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DVD Read Tests
As in all our our DVD reads tests, we will be
testing both single layer and dual layer DVD's. For the dual layer tests, we
will look at both PTP and OTP disks. For those who are unfamiliar with these
methods, I will briefly try to describe them without getting too technical
before we begin.
Dual layer discs are more than 4.38GB in size. There are two ways in which
they write these discs. One is PTP, which stands for parallel track path, and
the other is OTP which stands for opposite track path. In PTP discs, both
layers read from the inside of the disc to the outside while OTP discs read
from the inside to out and then back in for the inner layer. This allows the
drive to read both layers almost continuously, with only a short pause to
refocus the pickup lens. This is particularly useful for movies, where long
play time without interruption is required.
1. CD-DVD Speed - Single Layer DVD
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Test Results |
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Transfer Speed
Average:
12.13x
Start:
6.76x
End:
16.21x |
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Seek
Times
Random:
113ms
1/3: 125ms
Full:
201ms |
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CPU
Usage
1X: 6%
2X: 10%
4X: 20%
8X: 95% |
Lite-On drives are the fastest drives on the
market when it comes to reading single layer DVD-Video discs. Unlike a
majority, they do not have a rip lock in firmware and can easily hit 16x read
transfer rates as we see in the results above. Highly impressive performance
here with single layer discs.
2. CD-DVD Speed - Dual Layer PTP DVD
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Test Results |
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Transfer Speed
Average:
5.66x
Start:
3.45x
End: 6.99x |
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Seek
Times
Random:
114ms
1/3: 125ms
Full:
193ms |
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CPU
Usage
1X: 5%
2X: 9%
4X: 19%
8X: N/A |
This drive handles dual layer DVD-Video
discs quite good as well. With PTP discs, its maximum read rate was just
under 8x. Seek times and CPU usage was pretty good as well.
3. CD-DVD Speed - Dual Layer OTP DVD
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Test Results |
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Transfer Speed
Average:
6.21x
Start:
3.43x
End: 8.18x |
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Seek
Times
Random:
124ms
1/3: 157ms
Full:
231ms |
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CPU
Usage
1X: 5%
2X: 9%
4X: n/a
8X: n/a |
Read rates of 8x were easily hit using OTP discs,
although the seek times were higher than those seen with PTP discs.
Overall, the DVD read performance of the
SOHW-1673S was almost identical in comparison to the
SOHW-1633S we looked at
previously.
4. CD-DVD Speed - DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW
Final tests I like to do are to measure the
maximum transfer rates of recordable DVD media. The table below show the
results.
Maximum transfer rates seem to max out at about
8x with all recordable formats. The re-writable discs actually showed
the highest transfer rates. While these are not the worst I've seen, I
would like to see a bit higher performance and/or improvements.
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