maximum volume of a standard CD, on which music albums and small ones are most often found on sale now computer games(as well as databases and software) is 700 MB. By today's standards, the size is ridiculous, but quite sufficient for recording a dozen uncompressed music tracks, text files, programs or disk with corporate information (catalogues, price lists, instructions, etc.). Theoretically, the CD reading speed is limited to 56x, but in practice this figure does not exceed 40x, because the faster the disk rotates in the drive, the more noise it creates during operation.
If you often and enjoy writing discs CD-R (one-time use) And CD-RW (rewritable), then your ability to read these media will be limited to speeds of 40x and 48x, or even 24x (for CD-RW). As for recording, by default the drive will operate at the maximum possible speed, which can be manually changed to a lower speed. 700 megabytes usually fills up within five minutes.
Now let's turn directly to DVD discs, which you will encounter most often, both during the reading and writing process. We remind you that data exchange with DVD media can only be carried out using a DVD drive; a regular CD-ROM cannot cope with this function by definition.
Currently, the following DVD discs are distinguished. This is first and foremost the most common DVD-ROM, which is the basis for film products, games, software and other data produced and sold in series. Writing to DVD-ROM at home is impossible, read only. DVD-ROMs come in single-layer and double-layer formats, with capacities of 4.7 and 8.5 GB, respectively.
The most common disc formats that you will encounter are disposable discs DVD-R and DVD+R, which are most often used to store “heavy” information such as video and software. Why plus and minus? It's simple, negative disks appeared a little earlier at the instigation of the famous company Pioneer, while “plus” technologies belong to the pen of Sony and Phillips. The difference lies in the presence of special markings that make it easier to position the drive head, and the use of different reflective material. At first, these differences were critical for the quality of multiple rewrites (of course, for DVD-R discs W and DVD+RW), but today most drive models can easily handle any version.
The maximum reading and writing speed on DVD-R and DVD+R discs is, depending on the drive model and disc quality, from 8x to 24x, which, when fully loaded with data, will take approximately 4 to 8 minutes. There are also two-layer disposable discs with the prefix DL (dual layer) in the name, with a capacity of 8.5 GB. However, the recording speed on these “giants” is no more than 12x.
Media that support rewriting are distinguished between DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM. You've probably already encountered the first two: 4.7 GB disks with a maximum write speed of 8x. As for DVD-RAM, which can be written to simultaneously with the process of reading data, their mass use is limited due to the prohibitive cost.
What else do you need to know about DVD drive speed? Considering the fact that this parameter of the device directly depends on the media used in it, it is not advisable to strive to buy the fastest drive. Discs that support high write and read speeds are expensive and are not sold everywhere. Remember that discs are extremely fragile media, susceptible to scratches, chips and other physical surface deformations. At high rotation speeds, such interference can lead to the destruction of the disk, which simply shatters into fragments and can cause irreparable damage to the drive. As they say, the quieter you go, the further you will go.
Features of connecting the drive and sales packaging
Probably everyone has seen a regular internal disk drive. A rectangle (148x42x198 mm) without unnecessary design frills, weighing under a kilogram. There are also shortened versions (for compact cases) with a length of up to 170 mm and lightweight ones up to 750 grams. The most elegant are, of course, DVD drives for laptops - square in size (130x130 mm) with a thickness of only 13 mm and a weight of 120 grams. However, these devices are very expensive and capricious in terms of installation, which is best left to professionals.
Appearance of a DVD drive for a laptop
The DVD drive, being an internal device, is connected using a cable to the computer's motherboard, and therefore there are two types of connection - through the parallel IDE interface or the serial SATA interface. IDE is now being widely replaced by the more advanced SATA, so when purchasing a drive separately, you should check the insides of your computer, or rather, the connectors on the motherboard, so as not to get into trouble. New board models most likely already work with SATA, so you can safely purchase the appropriate drive. What's the advantage? Theoretically - in speed. But in practice, you most likely will not notice the difference.
Regarding packaging. The fact that used drives are not worth buying is, I hope, clear without further ado, because all computer components have their own limited resource. The store will offer you two options: OEM and Retail. OEM is a package “for the poor”, which includes a plastic bag plus a disk with installation software. As part of the Retail kit, in addition to the drive itself, you will find wires (cable), screws, clean disks, and if the manufacturer is generous, then an audio cable and even replacement panels. Naturally, the second option will cost you a little more than the “polyethylene” one.
Manufacturers and prices
It's no secret that in the niche of DVD drives, a brand or trademark often becomes the determining factor in choosing a particular device. There are many different elements in the system unit, starting from the motherboard, video card and ending with the power supply and, in fact, the system case itself. But all these components, as a rule, are impersonal, because not everyone would think of going inside to look at the manufacturer of the sound board or motherboard. Many, not very advanced, users focus more on specific parameters rather than on company names. It’s different with DVD drives; they are “facing” the consumer, proudly decorating the system unit with an inscription like NEC, Sony or Plextor.
