Does Plextor have it's own utility to check for C1/C2 errors?

If so, does it averages it out like Liteon's KProbe? Thx

Yes they do. It's included in the PlexTools Professional software but it only works with the PlexWriter Premium drive. It gives about the same results as Kprobe but they will not be exactly the same since the error measurements depend on used drive, read speed and software. Here's an image from PlexTools' C1/C2/CU error scan:





The PlexTools Professional software also has more options to measure quality like Jitter/Beta Tests and Focus Error/Tracking Error Tests. More information on these so-called Q-Check functions can be found here. Note that at the moment PlexTools can only be used to scan CDs with. DVDs cannot yet be scanned but hopefully Plextor will implement this possibility soon!

Does the utility averages out the C1/C2 errors like Kprobe? What is the best media and what speed to burn it in to achieve the lowest error rate? thx

Yes, after the test has been completed you see an overview of the average C1/C2/CU error count. It's hard to answer your second question. I think the best CD-R media you can buy is media manufactured by the Taiyo Yuden company. If you want to know more about which media works well you can look through our CD-R/RW Test Media Forum.

Is there any way I can check for C1 errors on my Plextor 708?

Now that I've found out about how to test the quality of burnt CD's, I'm keen to check many of my CD's, particularly some of my older ones. However, I don't have a Plextor Premium or a LiteOn drive.

Thanks

Teresa

The C1/C2/CU error scans can only be performed with the Premium drive unfortunately. PlexTools also cannot scan recordable DVDs (yet?).