LG BH12LS38 Super Multi Blue 12x Blu-ray Disc ReWriter

Model: LG BH12LS38 Super Multi Blue 12x Blu-ray Disc ReWriter
Manufacturer: LG Electronics
Provided By: LG Electronics USA

LG Electronics has been a leader in the industry for more than 50 years. Since the introduction of their first radio in 1959, the company has grown to become one of the world's top electronics manufacturers, offering everything from large home appliances to tiny mobile phones. LG is no stranger to the optical storage industry either. Working closely with companies like Hitachi, they've lead the way in this area, developing and manufacturing a wide range of products, including the industry's first "Super-Multi" drives.

Like most drive manufacturers, LG has begun to focus on the growing Blu-ray Disc market. The company currently offers a wide range of Blu-ray products, including a series of drives for the portable and desktop computer markets. This fall, LG quietly introduced a new 12x Blu-ray Disc rewriter, the BH12LS38. Featuring some of the fastest BD reading and writing speeds available, this Super Multi Blue drive is capable of 12x BD-R, 12x BD-R DL and 2x BD-RE writing speeds and a maximum BD-ROM read speed of 10x. The BH12LS38 is also backwards compatible with all major CD and DVD formats and offers features like a 4MB buffer, support for HP's LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling system and CyberLink's Blu-ray Disc Suite, which includes software capable of playing back Blu-ray movies in 3D.

With features and specs like this, it's hard not to be impressed by LG's new Super Multi Blue drive. However, as you all know by now, we're not ones to take things at face value. In this review, we'll take an in-depth look at the BH12LS38's features and then see how it compares to the 12x Blu-ray Disc writers from Plextor, Sony and Lite-On. Does LG's new Super Multi Blue drive have what it takes? Is it the fastest Blu-ray Disc writer around? Keep reading as we find out.

What's in the box?:

• LG BH12LS38 Super Multi Blue Blu-ray Disc ReWriter
• Super Multi Blue Install Disc
• Owner's Manual
• Verbatim 6x BD-R Disc
• SATA Cable
• SATA Power Cable
• Mounting Screws
• Warranty Information

Physical Features:

The drive LG sent us for this review was manufactured in July of 2011 and had firmware version 1.00. At the time of this review, this is the only official firmware available for the BH12LS38.

From the front, the BH12LS38 looks very similar to LG's 10x Blu-ray Disc rewriter, the WH10LS30. While there are a few slight differences, the two drives share the same basic design including the glossy black plastic and silver highlights. The BH12LS38 also has its share of logos. Along with the large "Super Multi Blue" and "LG" logos, you can see one showing support for the Blu-ray Disc format.

Below the silver strip you can see the BH12LS38's single LED. Off by default, this LED lights up a bright blue whenever the drive is reading or writing.

The rear of the BH12LS38 is pretty straightforward. By looking at the picture above you can see the drive's SATA interface and power connector.

Technical Specs:

The specs below have been taken from LG's website and the manual that came with the drive.

LightScribe:

The BH12LS38 is the latest Super Multi Blue drive from LG to feature LightScribe technology. Developed by HP, LightScribe lets you burn durable, silk screen quality labels directly onto your CD's and DVD's using the same drive that burned the data. According to HP, it's as simple as burning the data, flipping the disc, and then burning the label.

Of course you can't do this with just any drive, media or software. While LightScribe capable drives use the same laser when burning both the data and label, they have to be able to accurately control the laser's focus and position as well as the spindle speed. They also must be able to recognize LightScribe media. These special discs have a thin dye coating on the label side that absorbs laser light. This triggers a chemical reaction that produces a color change, allowing the user to print text, artwork or graphics.

Even if you have a LightScribe capable drive and media, you will need software that supports it. Most major software companies have pledged support for the technology. However, at the time of this review, the list of compatible software is still relatively short. For the BH12LS38, LG turned to CyberLink. Using the bundled LabelPrint software you can create and burn LightScribe disc labels.

Once you've created your LightScribe label, you're ready to print it. Before you can do this though, you will need to choose the contrast. Keep in mind this option not only changes the level of detail, it also affects the amount of time it takes to print the label. The higher the quality, the longer the process will take.

How long does it take to print a label? For testing purposes, we printed a disc using Verbatim's LightScribe v1.2 CD-R media, with the quality set to "best". The results are shown below.

Verbatim 52x CD-R v1.2 - 23 minutes

More Features:

By looking at the picture below, you can see that LG's new Super Multi Blue drive is identified as an "HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH12LS38."

The Nero screenshot also shows that the BH12LS38 has a maximum CD writing speed of 48x and a 4096KB buffer. This buffer is also backed up by some form of buffer underrun protection. According to Nero, the BH12LS38 can write CD-Text and overburn. When testing the drive's capacity I found that the drive was able to overburn up to 95:10 with CompUSA's 99 minute CD-R media. 

