Model: Lite-On eNAU608 8x USB 2.0 DVD±RW/RAM
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.

With the growing popularity of notebook and netbook computers, Lite-On has set its sights on the portable optical drive market. This winter, the company introduced its latest external slim DVD writer, the eNAU608. Like Lite-On's other portable DVD writers, the eNAU608 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. It also features many of the technologies we've come to expect from the company, including support for both LabelTag and LightScribe disc labeling technologies. What sets the eNAU608 apart from Lite-On's other offerings though, is its interchangeable top cover, which can be customized to fit a user's style and personality. The eNAU608 comes with a number of pre-printed inserts. Otherwise, users can create their own using the included software.

Needless to say, this is only a taste of what the eNAU608 has to offer. To give you an idea of what to expect from Lite-On's external slim DVD writer, we'll take a look at some of  the drive's features and then put it through its paces to see how it performs. Is the eNAU608 the best choice for the person on the go? Keep reading as we find out.



What's in the box?:

  • Lite-On eNAU608 8x USB 2.0 DVD±RW/RAM Drive
  • Quick Installation Guide
  • Software CD
  • Replacement Covers
  • USB Y Cable

Physical Features:

The drive Lite-On sent us for this review was manufactured in November of 2010 and had firmware CL02. For this review I used firmware version CL03.

The Lite-On eNAU608 is one of the smallest DVD writers on the market today. Measuring 141 x 18.6 x 132.8 mm, it's not much larger than a couple of jewel cases stacked on top of one another. Aside from the clear top panel, the eNAU608 is constructed out of a lightweight, black plastic. The glossy finish looks nice, but finger prints and smudges have a tendency to stand out.

If flowery hearts aren't your thing, you can customize the eNAU608 by sliding off the top panel and replacing the insert with a different design. The drive comes with eight pre-printed designs. Otherwise, you can create your own using the bundled photo editing utility. 

On the bottom, the eNAU608 has four small rubber feet to keep it from sliding around when placed on a flat surface. Unlike the eTAU208, there is no place to store the included USB cable when the drive is not in use.

The LED and eject button are located along the front of the eNAU608. This LED lights up green when both reading and writing. You can also see a few logos showing support for LabelTag and LightScribe as well as the DVD Multi specification.

Along the rear, you can see the eNAU608's USB 2.0 interface. This connector not only transfers data but provides power for the drive.

Like many portable drives, the eNAU608 comes with a USB Y cable, which lets you draw power from two USB ports instead of just one. I'm not really sure what Lite-On was thinking when they designed the one for the eNAU608, but they chose some very odd lengths. Despite the fact that there is nearly 20 inches of cable between the two Type A connectors, there is only 8 inches of cable between the first Type A connector and the mini-USB connector. As a result, the drive needs to be placed very close to the computer.

Technical Specs:

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

Lite-On eNAU608 8x USB 2.0 DVD±RW/RAM
DVD+R Write Speeds 8x, 6x, 4x (P-CAV)
3x (CLV)
DVD+RW Write Speeds 8x, 7x, 4x (Z-CLV)
3x (CLV)
DVD-R Write Speeds 8x, 6x, 4x (P-CAV)
3x (CLV)
DVD-RW Write Speeds 6x, 4x (Z-CLV)
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 (CAV)
 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 2MB
Access Times
180 ms (DVD)
130 ms (CD)
CD Formats CD-DA
CD-ROM
CD-ROM XA
CD-Extra
Video CD
Photo CD
Multi-session
CD-I FMV
CD Plus
CD-R
CD-RW
DVD Formats DVD-ROM
DVD-R/RW
DVD+R/RW
DVD+R DL
DVD-R DL
DVD-RAM

LightScribe:

Like many of Lite-On's drives, the eNAU608 features support for 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 eNAU608, Lite-On turned to Nero. Using the bundled software you can both 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.