There is always a lot of subjectivity in the selection of a specific brand, because few people have to test drives from different manufacturers at home. Usually we become attached to a particular model, after which we don’t even want to hear about its replacement with something else. Nevertheless, there are quite a lot of players in this market, which we will talk about at the end of the article.
DVD-ROM from Plextor
If you have to deal with the recording process often and a lot, then there are actually two options. Either constantly change cheap devices, or occasionally face the need to buy expensive models. For both of them, the resource is a parameter with a finite value. If you are more satisfied with the second option, then pay attention to the quality of the company Plextor, whose devices are characterized by high reliability and performance. The cost of Plextor drives is not the only, but the most significant reason why only a select few can afford to communicate with this brand (from 5,000 rubles and above).
The situation is approximately the same with the products of American companies. Dell And Hewlett-Packard (HP). Good, even remarkable quality, high operating speeds, reliability, but the price in the region of 4000-5000 rubles will not please everyone. Moreover, their products are rarely seen on store shelves, and Dell prefers to specialize in ultra-thin laptop models.
Drives available with label ASUS And Sony Optiarc (since 2006, the official merger of two companies - Sony and NEC)- strong middle peasants. At a cost of around 1000 rubles, they demonstrate high quality recordings, and discs created using these drives can be read without problems by devices from other manufacturers, as well as by many DVD players. Quiet, stylish, practical - optimal value for money.
DVD-RW drive Sony Optiarc
Drives from Samsung, Toshiba and Pioneer are considered the most capricious in terms of blank quality. LG and Lite-On drives handle scratched media better than others. Of course, these conclusions were made during testing specific models, which, as we know, can be both successful and not so successful. In other words, you may be incredibly lucky and your Samsung DVD drive will be omnivorous and tireless, while the ASUS drive, highly rated by “experts,” will stumble at every step.
In any case, when buying a DVD drive, pay attention to three things: packaging (OEM or Retail), connection method (IDE or SATA) and speed characteristics. Well, and the design, of course, because a black NEC sticking out on a white case will be striking. Each brand has its own advantages and disadvantages, but in this market, unless we are talking about elite models of semi-professional quality, the main and determining factor is still the price of the device, which for the vast majority of DVD drives varies from 600 to 1,500 rubles.
April 19, 2014 | comments: 0
Despite the fact that a flash drive is superior to a disk in all respects, you will still come across disk media one day and have the opportunity to compare.
To work with disks, you will need an optical drive, without which it is not possible to read information from disks, otherwise such a drive is called a CD-ROM. Here are some tips for choosing a CD-ROM for your computer.
Drives can be internal or external. It follows that the initial advice would be to select the correct internal drive.
After all, the quality of the drive determines the quality of work and significant savings in energy consumption. The productivity of the drive depends on the speed of writing or reading information from the disk media.
— CD-ROM (-RW) drives are used for reading from CD (-R, RW) disks. CD-RW differs from CD-R in that using the media you can not only read, but also write information repeatedly;
— DVD-ROM (-RW) drives are designed to read information from CDs and DVDs (many varieties) of disks.
DVD speed is 9 times faster than CD drive.
In relation to the storage media themselves, optical media also have differences:
— CD-ROM-disks that can only read information. This format has two sizes: 3.5 inches and 5.25 inches, which, respectively, contain 190-210 and 650-700 MB of memory. Industrially, data is written to them;
— CD-R disks are designed to record information once, that is, it is only suitable for reading. The capacity is the same as that of CD-ROM drives;
— CD-RW discs are rewritable, i.e., information is written, deleted, and written again many times. The capacity is the same as the above storage media; CD-RW discs are designed for frequent use: you can write, delete and write again over and over again. The amount of information is the same as that of CD-ROM discs;
— DVD-ROM disks are used only for reading information. The difference is that the drives have more capacity: 4.7 GB for single-sided drives and 8.5 GB for double-sided drives. The size of this media is 5.25 inches;
— DVD-R disks write data once in the amount of 3.95 MB;
— DVD-RW disks have an advantage in volume and can be rewritten many times;
— DVD-Dual disks record information in two layers. Despite the double advantage in volume, they did not spread;
— DVD-RAM disks are an additional type of rewriting device that allows you to write and read data simultaneously;
The second piece of advice is to decide on the type of media you often use and, depending on this, the necessary device. But it is profitable to install a DVD drive at once for the following companies: ASUS, NEC, Samsung, Pioneer, Sony, LG, Toshiba.
In addition, the price range between a CD-RW or DVD-ROM and a DVD drive is not that great.
Third tip. When choosing a CD drive, do not strive for higher speed. This happens because each time, in the process of reading, one strives to accelerate to its maximum speed. If at this speed it was not possible to read various damages, do not best coverage, defects, then the drive reduces the speed required for reading. The advantage is that the higher the speed, the better the recording quality of the media. But these reasons can lead to your disc tearing into pieces, because with repeated use, the edge of the disc hole becomes covered with small cracks. For this reason, at high shaft speeds (from 10,000 rpm), the disk may not tolerate such a high voltage and “burst” into pieces. This will cause a lot of trouble for the user.