Using Alex Noe's Weak Sector Utility we were able to determine that the BH12LS38 is a "two sheep" burner. This means that LG's new drive is capable of backing up titles protected by SafeDisc 2, including version 2.51.

Here is a screen shot from Erik Deppe's Opti Drive Control. Among other things, this program queries the drive to see what its reading and writing capabilities are. Opti Drive Control had no problems detecting the BH12LS38's reading and writing speeds and supported disc types.

Opti Drive Control also shows that the BH12LS38 is an RPC-2 DVD drive. This means that the drive's region is stored in the firmware. The region can be changed five times and after that it cannot be changed anymore. Unfortunately, a patched RPC-1 firmware is not yet available for this drive.

While InfoTool gives us a quick glance at the BH12LS38's features, DVDINFOpro provides a little more information on some of the drive's reading and writing capabilities. By looking at the screenshot above you can see that LG's new drive can read and write to most BD and DVD formats.

LG's new drive also supports a feature called "bitsetting." Using programs like Nero or CD Speed, you can set the book type of both DVD+R and DVD+R DL media to "DVD-ROM". For whatever reason though, the drive does not let you set the book type of DVD+RW discs. 

For the BH12LS38's software bundle, LG has turned to CyberLink. The CD that comes with the drive contains the CyberLink Blu-ray Disc Suite which includes PowerProducer, Power2Go, PowerBackup, LabelPrint, MediaShow and PowerDVD.

CyberLink PowerProducer 5 - With CyberLink's PowerProducer you can create your own movie discs quickly and easily. Right from the start, this wizard based software gives you a number of options to select from. From here you can choose to produce a new movie disc, edit an existing one or record video directly to DVD or BD.

PowerProducer lets you create a number of different movie discs. Looking at the menu below, you can choose to create a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray Disc. The software also supports various disc capacities and formats including DVD-VR, DVD+VR and BDAV.

While you can capture your own video, PowerProducer gives you the ability to import video files in a number of different formats. Once added to your production, you can use the built-in editor to trim, merge or split your video clips. PowerProducer also allows you to set chapters within the video content and add your own custom menus, backgrounds, fonts and titles.

CyberLink Power2Go 6 - Power2Go is the main disc burning program included with the BH12LS38. With this software, users can create various types of CD's, DVD's and BD's or make backups of existing discs. Power2Go also offers enhanced security features, allowing you to password protect and encrypt the names of files on your discs.

CyberLink PowerBackup 2.5 - If you're looking for a quick and easy way to backup your data, PowerBackup is the answer. Depending on your needs, PowerBackup can do full, differential, and incremental backups as well as fast stream-to-disc archiving.

Backup jobs can be scheduled to run at regular intervals so the data is always protected. PowerBackup also offers more advanced features like file filtering, compression and password protection.

CyberLink LabelPrint 2.5 - The BH12LS38 also comes with CyberLink's disc labeling software. With LabelPrint, you can design and print labels, covers and inlays in four easy steps. Just select your template type, disc information, text layout, background image and print destination. LabelPrint also supports LightScribe technology, allowing you to burn images and text onto the top of your discs.

CyberLink MediaShow 5 - With MediaShow, you can manage, enhance and share your photos and videos. The software features drag-and-drop functionality as well as automatic sorting, built-in search and face recognition technology. MediaShow can also be used to fix and enhance your photos and videos and create a slideshow which can be burned to DVD, turned into a screensaver or uploaded to Facebook, YouTube and Flickr.

CyberLink PowerDVD 9 - CyberLink's PowerDVD is one of the more popular software DVD players on the market right now. Along with support for DVD's, it can be used to play back Blu-ray Discs and other high-def formats including H.264, HD MPEG-2, and WMV-HD. PowerDVD 9 also supports Blu-ray 3D playback and with its support for BD-Live, you can access additional content via the Internet.

While affordably priced, LG's new Super Multi Blue drive delivers a good number of features. Along with support for all major CD and DVD formats, the BH12LS38 offers some of the fastest BD reading and writing speeds available. The drive is capable of 12x BD-R, 12x BD-R DL, 6x BD-R LTH and 2x BD-RE writing speeds and a maximum BD read speed of 10x. The BH12LS38 also includes features like a 4MB buffer, support for LightScribe and a great software bundle from CyberLink. With all this, it's easy to see why the LG BH12LS38 gets a solid 9 out of 10 for its features.

Along with smaller cable size, one of the biggest benefits of Serial ATA is its ease of installation. Because it uses a point to point connection, setting jumpers has become a thing of the past. In most cases, installation is as simple as plugging in the SATA and power cables and turning the computer on. Needless to say, it took only a couple of minutes to install LG's Super Multi Blue drive in our test computer. After making sure that the BH12LS38 was recognized by Windows, I was ready to start installing the software.

