LaCie d2 DVD±RW DL external drive with Firewire

 

 

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Review: LaCie d2 DVD±RW Double Layer (300757)
Reviewer:
Jan70
Provided by: LaCie Europe (France)
Firmware: 2.04
Manufactured: 2004

 

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LaCie was kind enough to send us their latest DVD-Writer; the LaCie d2 DVD±RW Double Layer (300757). This drive supports the new Dual Layer DVD+R writing technology, allowing dual layer discs of 8.5Gb to be written. The drive we received is production-level and what the end user will see in late June when it starts shipping. Included software is also production-level and the drive has been flashed with the latest firmware allowing DL DVD+R media to be more compatible on both DVD set-top players as well as other DVD drives. The drive is backwards compatible with DVD±RW single layer media. In Addition, LaCie will produce its own branded version of DL media in the future.

 

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Company information:
LaCie is a leading manufacturer of storage peripherals to complement or extend existing personal computers, workstations and servers. LaCie also offers a full range of products dedicated to color professionals, including scanners, monitors and calibration systems. Most of our products are aimed at professionals and businesses, especially multimedia professionals (Digital Content Creators), and sales are channeled through specialized computer distributors.

 

About LaCie
Established in the United States , Europe and Japan , LaCie is the world's leading producer of PC and Macintosh compatible storage peripherals. Through a specialized sales dealer network, LaCie offers innovative solutions for creative professionals in multimedia applications (graphics, audio, video, web design and digital photography). What differentiates LaCie is the design of its products, original creations by designers such as Philippe Starck, Porsche Design GmbH and Neil Poulton.
LaCie is listed on the Paris Nouveau Marché (code 5431).

 

History

1989 Pierre Fournier and Philippe Spruch were still young, respectively 32 and 26 year old, when they founded electronique d2.

They were both firmly convinced that sophisticated IT storage solutions developed around the SCSI standard were about to take off. They also realized that most European companies had failed to approach the problem from an industrial perspective and therefore to offer products at affordable prices.

Developing the international aspect of their business was a crucial part of their venture, with priority being given to Europe, to be followed by extensive world coverage.

From the outset, electronique d2 enjoyed the sort of unimpeded growth and steady rates of return that confirmed the soundness of these strategic options.

1990 The company having rapidly outgrown its original premises, the founders' apartment in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, it moved to new 900 square meter premises in rue Watt, also in Paris.

It was also clear that simply designing casings was no longer sufficient to maintain competitive edge. The time had come for the company to develop its own products. Highly qualified engineers were recruited to form a R&D team.

1991 Establishment of the first subsidiary in London (UK).

Design and development of the first electronique d2 SCSI card for PC environment.



1992 Establishment of the Belgian subsidiary in Brussels. Establishment of the Danish subsidiary in Copenhagen.

Philippe Starck took part in the design of a new line of products. Henceforth ergonomics and aesthetics would play an important part in all LaCie product developments (cooperation with Scottish designer Neil Poulton).

1993 Establishment of the German subsidiary in Dé¼sseldorf.

LaCie launched its first range of products for PCs incorporating the parallel/SCSI interface. Later on, LaCie will launch, as part of this range, the very successful Shark cable.

The company moved to larger premises in Massy (southern suburbs of Paris).

1994 Establishment of the Dutch subsidiary in Rotterdam. Establishment of the Swiss subsidiary in Basel.

Launch of the Shark SCSI/parallel connection system for PCs.

The capital investment company Investors in Industry ("3i") acquired a 10% interest in electronique d2.

By this time electronique d2 was already achieving more than 50% of its turnover on exports.

1995 Establishment of the Spanish subsidiary in Madrid. Establishment of the Italian subsidiary in Milan.

The buyout of LaCie, a subsidiary of Quantum, allows electronique d2 to gain a foothold into the North American market.

The capital investment company Investors in Industry ("3i") acquired a 10% interest in electronique d2.

LaCie was operating on the same market niche as electronique d2, however its range of products was almost restricted to Quantum disks. This special relationship gave the opportunity to electronique d2 to renegotiate its contractual conditions with Quantum, already one of its main suppliers.

1996 Establishment of the Swedish subsidiary in Stockholm. Establishment of the Canadian subsidiary of LaCie in Toronto.

From 1996 electronique d2 has been listed at the "Nouveau Marché" in Paris. In 1996, the company also moved to larger premises in Massy.

1997 Transfer of LaCie US to new premises in Portland .

Electronique d2 buys out NATI, a repair and maintenance company.

1998 Acquisition of the goodwill of the American company APS.

From 1998 the name "LaCie" will replace "electronique d2" as the official trade name of the group. Establishment of a communications department in London to promote the LaCie brand name and products throughout the world. Consolidated turnover broke the FRF 1 billion barrier.

1999 Establishment of the Australian subsidiary.

A new subsidiary, based in Massy, has been created to handle worldwide marketing activities. Introduction of the American ERP software, Glovia.

Disposal of NATI, LaCie's after sales service subsidiary, in October 99.

