DVD Write Tests

Now, one thing to keep in mind here is that unlike their SOHW-1633S, this new drive is capable of writing to both DVD+R and DVD-R media at 16x.  Let's see how well it did.

1. DVD+R Media

The SOHW-1673S uses the faster, smoother CAV method of writing to DVD+R media.  Using Verbatim 16x DVD+R media, we see a fairly clean burn, reaching a maximum write speed of 15.94x with an average write speed of 11.91x.  These results are almost identical in comparison to their SOHW-1633S.  Considering a majority of our readers are not very familiar with how these drives really function, it is important to note that in order to achieve 16x write speeds, you will need to burn a full disc. 

Actual Burn Results

Let's check out how it did in our actual burn tests...

The SOHW-1673S was able to burn a full 4.35GB movie in 6:33 minutes.  This is slightly faster than what we were able to achieve with their previous model on the same test system.  It was a very smooth burn, with the buffer level staying at 98% throughout the whole write process.  Now what I found just slightly irritating though, is that the drive takes about 30 seconds (Lead-In) before it actually begins the writing process. 

Similar to the results of the SOHW-1633S review, we see that it was unable to write to only one brand of media at its rated speed.  This was the cheaper "silver shiny" Ritek DVD+R 8x discs.  While Lite-On does state that the SOHW-1673S can write to a select few CMC 8x discs at 16x, I was only able to achieve 16x writing with quality Verbatim media.  In fact, the lowest write time achieve was with Verbatim branded 16x DVD+R discs that are actually readily available on the market now.  It may be a matter of opinion, but this is not really a bad thing, as Lite-On focuses mainly on the highest level of performance and the media does have to be qualified by them in order to write at these high speeds.  Keep in mind though that thanks to the faster CAV method of writing to this media, it can write a full DVD+R disc faster than both the Pioneer DVR-108 and NEC-3500A. 

2. DVD-R Media

**click to enlarge**

Slowly but surely, we are starting to see 16x rated media in this format readily available.  In addition to some quality media Lite-On provided, I was able to get my hands on some Verbatim 16x DVD-R discs to be able to finally provide some adequate results.  Let's first have a look at the write process in Nero CD-DVD Speed...

The results here were very good, and we do not see the slight hesitation we saw with the Verbatim DVD+R disc tests.  However, the actual write tests with this media was quite a different story.  Let's have a look...

Despite the better results we see in Nero's CD/DVD Speed, actual writing was not as good as with the DVD+R discs.  The burn was simply not as smooth and the buffer level would constantly go up and down throughout the write process.  This resulted in slightly higher write times than those achieved with DVD+R discs.  It took 6:54 minutes to write the same DVD movie to a DVD-R disc.

3. DVD+RW Media

This is truly a next gen drive from Lite-On, offering 8x writing capabilities to DVD+RW discs.  This media is practically impossible to acquire and some media manufacturers are still in the final testing phases before release to the market.  I do have some samples that should be sent to us courtesy of Lite-On, but for now, I can only provide you with results based on media I have on hand.  Let's have a look...

Fortunately, like their previous model, the drive was able to write to all our 4x DVD+RW discs at their rated speed.  Once we do receive the 8x sample discs, we will provide you with more thorough write results. 

4. DVD-RW Media

This new drive is capable of writing to DVD-RW discs at 6x.  However, like the DVD+RW discs, these are practically impossible to find and not on the market yet.  Only select few were sent to drive manufacturers for testing purposes.  Again, until I do receive some 6x samples, I can only provide you with results using the 4x and 2x discs I have on hand.

Believe it or not, most new drives can't even write to a majority of 4x discs at their rated speed with this particular format.  My main focus here was to find out whether or not it was able to write to my Ritek 4x DVD-RW discs at 4x.  Fortunately, like the SOHW-1633s, it was.  The write time to my Ritek 4x DVD-RW discs was 14:27.

5. Write Quality

With DVD media, write quality is determined by the number of PI Errors and PI Failures.  Every disc will report a certain number of PI Errors, however, they should remain below 300 to be considered a quality burn.  PI Failures, on the other hand, are what you should be most concerned with.  Using Nero's Disc Quality Test, they should remain below 25 for good quality.  I ran the tests using both 16x DVD+R and DVD-R media from Verbatim.  The results are shown below...

The write quality of the SOHW-1633s was pretty good.  What was surprising though was that the quality was higher with the Verbatim DVD-R 16x disc.  Considering I stated that actual writing to this media was more unstable than what we saw with DVD+R discs, this was a surprise.  Regardless, the write quality was good to both discs.  PI Failures reported with DVD+R was 8 and our DVD-R disc reported only 3 PI Failures.

Next: DVD+R DL Tests