Software Installation:

As I mentioned earlier, the BH12LS38 comes with a CD full of software from CyberLink. If you have autorun enabled, the menu pictured below will automatically come up when you insert the disc.

As you can see, this menu is pretty straight forward. To start the setup process, simply click on the "Install Now" button. After selecting your preferred language and entering your customer information, you'll be presented with a list of components to choose from.

From here you can choose to install the BD Advisor, LabelPrint, MediaShow, LG Burning Tool (Power2Go), PowerBackup, PowerDVD, PowerProducer, YouCam or LG's firmware update utility. To complete the installation, select the components you want and click next a few more times. Once the files are copied over, you can start burning your own discs.

The Documentation:

Most of the BH12LS38's documentation is located in the "Owner's Manual." Similar to the ones included with LG's other drives, this manual covers a number of topics. It starts out by going over the system requirements and the functions of the various buttons and connectors located on the front and back of the BH12LS38. While the diagrams are small, they are clearly labeled and easy to understand. You will also want to pay special attention to the system requirements, especially if you plan to play Blu-ray movies protected by AACS.

From here, the manual jumps into the physical installation of the drive. The instructions cover all the basics including how to install the BH12LS38 into an empty drive bay and hook up the cables. The manual continues on by going over the basic operation of the drive. It explains how to insert and eject a disc and how to get one out of the drive in case of an emergency. Last but not least, it finishes up with a short troubleshooting section and a page full of specifications for the BH12LS38.

Like LG's previous Super Multi Blue drive, the BH12LS38 was very easy to install. I had no problems getting the drive or the software installed and working. If you do run into trouble, the documentation LG has provided is more than sufficient. With this in mind, the BH12LS38 scores a 9 out of 10 for the installation portion of this review. 

While CPU, memory, OS and other variables don't often make a huge difference, there are some nonetheless. We have a computer that is used only for testing hardware. We do this so all tests can be compared reliably.

Test System:

For Blu-ray Disc writers, the performance tests are normally broken down into six sections: CD read, CD write, DVD read, DVD write, BD read and BD write. Each benchmark test has been run three times. The score given is an average of the three.

CD Read Tests: For the read performance section of the CD-ROM benchmarks, CD WinBench 99 v3.0 and CD Speed v4.7.7.16 are used to test read speeds, access times and CPU usage. For DAE testing, CD Speed is used to give an overall speed rating.

CD Write Tests: To test the write speeds, Nero Burning Rom is used to write 650MB and 700MB to our test media. Times are recorded. To test rewrite scores, Nero is used again to time how long it takes to write 400MB of random files and directories. Then CyberLink's InstantBurn is used to test packet writing speeds. The same files are copied and pasted in Windows Explorer and timed.

DVD Read Tests: For the read performance section of the DVD benchmarks CD Speed v4.7.7.16 is used to test read speeds, access times, and CPU usage.

DVD Write Tests: To test the DVD write speeds, Nero Burning Rom is used to write a 4.38GB image to our test media. Times are recorded. Then CyberLink's InstantBurn is used to test packet writing speeds. For this, 4GB of random files and directories are copied and pasted in Windows Explorer and timed.

BD Read Tests: For the read performance section of the BD benchmarks, CD Speed v4.7.7.16 is used to test read speeds, access times, and CPU usage.

BD Write Tests: To test the BD write speeds, CD Speed's "Create Data Disc" feature is used to burn an entire BD-R/RE disc. Times are recorded.

CD Winbench 99 Scores:

The CD Winbench test is as close as we can get to testing every day usage. It fires off eight different applications using scripts. This tries to mimic the activities of a person loading these programs onto their own computer.

LG's new Blu-ray Disc writer gave us some mixed performance in our CD Winbench tests. While the BH12LS38's overall score wasn't as high as some of the other drives, it had a low access time and some fairly good transfer rates. It started reading at 17.6x (2640 / 150) on the inside and reached a maximum speed of 43x (6450 / 150) on the outside of the disc.

CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - Pressed CD:

For this test I used a pressed CD containing one Mode 1 data track. The disc is 74:38 in size and is full of data and directories.

 

	LG BH12LS38	Plextor PX-LB950UE	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	35.04x 20.92x 47.68x	35.86x 20.94x 47.42x	35.89x 20.81x 47.49x	35.86x 20.84x 47.43x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	131ms 146ms 213ms	116ms 135ms 202ms	115ms 128ms 197ms	118ms 132ms 211ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	0% 1% 2% 3%	2% 1% 3% 6%	2% 1% 3% 6%	1% 1% 3% 5%

The BH12LS38 didn't perform as well as I had expected when reading pressed CD's. While rated at 48x, LG's new Blu-ray Disc writer came up a little short of this number in our tests. On a more positive note, the BH12LS38's access times were quite good. 

CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - CD-R Media:

For this test I made a copy of our pressed test CD. I used 12x rated Memorex Gold 74 minute media for the tests.

