Lite-On iHBS112 12x Blu-ray Disc Writer

Model: Lite-On iHBS112 12x Blu-ray Disc Writer
Manufacturer: Lite-On IT
Provided By: Lite-On IT America

Lite-On IT got its start in 1995 when its parent company, Lite-On Technology, gathered a group of scientists and engineers to start an optical storage research and manufacturing business. Lite-On Technology quickly established itself as Taiwan’s largest CD-ROM drive manufacturer and by 1999 the business had spun off into a separate company, Lite-On IT. Since then, Lite-On IT has continued to grow. By working closely with companies like BenQ and Philips, they've expanded into the consumer and automotive electronics markets, becoming the world's second largest ODD manufacturer.

Like most drive manufacturers, Lite-On has begun to focus on the growing Blu-ray Disc market. This summer, the company introduced one of the industry's first 12x Blu-ray Disc rewriters, the iHBS112. Featuring some of the fastest BD reading and writing speeds available, this Serial ATA equipped drive is capable of 12x BD-R, 8x BD-R DL, 6x BD-R LTH and 2x BD-RE writing speeds and a maximum BD-ROM read speed of 8x. The iHBS112 is also backwards compatible with all major CD and DVD formats and includes features like an 8MB buffer and support for Lite-On's SMART-BURN, SmartWrite and OverSpeed technologies.

Needless to say, this is only a taste of what Lite-On's new Blu-ray Disc writer has to offer. To give you an idea of what to expect, we'll take an in-depth look at the iHBS112's features and then see how it compares to some of the Blu-ray Disc writers from Plextor, LG and Pioneer. Does the iHBS112 have what it takes? Is it the fastest Blu-ray Disc writer around? Keep reading to find out.

The iHBS112 we received from Lite-On was the bulk, or OEM, version. The drive came with a SATA cable as well as a CD containing CyberLink's Blu-ray Disc Suite.

Physical Features:

The drive Lite-On sent us for this review was manufactured in June of 2010 and had firmware CL04. For this review I used firmware versions CL04, CL0B and CL0D.

From the front, the iHBS112 looks nothing like Lite-On's previous DVD writer, the DH-4B1S. Instead, it shares the same basic bezel design as Lite-On's DVD writers and BD combo drives. The iHBS112 also has its share of logos. Along with the large "Blu-ray Disc" logo, you can see a few showing support for the DVD+ReWritable and DVD Multi specifications as well as Ultra Speed CD-RW media.

Below the tray you can see the iHBS112's single LED. Off by default, this LED lights up green whenever the drive is reading or writing.

The rear of the iHBS112 is fairly straight forward. By looking at the picture below you can see the drive's SATA interface and power connector.

Technical Specs:

The specs below have been taken from Lite-On's website and by running a few simple tests.

The iHBS112 features what Lite-On calls SmartWrite technology. Previously known as HyperTuning, SmartWrite automatically creates writing strategies for unknown, or unsupported, DVD±R media. Simply enable SmartWrite, insert your disc and burn. The new writing strategy is then created on-the-fly.

SmartWrite also works with supported media. When enabled, the drive will ignore the writing strategy stored in the firmware and instead create a new one. This is very useful if you are trying to record a disc that uses another company's MID code (I.E. fake TYG02 code discs).

OverSpeed:

The iHBS112 also supports Lite-On's OverSpeed function. When enabled, the drive will try to write to DVD±R media at a speed higher than what it would normally be supported. To do this, OverSpeed relies heavily on SmartWrite. When a disc is written at a higher than normal speed, SmartWrite will automatically create a new writing strategy for it.

Oddly enough, the OverSpeed function on the iHBS112 also lets you write to DVD±R media at a speed lower than what is normally supported. Looking at the screenshots above, you can see that the drive is able to write at 4x when OverSpeed is enabled.

Write Quality Testing:

The iHBS112 is one of the few drives capable of performing write quality testing with Blu-ray Disc media. When combined with software like CD Speed or Erik Deppe's Opti Drive Control, the drive is able to report the Long Distance Code (LDC) and Burst Indicator Subcode (BIS).

While it's still too early to know what "good" results should look like, c't magazine has stated that the average LDC should stay below 13 and the maximum BIS should not exceed 8.

More Features:

By looking at the picture below, you can see that Lite-On's new Blu-ray Disc writer is identified as an "ATAPI iHBS112 2."

