In House Review - Lite-On LDW-811S 8x DVD±RW

by **Ian** on Mon Jan 19, 2004 11:57 am

To kick off the week, CDRLabs has taken a look at Lite-On's new 8x DVD±RW, the LDW-811S. While affordably priced, this new drive features some of the fastest reading and writing speeds available. The LDW-811S is capable of 8x DVD+R, 4x DVD-R/DVD+R and 2x DVD-RW writing speeds and can read DVD's at speeds as high as 12x. Of course, Lite-On hasn't stopped there. The LDW-811S also boasts 40x CD reading and writing speeds, as well as support for their SMART-BURN and SMART-X technologies.

In this review we'll take a look at some of the features found on the LDW-811S and see how it compares to some of the DVD±RW drives from the competition. Can the LDW-811S deliver the level of performance Lite-On is known for? Is it the best bang for your buck? You'll have to read the review to find out.

[url=http://www.cdrlabs.com/reviews/index.php?reviewid=214]

Lite-On LDW-811S 8x DVD±RW[/url]

If you have any comments or questions about this review or the Lite-On LDW-811S, please post them in the forum by clicking the link below.

by **ruderacer** on Mon Jan 19, 2004 12:56 pm

Perhaps a stupid question, what is the difference in the 811 to the 851? Is it just a different chip? The reason I ask is that i'm looking at an external 851 for about 219 and was wondering if there are any advantages to one or the other.

by **dodecahedron** on Mon Jan 19, 2004 1:19 pm

Sonic DLA writes to write-once media???

by **dodecahedron** on Mon Jan 19, 2004 1:44 pm

in the review you wrote:

DVD Write Speeds: 8x, 6x, 4x, 2.4x (DVD+R)

can you catually choose to burn at 6x ?

by **MonteLDS** on Mon Jan 19, 2004 3:57 pm

one funny thing that i see in the review is that you give lows that are not always the same as other drives lows.

eg. the plextor dirve says a low is that it doesn't read DVD-RAM yet you didn't say that in your Lite-On review

also THANK YOU IAN for all this hard work, I know this is time consuming. And you most likely have a life, a wife, and a job. But i certainly sure do enjoy your hard work! thanks again

by **rdgrimes** on Mon Jan 19, 2004 4:18 pm

can you catually choose to burn at 6x ?

Yup

by **burninfool** on Mon Jan 19, 2004 4:22 pm

Good review Ian.

by **dodecahedron** on Mon Jan 19, 2004 5:59 pm

rdgrimes wrote:
can you catually choose to burn at 6x ?

Yup

interesting.
is there any other DVD burner that has this feature?

by **Ian** on Mon Jan 19, 2004 7:30 pm

dodecahedron wrote:Sonic DLA writes to write-once media???

Yes. It depends upon the version. The stripped down version that comes with Sony's drives doesn't, but other versions can.

MonteLDS.. variety? I dunno. I think I was just looking for something negative to say about the Plex.

ruderacer.. there were some production changes. The two drives use the same chipset, the PCB's are different. I've also heard that they might use different PUH's as well.

by **MediumRare** on Mon Jan 19, 2004 7:31 pm

Nice review, Ian.
One typo creeped in though- the drive goes to 6x at 0.1 GiB (not 16x- that'd be great

).

Also, the norm allows 4 PO errors per ECC block- these are correctible. The PO-Failure count should be 0.

It's disconcerting to see CMC performing better than MC or TY

. On the MCC DVD, the error rate seems to be higher at 6x than at 4x or 8x. Seems like some more work is needed on the burning strategy there.

I have a couple of questions:
- is the high CPU utilization while reading DVDs real? There were some cases where CDSpeed showed unrealistic values when checked against the system monitor.
- is your "dirty damaged disk" improving with time? The scores seem to be getting better- maybe it's not as dirty anymore?

G

by **Ian** on Mon Jan 19, 2004 7:37 pm

Also, the norm allows 4 PO errors per ECC block- these are correctible. The PO-Failure count should be 0.

>> 4? OK

It's disconcerting to see CMC performing better than MC or TY

. On the MCC DVD, the error rate seems to be higher at 6x than at 4x or 8x. Seems like some more work is needed on the burning strategy there.

>>I need to do more testing with this batch of MCC discs. I got similar results with the OptoRite DD0401.

- is the high CPU utilization while reading DVDs real? There were some cases where CDSpeed showed unrealistic values when checked against the system monitor.

>>No, I don't think its really that high. CD Speed's CPU testing isn't perfect. If I get a chance, I'll run a few tests with DVD Tach.

is your "dirty damaged disk" improving with time? The scores seem to be getting better- maybe it's not as dirty anymore?