 

	LG BH12LS38	Plextor PX-LB950UE	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	36.08x 21.14x 47.62x	36.64x 21.02x 48.57x	36.67x 20.94x 48.63x	36.63x 20.99x 48.57x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	135ms 149ms 213ms	121ms 132ms 200ms	121ms 136ms 198ms	121ms 137ms 196ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	0% 1% 2% 3%	3% 2% 3% 6%	2% 2% 3% 6%	2% 2% 3% 6%

The BH12LS38 was a little faster when reading CD-R media. Unfortunately, even with this slight speed boost, it still wasn't able to reach 48x in our tests.

LG's new Blu-ray Disc writer had no problems recognizing our 99 minute CompUSA media. The BH12LS38 read our test disc from start to finish, reaching a maximum transfer speed of 49.74x.

 

CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - CD-RW Media:

For this test I made a copy of a pressed test CD. I used some PNY 80 minute CD-RW media for the tests. 

 

	LG BH12LS38	Plextor PX-LB950UE	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	30.68x 17.86x 40.51x	29.99x 17.39x 39.60x	30.01x 17.46x 39.65x	29.98x 17.45x 39.60x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	130ms 145ms 205ms	120ms 135ms 223ms	121ms 137ms 214ms	121ms 136ms 198ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	0% 1% 2% 3%	1% 2% 3% 6%	1% 2% 3% 6%	1% 2% 3% 6%

While the BH12LS38 is rated at 48x when reading pressed and CD-R media, its CD-RW read speeds are limited to only 40x. As you can see, the drive had no problems reaching this speed in our tests.

CD Speed v4.7.7.7 (DAE) - Pressed CD:

For this test I used Pure Funk. The CD is almost exactly 74 minutes. This helps to squeeze the maximum performance out of the CD.

Exact Audio Copy can tell us a lot about a drive's capabilities. You can see from the screen shot that the LG BH12LS38 supports accurate stream, caches audio data and has the ability to retrieve C2 error information from audio CD's.     

 

CD Speed	LG BH12LS38	Plextor PX-LB950UE	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112
Average: Start: End: DAE Quality: Accurate Stream:	30.86x 18.28x 40.78x 10 Yes	36.23x 24.92x 47.84x 10 Yes	36.21x 21.69x 47.84x 10 Yes	36.21x 21.74x 47.84x 10 Yes

The BH12LS38 did fairly well in our DAE tests. While not as fast as the other drives, it was able to rip pressed audio CD's at at respectable 40.78x.

CD Speed v4.7.7.16 (DAE) - CD-R Media:

For this test I used a copy of the Pure Funk CD. It's burned onto the same Memorex Gold 74 minute media I used in the CD Speed tests.

 

CD Speed	LG BH12LS38	Plextor PX-LB950UE	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112
Average: Start: End: DAE Quality: Accurate Stream:	30.26x 18.07x 39.90x 10 Yes	35.90x 24.89x 47.30x 10 Yes	35.87x 21.59x 47.31x 10 Yes	35.87x 21.47x 47.31x 10 Yes

The BH12LS38 was a little slower when extracting audio from CD-R media. While the drive still performed relatively well, it reached a maximum DAE speed of only 39.90x. So how did it do in CD Speed's advanced DAE tests? Take a look below.

LG's new Blu-ray Disc writer completed CD Speed's advanced DAE tests with an average score of 28.65x. The drive did not create any errors, but for whatever reason, it was not able to pass all of the on-the-fly copying tests. If you look at the advanced features, you can see that the BH12LS38 was able to read the CD-Text, subchannel data and lead in but failed to read the lead out section of the CD.

CD Write and ReWrite Tests - Nero Burning Rom 9.4.26.0 and InstantBurn 5:

For this test I randomly generated 650MB and 700MB of files and directories to test the time it takes the drive to write and close a CD. All of the files are between 1MB and 25MB in size and no more than 10 directories deep. 

The BH12LS38 has a maximum CD writing speed of 48x. To reach this speed, it uses CAV, or Constant Angular Velocity. With Taiyo Yuden's 52x media, the drive started writing at about 21.62x and accelerated, reaching a maximum speed of 48.78x at the end of the session. This gave LG's new drive an average writing speed of about 36.68x.

To test the drive's writing times, I wrote our test data to some Taiyo Yuden media rated at 52x. The results are below.

LG's new drive did very well in our CD writing tests. Thanks to its 48x CD writing speed, the BH12LS38 was able to write an entire 701MB CD in 2:40.

To test the drive's writing quality I used Nero CD Speed. This utility can be used to test the number of C1 and C2 errors as well as the jitter level on a disc. For these tests I used a BenQ DW1640 and read the discs at 32x. 

Maxell 52x (Ritek)

MBI 52x

Taiyo Yuden 52x

The BH12LS38 writing quality was very good. Looking at the screenshots above, you can see that the discs burned by the drive had a low number of C1 errors. More importantly, there were no C2 errors at all. 

