Model: Plextor PX-650US PlexEasy Portable 8x DVD Writer
Manufacturer: Plextor
Provided By: Plextor LLC

When it comes to optical storage, there are few names as well known as Plextor. For more than a decade, they've produced some of the best drives the industry has seen. Known the world over for their quality, performance and features, these drives have become favorites among consumers and professionals alike. Today, Plextor continues to lead the way by bringing cutting edge storage technologies to market. Along with a vast assortment of high-performance DVD and Blu-ray drives, the company offers a growing number of NAS devices, portable hard drives and solid state drives.

With the growing popularity of ultra-slim notebooks, Plextor has set its sights on the portable optical drive market. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the company unveiled its latest portable DVD writer, the PlexEasy. This compact, USB-powered drive is capable of 8x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 6x DVD±R DL and 5x DVD-RAM writing speeds and a maximum DVD read speed of 8x. The PlexEasy is more than just a portable DVD writer though. Along with a built-in card reader and USB port, the drive features a special stand-alone mode that lets users connect a variety of devices and burn photos and other media directly to disc without a PC.

Needless to say, this is only a taste of what Plextor's new portable DVD writer has to offer. To give you an idea of what to expect from the PlexEasy, we'll take a look at some of  the drive's features and then see how well it works as both a stand-alone unit and a portable DVD writer. Is the PlexEasy the best choice for the person on the go? Keep reading to find out.




What's in the box?:

  • Plextor PX-650US PlexEasy Portable 8x DVD Writer
  • Quick Start Guide
  • AC/DC Adapter
  • USB Cable
  • USB to DC Power Cable
  • On-Screen Display Strings
  • Warranty Information

Physical Features:

The drive Plextor sent us for this review was manufactured in January of 2012 and had firmware 1.01. This is the newest firmware currently available for the PlexEasy.

While far from being the smallest DVD writer to come through the 'Labs, the PlexEasy is still surprisingly compact and lightweight. Measuring 142 x 21 x 182 mm and weighing in at a mere 385g, it easily fits in a laptop bag or briefcase.

On top of the PlexEasy, you can see the built-in LCD display as well as the Scroll, OK and Exit buttons used to control the drive when it's in stand-alone mode.

The LED and eject button are located along the front of the PlexEasy. This LED lights up green when both reading and writing. 

Along the rear, you can see the PlexEasy's USB 2.0 interface. This connector not only transfers data but provides power for the drive when it is connected to a PC.

The PlexEasy's built-in SD/MMC card reader is located on the right-hand side of the drive. To the right of the reader, there is also a second USB port as well as a power switch and DC-IN jack.

Technical Specs:

Most of the specs below have been taken from Plextor's website and the manual that came with the drive.

Plextor PX-650US PlexEasy Portable 8x DVD Writer
DVD+R Write Speeds 8x, 6x, 4x (P-CAV)
2.4x, 3x (CLV)
DVD+RW Write Speeds 8x, 7x, 4x (Z-CLV)
2.4x, 3x (CLV)
DVD-R Write Speeds 8x, 6x, 4x (P-CAV)
2x, 3x (CLV)
DVD-RW Write Speeds 6x, 4x (Z-CLV)
2x, 3x (CLV)
DVD+R DL Write Speeds 6x, 4x (Z-CLV)
3x (CLV)
DVD-R DL Write Speeds 6x, 4x (Z-CLV)
3x (CLV)
DVD-RAM Write Speeds 5x (Z-CLV)
3x, 2x (CLV)
CD Write Speeds  24x, 20x, 16x (P-CAV)
10x (CLV)
CD Rewrite Speeds 24x, 20x, 16x (Z-CLV)
10x, 4x (CLV)
DVD Read Speeds 8x Max (DVD-ROM)
8x Max (DVD±R)
8x Max (DVD±RW)
8x Max (DVD±R DL)
5x Max (DVD-RAM)
CD Read Speed 24x Max
DAE Speed 24x Max
Buffer Size 1.5MB
CD Formats CD-DA
CD-ROM (Mode 1 and 2)
CD-ROM XA
CD-Extra
Video CD
Photo CD
Multi-session
CD-I FMV
CD-R
CD-RW
DVD Formats DVD-ROM
DVD-R/RW
DVD+R/RW
DVD+R DL
DVD-R DL
DVD-RAM
CD Writing Methods Disc-at-Once
Track-at-Once
Session-at-Once
Fixed and Variable Packet Writing
DVD Writing Methods Disc-at-Once
Incremental Recording
Restricted Overwrite  (DVD-RW)
Random Access Write (DVD+RW/DVD-RAM)
Layer Jump (DVD-R DL)

