DVD Burner Test: Seven Times The Capacity

The Drives

Philips DVDRW228

Philips was the first manufacturer to design a DVD burner that was compatible with the DVD+RW standard - the DVDRW208 , which we had looked at previously. This model could only burn DVD+RWs, not DVD+Rs. Now, the DVDRW228 has put this straight. As for the rest, the specifications could not be more standard. Write speed in +R and +RW mode is 2.4x, i.e. 3300 kB/s.

The burner's design is not so standard. On the front is a large indicator which changes from blue, for play, to red, for write. Two other LEDs show when the burner is in CD or DVD mode.

For CD burning, the DVDRW228 has the usual range of protection mechanisms against write errors. There is the Seamless Link Buffer Underrun Protection, which protects the recording from shortages of information arising from empty buffer memory. Then there is the Thermo-Balanced Writing, which analyzes the quality of the blank support and automatically adjusts write speed and laser strength.

Software Package

The software comes complete with applications for burning, video editing and authoring. The package includes Ahead Nero Burning ROM 5.5, Ahead InCD, PowerDVD, Sonic MyDVD and Pinnacle Studio 7 for video editing. There is also an excellent installation guide that comes in the form of a step-by-step video.