Nero also shows that the iHBS112 has a maximum CD writing speed of 48x and a 2048KB buffer. This buffer is backed up by Seamless Link buffer underrun protection as well. According to Nero, the iHBS112 can also write CD-Text and overburn. When testing the drive's capacity, it had no problems overburning up to 99 minutes with our CompUSA media. 

Using Alex Noe's Weak Sector Utility we were able to determine that the iHBS112 is a "two sheep" burner and is capable of backing titles protected by SafeDisc 2.90. Like most drives, it did not pass the "three sheep" test.

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 iHBS112's reading and writing speeds and supported disc types.

Opti Drive Control also shows that the iHBS112 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. While there isn't an RPC-1 firmware available for the drive, there is a utility available that can make the drive region free.

While Opti Drive Control gives us a quick glance at the iHBS112'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 Lite-On's new drive can read and write to most BD and DVD formats.

The iHBS112 also supports a feature called "bitsetting." Using Nero, CD Speed or Lite-On's BookType Utility, you can set the book type for DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD+R DL media. By doing so, your recorded discs will identify themselves as "DVD-ROM." This feature comes in handy if you have an older DVD player that has problems playing recordable media.

For the iHBS112's software bundle, Lite-On has turned to CyberLink. The CD that comes with the drive contains the CyberLink Blu-ray Disc Suite which includes PowerProducer, PowerDirector, Power2Go, PowerBackup, LabelPrint, InstantBurn 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.

You can also use PowerDirector's "Magic" editing tools to clean up video clips and images, condense long video segments and apply pre-designed style templates. When you're done editing your video, you have the option to save it to your hard drive, create a streaming file, write it back to DV tape, make a disc or upload it to YouTube.

CyberLink Power2Go 6 - Power2Go is the main disc burning program included with the iHBS112. 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.

While affordably priced, Lite-On's new Blu-ray Disc writer delivers an impressive number of features. Along with support for all major CD and DVD formats, the iHBS112 offers some of the fastest BD reading and writing speeds available. The drive is capable of 12x BD-R, 8x BD-R DL, 6x BD-R LTH and 2x BD-RE writing speeds and a maximum BD read speed of 8x. The iHBS112 also sports a massive 8MB buffer and supports many of the technologies we've come to expect from Lite-On, including more advanced ones like SmartWrite and OverSpeed. With all this, it's easy to see why the Lite-On iHBS112 gets the full 10 points 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 Lite-On's Blu-ray Disc writer in our test computer. After making sure that the iHBS112 was recognized by Windows, I was ready to start installing the software.

Software Installation:

As I mentioned earlier, the iHBS112 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 CyberLink Blu-ray Suite" 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 InstantBurn, LabelPrint, Power2Go, PowerBackup, PowerDirector, PowerDVD or PowerProducer . 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:

The iHBS112's documentation is located on the software CD in electronic format. Similar to the ones included with Lite-On's other drives, the "User's Manual" covers a number of topics. It starts out by getting the user familiarized with their new Blu-ray Disc writer. The first section goes over the iHBS112's supported formats, recording modes and system requirements. The manual also spends a few pages going over the buttons and connectors located on the front and back of the drive.

From here, the manual goes right into the physical installation of the iHBS112. With no jumpers to configure, this section is relatively brief. Nevertheless, it covers all of the basics including how to install it into an empty drive bay and hook up the cables. The manual finishes up with a few short sections on how to use and maintain the iHBS112 and troubleshoot any problems that might come up.

Like the other Lite-On drives we've reviewed, the iHBS112 was very easy to install. Even though Blu-ray is still a relatively new technology, there were no problems getting the drive or the software installed and working correctly. If you do run into trouble, the documentation Lite-On has provided is more than sufficient. However, I still would have liked to have seen a little more drive specific information. With this in mind, I give the installation an 8 out of a possible 10.

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. DMA has been enabled in device manager for all IDE devices supporting it.

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 Roxio's Drag-to-Disc 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 Roxio's Drag-to-Disc 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.

Lite-On's new Blu-ray Disc writer performed pretty well in our CD Winbench tests. In the transfer rate tests, the iHBS112 started reading at 14.8x (2220 / 150) on the inside and reached a maximum speed of 42.9x (6430 / 150) on the outside of the disc. As you can see, this resulted in a very good overall CD Winbench score.