LabelTag:

Along with LightScribe, the eNAU608 supports Lite-On's own LabelTag technology. Similar in concept to Yamaha's DiscT@2 technology, LabelTag lets you burn graphics and text onto the data side of a standard CD-R or DVD+R/-R disc.

To create your own LabelTag you'll need to use the bundled version of Nero Express Essentials. You'll see the option to create a LabelTag right before you burn the data to disc. 

Creating the actual LabelTag is pretty straightforward. From within the label designer, you can add your own text and graphic. You can customize it further by selecting the font you want to use, specifying a layout and setting the label height.

Once you're done creating your LabelTag, Nero Express will automatically burn your data and the design onto the disc. The amount of time it takes depends on the writing speed you've selected and the size and complexity of the LabelTag. I found that in most cases it added only a few minutes to the total burn time.

I found that the level of detail really depends on the type of disc being used. The best results came from discs using darker dyes like Metal Azo (Mitsubishi/Verbatim). When using discs with Phthalocyanine or Cyanine dyes, the graphics and text were almost too light to see.

The eNAU608 features what Lite-On calls SmartWrite technology. Previously known as HyperTuning, SmartWrite automatically creates writing strategies for unknown, or unsupported, DVD±R and DVD±R DL 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 eNAU608 supports Lite-On's OverSpeed function. When enabled, the drive will try to write to your DVD±R media at a speed higher than what 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.


OverSpeed Off

 


OverSpeed On

More Features:

By looking at the picture below, you can see that Lite-On's new DVD writer is identified as a "Slimtype eNAU608 5."

Nero also shows that the eNAU608 has a maximum CD writing speed of 24x and a 1536KB buffer. This buffer is backed up by SMART-BURN buffer underrun protection as well. According to Nero, the eNAU608 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 eNAU608 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 eNAU608's reading and writing speeds and supported disc types.

Opti Drive Control also shows that the eNAU608 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 eNAU608'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 supports LightScribe technology and can read and write to DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL and DVD-RAM media.

The eNAU608 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.


Lite-On has once again turned to Nero for their software bundle. The CD that comes with the eNAU608 contains a stripped down version of the Nero 9 Essentials suite which includes Nero Express, Nero Vision, and Nero ShowTime. It also contains Nero Linux for those with Linux-based netbooks.

Nero Express - With Nero Express, Nero has taken the features and performance people have come to expect from Nero Burning Rom and combined them with a user friendly interface. Redesigned to maximize ease-of-use, Nero Express gives users the ability to quickly and easily burn audio, data and video to CD or DVD.

The version of Nero Express that Sony included with their new DVD±RW drive is 9.4.39.0.  You can download the latest version of the software from Nero's website.

Nero Vision - Nero Vision is Nero's video authoring application. Thanks to a user friendly interface, Nero Vision makes it easy for users to capture, edit and then burn their favorite videos to VCD, SVCD or DVD or export it to Nero Digital format.

Nero Vision also lets users add things like transitions, custom backgrounds, animated menus and text effects. You can even use it to turn your photos into custom slide shows. 

Nero ShowTime - Nero ShowTime is Nero's software DVD player. Along with support for DVD's, ShowTime can be used to play back VCD's, SVCD's and miniDVD's as well as any MPEG, AVI or Nero Digital files you might have on your hard drive.

While small in size, the Lite-On's new external slim DVD writer delivers an impressive number of features. Along with a great looking, customizable design, the eNAU608 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 eNAU608 also features support for LightScribe as well as many of the technologies we've come to expect from Lite-On, including new ones like LabelTag. With all this, it's easy to see why the Lite-On eNAU608 gets the full 10 points for its features.


Lite-On's new portable DVD writer was very easy to install. Thanks to its USB 2.0 interface, the entire installation process took only a matter of minutes.  With no jumpers to worry about, it was as simple as connecting the USB cable. Once connected to our test computer, it took only a matter of seconds for plug and play to install the necessary drivers. After making sure that the drive was recognized correctly in the Device Manager, I was ready to start installing the software.

