Double-Layer DVD: Philips, LaCie, Asus and LG

The Test Candidates In Detail

Asus DRW-0804P: Classic 8x Burner

The DRW0804P is the current model from Asus of Taiwan. Since achieving the 16x write speed in CD burners, drives are mostly protected against interruptions in the source data stream, as this would cancel the write operation and ensure the CD is only fit for the garbage. With DVD burners, such techniques are par for the course. Asus calls its Flextra Link.

To ensure high quality for written DVDs, the 0804P always adapts the write speed to the quality of the blank. In our test, this was even the case with DVD+R 8x blanks from Verbatim, which is why the write process didn't take ten but almost 16 minutes. Without the corresponding measuring devices, this "gain" is difficult to appreciate and hence we could not rate this feature practicably. The burner is designed to write both media standards at 8x speed and the rewriteable models at 4x.

The challenges in this test were to read a music CD as fast as possible and to directly copy the source disc at 16x CD speed (without creating a swap file). None of these disciplines presented the Asus drive with problems. Included in the package are the OEM version of Nero Burning ROM 6.3, a manual and the requisite connecting cables.