How to ensure silent operation and avoid disk “rupture”? The fourth tip comes from this. Made special programs, which will ensure that the drive speed is set according to the requirements. In these programs, you need to select a speed of 8 for comfortable viewing of the video, and for the mp3 format it is enough to reduce the speed to 2.
It makes sense to mention Blue-ray Disk (BD-ROM). A universal drive that can read all formats and is especially designed for media with Blue-ray technology. This drive was created using a new technology using a blue-violet laser beam. Thanks to this, recording occurs much more densely, as a result of which the disk capacity increases to 50 GB. This is a big advantage over infrared DVD laser. Of course, this technology is the future. But the cost of BD drives and BD media does not allow for mass distribution.
When looking for a device for reading audio CDs (this is the last tip), focus on the existence of control buttons. This will allow you to avoid using system resources.
That's probably all the advice on choosing a computer drive
Bottom view of the reading head of the drive model NEC1100A
We are primarily interested in small trimming resistors installed directly on the head. These resistors regulate the current through the laser diode and, by changing their value, you can change the brightness of the laser radiation within certain limits. In the figure they are circled and designated by numbers 1 and 2.
The location of these regulators is different models drives can vary greatly. For example, this photo shows the optical head of a newer drive:
You need to take a thin screwdriver and slightly increase the brightness of the desired laser. You can find the right regulator experimentally. Let's assume that our drive reads CDs well and reads DVDs very poorly. We take a marker and make marks on the resistors to remember the position of the engine, which was made at the factory when setting up the head. Then, we twist one of the resistors, for example number 1, to its extreme position counterclockwise. We assemble the drive and check the reading of CD and DVD discs. To do this, it is convenient to use the program Nero CD-DVD Speed. If the reading of CDs, which were previously readable well, has sharply deteriorated, it means that we have turned the regulator of the laser responsible for reading this format. We return the resistor slider to its previous position. If the quality of reading CDs has not changed, then we guessed the brightness control of the DVD laser.
After we have found the desired regulator, we turn it approximately 5 - 10 degrees clockwise relative to the position that was set at the factory and which we marked with a marker. We reassemble the drive and check the readability of the DVD disc. If this does not help, we tighten the resistor further, finally achieving best quality reading.
The Bitsetting function allows you to change the bit responsible for the media type (ROM, -R, +R), the so-called Book Type. This bit is located in the Lead-in area of the disk and can take one of three values. But you can change it only if you use DVD+R discs, because for DVD-R it is registered by default. If you want the disc to be guaranteed to be readable on any player, even the most ancient one, you need to set the Book Type to DVD-ROM. It is recommended to set Book Type for two-layer (DVD+R9 DL) discs, because otherwise, they may well not be readable even on the most modern DVD players.
SOSW-833SX Specifications:
Interface – USB 2.0
The maximum recording speed of DVD±R discs is 8x;
The maximum writing speed for DVD±RW discs is 4x;
The maximum recording speed of DVD±R DL discs is 2.4x;
The maximum writing speed of DVD-RAM discs is 5x;
The maximum writing speed for CD-RW discs is 24x;
The maximum writing speed for CD-R discs is 24x;
Buffer volume – 2 MB
Slim form factor
Weight - 362 gr.
DVD recorder DRW-1608P2S with support for recording on dual-layer media:
Lite-On IT releases a drive with LightScribe technology and 8X recording to DVD+R DL.
Characteristics of SHW-16H5S:
The CB-5216A1T supports proprietary ASUS FlextraLink, FlextraSpeed and DDSS II technologies.
FlextraLink technology prevents errors associated with buffer underload and eliminates the possibility of disk damage, and FlextraSpeed is designed to increase accuracy and reliability when reading/writing/rewriting media of different formats. In turn, the DDSS II Dual Dynamic Suspension System is designed to minimize vibration caused by the optical drive spindle motor and resonance between the drive and the computer case by stabilizing vertically and horizontally.
Technical characteristics of ASUS CB-5216A1T:
Hitachi introduced the drive - GSA-4166B supports all formats, including DVD-RAM.
Main characteristics of the device:
Data transfer rate:
Data access time:
Supported formats (media) and recording methods:
Reading discs (formats):
* SL - one layer (single-layer disc), DL - two-layer.
Buffalo begins selling two new DVD drives.
For internal installation, it is equipped with a SATA-ATAPI adapter and supports both standards. Dimensions: 146 x 170 x 42 mm, and product weight 760 g. When connected via serial ATA, the DVSM-X516FBS model is compatible only with Win2K/XP.
The DVSM-X516IU2 external drive has IEEE 1394/USB 2.0 interface connectors. Its dimensions are 160 x 279 x 55 mm, weight 1.8 kg. Full compatibility with Win98 SE/Me/2K/XP and WinXP Media Center Edition 2005 is provided.
