AOpen DUW1608/ARR DVD-Writer


 

 

Review: AOpen DUW1608/ARR
Reviewer:
Jan70
Provided by: AOpen Europe (NL) Firmware: A04b & A05a
Manufactured: October 2004

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AOpen Europe (NL) was kind enough to send us their latest DVD-writer the AOpen DUW1608/ARR. This drive supports 16x DVD+R writing, 8x DVD-R and 2.4x DVD+R9 DL writing technology, allowing dual layer discs of 8.5Gb to be written.

Company information:

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Let us take a look at some of the company information found at the AOpen global website..

AOpen continues as the company of choice for PC components and peripherals in the distribution channel. We are an established market leader, from motherboards to monitors, to multimedia add-on cards, and more. We offer the most extensive PC product line in the industry. With AOpen products you are guaranteed the latest in technology development at competitive prices. And because AOpen controls design and manufacturing, from the drawing board to the finished product, the quality of that product is ensured.

AOpen Is Your One-Stop Shop 

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Convenience, product selection, compatibility and marketing support make AOpen your one-stop shopping solution. AOpen's extensive and comprehensive product offerings cover all of your component needs. Each product line represents a family of products. From basic bare systems to state-of-the-art multimedia solutions, AOpen gives you the answers.

Fresh Technology Every Time You Order 

The AOpen's unique "fast food" operation model means that customers always get consistency in quality and efficiency in service, backed by 20 years of PC manufacturing experience in full systems and components among this $10B world leading IT technology group. Modularity and compatibility are of primary concern each time we design and introduce a product. When you choose AOpen products, you not only get components that work effectively together, you get components that can perform just as well independently in any PC system. And because AOpen controls a global network of factories throughout the world in key technology markets, you're assured the freshest technology. With AOpen there's no need to go anywhere else. We are the best choice in the business.

AOpen Fully Supports Your Business Needs 

AOpen's dedication to the distributor channel translates into a comprehensive support program. As an AOpen distributor, you are entitled to competitive pricing, return policies, joint marketing programs, and other sales and marketing support. No matter how you look at it, AOpen backs you all the way.

If you are interested in reading more company information, please visit http://global.aopen.com.tw/


Drive specifications:


These are the specifications of this drive, found on the AOpen global web site:

Interface   

  • E-IDE
  • ATAPI
  • PIO Mode-4
  • UDMA66

 Writing Speed

  • DVD+R DL (Double Layer) : 2.4X
  • DVD+R (Single Layer) : 16X
  • DVD-R : 8X
  • CD-R : 48X
  • DVD+RW : 4X
  • DVD-RW : 4X
  • CD-RW : 32X

Reading Speed   

  • DVD+R (Double Layer) : 8X
  • DVD+R (Single Layer) : 12X
  • DVD-R : 12X
  • DVD-ROM (Double Layer) : 8X
  • DVD-ROM (Single Layer) : 16X
  • CD-R : 48X
  • CD-ROM : 48X
  • CD-RW : 48X
  • DVD-RW : 8X
  • DVD+RW : 8X

Average Access Time

  • DVD : 140ms
  • CD : 120ms

Data Buffer Memory

  • 2MB

Supported Formats

  • CD-DA
  • CD-ROM
  • CD-ROM XA
  • CD-R
  • CD-RW
  • Photo-CD
  • CD Extra
  • CD Text
  • DVD+RW/+R
  • DVD-R/RW
  • DVD-ROM

DVD Writing mode

  • Disc at Once ((DVD-R))
  • Incremental ((DVD-R/+R))
  • Multi-Border ((DVD-R))
  • Random recording ((DVD+RW))
  • Restricted overwrite(DVD-RW)   

CD Writing mode

  • Disc at Once
  • Multi-session
  • Over-Burn
  • Packet Writing
  • Raw Mode Burning
  • Session at Once
  • Track at Once
  • Variable Packet

Disk Size

  • 12CM and 8CM

MTBF

  • 85,000POH

Power Requirement

  • DC5V±5%, DC12V±10%

Mounting Orientation

  • Horizontal / vertical

Weight

  • About : 900g

Dimensions

  • Width : 149mm
  • Height : 42mm
  • Depth : 188.4mm

Temperature

  • Operating : 0°C ~ 45°C
  • Non-operating : -35°C ~ +70°C

Humidity

  • Operating : 20% ~ 80% R.H.
  • Non-operating : 10% ~ 98% R.H.

EMI Requirement

  • EMI Requirement (CE,C-Tick,)

Safety Requirement

  • Safety Requirement (UL,TUV,CB,NEMKO,CAS) 


What's inside the box?


On this page we will take a look at what the drive came shipped with and take a look at the drive and its technology.


Front


Back


Top


Left side


Right Side

Below you will see the contents of the retail box:


  • The internal drive itself
  • 2 Faceplates in silver and black
  • Nero 6 OEM Suite
  • Cyberlink PowerDVD 5 CD with:
    1. PowerProducer 2 Gold Trial
    2. PowerDirector 3 Trial
    3. Power2Go Trial
    4. MusicMatch
  • Audio cable
  • 4 mounting screws   
  • Easy install guide
  • Faceplate Install/Disassembly guide
  • Accessory Checklist
  • Emergency eject tool

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

 

A plain looking bezel with the logos: AOpen, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R9 DL, DVD+R/RW and CD-RW US. Headphone connector and volume knob is missing. The drive uses one coloured led (green) for read and write (we prefer a different led colour though for writing).

The Silver Bezel only got the AOpen logo.

And the same goes for the black one too.

On top of the drive we found two stickers and we can read it was designed in Taiwan, dated October 2004.

On the back of the drive from left to right: 6 undocumented pins, digital audio connector, analogue audio connector, pins and jumper to set the drive to: cable select, slave or master, IDE interface connector and the power connector.

We installed the drive without any problems and here is a screenshot from Nero info tool:

 

From the screenshot of Nero Info Tool above, we miss Mt.Rainier support and a larger buffer size. From the specifications it should be able to read DVD-RAM, but Nero Info Tool says it can't. Our drive came shipped with firmware A04b and was later updated to firmware A05a (see below):

And another shot from Nero Burning ROM:

 

We do not really find anything alarming here, but Mount Rainier and a larger buffer would have been nice.

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

 

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


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