More Features:

By looking at the picture below, you can see that Plextor's new DVD writer is identified as a "PLEXTOR DVDR PX-650US."

Nero also shows that the PlexEasy has a maximum CD writing speed of 24x and a 1536KB buffer. This buffer is also backed up by Plextor's BURN-Proof buffer underrun protection. According to Nero, the PlexEasy 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 PlexEasy 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 PlexEasy's reading and writing speeds and supported disc types.

Opti Drive Control also shows that the PlexEasy 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 InfoTool gives us a quick glance at the PlexEasy'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 while Plextor's new drive can read and write to DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL and DVD-RAM media, it does not support technologies like LightScribe or Labelflash.

The PlexEasy also supports a feature called "bitsetting." Using 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.


The PlexEasy's most unique feature is its ability to function without the need for a computer. With a simple press of a button, users can backup data stored on SD Cards as well as digital devices like tablets, smart phones, hard disks, flash drives, camcorders and digital cameras.

The PlexEasy supports the Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP), an image transfer technology integrated into many models of cameras and smartphones. This means that the drive can be used for burning photos directly from a camera (point-and-shoot or DSLR) or smartphone (iOS, Android, Blackberry etc.).

I had no problems getting the PlexEasy to backup and transfer data from my LG Optimus S (Android) phone and Fuji FinePix XP10 camera. Unfortunately, no matter what I tried, it would not recognize my ASUS Transformer (Android) tablet. 

Backing data up from an SD card or USB storage device is even easier. The PlexEasy automatically detects when either is inserted and will prompt you with a message similar to “SD -> DVD+R. Press OK to Start."  When the writing process is complete, the drive automatically ejects the disc and a “Completed” message appears on the LCD display.

The PlexEasy offers a number of burn options. The drive can be configured to do data verification, multi-session recording and automatically delete source data once the burn process is complete. You can even select individual files if you don't want to backup all of the data stored on a memory card or USB storage device.

The PlexEasy can also be used to transfer files from a CD, DVD or memory card to a USB storage device. You can even use it to rip an audio CD or make a direct copy of an unprotected CD or DVD.

While small in size, the Plextor's new portable DVD writer delivers an impressive number of features. Along with a great looking, compact design, the PlexEasy offers some of the fastest reading and writing speeds available on a portable unit. The drive is capable of 8x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 6x DVD±R DL and 5x DVD-RAM writing speeds and a maximum DVD read speed of 8x. The PlexEasy also features a special standalone mode which, when used with the built-in USB port and card reader, lets users plug in a memory card, camera, smartphone or mass storage device and burn files directly to disc without the need for a PC. With all this, it's easy to see why the Plextor PlexEasy gets the full 10 points for its features.


As I mentioned earlier, the PlexEasy can be used as an external DVD writer or operate as a stand-alone unit. If you choose to use it as an external DVD writer, simply connect it to your computer using the included cable and the USB port on the back of the drive. If your computer cannot provide enough power, the AC/DC adapter can be used as an auxiliary power source.

Setting the PlexEasy up for stand-alone operation is just as easy. Simply plug the AC/DC adapter or the USB power cable into the DC-IN jack and slide the power switch over to the 'On' position. Once the drive is ready you can insert a memory card or connect a USB device and backup your data to disc.