Both models are built on the basis of Hitachi DVD super multiple drive GSA-4167B. They provide the following data recording speeds: DVD+R DL 6x, DVD-R DL 4x, DVD±R (1-layer) 16x, DVD-RAM 5x, DVD+RW 8x and DVD-RW 6x. CD-R matrices are written at 48x, and CD-RW at 32x. Reading speeds for DVD are: DVD-ROM 16x, DVD-ROM DL 8x, DVD±R (1-layer) 10x, DVD±R DL 8x, DVD±RW 8x, and for DVD-RAM 5x. CDs are read at 48x for CD-ROM and 40x for CD-RW. The set includes a set of software "Easy Media Creator 7 Basic" and "MyDVD 6".
Cost of internal drive DVSM-X516FBS - US$130
External DVSM-X516IU2 - US$160
Plextor begins sales of external DVD±R/RW drives. This model does not have a retractable “tray” element but uses “slot loading”.
Provided for connection to a computer USB interface 2.0 and IEEE 1394. The recording speed on DVD±R matrices is 16x, DVD+RW 8x, DVD±R DL 6x, and DVD-RW 4x. Regular CD-R discs are written at 48x speed, while CD-RW discs are written at 24x speed. The drive buffer size is 8MB. The device is equipped with an “Intelligent Recording” function that automatically selects the optimal recording speed. The products will be produced in a limited edition of 500 pieces in white cases. Dimensions 167.1x253.5x53mm, weight 1.7 kg.
Another external DVD±R/RW drive.
The design of the device is similar to the PX-716UFL, but the body color is black, and a traditional retractable “tray” is used to accept the disk. There is also a USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394 interface, the recording speed for DVD±R is 16x, DVD+RW 8x, DVD+R DL 8x, DVD-R DL 4x and for DVD-RW 6x. CD-R matrices are written at 48x, and CD-RW at 32x. Buffer size 2MB. Dimensions 167.1 x 253.5 x 53 mm, weight 1.6 kg. All drives are guaranteed compatible with WinMe/2K/XP.
Specification
The drive is capable of working with almost all existing types of DVD media, with the exception of DVD-RAM and DVD-R DL media. Of course, the lack of support for the DVD-R DL format is not yet such a significant disadvantage, but, nevertheless, all modern drives support it.
NU DDW-164 clearly needs improvement; most of the problems are related to the fact that the manufacturer needs to refine the recording strategies for most blanks and rework the list of supported blanks. These problems can usually be solved by new version firmware, so we can only hope that the developers will promptly make the necessary changes, but for now the drive will only suit you if you mainly use “branded” blanks.
Q. Decided to buy DVD-RW?
A. NEC-ND3520 Q. NEC DVD-RW ND-2500A stopped reading and writing DVDs (reads CD-R/RW)?
A.Reading and writing DVD requires more laser power than writing CD. That is, the most likely reason is a decrease in radiation power. First, clean the head. If it doesn’t help, it means the laser emission is reduced, change the drive.
Q. Combo CD-RW/DVD Samsung 352F (OEM), the drive does not see the disc (the problem is not the disc), there is also a problem with a 7.9 GB DVD, the computer is very strained, but cannot read the files. Mother ECS P6S5AT. Percent Celeron 1.0 GHz, Windows XP Home system?
A. To write a DVD, you need to install a disc burning program. As for reading double-layer DVDs: your drive simply does not support them or a firmware update is required (check the drive manufacturer's website). In addition, Samsung optical drives have never been of high quality.
Q. I bought 552 TEAC. Was it worth taking the NEC 1100A instead?
A. Instead of NEC - it was not worth it, the reliability and quality of NEC drives has recently been noticeably higher.
The TT-15S1 features a perfectly flat, milky 28mm thick acrylic base, a belt drive, an aluminum tonearm with an anti-skating system and, of course, no preamps.
Speed 33 x 1/3.45 rpm ±0.2%,
Signal to noise ratio - 80dB,
Frequency response - from 20Hz to 20kHz,
Impedance - 0.66 kOhm,
Power consumption - 5W
The dimensions of the TT-15S1 are typical for its class - w440 mm x t110 mm x d350 mm, weight - 8.9 kg.
Vinyl record player released in limited edition and priced at ~$2400.
Model * records DL media on 8x DVD+R/-R, recording of regular DVD+R/-R discs is done on 16x. The remaining characteristics of the Pioneer DVR-110 are as follows:
Reading:
*Unfortunately, there is no mention of support for Blu-ray media.
Vinyl "blanks" CD-R
17/05/2005 The Russian company MIREX is launching CD-R MAESTRO blanks with VYNIL coating and a design stylized as vinyl records of yesteryear. MAESTRO is available in five versions, differing only in the color of the inner rings on the surface.
The disk capacity is 700MB and the maximum writing speed is 52x. According to the manufacturer, the main advantage of vinyl is double, enhanced protection of the information layer, which is especially important when the disc is frequently used and used in extreme conditions, for example, in high humidity or sudden temperature changes.