For the rewriting tests I created 400MB of files on the hard drive and wrote them in DAO mode using Nero. To test the packet writing speeds I copied and pasted the same files off the hard drive onto a CD-RW disc using InstantBurn from CyberLink. Verbatim's 24x Ultra Speed CD-RW media was used for these tests.

While the BH12LS38 uses CAV when writing to CD-R discs, it uses Z-CLV, or Zone CLV, when rewriting at 24x. The drive starts rewriting at about 16x and then jumps to its maximum speed at the 9 minute mark.

LG's new drive did very well in our rewriting tests. Thanks to its 24x rewriting speed, the BH12LS38 took 2:28 to write 400MB with Nero and 2:27 to do the same with InstantBurn

The BH12LS38 also erases at 24x. At this speed, it took the drive 15 seconds to do a quick erase and 3:53 to fully erase the disc.

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - DVD-ROM:

For this test I used a single layer, single sided data DVD-ROM disc that is 4.37GB in size.

 

	LG BH12LS38	Plextor PX-LB950UE	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	12.31x 6.83x 16.48x	12.12x 6.70x 16.20x	12.11x 6.74x 16.19x	12.11x 6.74x 16.19x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	112ms 126ms 204ms	113ms 128ms 195ms	118ms 131ms 212ms	114ms 130ms 199ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	4% 6% 12% n/a	5% 10% 17% 30%	44% 38% 25% 38%	5% 10% 16% 29%

The BH12LS38 was fairly quick when reading single layer DVD-ROM's. In our tests it started reading at 6.83x and reached a maximum transfer speed of 16.48x. Looking at the other scores, you can see that the drive's access times were also quite good.

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - DVD-R and DVD-RW:

First, we'll look at the drive's DVD-R and DVD-RW reading performance. For this I made copies of our DVD-ROM test disk using some general use 16x DVD-R and 6x DVD-RW media from Verbatim and then ran our usual DVD read tests with CD Speed. For the DVD-RAM tests, media from Maxell was used. The results are below.

Verbatim DVD-R
 

	LG BH12LS38	Plextor PX-LB950UE	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	12.33x 6.84x 16.48x	12.06x 6.69x 16.11x	12.05x 6.72x 16.11x	12.05x 6.73x 16.11x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	117ms 129ms 193ms	121ms 133ms 235ms	119ms 132ms 221ms	119ms 131ms 224ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	4% 7% 12% 60%	6% 11% 18% 31%	6% 11% 17% 29%	6% 11% 17% 29%

Verbatim DVD-RW
 

	LG BH12LS38	Plextor PX-LB950UE	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	9.27x 5.14x 12.41x	9.17x 5.07x 12.26x	9.17x 5.10x 12.26x	9.17x 5.08x 12.26x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	112ms 131ms 189ms	119ms 135ms 231ms	125ms 146ms 228ms	118ms 148ms 225ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	4% 7% 12% n/a	6% 11% 18% 31%	6% 11% 18% 31%	5% 11% 16% 30%

Verbatim DVD-R DL

	LG BH12LS38	Plextor PX-LB950UE	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	9.29x 5.18x 12.39x	9.07x 5.06x 12.09x	9.07x 5.05x 12.08x	9.07x 5.06x 12.08x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	130ms 144ms 226ms	124ms 142ms 241ms	124ms 136ms 244ms	137ms 136ms 247ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x:	3% 13% 61%	5% 9% 15%	5% 10% 15%	5% 9% 18%

The BH12LS38 had no problems reading DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media. In our tests, the drive read DVD-R discs at 16x, and both DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media at a respectable 12x.

Maxell 12x DVD-RAM
 

	LG BH12LS38	Plextor PX-LB950UE	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	10.04x 6.13x 12.32x	10.27x 4.67x 12.40x	10.27x 6.01x 12.05x	10.27x 5.98x 12.40x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	159ms 163ms 215ms	151ms 156ms 23ms	136ms 158ms 213ms	116ms 133ms 190ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	5% 8% 13% n/a	6% 9% 15% 26%	4% 9% 15% 28%	4% 8% 13% 25%

The BH12LS38 has a maximum transfer speed of 12x when reading DVD-RAM discs. By looking at the screenshot you can see that it starts reading at 4.97x and quickly accelerates, reaching 12x at the 2.9GB mark. 

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - DVD+R and DVD+RW:

Next we'll look at the drive's DVD+R and DVD+RW reading performance. For this I made a copy of our DVD-ROM test disk using some 16x DVD+R and 8x DVD+RW media from Verbatim. I then ran our usual DVD read tests with CD Speed. The results are below.

