 "Asus DRW-1612BL")
Even as the battle between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD unfolds as to who will emerge as the leading standard, companies such as Asus, Benq, Pioneer and Liteon have kept up a steady stream of plain-jane DVD writer releases that keep improving on existing features and adding minor speed bumps. One such device is the Asus DRW-1612BL Lightscribe drive which is the focus of our review today.
The box-packed Asus DRW-1612BL is quite bare. The included accessories are 4-drive mount screws, a software installation guide, Nero OEM suite and a leather disc carrying case.
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Specification Table
| Name
| Asus DRW-1612BL | |
|---|---|
| Write Speed | |
| DVD-RAM: 12X | |
| DVD-R: 16X, 12X, 8X, 6X, 4X, 2X, 1X | |
| DVD-RW: 6X, 4X, 2X, 1X | |
| DVD+R: 16X, 12X, 8X, 6X, 4X, 2.4X | |
| DVD+RW: 8X, 6X, 4X, 2.4X | |
| DVD+R(DL): 8X,6X, 4X, 2,4X | |
| DVD-R (DL): 8X,6X, 4X, 2X | |
| CD-R: 48X,40X, 32X, 16X, 10X, 4X | |
| CD-RW: 32X,24X, 20X, 16X, 10X, 4X DVD-RAM: 12X | |
| Read Speed | DVD-ROM (Single): 16X max. (CAV) |
| DVD-ROM (Dual): 8X max. (CAV) | |
| CD-ROM: 48X max. (CAV) | |
| DVD-RAM: 12X | |
| DVD+R (DL): 8X | |
| DVD-R(DL): 8X | |
| CD-RW: 40X | |
| Access time | DVD: 140 ms |
| CD: 150 ms | |
| Writing Mode | DVD-R & DVD-R (DL): DAO, Incremental Recording (Multi-Border Recording) |
| DVD-RW: Restricted Overwriting, DAO, Incremental Recording (Multi-Border Recording) | |
| DVD+R & DVD+R (DL): Sequential Recording (Multi-Session Recording) | |
| DVD+RW: Random Recording CD-R/RW: DAO, TAO, SAO, Packet Recording (Multi-Session Recording) | |
| Interface | |
| Enhanced IDE (ATAPI) | |
| Dimensions | 148.5 x 42.6 x 173 mm |
| Weight | 800 Grams |
| Warranty | 1 year |
| Price | Rs. 3,500 |
As you can see from the specification table, the Asus writer comes fully loaded. Not only does it have a full 16x support for DVD-R and DVD+R, it has 8x support for dual-layer DVD writing in both -R and +R formats and in a great move has 12x support for DVD-RAM. It also supports Lightscribe out of the box which is a process where specially made recordable CD and DVD media can be labeled using a LightScribe DVD recorder.
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We tested the drive with a variety of media using Nero 7.5.9.0. The products we used were Moser Baer 16x DVD-RW, Moser Baer 16x DVD+R and Ridata 8x DL DVD+R. For our re-writing tests we used 4x media DVD+RW from Moser Baer. Though the drive supports 8x rewrites for the+RW format, we were unable to obtain media that could be run at that speed. We also ran into a problem with our RAM media tests. We were able to obtain only a couple of Maxell 12X DVD RAM blank discs after a hunt that involved calling up virtually most of the vendors that we are familiar with
Here are the results we got from our tests.
| Name
| Asus DRW-1612BL | |
|---|---|
| Write Speed | Time Taken |
| 16x DVD+R | 6 Mins 02 Seconds |
| 16X DVD-R | 6 Mins 03 Seconds |
| 8x DL DVD+R | 18 Mins 34 Seconds |
| 12X DVD RAM | 16 mins 41 seconds |
| 4x DVD+RW | 14 mins 11 seconds |
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