Let’s now check the DVD-RW format?

 
Burn quality of the DVD-RW discs at 2x

The burn session was completed without problems. The quality of the resulting disc is high: the average PI error rate is about 8, which is especially good since we deal with a rewritable medium. Despite the high density of PI failure block, the average PI failure rate is about 2, again confirming the high quality of the disc.

 
Beta/Jitter (left) and TA Test - Outer (right)

The Beta graph is nearly horizontal, with minor deflections. The Jitter rate is roughly the same on the entire disc, too. The TA Test results agree as to the high quality of the disc: the Jitter value is small and Peak Shift is zero altogether. The drive maintains the required lengths of pits and lands almost ideally.

 
Burn quality of the DVD-RW discs at 4x

It’s not surprising anymore to see a Z-CLV algorithm at 4x burn speed. Otherwise, the drive performs writing well enough, producing a disc with a very low rate of PI errors and failures.

 
Beta/Jitter (left) and TA Test - Outer (right)

The Beta graph isn’t ideal, but good. Note also that the drive is reducing the laser power during the burn session, contrary to what we have seen with DVD+RW. The Jitter rate remains roughly the same throughout the entire disc. The TA Test results show a higher Jitter and a minor deflection of the average pit/land length from the etalon than at 2x speed. Yet overall the quality of the disc is high.

So, talking about rewritable DVD media, the ASUS SDRW-0804P-D again shows a predisposition to one of the competing formats. This time, however, it is the “minus” format. As for +RW, my main complaints are about the outermost tracks where there are considerable surges of errors. It is possible the manufacturer will correct this defect in firmware updates. But taking the results as a whole, I must say the drive processes rewritable DVD discs very well.