Benq introduced the DVD+-R/+-RW burner drive. The model is called DW1640 and will be released with a front panel in black and white. The drive provides recording of dual-layer DVD+R DL discs at 2.4x speed. DVD-R DL support will be implemented via firmware. Other types of discs are written at 8x speed, so an 8.5GB disc is written in 16 minutes; only DVD-RW discs are written at 6x speed.
The new product is equipped with a dual cooling system Dual Cooling System (DCS) including the Air Flow Cooling System (AFCS), which enhances the heat transfer of metal parts due to constant air circulation and the Anti-Dust Cooling System (ADCS). The drive has an ATAPI interface and dimensions 146x178x42 mm.
JVC announced its development in the field optical media by developing dual-layer DVD-RW discs with a capacity of 8.5 GB on one side. By using highly sensitive recording layer materials and a new recording technology called N-Strategy, JVC engineers have significantly improved the rewritable disc manufacturing process and improved the quality of the latter.
The new drive allows you to store up to 8.5 GB of data or up to 11 hours of video on one side of the drive, i.e. the new product has 1.8 times more volume compared to traditional discs - single-sided and single-layer.
In addition, the method of pre-processing materials for recording layers, developed by JVC, will allow manufacturing companies to use existing equipment to produce new discs, if, of course, the proposal to standardize and adapt JVC's new DVD-RW discs receives a response in the DVD Forum, where JVC has submitted a corresponding application.
Unlike conventional dual-layer discs, JVC discs use a new material that improves both the read quality of the disc [from both layers] and improves their ability to erase and write.
In fact, physically, the disk consists of more layers [see Fig. below], but there are exactly two that are recorded - layers L1, L0, which in turn consist of reflective, protective, recordable, protective and the substrate itself.
JVC intends to continue to develop improvements to this technology with a view to future commercialization of this development.
The presence of several ideologically similar formats for reading (writing) information from optical disks has led to the fact that, starting with certain point(since the release of combo drives), first laser heads with two separate diodes (one for CD, the other for DVD) began to appear in drives, and then heads with pairs of crystals packaged in a single diode housing, each of which emitted its own wavelength ( such diodes, for example, are produced by Sony). The goal was quite specific: to replace a scattering of elements with a monolithic block, simplifying and reducing the cost of the design of the laser head, and simultaneously increasing its reliability.
The introduction of laser-recorded optical discs in the blue-violet range has become a real challenge for pick-up head designers. After all, now the reading unit needed to include another diode with its own matrix and its own beam path. In a surge of real enthusiasm, puzzling “three-in-one” designs began to appear one after another: from prisms, diodes and lenses. It's clear. First you need to make a device from what you have, and there were separate diodes and universal heads, and only then simplify this device.
It was the development of a prototype of such a “polished” universal laser head unit that the tandem from Sony and Nichia announced today. Let me remind you that this pair of manufacturers entered into an unlimited cross-border deal in April of this year. license agreement on the joint development of blue-violet laser diodes and pick-up heads based on them, which, however, will each be sold and produced separately. The created prototype will be sent into mass production by the end of 2005. By then, one must assume, his versatility will only increase. Because on this moment new laser unit not entirely universal: it only emits wavelengths of 660 nm and 405 nm. In other words, it only works with DVD and Blu-ray discs. Without CD support, the value of this module drops more than noticeably. However, the real advantage of the reader block is different: its execution is simply amazing in its “laconicism”:
The design principle is clear from the block diagram, and we will not dwell on it. We only note that this prism design is as reliable as possible (all three optical cutting enclosed in a monolithic block) and is easy to assemble. In addition, such a unit will only need one focusing lens, since the source of blue and red radiation is the same diode.
BenQ issued an official press release announcing the release of a "Pro" version of its famous 16-speed DVD±RW drive, which also supports DVD+R DL discs:
Actually, there is only one difference between the DW1620 Pro drive and the DW1620 - the new product writes double-layer DVD+R discs at 4x speed, while its predecessor could only do this at 2.4x speed. That is why the company did not change the drive index, limiting itself to the suffix “Pro”. Also, both drives now come with a proprietary QScan utility, which allows the user to quickly check the quality of the disc and determine the optimal speed and recording parameters
However, if we remember the specifications and price of the expected super-universal drive GSA-4163B from LG, then everything described above becomes not too important. Q.For some time now I have been having problems playing DVDs and CDs. When watching videos or listening to audio with any program, “slips” periodically occur. Those. a movie is playing, for example, and then immediately skips forward a couple of seconds. It's the same with MP3 when played directly from the drive. The frequency of the phenomenon is 5-20 minutes. Everything is readable from the hard drive (SATA interface). It is copied from/to the hard drive, discs are written, discs are copied, and so on, normally and at the same speed. When playing AudioCD, everything is also fine, but I’m not using digital playback, but “analog”, i.e. The sound output does not go through the motherboard via the IDE cable, but through the digital audio output of the drive directly to sound card, where it is decoded, while the drive works like a simple CD player. It turns out that the circle is closed on the IDE interface. The drives hang on the secondary IDE: Plextor PX-712A (Master) and Plextor PlexWriter Premium (Slave). Motherboard ASUS P4C800, RAM PC3200 512 MB Kingston, P4 Presscott 3GHz processor, WinXP Prof SP1 operating system.
