X-bit labs

Two DVD±RW Dual Layer Burners Reviewed: Pioneer DVR-110D and Toshiba SD-R5472 (page 16)

Category: Storage

by Andrey Kuznetcov

[ 10/17/2005 | 01:15 PM ]

Conclusion

It’s now time to sum up the results of the tests and come to some conclusions. I will try to put down the pros and cons of each drive and compare them against each other. And I should say right away that the Toshiba SD-R5472 wins this comparison. It offers more useful functions and these functions are also better implemented. I mean the hardware C2 error correction in the first place. The Toshiba is also preferable as a device to making accurate copies of Audio CDs with and it was just faster on the discs I tested. The burn quality provided by the Toshiba SD-R5472 is overall high (except for DVD-R and the rewritable formats) This drive also seems to be better in terms of compatibility with discs recorded in other optical drives and in processing damaged, scratched media.

The Pioneer DVR-110D, on its part, produces high-quality DVD-R discs (probably because this format is native for the company) and works better with rewritable media.

Considering that the Toshiba SD-R5472 is cheaper than the Pioneer ($47 against $59), I think the Toshiba model is preferable of these two optical drives. There’s no difference between these devices in design, and you can select the color of the front panel to your taste.

As a final remark I want to say that I only base my conclusion on the results of my tests, with the current firmware versions. A firmware update may improve the behavior of a drive and its performance will be quite different.