DVD Burner Roundup Review Author: Alan Wong Date Posted: November 9th, 2003 TDK IndiDVD 440N SLRating: Memorex Dual-X Dual Format DVD Recorder SLRating: LG GSA-4040B Super Multi DVD Writer SLRating: Bottom Line: Prices of DVD Burners are now dropping dramatically making them more affordable than ever before. We reviewed Dual Format DVD Burners from TDK, Memorex and LG. Although the prices for these burners are similar performance varied significantly. Read on to find out which one out performed the others in our official review....... Article Navigation Introduction TDK IndiDVD 440N Memorex Dual-X Dual Format DVD Recorder LG GSA-4040B Super Multi DVD Writer Test Set Up Benchmarking: Nero CD-DVD Speed Benchmarking: DVD±R Burning Benchmarking: DVD±RW and DVD-RAM Burning Conclusions Memorex Dual-X Dual Format DVD Recorder TDK IndiDVD 440N LG GSA-4040B Super Multi DVD Writer Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> Discuss This Article

DVD±R Burning:

The time it took to burn the Valentine 4.2GB image file was quite astonishing. The Memorex came in first with a burning time of 13 minutes 31 seconds. The TDK came in short of 15 seconds of the Memorex and finished burning at 13 minutes 46 seconds. The LG GSA-4040B lagged in last with 14 minutes 8 seconds. The TDK 440N was a little disappointing, since it was the most expensive of the drives and was beaten by the Memorex. The Memorex is king in 4x DVD+R Burning, but let’s see how it fair when burning 4x DVD-R….

Ok, so you’re probably perplexed as to why the chart only has 2 bars instead of 3 and why there is such a big difference between the LG Drive and the Memorex Drive. When testing the TDK 440N, it was not able to burn any DVD-R/RW disc we threw at it (it wouldn’t even accept their own name brand DVD-RW). The LG GSA-4040B’s problem was that it could only burn up to 2x when reading the Memorex 4x DVD-R. We decided to go on with the benchmarking and decided to burn at 2x.

The TDK 440N would be stuck on burning the Lead-In for about 45 minutes and finally arrive to an error message stating that it could not burn. We contacted TDK immediately for technical assistance. They replied saying:

http://www.tdk.com/support/dvdburners/indidvd4xmultisup.html#firmware"

All they said was that I should download the latest firmware. After upgrading from firmware 1.07 to 1.08, results were the same. I even used CloneDVD and Roxio to burn, but the results were the same: the 440N could not burn DVD-R/RW discs. This was another disappointment for the TDK 440N, since it had already been out-burned by the Memorex Dual-X when burning DVD+R at 4x. There might have been an a recent error in manufacturing the TDK Indi Drives, but nonetheless, it is unknown at the time whether or not a future firmware upgrade (or drive revisions) can address the DVD-R/RW burning issue. The 440N’s inability to burn DVD-R/RW discs makes it no better than a single format DVD+R/RW Drive.

As for the LG GSA-4040B, when detecting the speed it could burn the media at, it determined that it could only burn at 2x. We then contacted LG for technical assistance as well, and they replied with the following statement:

They basically implied that the GSA-4040B could only burn 4x DVD-R only with Pioneer or Maxell media. I also upgraded the firmware, but results were also the same: the GSA-4040B cannot burn at 4x speed on 4x Memorex DVD-R discs (and is possibly the same with all brands except Maxell and Pioneer). Whether or not if the issue can be fixed with another firmware is unknown at this time as well. However, this might explain why the price of the GSA-4040B is lower than that of Memorex.

Benchmarking: DVD±RW and DVD-RAM Burning

Article Options    Post/View Comments    Print This Article    E-Mail This Article

Article Navigation Introduction TDK IndiDVD 440N Memorex Dual-X Dual Format DVD Recorder LG GSA-4040B Super Multi DVD Writer Test Set Up Benchmarking: Nero CD-DVD Speed Benchmarking: DVD±R Burning Benchmarking: DVD±RW and DVD-RAM Burning Conclusions

	If you liked this review, you may like... Lite-On LTR-52327S CD-RW & LTC-48161H Combo CD-RW/DVD Review Lite-On LVD 2001 and LVR 1001 Review Lite-On LVD 2001 Review

Hardware Reviews, Articles, News, All Reviews...	Gaming Reviews, Articles, News...
	Regular Sections A Guru's World, CPU/Memory Watch, SLDeals...
SLBoards Forums, Register(Free), Todays Discussions...	Site Info Search, About Us, Advertise...