Software Installation:

As I mentioned earlier, the eNAU608 comes with a CD full of software from Nero. If you have autorun enabled on your computer, the menu pictured below will automatically come up when you insert the disc.

As you can see, this menu is pretty straight forward. To install the writing software, you will want to click on the "Nero 9 Essentials" button. After that, you will be taken to the Nero installation menu. 

By default the setup program will install the entire Nero 9 Essentials suite onto your computer. If you don't want to install everything, select the custom installation. From here you can choose the components you want.

Installing Nero Linux is also pretty straight forward. The disc contains packages for both RPM and Debian-based Linux distributions and can be installed using the commands shown below.

The Documentation:

The bulk of the eNAU608'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 portable DVD writer. The first section goes over the drive's supported formats, recording modes, and system requirements. The manual also spends a few pages going over the locations and the functions of the buttons and connectors located on the front and back of the drive.

From here, the manual jumps right into the physical installation of the eNAU608. The instructions are pretty brief since there really isn't much to do other than plug in the USB cable and turn the computer on. Nevertheless, Lite-On has provided a few diagrams showing how the drive should be hooked up. The manual continues on by going over the basic operation of the eNAU608. Along with information on how to use and maintain the drive, it includes instructions to create and burn your own LightScribe labeled discs. For whatever reason though, the manual makes no mention at all of LabelTag. Last but not least, there is a short troubleshooting section containing a list of common problems as well as their solutions.

Lite-On's portable DVD writer also comes with a "Quick Installation Guide." This fold out guide takes the user step by step through the installation process. While a little short on words, there are plenty of diagrams showing what to do. For most people, the "Quick Start Guide" will be all they'll need to get the eNAU608 up and running.

For ease of installation, the eNAU608 is hard to beat. Thanks to its bus-powered, USB 2.0 interface, it's as simple as plugging in a single cable. If you do run into trouble, the documentation Lite-On has provided is more than sufficient. However, I would have liked to have seen a little more drive specific information as well as something on LabelTag. 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:

CPU:  AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ 2.4GHz 
Motherboard: ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe with BIOS 0304
Memory: Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400
Video Card: MSI NX7900GT-T2D256E - ForceWare v93.71
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s 320GB
Operating System: Windows XP SP3 - NVIDIA nForce v9.16

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. 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 and CD Speed are used to test transfer 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 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 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.

CD Winbench 99 Scores:

   Lite-On eNAU608
CD Winbench 99 1100 KB/sec
Transfer Rate: Inside 1490 KB/sec
Transfer Rate: Outside 3250 KB/sec
Random Access Time 134ms
CPU Utilization 4.76%

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 portable DVD writer gave us some mixed performance in our CD Winbench tests. In the transfer speed tests, the drive started reading at about 9.9x on the inside of the CD and was able to reach 21.7x on the outside of the disc. While this is fairly good for a drive with a maximum read speed of 24x, the eNAU608's overall score was not as high as some of the other  portable DVD writers we've looked at. 

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

Lite-On eNAU608

18.12x 10.52x 23.98 148ms 145ms 269ms 1% 2% 4% 9%

The eNAU608 performed a little better in our CD Speed tests. The drive started reading at 10.52x 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

Lite-On eNAU608

18.53x 10.66x 24.56x 143ms 153ms 272ms 1% 2% 5% 9%

The eNAU608 was a little faster when reading CD-R media. Thanks to this speed boost, the drive was able to reach a maximum transfer speed of 24.56x.

Lite-On's portable DVD writer had no problems recognizing our 99 minute CompUSA media. The eNAU608 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

Lite-On eNAU608

18.20x 10.64x 24.04x 158ms 144ms 270ms 1% 2% 4% 9%

The eNAU608 also reads CD-RW media at 24x. As you can see, the drive 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 Lite-On eNAU608 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
Lite-On eNAU608 18.31x 10.56x 24.19x 10 Yes

For a portable drive, the eNAU608 did very well in our DAE tests. The drive started out at 10.56x and reached a maximum speed of 24.19x.