The Documentation:

Most of the PlexEasy's documentation is located in the "Quick Start Guide." This guide is broken up into twenty different languages with each language getting only 6 pages worth of instructions. Thankfully, Plextor doesn't waste any time and gets right to the point, showing the user how to configure the PlexEasy for its external ODD and stand-alone operation modes. The guide spends the next few pages instructing the user on how to do everything from a direct disc copy to backing up data stored on a memory card or USB device. Last, but not least, it includes a page of instructions on how to use the PlexEasy as an external DVD writer. If you're looking for a bit more information, Plextor Asia has a User's Manual available for download that covers a number of additional topics.

Like the other Plextor drives we've reviewed, the PlexEasy was very easy to setup. I had no problems getting the drive to work in either mode. However, the documentation could have been better as the guide included with the drive covers less than half of what is found in the downloadable User's Manual. With this in mind, the PlexEasy scores an 8 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:

CPU:  Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30 GHz 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H67MA-D2H-B3 (Intel H67 chipset)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 SATA 3.0Gb/s 500GB
Case Cooler Master HAF 912
Operating System: Windows 7 Enterprise x64 SP1

For DVD writers the performance tests are broken down into four sections: CD read, CD write, DVD read and DVD write tests. 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 Speed v4.7.7.16 is  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.

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.


 

 

Transfer Speed Access Times CPU Usage
Average Start End Random 1/3 Full 1x 2x 4x 8x

Plextor PlexEasy

18.14x 10.54x 23.98x 149ms 154ms 272ms 1% 2% 4% 8%


The PlexEasy performed fairly well when reading pressed CD's. The drive started reading at 18.14x and quickly accelerated, reaching a maximum transfer speed of 23.98x. Unfortunately, its access times were a little higher than we'd like to see.

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.


 

 

Transfer Speed Access Times CPU Usage
Average Start End Random 1/3 Full 1x 2x 4x 8x

Plextor PlexEasy

18.54x 10.67x 24.56x 143ms 149ms 269ms 1% 2% 4% 8%

The PlexEasy 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 24.56x.

Plextor's portable DVD writer had no problems recognizing our 99 minute CompUSA media. The PlexEasy read our test disc from start to finish, reaching a maximum transfer speed of 26.43x.

 

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.


 

 

Transfer Speed Access Times CPU Usage
Average Start End Random 1/3 Full 1x 2x 4x 8x

Plextor PlexEasy

18.21x 10.69x 24.04 161ms 155ms 274ms 1% 2% 4% 8%

The PlexEasy also reads CD-RW media at 24x. As you can see, it had no problems reaching this speed in our tests.

CD Speed v4.7.7.16 (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 while the Plextor PlexEasy supports accurate stream and has the ability to retrieve C2 error information from the CD, it does not cache audio data.


 
CD Speed Average Start End Quality Accurate
Stream
Plextor PlexEasy 18.31x 10.54x 24.20x 10 Yes

For a portable drive, the PlexEasy did very well in our DAE tests. The drive started out at 10.31x and reached a maximum speed of 24.20x.

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 Average Start End Quality Accurate
Stream
Plextor PlexEasy 18.15x 10.53x 23.92x 10 Yes

The PlexEasy was a little slower when extracting audio from CD-R media. This time around, it reached a maximum DAE speed of 23.92x. So how did it do in CD Speed's advanced DAE tests? Take a look below.

Plextor's portable DVD writer completed CD Speed's advanced DAE tests with an average score of 17.25x. While the drive was able to go through the tests without creating any errors, it was unable to pass all of the on the fly copying tests. If you look at the advanced features, you can see that the PlexEasy was able to read the CD-Text and subchannel data, but failed to read the lead in and lead out sections of the CD.


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

For this test I randomly generated 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. All of the times below include not only the actual writing time, but the lead in and out times too. This gives a more realistic idea of how long it takes to write a CD.

The PlexEasy has a maximum CD writing speed of 24x. To reach this speed, it uses P-CAV, or Partial Constant Angular Velocity. By looking at the screenshot, you can see that the drive starts writing at 10.98x and accelerates, reaching its maximum speed at about the 72 minute mark. This gave Plextor's new drive an average writing speed of about 18.74x.

