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There has been plenty of media hype lately on
Dual or Double Layer DVD writers. This new technology has consumers
quite excited while leaving the film industry with something to worry about.
We will see quite a few companies releasing these drives throughout this year.
One of the first companies, however, will be Lite-On Corporation. Known
for their high performance, highly affordable optical storage drives, they
have gained quite a bit of respect among a majority of consumers. Today,
we are pleased to bring you an exclusive review of their upcoming Double Layer drive, the
SOHW-832S. What should you expect from these first generation drives?
Let's find out!
Packaging & Contents
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**click to enlarge** |
**click to enlarge** |
Our review sample did come in its retail
packaging. They did generously provide two DVD+R9 DL discs manufactured
by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation. Also included, is an OEM version of the popular Nero Burning ROM
software, the excellent PowerDVD playback software, a DVD+R 8X disc, DVD-R 4X
disc, internal audio cable and installation instructions.
The Drive
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**click to enlarge** |
**click to enlarge** |
The model we received has a white bezel.
It is unclear as to whether or not they will provide a black model as well. The front of the drive features a volume control,
headphone jack and one status LED.
**click to enlarge**
One thing that did strike me when taking it out
of the box was the overall size of the drive. It is significantly
shorter than any CD/DVD burner I've seen on the market. It is almost a
perfect square in shape and to demonstrate, I put it next to an Optorite
DD0203 DVD writer. This is a good thing as it will take up less space in
your case and won't protrude out of the drive cage as much.
**click to enlarge**
The drive's label had a manufacture date of May
2004 and is probably one of the first retail batches to be sent out to
distributors and retailers nationwide.
Specifications
| DVD Family : |
Write |
DVD+R |
8x ( 10800 KB/sec
) maximum by Z-CLV |
| |
|
DVD-R |
8x ( 10800 KB/sec
) maximum by Z-CLV |
| |
|
DVD+R9 |
2.4x ( 3240
KB/sec ) maximum by CLV |
| |
ReWrite |
DVD+RW |
4x ( 5400 KB/sec
) by CLV |
| |
|
DVD-RW |
4x ( 5400 KB/sec
) by CLV |
| |
Read |
12x
( 16200 KB/sec ) maximum by CAV |
| |
Access time |
160
ms |
| CD Family : |
Write |
CD-R |
40x ( 6000 KB/sec
) maximum by P-CAV |
| |
ReWrite |
CD-RW |
24x ( 3600 KB/sec
) maximum by Z-CLV in UltraSpeed disc |
| |
Read |
40x
( 6000 KB/sec ) maximum by CAV |
| |
Access time |
160
ms |
| Buffer Size : |
2 MB |
| PC Required : |
Pentium III 450 MHz or faster CPU and 128 MB or higher RAM are required |
| |
650
MB HDD available capacity; and 5 GB free space for creating a DVD image
file |
| Compatibility : |
Windows 98 / NT 4.0 / ME / 2000 / XP |
| MTBF ( Life ) : |
70,000 Hours |
| S/N Ration : |
> 75
dB |
| Environment : |
Operating |
5C to
45C; Relative Humidity : 15% to 80% |
| |
Non-Operating |
-40C
to 60C; Relative Humidity : 15% to 95% |
| Dimension : |
145.0
( W ) x 41.3 ( H ) x 170.0 ( D ) mm |
| Weight : |
< 0.9
Kg |
| Voltage
Requirements : |
+5V
+/-5% and less than 100 mVp-p ripple voltage |
| |
+12V
+/-5% and less than 200 mVp-p ripple voltage |
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