Hammer Storage MATSHITA DVD-RAM SW-9585 DVD Burner Review


 

 

Review: Hammer Storage MATSHITA DVD-RAM SW-9585
Reviewers: Wesley Novack &
Paul Chilson
Provided by: Hammer Storage
Firmware:
B101
Manufactured: February 2005

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Hammer Storage sent us their latest internal 16x DVD± Double-Layer DVD-RAM Super Multi-Drive, the Matshita (Panasonic) DVD-RAM SW-9585. This drive supports 16x DVD±R writing, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 5x DVD-RAM and 4x DVD+R9 DL writing technology, allowing double layer discs of 8.5Gb to be written. 

Company information:

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Hammer Storage Solutions develops and markets the Hammer® line of disk based solutions for digital video, multimedia, graphics and storage backup applications for the Microsoft Windows platform. HSS, a pioneer in video and audio compatible storage, is well regarded with a large installed base in the entertainment industry. Its current product line includes the Desk Hammer™ and Pocket Hammer™ portable external hard drives.

Drive Features:

Features

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         Reads and writes any format including DVD-RAM
         Fast read and write speed
         Comes with Ulead® Software for burning DVDs, making scheduled backups, editing video and photos, making music CDs and more. Nine titles. $250 value.

Use the DVD-RAM format to:

         Format discs faster than any other format
         Turn your DVD disc into a re-writable hard drive that allows simultaneous playing and recording
         Ensure error-free recording and playback with built-in defect management

Drive specifications:


We listed the specifications of the drive and retail package as found on the side of the Package.

  • Data Capacity
    • 4.7GB/8.5GB (DL+R)
  • Write Speed
    • 5x DVD-RAM
    • 16x DVD±R
    • 4x DVD+R (DL)
    • 8x DVD+RW
    • 6x DVD-RW
    • 40x CD-R
    • 24x CD-RW
  • Read Speed
    • DVD-ROM: Max 16x CAV
    • CD-ROM/R/RW: Max 40x CAV
  • Mounting
    • Horizontal or Vertical
  • Length x Height x Width
    • 146w x 41.3h x 109d mm

You may find further information on the Hammer Storage Website.


What's inside the box?


On this page we will take a look at what the retail bundle includes and take a look at the drive and its technology.

First some shots of the retail packaging.


Front


Back


Top


Bottom

 
 Left Side   


Right Side

Below you will see the contents of the retail box:

         Internal 16x DVD± Double-Layer DVD-RAM Super Multi-Drive
         Software CD
         1 Panasonic 3x DVD-RAM media
         1 Verbatim 16x DVD+R media
         Installation guide
         Ribbon cable
         Audio cable
         Mounting screws

A solid retail bundle with blank media to get you started! It is a rare treat to find a bundle that includes blank media.

Now it's time to take a look at the drive itself:


Front View

The logos located on the loading tray include the DVD Alliance DVD+R logo, a DVD Forum DVD-Multi Recorder logo, and a CD-RW Ultra Speed logo.


Rear View

On the back of the drive there are from the left: digital audio connector; analog audio connector; pins and jumper to set the drive to cable select, slave or master; IDE connector, and a power connector.


Bottom View


Top View

On the top of the drive we see a sticker showing our drive was made in Indonesia in February 2005.

Inside we found the drive is powered by the Panasonic MN103SA6GSJ chipset.

We installed the drive without any problems and we then upgraded to firmware version B101

Here is a screenshot from Nero info tool:

 

From the screenshot above, we notice a 2MB buffer size and the installed firmware version B101, dated 03-29-05. Nero InfoTool indicates that the drive does not support DVD-R DL reading. We tested DVD-R DL reading later in this review and found that it can read this media type without any problems, so this must be a bug in InfoTool. We do miss support for CD+G reading and DVD-R DL writing.

Here is an additional image from Nero Burning ROM:

 

Nero Burning ROM indicates that this drive is equipped with "SmoothLink" buffer underrun protection. Nero also claims overburn support, which we will test on the Advanced Tests page of this review.

Let's continue this review and see how the drive really performs.

On the next page we will take a look at the test machine, the review software, the drive features and the included software…


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