A. Either the discs are a little scratched, or while watching a movie or listening to music, the system wants to access some services, so short-term disappearances and jumps occur. The laser head may be dusty (clean it). When reading an Audio CD, spin-up speeds (max - 4x) are not required as when watching movies. Advice - first rewrite movies onto a hard drive (with DVD, of course, it’s more problematic than with CD), otherwise you’ll slowly ruin your DVD/CD-Rom.
In July 1997, the DVD Forum approved the multi-recordable DVD format - DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disc Random Access Memory), which was developed by three Japanese companies: Hitachi, Matsushita and Toshiba. But DVD-RAM has not gained significant popularity in the personal computer market. Perhaps this happened because the two opposing camps, one of which promoted DVD+RW, and the other DVD-RW, were so keen on promoting their own multi-recording formats for DVD media that they simply did not get around to the third format. Although there may be another reason why manufacturers began to turn away from DVD-RAM, namely, DVD-RAM discs were supplied both in cartridges and without, which somewhat complicated the work with discs (cartridges could be collapsible or non-separable) , and dictated the need to produce drives with a tray for cartridges.
The DVD-RAM format became more popular in the corporate sector when DVD-RAM drives were included in robotic data storage libraries. Corporations chose this format because the specifications of DVD-RAM, in terms of the number of maximum possible rewrite cycles, compared favorably with DVD±RW, promising 100 thousand erases and rewrites, which is significantly more than 1 thousand for DVD±RW discs. But even the potential possibility of such a huge number of rewrites, as we see, could not help the DVD-RAM standard gain popularity among ordinary users. After all, perhaps, only non-separable cartridges could guarantee the promised number of rewrite cycles at the expense of cost and ease of storage. What the mass market was not ready to do. In the end, support for DVD-RAM recording in some drives produced today only serves to strengthen the manufacturer's reputation, but not the standard.
However, now, according to some signs, the DVD-RAM format in a “cartridge-free” version is beginning to gain momentum. The most active efforts to return DVD-RAM to the market are being taken by one of its developers - Hitachi. According to the Internet resource Clubic, LG-Hitachi currently produces 2 million laser heads per month, capable of recording DVD-RAM discs, among other formats. And, most importantly, other manufacturers are also going to explore the market of DVD-RAM media and drives! Has reaching the upper limit of the writing speed of DVD±R discs really scared manufacturers so much that they are ready to introduce something new into DVD drives by any means, expanding their functionality, even at the expense of not very popular properties? It’s like with mobile phones, which from “just a call” have turned into a kind of “ swiss knives"from, not even communications, but from entertainment or something. Be that as it may, laser heads for drives compatible with DVD-RAM are going to be produced by Sanyo, which owns from 30% to 40% of the laser head market in general. DVD Super Multi heads , according to Clubic, Sanyo will release by the end of this year or early next year. Super Multi chipsets are supplied to the market by Matsushita, Renesas and MediaTek. If for the first two the DVD-RAM format is “native”, then MediaTek is its “voluntary” supporter, which indicates an increase in interest in DVD-RAM. Taiwanese companies Lite-On and Accesstek are developing their DVD-RAM-compatible drives, preparing for the launch of new products by the second quarter of 2005. But LG Electronics regularly produces such drives. In the spring of 2004, LG announced the Super Multi drive model, which actually supported all formats, including the latest dual-layer (GSA-4120B drive).
Super Multi drive LG GSA-4160B.
Not long ago this model was updated to version GSA-4160B. The update affected only the writing speed of DVD+R discs: it increased from 12x to 16x. All other parameters remained unchanged: recording speed of DVD-R discs – 8x, DVD-RAM – 5x, DVD+RW and DVD-RW – 4x, CD-R – 40x, CD-RW – 24x; CD reading speed – 40x, DVD – 16x.
Q.How to format a DVD?
A.Nero InCD - format your disc there, you will get a UDF format, and then you can work with it like a large floppy disk (most likely, this means not a formatted, but a blank DVD disc). If we are talking about DVD +/-RW , then when erasing in Nero, select “Full erase of a rewritable disc.”
Q.DVD-RW drive NEC ND2510A. It turned out that he does not read the blanks he himself wrote down. But, if you just insert a DVD disc, for example with a movie or game, then everything is OK. It seems to read the images written to the disk - that is, if there is an installer, it will launch it. But, before it gave a cyclic redundancy check error, but now: “Incorrect Function”. How do you think this can be solved?
