What's in the box?:
- ASUS SBW-06C1S-U Portable 6x Blu-ray Disc Writer
- Quick Installation Guide
- Software CD
- Vertical Drive Stand
- USB Y Cable
Physical Features:
The drive ASUS sent us for this review was manufactured in August of 2010 and had firmware C101. At the time of this review, this is the only firmware available for the SBW-06C1S-U.
The ASUS SBW-06C1S-U is one of the smallest Blu-ray Disc writers to come through the 'Labs. Measuring 157 x 142 x 21 mm, it's not much larger than a couple of jewel cases stacked on top of one another. The drive is also constructed of a lightweight, black plastic. The glossy finish looks nice, but it scratches easily and finger prints and smudges have a tendency to stand out.
Along with a small "ASUS" logo, the top of the SBW-06C1S-U has a large "X" shaped design which lights up a bright blue when the drive is powered on. The brightness of this light can be adjusted or turned off altogether using the included BluTuner utility.
On the bottom of the drive you can see four small rubber feet as well as a rubber rectangle. The rectangle covers the open space where the stand attaches to the drive.
The LED and eject button are located along the front of the SBW-06C1S-U. This LED lights up orange when both reading and writing.
Along the rear, you can see the SBW-06C1S-U's USB 2.0 interface. This connector not only transfers data but provides power for the drive. To ensure that the SBW-06C1S-U gets the power it needs, ASUS includes a special USB cable that plugs into two ports on your computer.
Technical Specs:
Most of the specs below have been taken from ASUS's website and the manual that came with the drive.
| ASUS SBW-06C1S-U Portable 6x Blu-ray Disc Writer | |
| BD-R Write Speeds | 6x (CAV) 4x (Z-CLV) 2x (CLV) |
| BD-R DL Write Speeds | 4x (Z-CLV) 2x (CLV) |
| BD-R LTH Write Speeds | 6x (CAV) 4x (Z-CLV) 2x (CLV) |
| BD-RE Write Speeds | 2x (CLV) |
| DVD+R Write Speeds | 8x (CAV) 6x, 4x (Z-CLV) 2.4x CLV) |
| DVD+RW Write Speeds | 8x, 6x, 4x (Z-CLV) 3.3x, 2.4x (CLV) |
| DVD-R Write Speeds | 8x (CAV) 6x, 4x (Z-CLV) 2x (CLV) |
| DVD-RW Write Speeds | 6x, 4x (Z-CLV) 2x (CLV) |
| DVD+R DL Write Speeds | 4x (Z-CLV) 2.4x (CLV) |
| DVD-R DL Write Speeds | 4x (Z-CLV) 2x (CLV) |
| DVD-RAM Write Speeds | 5x (Z-CLV) 3x, 2x (CLV) |
| CD Write Speeds | 24x, 20x, 16x (Z-CLV) 8x (CLV) |
| CD Rewrite Speeds | 16x (Z-CLV) 10x, 8x, 4x (CLV) |
| BD Read Speeds | 6x Max (BD-ROM Single Layer) 4x Max (BD-ROM Dual Layer) 6x Max (BD-R) 4x Max (BD-RE) 4x Max (BD-R DL) 4x Max (BD-RE DL) |
| DVD Read Speeds | 8x Max (DVD-ROM Single Layer) 6x Max (DVD-ROM Dual Layer) 8x Max (DVD±R) 8x Max (DVD±RW) 6x Max (DVD±R DL) 5x Max (DVD-RAM) |
| CD Read Speed | 24x Max |
| DAE Speed | 24x Max |
| Buffer Size | 6MB |
| Access Times |
240 ms (BD) 240 ms (DVD) 230 ms (CD) 190 ms (DVD-RAM) |
| CD Formats | CD-DA CD-ROM CD-ROM XA CD-I CD-Extra Video CD Photo CD CD Text CD-R CD-RW |
| DVD Formats | DVD-ROM DVD-R/RW DVD+R/RW DVD+R DL DVD-R DL DVD-RAM DVD-Video |
| BD Formats | BD-ROM BD-R/RE BD-R/RE DL BD-R LTH |
| BD Recording Modes | Sequential Write Random Write |
| DVD Recording Modes | Disc At Once Incremental Write Restricted Overwrite Sequential Write Random Write |
| CD Recording Modes | Disc At Once Session At Once Track At Once Packet Writing |
More Features:
By looking at the picture below, you can see that ASUS's new Blu-ray Disc writer is identified as an "ASUS SBW-06C1S-U."
Nero also shows that the SBW-06C1S-U has a maximum CD writing speed of 24x and a 6016KB buffer which is about 2MB smaller than what is listed in the drive's specs. This buffer is also backed up by ASUS's FlextraLink technology. According to Nero, the SBW-06C1S-U can also write CD-Text and overburn. When testing the drive's capacity I found that the drive was able to overburn up to 92:57 with CompUSA's 99 minute CD-R media.
Using Alex Noe's Weak Sector Utility we were able to determine that the SBW-06C1S-U is a "two sheep" burner. This means that ASUS'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 SBW-06C1S-U's reading and writing speeds and supported disc types.
Opti Drive Control also shows that the SBW-06C1S-U 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 Opti Drive Control gives us a quick glance at the SBW-06C1S-U'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 ASUS's new drive can read and write to most BD and DVD formats.
The SBW-06C1S-U doesn't let you set the book type of single layer DVD+R or DVD+RW media. However, using software like Nero, you can set the book type for DVD+R DL discs to "DVD-ROM." This greatly reduces compatibility problems, especially with older DVD players.