Verbatim DVD+R
 

	LG BH12LS38	Plextor PX-LB950UE	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	12.34x 6.83x 16.49x	12.06x 6.69x 16.12x	12.06x 6.72x 16.12x	12.06x 6.71x 16.12x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	117ms 125ms 193ms	119ms 129ms 215ms	120ms 130ms 222ms	120ms 125ms 227ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	4% 6% 12% 61%	8% 11% 17% 32%	8% 11% 17% 30%	7% 11% 16% 29%

Verbatim DVD+RW

	LG BH12LS38	Plextor PX-LB950UE	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	9.30x 5.17x 12.43x	9.17x 5.11x 12.24x	9.19x 5.12x 12.28x	9.19x 5.11x 12.28x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	111ms 130ms 208ms	118ms 126ms 233ms	117ms 128ms 233ms	114ms 130ms 219ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	4% 7% 12% 59%	6% 11% 18% 30%	6% 11% 17% 30%	5% 11% 16% 29%

Verbatim DVD+R DL
 

The BH12LS38's performance was very similar to what we saw with DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media. The drive read DVD+R discs at 16x and both DVD+RW and DVD+R DL media at 12x.

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - DVD-Video:

For these tests I am using the US version of Transformers: The Movie on DVD. The disc is over 4GB and single sided.

 

	LG BH12LS38	Plextor PX-LB950UE	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	9.13x 5.06x 12.21x	11.99x 6.65x 16.04x	11.99x 6.66x 16.04x	11.99x 6.67x 16.03x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	125ms 140ms 212ms	114ms 132ms 211ms	119ms 132ms 222ms	115ms 134ms 212ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	4% 6% 12% n/a	5% 10% 17% 30%	44% 41% 31% 37%	5% 10% 16% 28%

The BH12LS38 didn't do nearly as well as the other drives when reading DVD videos. In our tests, it reached a maximum speed of 12x when reading single layer discs. 

To see how well LG's new drive worked as a DVD player, I watched a few scenes from Transformers: The Movie and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace using the bundled version of PowerDVD. The BH12LS38 had no problems playing back either movie and was fairly quiet.

DVD Write and ReWrite Tests - Nero Burning Rom 9.4.26.0 and InstantBurn 5:

To test the DVD writing performance of LG's new drive I used Verbatim 16x DVD+R, 16x DVD-R, 6x DVD-RW and 8x DVD+RW media. To get the writing times, a 4.38GB image was burned to our test discs using Nero.

When writing to DVD+R and DVD-R media at 16x, the BH12LS38 uses CAV. By looking at the screenshots above, you can see that LG's new drive starts writing at about 6.8x and accelerates, reaching its maximum speed at the end of the disc.

The BH12LS38 also features 8x DVD+RW and 6x DVD-RW writing speeds. While the drive uses CLV when writing to DVD-RW media, it uses Z-CLV to reach its maximum DVD+RW writing speed.

The BH12LS38 performed fairly well in our DVD writing tests. While not nearly as fast as some of the 24x DVD writers we've looked at, it turned in some respectable times with both DVD±R and DVD±RW media.

To check the media compatibility of the BH12LS38, I ran a few tests using some of the media available in my area.  The media types, along with the average time it took the drive to write our 4.38GB image, are listed below.

So what about writing quality? Testing a drive's DVD writing quality isn't easy. Until now, there were very few options, unless you wanted to shell out thousands of dollars for a certified test machine. Thanks to KProbe, we can test a disc's PI (Parity Inner) and PIF (Parity Inner Fail) rates. For these tests I used a Lite-On SOHW-1673S and read the discs at 4x with the PI and PIF ECC sums set to 8 and 1 respectively. For comparison, I also tested the discs on a BenQ DW1640. When combined with Nero CD Speed, the DW1640 is able to report PI Errors, PI Failures, Parity Outer Failures and even jitter levels. For this test, the discs are read at 8x with both the PI and PIF ECC sums set to 8.

So what are "good" results supposed to look like? With KProbe, the PI errors should not exceed 280 and the number of PIF errors should stay below 4. When testing with CD Speed, the number of PI errors should stay below 280 as well. However, because it scans with an ECC sum of 8, a higher number of PIF errors is acceptable, as long as they do not exceed 32. Since POF errors are uncorrectable, we really don't want to see any of them at all.

I also put these discs through a "stress test" by reading them back at 16x with the DW1640. By reading these discs back at this speed, we can see if there are any readability issues caused by the number of errors or high levels of jitter. 

The BH12LS38's writing quality was pretty good with most of the DVD+R media we tested. Aside from a few small spikes, the PI/PIF rates stayed within acceptable limits.

Lastly, here are some results from our DVD-R test media. While the writing quality varied from one manufacturer to another, the results were fairly good for the most part.

To test the BH12LS38's packet writing performance I used Drag-to-Disc 9.0. Verbatim 8x DVD+RW, Verbatim 6x DVD-RW and Maxell 12x DVD-RAM media were used once again.