2000 Establishment of the Australian subsidiary.

Launch of the PocketDrive, a revolutionary 2.5" peripheral disk drive. The PocketDrive has already proven very successful.

2001 Creation of the Japanese subsidiary. All European subsidiaries migrated to the new Glovia ERP. All inventory is centralized in Europe. Launch of the first 18-inch flat panel monitor, as well as new DVD players.

2002 Launch of the Fusion CD-RW and the first DVD rewritable drives. The new d2 casing is a success worldwide. LaCie takes its first steps in the retail channel.

2003 Launch of first 500GB external Hard Drive: LaCie Big Disk. Launch of Design by F.A Porsche line of storage solutions. Launch of first Triple Interface Hard Drives.

2004 Launch of first 1TB external Hard Drive: LaCie Bigger Disk.

 

If you are interested in reading more company information, please visit www.LaCie.com.

 

Drive specifications:


These are the specifications of this drive, found on the LaCie site:

 

Commercial Specifications

 

Item Number

'¢ 300757

Capacity

'¢ 4.7GB / 8.5GB (Double Layer disc required)

Interface

'¢ Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and FireWire

Technology

'¢ DVD+R9 (Double Layer), DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD-R and CD-RW

Digital Audio Extraction

'¢ 40x CAV

DVD speeds (Write, Rewrite, Read)

'¢ DVD+/-R: 8x

'¢ DVD+/-RW: 4x

'¢ DVD+R9 (DL): 2,4x

'¢ DVD-ROM: 12x 

CD speeds (Write, Rewrite, Read)

'¢ CD-R: 32x

'¢ CD-RW: 16x

'¢ CD-ROM: 40x

Writing Methods

'¢ DVD-R: Disc-at-Once, Incremental recording, Multi-border recording

'¢ DVD-RW: Restricted Overwriting

'¢ DVD+R: Incremental recording

'¢ DVD+RW: Random recording

'¢ CD-R/RW: Disc-at-Once, Track-at-Once, Session-at-Once, Packet Writing

Writing Compatibility

'¢ 4.7GB DVD±R / DVD±RW

'¢ 8.54GB DVD+R9 (Double Layer)

'¢ 700MB CD-R / CD-RW

Disc Format

'¢ CD: CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, CD-DA, Photo CD, CD-R, CD-RW, CD-Extra, CD-Text

'¢ DVD: DVD-ROM, DVD+R, DVD-R (General Use only), DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD-Video

High-speed CD-RW Compatibility

'¢ Yes

Buffer

'¢ 2 MB

Access Time

'¢ CD: 130 ms

'¢ DVD: 140 ms

Dimensions (WxHxD)

'¢ 6.3x1.7x10.6 in. / 17.3x4.4x26.8 cm

Minimum System Requirements

'¢ PC: Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP

'¢ Macintosh: Mac OS 9.1 and 10.1.2 or later, Power Mac G4 500 MHz; 64MB RAM

Double Layer recording

'¢ Macintosh: 10.2.3 or later / PC: Windows 2000 or XP

Loading System

'¢ Tray

Box Content

'¢ 6-to-6 pin FireWire cable & USB 2.0 cable

'¢ Power supply

'¢ DVD Utilities CD containing User's manual

'¢ 1 piece DVD-R media

Bundled Software

'¢ Easy CD & DVD Creator 6.2

'¢ Easy Media Creator 7

'¢ DVDMax Player

'¢ Toast Lite 6.0** and 5.2.2 (**Including DVD video authoring (Mac OS 10.2.3 or greater)

 

But let us continue this review and see how it really performs.

 

Test machine:


 

For this review we will be using a computer with the following configuration:

 

Hardware:

         Motherboard: ECS Elitegroup N2U400-A with Nvidia nForce 2 Ultra-400 and nForce MCP Chipset
         Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (Barton) 333 MHz FSB.
         RAM: 1 GB Infineon PC2700 DDR
         GFX: Nvidia FX 5600
         Sound: SoundBlaster Audigy
         Hard disk: Samsung SP1614N 160 GB.

 

System set-up:

 

 

The LaCie d2 DVD±RW Double Layer was connected to the USB 2.0 interface and identified itself as _NEV DVD_RW ND-2510A. Autorun was enabled for all devices.

 

Here is another shot where we connected the LaCie d2 DVD±RW Double Layer drive to the FireWire interface.

 

Software:

 

Windows XP professional is installed on the computer along with Service Pack 1 for windows XP. We will be using the following software in this review:

 

         Ahead InCD v 4.2.9.1

         Ahead Nero Burning ROM version 6.3.1.15

         Ahead Nero CD/DVD Speed v3.01

         Ahead Nero InfoTool v2.21

         Alcohol Soft Alcohol 120% 1.9.2 Build 1705

         Slysoft CloneCD v4.3.2.2

         VSO Blindwrite 5.1.10.136

         DVD-Identifier 3.4

         Exact Audio Copy v0.95 prebeta 5

         K-Probe v2.1.0 & v2.2.2

 

Head on to the next page and find out what's inside the box…


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