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.

 

	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	35.86x 20.84x 47.43x	36.01x 20.78x 47.61x	31.40x 18.46x 41.39x	30.94x 17.80x 40.63x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	118ms 132ms 211ms	134ms 148ms 206ms	148ms 169ms 308ms	114ms 129ms 186ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	1% 1% 3% 5%	0% 1% 2% 3%	6% 9% 6% 71%	1% 1% 8% 9%

The iHBS112 didn't perform as well as I had expected when reading pressed CD's. While rated at 48x, Lite-On's new Blu-ray Disc writer came up a little short of this number in our tests. On a more positive note, the iHBS112's access times were fairly 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.

 

	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	36.63x 20.99x 48.57x	36.59x 20.96x 48.72x	31.66x 18.40x 42.02x	25.32x 14.58x 33.57x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	121ms 137ms 196ms	141ms 154ms 207ms	162ms 177ms 374ms	161ms 187ms 335ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	2% 2% 3% 6%	0% 1% 2% 4%	0% 1% 3% 6%	2% 8% 6% n/a

The iHBS112 was a little faster when reading CD-R media. Thanks to this small speed boost, the drive was able to reach a maximum transfer speed of 48.57x in our tests.

While Lite-On's new Blu-ray Disc writer had no problems recognizing our 99 minute CompUSA media, it slowed down considerably when reading it back. As you can see, the drive reached a maximum transfer speed of only 34.99x.

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. 

 

	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	29.98x 17.45x 39.60x	30.60x 17.88x 40.42x	18.71x 11.01x 24.71x	18.72x 10.99x 24.74x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	121ms 136ms 198ms	134ms 152ms 203ms	157ms 180ms 319ms	155ms 179ms 319ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	1% 2% 3% 6%	0% 1% 2% 3%	0% 1% 2% 4%	0% 8% 6% n/a

While the iHBS112 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 came very close to 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 Lite-On iHBS112 supports accurate stream, caches audio data and has the ability to retrieve C2 error information from audio CD's.     

 

CD Speed	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203
Average: Start: End: DAE Quality: Accurate Stream:	36.21x 21.74x 47.84x 10 Yes	30.80x 18.26x 40.69x 10 Yes	31.26x 18.84x 41.23x 10 Yes	31.27x 18.84x 41.36x 10 Yes

The iHBS112 performed very well when ripping pressed audio CD's. With a maximum speed of 47.84x, it had no problems taking the top spot in our tests.

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	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203
Average: Start: End: DAE Quality: Accurate Stream:	35.87x 21.47x 47.31x 10 Yes	30.20x 18.04x 39.81x 10 Yes	31.02x 18.79x 41.05x 10 Yes	24.83x 15.09x 32.76x 10 Yes

The iHBS112 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 47.31x. So how did it do in CD Speed's advanced DAE tests? Take a look below.

The iHBS112 completed CD Speed's advanced DAE tests with an average score of 34.10x. The drive had no problems passing all of the on-the-fly tests and did not create any errors. If you look at the advanced features, you can see that the iHBS112 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 Drag-to-Disc 9.0:

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 iHBS112 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 21.35x and accelerates, reaching a maximum speed of 48.03x at the end of the session. This gave Lite-On's new drive an average writing speed of about 36.79x.

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

Lite-On's new drive did very well in our CD writing tests. Thanks to its 48x CD writing speed, the iHBS112 was able to write an entire 701MB CD in 2:49.

To test the drive's writing quality I used Lite-On IT's KProbe2. Written by Karr Wang, this utility can be used to test the number of C1 and C2 errors on a disc. For these tests I used a Lite-On LTR-52246S (firmware 6S0F) and read the discs at 32x. 

Moser Baer 52x

Taiyo Yuden 52x

Verbatim 52x

The iHBS112's writing quality was very good. By looking at the KProbe screenshots, 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 Drag-to-Disc from Roxio. Verbatim's 24x Ultra Speed CD-RW media was used for these tests.

While the iHBS112 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 24 minute mark.

Lite-On's new Blu-ray Disc writer didn't do as well as some of the other drives in our rewriting tests. Due to its Z-CLV writing method, the iHBS112 took 2:48 to write 400MB with Nero and 2:50 to do the same with Drag-to-Disc.