The BH12LS38 performed fairly well in our packet writing tests. While not as fast as the other drives when writing to DVD-RAM discs, it turned in some respectable times with DVD+RW and DVD-RW media.

Double Layer DVD Write Tests - Nero Burning Rom 9.4.26.0:

To test the double layer DVD writing performance of the BH12LS38, I used DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media from Verbatim and RiDATA. I created about 8GB of random files and directories on my hard drive and then burned them to our test discs with Nero.

The BH12LS38 performed relatively well when writing to DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media. Thanks to its 8x writing speed, the drive took 16:16 to write 8001MB of data to DVD+R DL media and 16:49 to do the same with DVD-R DL discs. So what about writing quality? Take a look below.

The BH12LS38's writing quality was pretty good with DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media. The error rates stayed within acceptable limits and, aside from a dip at the layer change, there weren't any readability problems.

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - BD-ROM:

To test the BH12LS38's BD-ROM reading performance, I used the Blu-ray Disc version of The Fifth Element. This single layer disc is about 23GB in size.

 

	LG BH12LS38	Plextor PX-LB950UE	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	3.62x 2.02x 4.83x	6.05x 3.37x 8.08x	6.05x 3.38x 8.08x	6.05x 3.38x 8.08x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	87ms 4ms 4ms	75ms 190ms 245ms	73ms 187ms 256ms	74ms 188ms 255ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	0% 0% 1% 2%	0% 1% 1% 2%	0% 1% 1% 2%	0% 1% 1% 2%

While the BH12LS38 is rated at 10x when reading single layer BD-ROM discs, its speeds are limited to only 4.8x when reading AACS protected titles. In our tests, the drive started reading at 2.02x and reached a maximum transfer speed of 4.83x.

LG's new Blu-ray Disc writer had no problems playing back The Fifth Element and The Simpsons Movie using the bundled version of PowerDVD. Just keep in mind that if your monitor is connected to your video card using DVI or HDMI, both need to be HDCP compliant to play AACS protected titles. If not, you can still play them by switching the connection to VGA or using software like Slysoft's AnyDVD HD.

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - BD-R and BD-RE:

Next we'll look at the drive's BD-R and BD-RE reading performance. For this I created a few data discs using single layer BD-R and BD-RE media from Memorex and TDK and then ran our BD read tests with CD Speed.

TDK BD-R
 

	LG BH12LS38	Plextor PX-LB950UE	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	7.65x 4.35x 10.13x	6.07x 4.47x 8.07x	6.07x 3.47x 8.07x	6.08x 3.47x 8.07x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	120ms 5ms 4ms	74ms 186ms 255ms	73ms 182ms 259ms	74ms 183ms 263ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	0% 1% 1% 3%	0% 1% 1% 2%	0% 1% 1% 2%	0% 1% 1% 2%

Memorex BD-RE
 

	LG BH12LS38	Plextor PX-LB950UE	Sony BWU-500S	Lite-On iHBS112
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	6.10x 3.48x 8.10x	6.07x 3.47x 8.07x	6.07x 3.47x 8.07x	6.07x 3.47x 8.07x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	107ms 5ms 4ms	75ms 182ms 258ms	73ms 175ms 260ms	74ms 184ms 265ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	0% 1% 1% 3%	0% 1% 1% 2%	0% 1% 1% 2%	0% 1% 1% 2%

TDK BD-R DL
 

LG's new drive had no problems reading BD-R, BD-RE and BD-R DL media.  In our tests, the drive read BD-R discs at 10x, and both BD-RE and BD-R DL media at an impressive 8x.

BD Write and ReWrite Tests - Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16:

To test the BD writing performance of LG's new drive I used BD-R, BD-R DL and BD-RE media from Moser Baer, Sony, TDK and Verbatim. To get the writing times, CD Speed's "Create Data Disc" feature was used. I also ran the discs through CD Speed's transfer rate test to make sure that the BH12LS38 could read them back.

The BH12LS38 is one of the few drives capable of writing to both BD-R and BD-R DL media at 12x. When writing to 25GB BD-R discs at this speed, the drive starts at 6x and quickly accelerates, reaching 11x at the 11.5GB mark. From there, the acceleration tapers off and the drive doesn't reach 12x until the end of the disc. Looking at the other screenshot, you can see that the BH12LS38 isn't nearly as aggressive when writing to 50GB BD-R DL media. This time around, the drive starts writing at 5.2x and doesn't reach 12x until the 22.5GB mark.

The BH12LS38 performed very well when writing to BD-R media. It completed our tests in record time, beating the other drives by more than a minute and a half. LG's new drive didn't disappoint when writing to BD-R DL media either. Thanks to its 12x writing speed, the BH12LS38 took less than 22 minutes to burn 50GB worth of data.

The BH12LS38 completed our Blu-ray writing tests without any problems. The drive wrote to all of our test media at its rated speeds or better and, looking at the transfer rates, you can see that it had no problems reading the discs back.