>>No, its more scratched than dirty. I think some drives are getting better at reading them.

by **dodecahedron** on Mon Jan 19, 2004 7:37 pm

MediumRare wrote:Nice review, Ian.
One typo creeped in though- the drive goes to 6x at 0.1 GiB (not 16x- that'd be great ).

doh...missed that one

by **aviationwiz** on Mon Jan 19, 2004 7:49 pm

Ian wrote:MonteLDS.. variety? I dunno. I think I was just looking for something negative to say about the Plex.

Ahem...

Looking for something negative to say about it. It's not much of a negative if you have to search and think about it, a negative should pop out instantly (like only a 2MB buffer, etc.)

by **Ian** on Mon Jan 19, 2004 7:57 pm

Or its tendency to slow down when writing at 8x? Anyway, this isn't the place to discuss the 708A.

Going back to the PO errors... MediumRare, if you're saying that 4 PO errors per ECC block is the norm, a score of less than 32 in KProbe (8 ECC) is okay?

by **Bhairav** on Tue Jan 20, 2004 12:55 am

Nice review,Ian.Any idea if and when Lite-On will be adding Mt.Rainier support to the 811S?

by **Ian** on Tue Jan 20, 2004 12:59 am

bhairavp wrote:Nice review,Ian.Any idea if and when Lite-On will be adding Mt.Rainier support to the 811S?

No idea. I'm still trying them to confirm whether or not they will add 8x DVD-R to the drive. The people I've talked to don't seem to realize that some of their OEM customers have said that this is going to happen.

by **MediumRare** on Tue Jan 20, 2004 2:47 am

Ian wrote:Going back to the PO errors... MediumRare, if you're saying that 4 PO errors per ECC block is the norm, a score of less than 32 in KProbe (8 ECC) is okay?

Sort of. You have to expect cases where 32 PO Sum 8 does include single blocks with PO >4. You can't just multiply the the single block value with 8 (although 1 "reputable" German magazine did just that with PI). Ideally, you should scan it with 1 ECC for the PO count. At CDFreaks, they're using a PO Sum 8 value of 32 as a compromise that's feasible.

G

by **ruderacer** on Tue Jan 20, 2004 4:52 am

Ian, you stated that the new 851 may have new or different PCB's and PUH's. How different are the PCB's and what advantages do they have? I do not know exactly what a PUH is. Do these differences make it difficult for fw upgrades to overclock the drives, ie 411 to 811?

by **Noua** on Tue Jan 20, 2004 10:02 am

Those "minus" write speeds sure seems short to me... 4x and 2x to -r and -rw?

Lite On must quickley review this cause with OEM manufacturers or resselers (what ever you want to call them) supporting 8x and 4x this would be a big blow if they dont correct it...

by **Ian** on Tue Jan 20, 2004 10:11 am

ruderacer wrote:Ian, you stated that the new 851 may have new or different PCB's and PUH's. How different are the PCB's and what advantages do they have? I do not know exactly what a PUH is. Do these differences make it difficult for fw upgrades to overclock the drives, ie 411 to 811?

I don't have an 851, so I can't compare the PCB's. A PUH is a pick up head. As far as overclocking goes.. you won't be able to go from an 411S to an 851S. However, som people have overclocked their 411S to an 811S. Don't ask how though.

MediumRare, I think I'm going to do the same as CD-Freaks. Scanning the discs at 1 ECC and 8 ECC takes up too much time. I'll stick with 8 ECC.

by **pranav81** on Tue Jan 20, 2004 10:26 am

Nice review Ian.

::Pranav::

by **pranav81** on Tue Jan 20, 2004 10:30 am

Dear Ian,
Hi.Why do you use CloneCD 4.2.0.2?I have seen you using the same for other reviews too.I am sure you know that CloneCD 4.3.1.9 is out.So why use older version?Or do you like Elby's last version? :lol:

::Pranav::

by **Ian** on Tue Jan 20, 2004 12:09 pm

I don't feel like paying for the upgrade and that version works fine for EFM tests.

by **pranav81** on Tue Jan 20, 2004 2:55 pm

Dear Ian,
Thanks for the clarification.I was wondering over it for a long time,but asked it today.
Have a nice day...

::Pranav::

by **nealh** on Tue Jan 20, 2004 11:21 pm

Ian...how long does it take you to burn 4400mg on a dvd+r at 8x with the 811s..did you test this...

I burned a 4400mg dvd video and it took 8:54 with Nero 6.3.0.2 with HSOK but with HSOP I get 8:39

In House Review - Lite-On LDW-811S 8x DVD±RW

In House Review - Lite-On LDW-811S 8x DVD±RW

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