The iHBS112 also erases at 24x. At this speed, it took the drive 19 seconds to do a quick erase and 4:11 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.

 

	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	12.11x 6.74x 16.19x	12.30x 6.81x 16.43x	11.93x 6.65x 15.96x	11.93 6.64x 15.96x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	114ms 130ms 199ms	113ms 126ms 192ms	155ms 189ms 339ms	153ms 186ms 338ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	5% 10% 16% 29%	4% 6% 12% 61%	14% 13% 25% 46%	12% 13% 23% 44%

The iHBS112 was fairly quick when reading single layer DVD-ROM's. In our tests it started reading at 6.74x and reached a maximum transfer speed of 16.19x. 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
 

	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	12.05x 6.73x 16.11x	12.33x 6.84x 16.46x	11.94x 6.64x 16.00x	11.95x 6.64x 15.98x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	119ms 131ms 224ms	122ms 126ms 195ms	165ms 196ms 353ms	165ms 198ms 352ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	6% 11% 17% 29%	4% 6% 12% 61%	14% 14% 25% 47%	16% 13% 23% n/a

Verbatim DVD-RW
 

	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	9.17x 5.08x 12.26x	9.28x 5.13x 12.41x	9.36x 5.21x 12.50x	9.36x 5.20x 12.52x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	118ms 148ms 225ms	114ms 150ms 216ms	167ms 378ms 388ms	167ms 394ms 385ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	5% 11% 16% 30%	4% 6% 12% n/a	14% 14% 25% n/a	14% 13% 24% n/a

The iHBS112 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
 

	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	10.27x 5.98x 12.40x	9.73x 6.12x 12.24x	4.77x 3.13x 5.00x	4.97x 4.73x 5.00x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	116ms 133ms 190ms	168ms 171ms 224ms	206ms 4ms 1ms	193ms 3ms 1ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	4% 8% 13% 25%	5% 8% 13% n/a	23% 40% 71% n/a	18% 30% 45% n/a

The iHBS112 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 5.98x and quickly accelerates, reaching 12x at the 2.7GB 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
 

	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	12.06x 6.71x 16.12x	12.33x 6.83x 16.49x	11.95x 6.62x 16.02x	11.95x 6.67x 16.00x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	120ms 125ms 227ms	121ms 128ms 197ms	167ms 201ms 357ms	170ms 204ms 357ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	7% 11% 16% 29%	4% 6% 12% 62%	14% 14% 25% 46%	16% 13% 23% n/a

Verbatim DVD+RW

	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	9.19x 5.11x 12.28x	9.30x 5.16x 12.42x	9.38x 5.20x 12.55x	9.39x 5.23x 12.56x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	114ms 130ms 219ms	114ms 129ms 197ms	167ms 200ms 352ms	166ms 199ms 353ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	5% 11% 16% 29%	4% 7% 12% 60%	15% 14% 25% n/a	14% 13% 23% n/a

Verbatim DVD+R DL
 

The iHBS112'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.

 

	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	11.99x 6.67x 16.03x	9.12x 5.04x 12.20x	11.81x 6.57x 15.82x	11.81x 6.58x 15.79x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	115ms 134ms 212ms	124ms 143ms 224ms	157ms 192ms 341ms	149ms 176ms 327ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	5% 10% 16% 28%	4% 6% 12% 60%	14% 13% 25% 46%	12% 13% 23% 43%

The iHBS112 didn't slow down very much when reading single layer DVD videos. It started out at about 6.67x and reached a maximum read speed of 16.03x. Lite-On's new drive was also fairly quick when reading dual layer discs. By looking at the screenshot below, you can see that the drive's transfer speeds peaked at about 12x.

To see how well Lite-On'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 iHBS112 had no problems playing back either movie and was fairly quiet.

DVD Write and ReWrite Tests - Nero Burning Rom 9.4.26.0 and Drag-to-Disc 9.0:

To test the DVD writing performance of Lite-On'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 iHBS112 uses CAV. By looking at the screenshots above, you can see that Lite-On's new drive starts writing at about 6.7x and accelerates, reaching its maximum speed at the end of the disc.

The iHBS112 also features 8x DVD+RW and 6x DVD-RW writing speeds. In both cases, the drive uses Z-CLV to reach its maximum writing speed.