What I tried:
A.Have you tried writing to normal Verbatim? All the NECs I have seen were characterized by an outright dislike for “left-handed” discs. And the cheapest Noname couldn’t even be read by Pioneer after recording (although household players BBKs somehow played them - albeit not for long: then the recording layer peeled off).
Q. DVD+RW NEC 2510A (new) does not write DVDs
A. DVD+R or DVD-R discs? If you give him the second type, then everything is simple - he doesn’t know how to work with them, but if the first type - go to the warranty. This device is very picky, it writes only those disks that it “knows” are in its firmware The names of the disk manufacturers are hardcoded, and those that he recognizes, he will write, and those that he does not “know,” he will not. And changing the firmware will not fix this - checked!
1. Check if the ASPI driver is installed.
2. Download new firmware from the manufacturer's website.
3. Are the wheels good?
Plextor: PX-740A Dual Layer DVD Drive
Plextor has announced the PX-740A internal dual-layer IDE DVD drive. This is an ordinary, high-quality drive, i.e. without any special functions, like the flagship PX-716A.
The recording time for an 8.5 GB disc on the PX-740A drive is ~15 minutes. In this case, the drive writes a single-layer disc in less than 6 minutes.
PX-740A Drive Specifications:
DVD-ROM drive(DVD-ROM drive (DVD-ROM drive, DVD-R/RW drive) - a computer device designed for reading high-density optical discs (DVD), as well as playing audio, video and CDs. Writer models DVD-RW drives, which by 2006 began to dominate the market, are capable of not only reading, but also writing/rewriting discs of various formats (DVD and CD).
Data is read/written to DVDs in the same way as regular CDs (see CD-ROM drive), but DVD drives use a reduced laser beam (to 0.63-0.65 µm vs 0.78 µm in CD-ROM) of a long wavelength, which makes it possible to distinguish pits of smaller sizes (0.4 μm versus 0.83 μm in CD-ROM), which, together with a decrease in the distance between the turns of the track and other technological features, significantly increases the recording density on the disk. In addition, the use of a narrower laser beam in DVD drives led to a reduction in the protective layer of the disc by half, which made it possible to create double-layer DVD discs (DB, double layer) and double the storage capacity of the media. Modern DVD drives can change the focus of the laser beam, allowing data to be read from layers of a single-sided disc located one below the other. To read/write double-sided discs, drives with two independent laser heads can be used. Modern disk drives are capable of changing the wavelength and radiation power to read/write various CD formats (DVD and CD). Like CD-ROM drives, DVD drives differ in data transfer speed, access speed, buffer capacity, support for certain disc formats (including DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-R/RW) and recording methods, as well as other characteristics.
DVD read/write speeds are designated by a multiplier (x1, x2, etc.) similar to the corresponding CD-ROM speeds, but the speed unit here is not 150 Kb/s, but 1,321 MB/s (video reading speed ). For playing DVD movies, the maximum possible read speed is not important since all movies are played at the same speed, but the speed of the drive may be important when writing/reading data.
Mass production of these drives began at the end of 1996, but their widespread introduction was delayed for more than a year. This was due, in particular, to the fact that the first versions of drives did not allow playing regular CD-ROMs. In addition, mass production of recordings on DVD-ROM had not yet begun and users did not yet have a sufficient number of recordings. However, it was already assumed from the outset that DVD drives and discs should oust the corresponding CD-ROM technology products from the market within a relatively short period of time. The beginning of active production and distribution of drives and disks of this type can be attributed to approximately the second half of 1997. American producers of film products and game programs showed the greatest activity in using the new medium.
At the end of 1997, second generation technology (DVD-2) appeared. Products produced using this technology do not have a number of disadvantages of earlier releases of devices that cannot read CD-R and CD-RW media, which are becoming increasingly popular as their prices decrease. Additionally, these drives are faster than DVD-1 drives. By the beginning of 1998, a significant number of games and films in MPEG-2 format were released on these media.
It would seem like a banal thing: an optical drive (aka CD Rom, Dvd Rom or Blu-ray). All of these are devices of different generations for reading and writing optical laser discs. Laser because reading and writing to them is carried out precisely by a focused laser beam.
In this article we will look at the device DVD Rom, since it is the most common at the moment, but we will also touch on other types of drives. In fact, an optical drive is quite a technological thing. The laser beam must be very precisely and precisely focused on the reflective layer of the disk in order to read the reflected signal at its microscopic depressions.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves! We will move forward gradually.
First, let's look at abbreviations (accepted abbreviations).
Here is a photo of the DVD optical drive:
The button for removing the tray is marked in red.
The (RW) itself will not cause any difficulties. The only thing you need to pay attention to is the connection standard of the device. This can be either the “IDE” (outdated) connection option, or the modern “SATA” connection option.