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

  Write Tests

701MB
79:44:21

Plextor PlexEasy

5:07

The PlexEasy took a little more than five minutes to write an entire 701MB CD. While most of the internal writers we've looked at lately can do this in half the time, this is pretty good for a portable drive.

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 Lite-On LTR-52327S and read the discs at 32x. 


HP 52x (CMC)


MBI 52x


Taiyo Yuden 52x

The PlexEasy's writing quality was very good. By looking at the 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 InstantBurn from CyberLink. Verbatim's 24x Ultra Speed CD-RW media was used for these tests.

While the PlexEasy uses P-CAV when writing to CD-R discs, it uses Z-CLV, or Zone CLV, when rewriting at 24x. By looking at the screenshot above, you can see that the drive uses a total of four "zones." The PlexEasy starts writing at 10x and jumps to 16x at about the 20 minute mark. When the drive reaches the 42 minute mark, it changes to 20x and then to 24x at the 64 minute mark.

  Nero
400MB
InstantBurn
Write
InstantBurn
Read
Plextor PlexEasy 4:16 3:52 3:15

Plextor's portable DVD writer did fairly well in our rewriting tests.  The drive took 4:16 to write 400MB with Nero and 3:52 to do the same with InstantBurn.


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.


 

 

Transfer Speed Access Times CPU Usage
Average Start End Random 1/3 Full 1x 2x 4x 8x

Plextor PlexEasy

6.16x 3.40x 8.24x 145ms 157ms 269ms 16% 17% 31% 60%

The PlexEasy performed pretty well when reading single layer DVD-ROM's. In our tests it started reading at 3.40x and reached a maximum transfer speed of about 8.24x. Unfortunately, like in our CD read tests, the drive's access times were a little high.

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

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 disc using some general use 8x 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
 

 

Transfer Speed Access Times CPU Usage
Average Start End Random 1/3 Full 1x 2x 4x 8x

Plextor PlexEasy

6.17x 3.35x 8.25x 138ms 163ms 261ms 9% 17% 31% 60%


Verbatim DVD-RW

 

Transfer Speed Access Times CPU Usage
Average Start End Random 1/3 Full 1x 2x 4x 8x

Plextor PlexEasy

6.18x 3.42x 8.27x 139ms 167ms 260ms 9% 17% 31% 60%


Verbatim DVD-R DL
 

 

Transfer Speed Access Times CPU Usage
Average Start End Random 1/3 Full 1x 2x 4x 8x

Plextor PlexEasy

6.02x 3.28x 8.02x 140ms 160ms 261ms 10% 18% 98% n/a

The PlexEasy had no problems reading DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media. In all three cases, the drive reached a maximum transfer speed of about 8x.


Maxell 5x DVD-RAM
 

 

Transfer Speed Access Times CPU Usage
Average Start End Random 1/3 Full 1x 2x 4x 8x

Plextor PlexEasy

4.66x 2.98x 5.00x 164ms 172ms 276ms 15% 18% 34% 87%

Plextor's new drive has a maximum transfer speed of 5x when reading DVD-RAM discs. By looking at the screenshot you can see that it starts reading at about 3x and then accelerates, reaching 5x at about the 1.7GB 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 disc using some 8x 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
 

 

Transfer Speed Access Times CPU Usage
Average Start End Random 1/3 Full 1x 2x 4x 8x

Plextor PlexEasy

6.17x 3.31x 8.25x 136ms 161ms 266ms 9% 17% 30% 60%


Verbatim DVD+RW

 

Transfer Speed Access Times CPU Usage
Average Start End Random 1/3 Full 1x 2x 4x 8x

Plextor PlexEasy

6.19x 3.32x 8.28x 141ms 166ms 264ms 9% 17% 30% 59%


Verbatim DVD+R DL 

 

Transfer Speed Access Times CPU Usage
Average Start End Random 1/3 Full 1x 2x 4x 8x

Plextor PlexEasy

6.02x 3.28x 8.02x 142ms 163ms 267ms 10% 18% 99% n/a

The PlexEasy's performance was very similar to what we saw with DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media. Once again, the drive reached a maximum transfer speed of about 8x.