Performance Revisited:

Like LG's previous Super Multi Blue drives, the BH12LS38 performed pretty well throughout most our tests. The drive flew through our BD writing tests, turning in some very impressive times with BD-R and BD-R DL media. Reading Blu-ray Discs wasn't a problem for the BH12LS38 either. The drive was able to read BD-R discs at 10x and both BD-RE and BD-R DL media at 8x, but slowed to 4.8x when reading AACS protected BD-ROM's.

The BH12LS38 also did reasonably well in our CD and DVD read tests. Along with some fairly good seek times, the drive read CD's at speeds as high at 48x and single layer data DVD's and DVD±R media at 16x. When it came to writing CD's and DVD's, the BH12LS38 held its own throughout most of our tests and the writing quality was, for the most part, quite good. With all things considered, the LG BH12LS38 gets a solid 8 out of 10 for the performance section of this review.

Over the last few years, we've had a number of LG's Super Multi Blue drives in the 'Labs. Offering a good mix of performance and features, these drives have become the choice of enthusiasts as well as some of our favorites. The BH12LS38 continues this trend by offering some of the fastest BD reading and writing speeds available as well as support for technologies like LightScribe.

The BH12LS38 is currently one of the few drives with the ability to write to both BD-R and BD-R DL media at 12x. At this speed, the drive completed our tests in record time, burning a full 25GB disc in less than 10 minutes and a full 50GB disc in a less than 22 minutes. The BH12LS38 wasn't nearly as fast when writing to BD-RE media. However, its performance was on par with the other Blu-ray Disc writers I've tested.

Using the bundled software, the BH12LS38 played all of the Blu-ray movies I had on hand, including those protected by BD+ and with BD-Live enabled features. The drive also performed fairly well in our transfer rate tests, reading BD-R discs at 10x and both BD-RE and BD-R DL media at a respectable 8x. Unfortunately, the BH12LS38 slowed to only 4.8x when reading AACS protected BD-ROM's. While this doesn't have any effect on movie playback, there are better drives out there if you want to rip BD movies.

LG's new drive also has the ability to read and write to all standard DVD formats. The BH12LS38 performed very well when writing to DVD±R discs, taking about 6 minutes to burn an entire 4.7GB DVD.  The drive also had no problems holding its own when writing to other types of media and its writing quality was pretty good, even with DVD±R DL discs. When it came to reading DVD's, the BH12LS38  was able to read single layer DVD-ROM's and DVD±R discs at 16x and other types of recordable media at 12x.

Reading and writing CD's wasn't a problem for the BH12LS38 either. In our tests, it read pressed and CD-R media at speeds as high as 48x and CD-RW discs at 40x. This level of performance carried over to our DAE tests, where the drive ripped audio CD's at speeds as high as 40x. As a writer, the BH12LS38 performed as expected. The drive turned in some respectable times thanks to its 48x CD-R and 24x CD-RW writing speeds, and its writing quality was quite good.

LG's new Super Multi Blue drive also has its share of features. To prevent buffer underruns, the BH12LS38 is equipped with a 4MB buffer that is backed up by some sort of buffer underrun technology. The drive also supports HP's LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling system and has the ability to set the book type of DVD+R and DVD+R DL media. To top it all off, LG has included a great software bundle from CyberLink.

In the end, it usually comes down to price. For what it offers, LG's new Blu-ray Disc writer is surprisingly affordable. The retail packaged BH12LS38 can be purchased from Amazon or through the retailers listed on Pricegrabber for less than $115. If you don't need the extras the retail version includes, you can save some money by purchasing the OEM packaged BH12LS38 for as little as $80 through online retailers like Newegg.

Highs:

• Writes to BD-R and BD-R DL media at 12x
• Writes to BD-R LtH media at 6x
• Writes to BD-RE and BD-RE DL media at 2x
• Writes to DVD-R and DVD+R media at 16x
• Writes to DVD+RW media at 8x
• Writes to DVD-RW media at 6x
• Writes to DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media at 8x
• Reads single layer BD-ROM's and BD-R media at 10x
• Reads BD-RE and BD-R DL media at 8x
• Reads single layer DVD-ROM's at 16x
• Reads DVD±R media at 16x
• Reads DVD±RW and DVD±R DL media at 12x
• Reads and writes to DVD-RAM media at 12x
• Features 48x CD-R and 24x CD-RW writing speeds
• Good DVD and CD writing quality
• Includes buffer underrun prevention technology
• Supports LightScribe technology
• 4MB buffer
• Low seek times
• Includes CyberLink's Blu-ray Disc Suite
• Nice looking design with bright blue LED
• Supports bitsetting for DVD+R and DVD+R DL media
• Affordably priced

Lows:

• Reads AACS protected BD-ROM's at only 4.8x
• Cannot set the book type of DVD+RW media
• Overburns to only 95:10