The iHBS112 performed fairly well in our DVD writing tests. While its Z-CLV writing method put it at a slight disadvantage when writing to DVD-RW discs, the drive turned in some respectable times with DVD±R and DVD+RW media.

To check the media compatibility of the iHBS112 , 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. For these tests, SmartWrite and OverSpeed were left disabled.

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 iHBS112'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 iHBS112's packet writing performance I used Drag-to-Disc 9.0. Verbatim 8x DVD+RW, Verbatim 6x DVD-RW and Maxell 5x DVD-RAM media were used once again.

The iHBS112 performed fairly well in our packet writing tests. While not as fast as the other drives when writing to DVD-RW discs, it turned in some respectable times with DVD+RW and DVD-RAM media.

Double Layer DVD Write Tests - Nero Burning Rom 9.4.26.0:

To test the double layer DVD writing performance of the iHBS112, I used DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media from Verbatim and Moser Baer. I created about 8GB of random files and directories on my hard drive and then burned them to our test discs with Nero.

The iHBS112 performed relatively well when writing to DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media. Thanks to its 8x writing speed, the drive took 16:18 to write 8001MB of data to DVD+R DL media and 16:53 to do the same with DVD-R DL discs. So what about writing quality? Take a look below.

The writing quality was pretty good with Verbatim's 8x DVD+R DL media. Aside from a few isolated spikes, the PI/PIF rates stayed within acceptable limits. Unfortunately, the results weren't as good with the other DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media. While there weren't any readability issues, the error rates were a bit high throughout some sections of the discs.

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - BD-ROM:

To test the iHBS112'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.

 

	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	6.05x 3.38x 8.08x	3.61x 2.02x 4.83x	5.95x 3.33x 7.94x	5.93x 3.33x 7.85x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	74ms 188ms 255ms	87ms 4ms 3ms	78ms 208ms 350ms	68ms 198ms 346ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	0% 1% 1% 2%	0% 0% 1% 2%	0% 1% 8% 4%	0% 1% 5% 3%

While the iHBS112 performed reasonably well when reading BD-ROM discs. In our tests, the drive started reading at 3.38x and reached a maximum transfer speed of 8.08x.

Lite-On'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 Panasonic and then ran our BD read tests with CD Speed.

Panasonic BD-R
 

	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	6.08x 3.47x 8.07x	7.64x 4.34x 10.14x	5.97x 3.41x 7.94x	5.94x 3.41x 7.78x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	74ms 183ms 263ms	90ms 5ms 4ms	76ms 215ms 363ms	84ms 223ms 368ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	0% 1% 1% 2%	0% 1% 1% 3%	0% 1% 7% 4%	0% 1% 6% 4%

Memorex BD-RE

	Lite-On iHBS112	LG WH10LS30	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	6.07x 3.47x 8.07x	6.10x 3.48x 8.10x	5.97x 3.41x 7.92x	5.91x 3.41x 7.41x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	74ms 184ms 265ms	91ms 4ms 4ms	79ms 220ms 369ms	81ms 221ms 361ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	0% 1% 1% 2%	0% 1% 1% 3%	0% 1% 7% 4%	0% 1% 6% 4%

Panasonic BD-R DL

Lite-On's new drive had no problems reading BD-R, BD-RE and BD-R DL media. In all three cases, the iHBS112 reached a maximum transfer speed of 4.87x.

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

To test the BD writing performance of Lite-On'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 iHBS112 could read them back.

The iHBS112 is the first drive from Lite-On that can write to BD-R media at 12x. By looking at the screenshot above, you can see that Lite-On's new drive starts writing at about 5.2x and accelerates, reaching its maximum speed at the end of the disc.

The iHBS112 performed very well when writing to BD-R media. While not as fast as the Plextor PX-B940SA, it took less than 11 and a half minutes to burn a 25GB disc. Lite-On's new drive didn't disappoint when writing to BD-R DL media either. Thanks to its 8x writing speed, the iHBS112 took less than 32 minutes to burn an entire 50GB worth of data.

If  you want to write at 12x, you're going to need to use 6x BD-R media from Panasonic, Ritek or Sony. Currently, these are the only BD-R discs that the iHBS112 will write to at this speed. The drive tried to write to the other BD media at its rated speeds. However, it had a tendency to slow to 4x when writing to TDK's 6x BD-R discs. The iHBS112 also failed to read back Verbatim's BD-R LTH media at its maximum speed.