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.


 

 

Transfer Speed Access Times CPU Usage
Average Start End Random 1/3 Full 1x 2x 4x 8x

Plextor PlexEasy

6.10x 3.37x 8.16x 146ms 156ms 270ms 21% 17% 31% 58%

The PlexEasy didn't slow down very much when reading single layer DVD videos. In our tests, it reached a maximum speed of 8x when reading both single and dual layer discs.

To see how well the PlexEasy worked as a DVD player, I watched a few scenes from Transformers: The Movie and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith using CyberLink's PowerDVD software. The drive had no problems playing back these movies 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 Plextor'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.


Verbatim 16x DVD+R

 


Verbatim 16x DVD-R

The PlexEasy uses P-CAV, or Partial CAV, when writing to DVD+R and DVD-R media at 8x. By looking at the screenshots above, you can see that Plextor's new drive starts writing at about 3.48x and accelerates, reaching its maximum speed at the 4GB mark.


Verbatim 8x DVD+RW

 


Verbatim 6x DVD-RW

The PlexEasy 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.

  DVD+R DVD-R DVD+RW DVD-RW
Plextor PlexEasy 10:56 10:48 11:31 12:25

The PlexEasy performed as expected in our DVD writing tests. While not as fast as some of the internal DVD writers we've looked at recently, it turned in some respectable times with DVD±R and DVD±RW media.

To check the media compatibility of the PlexEasy, 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.

  Manufacturer ID Max
Write Speed
Average
Write Time
Moser Baer 16x DVD+R MBIPG101 R05 8x 10:52
Taiyo Yuden 16x DVD+R YUDEN000T03 8x 11:11
TDK 16x DVD+R CMC MAG M01 8x 10:42
Verbatim 16x DVD+R MCC-004 8x 10:56
HP 16x DVD-R CMC MAG.AM3 8x 10:43
Moser Baer 16x DVD-R MBI 01RG40 8x 10:52
Taiyo Yuden 16x DVD-R TYG03 8x 10:38
Verbatim 16x DVD-R MCC 03RG20 8x 10:48

So what about writing quality? Using CD Speed we can test a disc's PI (Parity Inner), PIF (Parity Inner Fail) and Jitter rates. For these tests I used a Lite-On iHAS424 and read the discs at 8x with the PI and PIF ECC sums set to 8 and 1 respectively.

So what are "good" results supposed to look like? When testing with the iHAS424, the PI errors should not exceed 280 and the number of PIF errors should stay below 4. 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. 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. 


Moser Baer 16x DVD+R @ 8x
(
MBIPG101 R05)

Transfer Rate


Taiyo Yuden 16x DVD+R @ 8x
(
YUDEN000T02)

Transfer Rate


TDK 16x DVD+R @ 8x
(CMC MAG M01
)

Transfer Rate


Verbatim 16x DVD+R @ 8x
(
MCC-004)

Transfer Rate

The PlexEasy'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.


HP 16x DVD-R @ 8x
(CMC MAG.AM3)

Transfer Rate


Moser Baer 16x DVD-R @ 8x
(
MBI 01RG40)

Transfer Rate


Taiyo Yuden 16x DVD-R @ 8x
(TYG03)

Transfer Rate


Verbatim 16x DVD-R @ 8x
(
MCC 03RG20)

Transfer Rate

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 PlexEasy's packet writing performance I used InstantBurn 5. Verbatim 6x DVD-RW, Verbatim 8x DVD+RW and Maxell 5x DVD-RAM media were used once again.

  DVD+RW
Write
DVD+RW
Read
DVD-RW
Write
DVD-RW
Read
DVD-RAM
Write
DVD-RAM
Read
Plextor PlexEasy 10:12 19:12 10:33 9:38 25:07 13:27

Double Layer DVD Write Tests - Nero Burning Rom 9.4.26.0:

To test the double layer DVD writing performance of the PlexEasy, I used 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.