Let's look at the back panel of the DVD Rom optical drive with an “IDE” connector, which is shown in the photo below:
Let's take a quick look at the numbers:
Now let's look at the back of the SATA DVD Rom drive:
One cannot ignore such a type of optical drive as USB DVD Rom (RW). Such devices, for example, are very helpful in situations where you need to install an operating system on a device that does not have an optical drive. These include all kinds of tablets and netbooks.
In our IT department, we regularly use this USB drive. Here is a photo Windows installation XP on a netbook from Asus.
This, in fact, could be the end of this article, but I would also like to consider the very principle of recording laser discs and their structure. To complete the picture, so to speak :)
The first CDs were recorded like gramophone records: once and forever. They were called CD-R (Recordable). But very soon discs for repeated rewriting appeared - CD-RW (ReWritable). Their manufacturing technology is different. Information is recorded not on a layer of plastic, but on a film made of a special metal alloy, which changes its properties under the influence of laser heating and forms alternating dark and light areas. They can be rewritten up to a thousand times.
Recordable and rewritable discs have a thin recordable layer on the top side of the platter. In write-once discs, it consists of an organic dye that irreversibly changes its properties under the influence of a laser beam. In rewritable ones, instead of this layer, there is a film of a special alloy, which changes its reflectivity depending on heating and cooling (under the influence of the same laser).
Externally, all (standard) laser discs look the same. They are based on a polycarbonate plate, which has a diameter of 120 mm and the thickness of everything 1.2 mm. In its center there is a hole with a diameter of 15 mm. In addition, on the outer surface of the carrier there is an annular protrusion with a height 0.2 mm, allowing the disk, placed on a flat surface, not to touch it, which prevents scratching the surface.
The amazing thing is that a thickness of just over a millimeter can accommodate many reflective layers and various types surfaces. Inside, the carrier is like a layer cake, each layer in which performs a strictly assigned role. Here's a schematic diagram of a standard optical disk.
Information on the disk is recorded in the form of a spiral track. This path consists of pits (pits) pressed into a polycarbonate base. The spaces of a flat surface between the pits are called land.
An optical drive focuses a laser beam onto the surface of the disc. Pits and lands reflect light differently, and the optical sensor records this difference. Measurement results can be converted to their original digital (binary) form. Roughly speaking: the tubercle is a digital unit, and the depression is zero.
This is what the surface of a DVD optical media looks like under an electron microscope.
Here we clearly see these same depressions and tubercles.
To read and write DVD Rom uses a red laser with a wavelength of 650 nm. (nanometers) and track pitch - 0.74 microns. (micrometer). This is more than half the cost of a regular CD. It was the reduction in the laser wavelength (which makes it possible to read finer details of the disk surface) and the size of the “pits” that made it possible, in due time, to fit on DVD disc 4.7 gigabytes of data.
To imagine how miniature things an optical drive (DVD Rom) deals with, we present some digital data. In a DVD disc (compared to a CD), the size of the “pits” has decreased from 0.83 to 0.4 microns, and the width of the spiral track has decreased from 1.6 to 0.74 microns. Hence the increase in recording density.
Moreover, disks can be:
This increases the total volume of one such “sandwich” to 17 gigabytes!
The technology for making two-layer DVD discs comes down to the fact that the first layer is obtained by pressing, and the second, additional translucent, is sprayed on top of it. As the recording is played back, the reading laser moves from one layer to another, automatically changing focus.
The optical drive can also handle double-sided discs. Each of them has a thickness of 0.6 mm (with two layers), then with the help of a reinforcing compound they are glued together, which gives a total of the required thickness - 1.2 mm. It turns out something like a double-sided, two-layer vinyl record that can be turned over.
Here's how everything described above can be depicted schematically:
In conclusion, I would like to say a few words about Blu-ray optical disc technology. Here, a blue-violet laser with a wavelength of 405 nm is used for reading and writing. Conventional DVD Rom and CD Rom (RW) use red and infrared lasers with wavelengths of 650 nm and 780 nm respectively. But this red laser technology was gradually approaching its physical limits, so a new quantum leap forward was required.
Reducing the laser beam width made it possible to narrow the recording track by half compared to a conventional DVD disc, thereby further increasing the data recording density. Since the relief of the information-carrying surface of the disk became even smaller and data at high speed became more difficult to read, the developers had to reduce the thickness of the protective polycarbonate layer by six times (from 0.6 to 0.1 mm). This made it possible to physically bring the information layer closer to the laser itself, increasing the speed and accuracy of the latter.
The operating speeds of Blu-ray optical drives are presented in the table below:
After this, TDK developed a special protective coating called “Durabis”, which made it possible to protect this type of optical media from mechanical damage.
A single-layer Blu-ray can store 25 gigabytes of data, a double-layer Blu-ray can hold 50 GB, and a double-layer double-sided can hold 128 gigabytes. The Japanese company Pioneer demonstrated experimental 16 and 20 layer structures!
As you can see, the topic of DVD Rom and optical drives is not as boring as it might seem at first glance :) Let's hope that the developers will continue to delight us with technical innovations in this area. And with that, let me take my leave for today :)
