CD Burning:

Although it may seem outdated, CD burning is still the most popular way to share digital information. So, it is important to test out this aspect of a DVD burner, even though it mat not be the sole reason you would buy one.

CD-Recordable:

In testing the CD write speeds of the Lite-On SOHW-1673S I decided to do something different. Instead of testing only the maximum write speeds, I will test both the maximum and the minimum write speeds, as well as the second fastest write speed, in this case: 40x.

Note: Click images to see burn quality results.

700MB data CD-R @ 8x (minimum speed) in 10mins 44secs

TDK media (MBI dye)

700MB data CD-R @ 40x in 2mins 51secs

TDK media (MBI dye)

700MB data CD-R @ 48x (maximum speed) in 2mins 39secs

TDK media (MBI dye)

There was a bit of a drop in speed on the 40x write, but it was marginal.

CD-ReWriteable:

I did the same thing with CD-RW testing as I did with the CD-R's, except I could only test the maximum and minimum speeds due the media limitations.

700MB data CD-RW @ 16x (minimum speed) in 5mins 20secs

Memorex media (InfoDisc dye)- low quality

700MB data CD-RW @ 24x (maximum speed) in 4mins 3secs

Memorex media (InfoDisc dye)- low quality

Once again, there was a bit of a dip in write speed, but this time with a sharp increase to the maximum ReWrite speed, sustaining top speed until completion.

Summarized CD Burn Results:

DVD Burning >>