  DVD+R DL
Plextor PlexEasy 24:16

The PlexEasy performed as expected when writing to DVD+R DL media. In our tests, the drive took 27:47 to write 8001MB of data to Verbatim's 8x DVD+R DL discs. So what about writing quality? Take a look below.


Verbatim 8x DVD+R DL @ 6x
(MKM 003)

Transfer Rate


RiDATA 8x DVD+R DL @ 4x
(RITEK S04)

Transfer Rate

The PlexEasy's writing quality was pretty good with RiDATA's 8x DVD+R DL media. The PI/PIF rates stayed within acceptable limits and there weren't any readability problems. Unfortunately, the results weren't as good with Verbatim's 8x DVD+R DL media. As you can see, there was a large error spike at the layer change which caused some readability problems.

Performance Revisited:

Plextor's new portable DVD writer performed as expected throughout most of our tests. When writing DVD's, the PlexEasy turned in some relatively good times with DVD±R, DVD±RW and DVD+R DL media. The drive was also fairly quick when reading DVD's. In our tests, the PlexEasy was able to read data and video DVD-ROM's as well as most recordable media at 8x. 

The PlexEasy also did fairly well in our CD read tests. While its access times were a little higher than I would have liked, the drive read both data and audio CD's at speeds as high as 24x. Writing CD's wasn't a problem for the PlexEasy either. For a portable drive, it turned in some respectable writing times and the writing quality was quite good. With all of these things considered, the Plextor PlexEasy gets a solid 8 out of 10 for its performance.


The PlexEasy is one of the more interesting optical drives to come from Plextor in some time. While aimed more at the novice than the enthusiast or professional, this versatile DVD writer offers impressive specs as well as a number of unique features that make backing up your data easier than ever.

The PlexEasy performed relatively well when writing to DVD+R and DVD-R media. In our tests, the drive took about 11 minutes to burn an entire 4.7GB DVD. It also turned in some respectable times 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 PlexEasy was able to read data and video DVD-ROM's as well as most recordable media at 8x.

Reading CD's wasn't a problem for the PlexEasy either. While its seek times were a little higher than I would have liked, the drive read pressed and recordable CD media at speeds as high as 24x. This level of performance carried over to our DAE tests, where the drive ripped audio CD's at 24x. As a writer, the PlexEasy performed as expected. The drive was relatively quick when writing to CD-R and CD-RW media and its writing quality was quite good.

The PlexEasy also has its share of features. When used as an external DVD writer, the drive can be powered completely off a computer's USB bus. Without the need for an AC power source, you can burn and play DVD's wherever you go. It also includes support for Plextor's BURN-Proof technology and has the ability to set the book type of DVD+R/RW and DVD+R DL media. Of course, the PlexEasy's most notable feature is its ability to backup photos and other media without the need for a PC. Simply plug a memory card, camera, smartphone or mass storage device into the built-in card reader or USB port and, at the touch of a button, the drive will burn your files directly to disc.

The Plextor PlexEasy is available now and can be purchased from Amazon or the retailers listed on Pricegrabber for as little as $105.

Plextor PX-650US PlexEasy
Portable 8x DVD Writer
Features:
Installation:
Performance:
10
8
8
Overall: 8

Highs:

  • PC-free disc copying and data backup
  • Writes to DVD±R media at 8x
  • Writes to DVD+RW media at 8x
  • Writes to DVD-RW media at 6x
  • Writes to DVD±R DL media at 6x
  • Reads single layer DVD-ROM's at 8x
  • Reads DVD±R, DVD±RW and DVD±R DL media at 8x
  • Reads and writes to DVD-RAM media at 5x
  • Features 24x CD-R and CD-RW writing speeds
  • Good DVD±R and CD-R writing quality
  • Features Plextor's BURN-Proof technology
  • Built in SD/MMC card reader and USB port
  • Supports 99 minute CD-R media
  • Nice looking design
  • Supports bitsetting for DVD+R/RW and DVD+R DL media
  • Can be powered off the USB bus

Lows:

  • Questionable writing quality with some DVD+R DL media
  • High access times
  • Only a 1.5MB buffer
  • Pricey