Nu Technologies DDW-081 DVD+R/RW - Articles / Reviews

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Nu Technologies DDW-081 DVD+R/RW

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Karl
Kurtis
Atacom
May. 2, 2004

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Conclusion

One feature I would have loved to see in this release is the Mt. Rainier firmware, which will not be ready until the next firmware update. Here is a description of what this is:

"Mt. Rainier (F/W not ready):
Mt. Rainier, also known as EasyWrite, is a format specified by Microsoft, Sony, Philips and Hewlett-Packard to allow an optical disc to be used exactly like a floppy disk. That is, being able to read from and write to the disc from within any application you use, without the need for special burning software. Mt. Rainier differs from traditional packet writing software in that it performs most of the tasks (such as background formatting and handling defect management) in the hardware of the drive itself, making the system far more robust, and relieving the operating system from these tasks. Mt. Rainier will be a standard part of the forthcoming Microsoft Windows version, called Longhorn. Mt. Rainier capability is available for CD-RW and DVD+RW only. Look for the EasyWrite logo on the front of the drive to determine if it is Mt. Rainier compliant."

The drive performed rather decently, and quietly as well. During the review, the drive was the master to another optical drive. My Samsung 32x12x40x16 CD-rw/DVD optical drive was the slave unit in this configuration. While the Nu DVD+RW performed rather well, the Samsung drive performed erratically, in areas of read and basic CD-R burning operations. I am uncertain of the reason; it is however generally advised to have larger optical drives such as DVD Burners on their own channels. The Nu 8X DVD+RW burner appears to burn CDs just as well so for the time being will not worry much about the erratic behavior of my Samsung CDrw/DVD combo. The DVD read performance did not seem affected on either drive oddly enough.

Look forward to a new firmware update! The new firmware will not only include the Mt.Rainier support, but also provide capability of burning onto some DVD-R and DVD-RW discs.

All in all, the Nu DDW-081 is a decent drive considering the price. When the new firmware is released, turning his drive into a dual-format drive, the price will be even more attractive. If you are looking for a higher speed DVD burner that will not break the bank, and still give you the performance of the slightly more expensive competition, the Nu-Tech DDW-081 fits the bill.

Pros

Good set of bundled software/media for very low price
Nearly perfect playback from media tested
Low noise
Can burn some 4X certified media at 8X
Good performance for a low priced drive

Cons

Mt. Rainier support not yet available
Single-Mode Drive (dual with beta firmware)

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Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: Bundled Software
Page 3: Testing
Page 4: Conclusion

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