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I will start by saying that the most popular DVD writer reviewed here was
the Samsung SH-S182M. Till this day, it continues to be of high
interest to many. Why? Well, with BenQ out of the optical drive
market, along with the lack of full-featured drives offering some decent
overall performance, many are now turning to the drives from Samsung.
Supporting all types of CD and DVD media, including high speed DVD-RAM and
LightScribe, these low cost drives simply seem to be the best option for
many. With that said, I decided to take a look at their latest drive,
the SH-S183L and also provide a comparison over the SH-S182M wherever
applicable. While basically offering the same features, the 183L
breaks the norm and now features an SATA interface. But does this mean
better performance? Let's have a thorough look at the drive...
Packaging & Contents
**click to enlarge**
These drives are generally available as OEM's but you can occasionally find
them at brick and mortar stores in retail packaging. However, you'll
pay a hefty price for them. You're better off getting one online.
Depending on where you choose to purchase it from, the OEM should still come
with a software CD from Samsung that includes Nero Express and a number of
other Nero applications. The CD also includes the necessary
LightScribe drivers required to take advantage of this feature.
The Drive
|
**click to enlarge** |
**click to enlarge** |
The
drive bezel will be identical to most of the recently released drives from
Samsung. Flip it over, and that's were most will see quite a change.
The SH-S183L is the first LightScribe drive from Samsung to feature an SATA
interface. All you'll find on the back is the SATA power and interface
connectors. There are no jumpers because they are not required in such
a setup. SATA will basically treat the drive as master automatically
and unlike IDE drives, you're connecting one drive to one connector and
therefore they are not treated as a master/slave type setup.
**click to enlarge**
Our
drive shipped with firmware SB01, the first and currently the only release
thus far. Manufactured date on the drive was February 2007.
Specifications
| Model |
SH-S183L |
| |
|
Data Transfer
Rate MAX |
|
Media
Type |
Write |
Read |
|
DVD+R |
18X
(24.3MB/sec) |
12X
(16.2MB/sec) |
|
DVD+RW |
8X
(10.8MB/sec) |
8X
(10.8MB/sec) |
|
DVD+R
DUAL |
8X
(10.8MB/sec) |
8X
(10.8MB/sec) |
|
DVD-R
DUAL |
8X
(10.8MB/sec) |
8X
(10.8MB/sec) |
|
DVD-R |
18X
(24.3MB/sec) |
12X
(16.2MB/sec) |
|
DVD-RW |
6X
(8.1MB/sec) |
8X
(10.8MB/sec) |
|
DVD-ROM (Single) |
- |
16X
(21.6MB/sec) |
|
DVD-ROM (Dual) |
- |
8X
(10.8MB/sec) |
|
CD-ROM |
- |
48X
(7.2MB/sec) |
|
CD-R |
48X
(7.2MB/sec) |
40X
(6.0MB/sec) |
|
US-RW |
32X
(4.8MB/sec) |
40X
(6.0MB/sec) |
|
HS-RW |
10X
(1.5MB/sec) |
40X
(6.0MB/sec) |
|
CD-RW |
4X
(0.6MB/sec) |
40X
(6.0MB/sec) |
|
DVD-RAM |
12X
(16.2MB/sec) |
12X
(16.2MB/sec) |
|
|
| |
|
| Access Time |
CD-ROM 110ms (Random)
/ DVD-ROM 130ms (Random) |
| |
|
| Data transfer mode
|
|
| |
|
| Interface |
Serial-ATA |
| |
|
| Buffer Memory |
2M |
| |
|
| Drive Install Form |
Horizontal /
Vertical |
| |
|
| Size (W * H * L) |
148.2 × 42 × 170mm
(including bezel) |
| |
|
| Disk Format |
|
|
DVD :
DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-Video,
DVD+R (Dual), DVD-R (Dual), LightScribe DVD±R, DVD-RAM FAT32
support (FAT 16 does not support), Multi-Session(Read/Write),
Multi-Border(Read)
CD :
CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, CD-DA, CD+E(G), CD-MIDI, CD-TEXT,
CD-ROM XA, Mixed Mode CD, CD-I, CD-I bridge (Photo-CD,
Video-CD), Multi-Session CD (Photo CD, CD-EXTRA, Portforio),
LightScribe CD±R |
|
|
|
| |
|
| Buffer Protection |
Applied |
| |
|
| Lead Free |
Applied |
| |
|
| Light Scribe |
Applied
|
|
