The Elusive 5%

[neumannu47]

[qanda]This thread is about the Lite-On SHW-1635S. Click here to see full specs[/qanda]This Lite-On player SHW-1635S has been a great performer, failing me very few times. After going through tons of disks and ultimately deciding that using cheap disks was stupid, I settled on TYG02 (which are supposed to be Premium Line TY 8X DVD-R), I still cannot get a Quality Test better than 95%:

DISCINFO VERSION : 1.6.1.6
VENDOR : LITE-ON
MODEL : DVDRW SHW-1635S
REVISION : YS0Z
VENDOR SPECIFIC : 2006/05/19 10:18

Which one of the following statements, if any, is the most correct?

• A Quality Score of 95% is what is expected of these disks.
  
• The burner is performing well at 95%.
  
• The 95% number is not accurate.
  
• The Lite-On drive does not like these disks.
  
• The computer-Lite-On-TY combination is not going to achieve better than 95%.
  
• You have the find the optimum read and write speeds for Quality Tests.
  
• None of the above. The problem is....
  

Like some others here, I am concerned over the quality of some of my archived disks since I did not run a Quality Test on each one of them. The TY disks have been great although not perfect. There have been a few that have failed the Scan Test for surface errors.

Thanks for the help!

General Information
Drive: LITE-ON DVDRW SHW-1635S
Firmware: YS0Z
Disc: DVD-R (TYG02)
Selected speed: 8 X
PI errors
Maximum: 15
Average: 2.03
Total: 31381
PI failures
Maximum: 3
Average: 0.01
Total: 1831
PO failures: n/a
Jitter: n/a
Scanning Statistics
Elapsed time: 8:51
Number of samples: 101880
Average scanning interval: 1.22 ECC
Glitches removed: 0

[packetloss]

[ul]
the ‘quality score’ is actually not really that important, the scan itself, or to be more precise, the interpretation of the scan is.[/ul]

For example, certain LiteOn drives tend to ‘misinterpret’ the relinking done by NEC and Pioneer drives as very high PIF spikes. So you get low quality score in CD-DVD Speed, but the quality of the disc may actually be very good.

There are a lot more factors than the quality score that have to be considered, e.g. total number of PIFs, jitter, average PIE etc. pp. And a quality scan alone is never enough to determine the burn quality, or rather compatibility of the disc either. TRTs, compatibility tests with DVD players etc. are just as important.

[DrageMester]

[quote=neumannu47;2129355] … I settled on TYG02 (which are supposed to be Premium Line TY 8X DVD-R), I still cannot get a Quality Test better than 95%:[/quote] “Quality Score” with Nero CD-DVD Speed in a LiteOn drive is based entirely on maximum PIF. If no PIF are detected (almost impossible) the QS is 100%, if maximum PIF is 1 the QS is 98% and if the maximum PIF is 2 the QS is 95% and so on.

[quote=neumannu47;2129355]Which one of the following statements, if any, is the most correct?

[ul]
[li]A Quality Score of 95% is what is expected of these disks.[/li][li]The burner is performing well at 95%.[/li][li]The 95% number is not accurate.[/li][li]The Lite-On drive does not like these disks.[/li][li]The computer-Lite-On-TY combination is not going to achieve better than 95%.[/li][li]You have the find the optimum read and write speeds for Quality Tests.[/li][li]None of the above. The problem is…[/li][/ul][/quote] These would be correct:

• A Quality Score of 95% is what is expected of these disks.
• The burner is performing well at 95%
• The 95% number is not accurate. (Since all quality scanning is the subjective opinion of the scanning drive)
• The computer-Lite-On-TY combination is most probably not going to achieve better than 95%.

I’ve had a couple of 98% scans (out of all my scans ever) and never a 100% scan.

There has been posted one, maybe two, 100% scans on CDFreaks [B]ever[/B].

[DrageMester]

[quote=packetloss;2129363]For example, certain LiteOn drives tend to ‘misinterpret’ the relinking done by NEC and Pioneer drives as very high PIF spikes. So you get low quality score in CD-DVD Speed, but the quality of the disc may actually be very good.[/quote] I would have to disagree with that statement, but I consider that discusion off-topic in this thread, so I won’t go into detail here.

[aegisofrime]

[QUOTE=DrageMester;2129368]“Quality Score” with Nero CD-DVD Speed in a LiteOn drive is based entirely on maximum PIF. If no PIF are detected (almost impossible) the QS is 100%, if maximum PIF is 1 the QS is 98% and if the maximum PIF is 2 the QS is 95% and so on.

These would be correct:

• A Quality Score of 95% is what is expected of these disks.
• The burner is performing well at 95%
• The 95% number is not accurate. (Since all quality scanning is the subjective opinion of the scanning drive)
• The computer-Lite-On-TY combination is most probably not going to achieve better than 95%.

I’ve had a couple of 98% scans (out of all my scans ever) and never a 100% scan.

There has been posted one, maybe two, 100% scans on CDFreaks [B]ever[/B].[/QUOTE]

Would be interesting to know how those 100% scan discs are treated. Like a firstborn maybe? A single speck of dust or a scratch and there goes maybe one of the 100 100% discs in the world.

[packetloss]

I would have to disagree with that statement, but I consider that discusion off-topic in this thread, so I won’t go into detail here.

I guess it’s the word “misinterpret”, which I put in quotes on purpose btw., that you have a problem with (“the drive only reports what it sees yadda yadda” ). This excellent burn by jamescooley1 is a good illustration of what I was talking about (-> quality score of only 84 in the LiteOn drive).

[neumannu47]

Thanks, all, for the information. As a matter of good practices, after I burn a DVD using this setup that I want to verify the quality of the burn and the disk, what tool (other than Nero CD Speed) would you recommend? Is there a utility that does a comprehensive test to inspire confidence in the burn?

[jamescooley1]

95% with a LiteOn scan is very good I think, you need to consider the jitter, PIE and TRT test also. Thanks Packet Loss.

[evo69]

On another note, if I (or you) could get this drive (Liteon SHW-1635S02C) now, is it still worth getting? I do have an H62N, S203N, and a EW164B - is it a worthwhile addition to my “list”?

[DrageMester]

[quote=evo69;2145773]On another note, if I (or you) could get this drive (Liteon SHW-1635S02C) now, is it still worth getting?[/quote] If you’re enough of a freak, any drive is worth getting.

In my experience, the LiteOn SHW-1635S is a strong reader but not among the better burners.
I don’t currently use my 1635S as a burner.

[evo69]

[QUOTE=DrageMester;2145776]If you’re enough of a freak, any drive is worth getting.

In my experience, the LiteOn SHW-1635S is a strong reader but not among the better burners.
I don’t currently use my 1635S as a burner.[/QUOTE]

Well I’m a conservative freak (if there ever was one!). Maybe I’d better wait for the new iHAS/iHAP4xx series before adding more drives to my list…