Performance Revisited:

While Lite-On's new Blu-ray Disc writer had a few rough spots, it performed as expected throughout most of our tests. The iHBS112 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 drive either. The iHBS112 was able to read single layer BD-ROM's as well as recordable BD media at 8x.

The iHBS112 also did reasonably well in our CD and DVD read tests. Along with some fairly good access 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 iHBS112 held its own throughout most of our tests. However, there were writing quality issues with some DVD±R DL media. With all things considered, the Lite-On iHBS112 gets a solid 8 out of 10 for the performance section of this review.

If you've been following any of the discussions surrounding the Lite-On iHBS112, you already know that the drive got off to a rough start. Early on, there were numerous reports of Blu-ray Discs burned by the drive not playing on standalone players as well as incompatibilities with Verbatim BD-R LTH media. Lite-On was quick to respond by releasing a number of firmware updates which addressed many of these problems. Lite-On's work isn't done though, as there still a few rough spots that need to be worked out.

The iHBS112 is the first drive from Lite-On with the ability to write to BD-R media at 12x. At this speed, it took about 11 and a half minutes to burn an entire 25GB disc. While this wasn't enough to top the 12x Blu-ray Disc writer from Plextor, Lite-On's new drive gave it a serious run for its money. The iHBS112 also performed fairly well when writing to BD-R DL media, burning a full 50GB BD-R DL disc in less than 32 minutes. The drive 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 iHBS112 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 single layer BD-ROM's as well as BD-R, BD-RE and BD-R DL media at speeds near 8x. 

Lite-On's new drive also has the ability to read and write to all standard DVD formats, including DVD-RAM. The iHBS112 performed very well when writing to DVD±R discs, taking less than 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. However, the writing quality could have been better with some DVD±R DL discs. When it came to reading DVD's, the iHBS112 was able to read single layer DVD-ROM's and DVD±R discs at 16x and other types of recordable media at 12x.

Reading CD's wasn't a problem for the iHBS112 either. In our tests, the drive read pressed and CD-R media at speeds as high as 48x and CD-RW discs at 39x. On top of that, it was able to rip audio CD's at an impressive 47x. As a writer, the iHBS112 performed as expected. The drive turned in some respectable times with CD-R media and its writing quality was quite good. Unfortunately, due to its Z-CLV writing method, it wasn't as fast as some of the other drives in our rewriting tests.

When it comes to features, the iHBS112 definitely delivers. Along with old favorites like SMART-BURN and SMART-X, it supports a number of Lite-On's more advanced technologies including SmartWrite and OverSpeed. To prevent buffer underruns, the drive is equipped with an 8MB buffer that is backed up by Seamless Link buffer underrun protection. The iHBS112 also has the ability to set the book type of DVD+R/RW and DVD+R DL media and comes with a great software bundle from CyberLink.

In the end, it usually comes down to price. For what it offers, Lite-On's new Blu-ray Disc writer is surprisingly affordable. Current prices vary depending on the seller, but the OEM version of the iHBS112 can be purchased from online vendors like Newegg.com for less than $130. Otherwise the LightScribe enabled iHBS212 can be picked up for about $10 more.

Highs:

• Writes to BD-R media at 12x
• Writes to BD-R DL media at 8x
• Writes to BD-R LtH media at 12x
• 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 at 8x
• Reads BD-R, BD-RE and BD-R DL media at 8x
• Reads BD-RE DL media at 6x
• Reads single layer DVD-ROM's at 16x
• Reads DVD±R media at 16x
• Reads DVD±R DL and DVD±RW media at 12x
• Features 48x CD-R and 24x CD-RW writing speeds
• Good DVD±R and CD-R writing quality
• Low access times
• Supports SMART-BURN, SMART-X, SmartWrite and OverSpeed technologies
• Includes software from CyberLink
• Supports 99 minute CD-R media
• Serial ATA interface
• Can do write quality testing with BD media
• Supports bitsetting for DVD+R/RW and DVD+R DL media
• Affordably priced

Lows:

• High media requirements when writing to BD-R media at 12x
• Questionable writing quality with some DVD±R DL media
• Slower than other drives when writing to CD-RW and DVD+RW media
• Bundled version of PowerDVD does not support 3D playback