The Latest DVD Writers' True Speeds

DVD-R Writing Tests

Here's where we got our first big surprise - and disappointment! Though we used media certified at 16x and recognized as such by all the writers, we never attained a speed of 16x. The best time was put in by the Toshiba and the NEC, which took 6 minutes 9 seconds to fill a 4.5 GB DVD.

DVD+R Writing Tests

With the + standard, there were fewer anomalies, and 16x was indeed attained by each drive. The difference between the two best DVD-R and DVD+R scores was 30 seconds, and again the Toshiba was on the top step of the podium.

DVD-RW Writing Tests

Again here, media availability hasn't kept up with writer development - only 4x-compatible DVD-RWs were available. Accordingly, all the units limited their write speeds to 4x. The NEC burned a DVD-RW the fastest, at 14 minutes, 46 seconds.

DVD+RW Writing Tests

The same is true for DVD-RW media, and the result was the same. 8x DVD+RW media were nowhere to be found, so we settled for 4x. Again it was the NEC first, followed by the Toshiba, finishing their burns in 14 minutes 3 seconds and 14 minutes 6 seconds respectively.

DVD+R DL Writing Tests