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
Lite-On eNAU608 18.14x 10.53x 23.92x 10 Yes

The eNAU608 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.

Lite-On's portable DVD writer completed CD Speed's advanced DAE tests with an average score of 17.20x. 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 eNAU608 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 Drag-to-Disc 9.0:

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 eNAU608 has a maximum CD writing speed of 24x. To reach this speed, it uses CAV, or Constant Angular Velocity. With Taiyo Yuden's 52x media, the drive started writing at about 10.89x and reached a maximum speed of 24.06x at the end of the session. This gave the eNAU608 an average writing speed of about 18.48x.

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

Lite-On eNAU608

5:08

The eNAU608 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 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-52327S (firmware QS09) and read the discs at 32x. 


HP 52x (CMC)


Moser Baer 52x


Verbatim 52x

The eNAU608'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 eNAU608 uses 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 eNAU608 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
D-to-D
Write
D-to-D
Read
Quick
Erase
Full
Erase
Lite-On eNAU608 4:17 4:25 3:38 0:29 5:50

Lite-On's portable DVD writer did fairly well in our rewriting tests. The drive took 4:17 to write 400MB with Nero and 4:25 to do the same with Drag-to-Disc. Erasing wasn't a problem for the eNAU608 either. In our tests, it took 29 seconds to do a quick erase and 5:50 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.


 

 

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

Lite-On eNAU608

6.16x 3.40x 8.23x 143ms 160ms 269ms 18% 17% 31% 57%

The eNAU608 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 8.23x. 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

Lite-On eNAU608

6.17x 3.40x 8.24x 136ms 159ms 256ms 9% 16% 30% 58%


Verbatim DVD-RW

 

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

Lite-On eNAU608

6.18x 3.41x 8.25x 139ms 169ms 265ms 9% 16% 30% 59%


Verbatim DVD-R DL
 

 

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

Lite-On eNAU608

6.01x 3.26x 8.01x 138ms 159ms 261ms 10% 18% n/a n/a

The eNAU608 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

Lite-On eNAU608

4.63x 2.97x 5.00x 164ms 171ms 276ms 16% 19% 34% n/a

Lite-On'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

Lite-On eNAU608

6.17x 3.40x 8.25ms 137ms 167ms 264ms 9% 16% 30% 58%


Verbatim DVD+RW

 

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

Lite-On eNAU608

6.19x 3.43x 8.27x 140ms 166ms 263ms 9% 17% 31% 59%


Verbatim DVD+R DL

 

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

Lite-On eNAU608

6.02x 3.27x 8.02x 138ms 161ms 266ms 10% 18% n/a n/a

The eNAU608'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

Lite-On eNAU608

6.10x 3.36x 8.15x 145ms 164ms 270ms 19% 17% 30% 57%

The eNAU608 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 eNAU608 worked as a DVD player, I watched a few scenes from Transformers: The Movie and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith using Nero Showtime. 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 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.


Verbatim 16x DVD+R

 


Verbatim 16x DVD-R

The eNAU608 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 Lite-On's new drive starts writing at 3.48x and accelerates, reaching its maximum speed at about the 4GB minute mark.


Verbatim 8x DVD+RW

 


Verbatim 6x DVD-RW

The eNAU608 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
Lite-On eNAU608 11:02 10:56 11:33 12:25

The eNAU608 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 eNAU608, 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
Sony 16x DVD+R RITEK F16 8x 10:55
TDK 16x DVD+R CMC MAG M01 8x 10:38
Taiyo Yuden 16x DVD+R YUDEN000T03 8x 11:01
Verbatim 16x DVD+R MCC-004 8x 11:02
HP 16x DVD-R CMC MAG.AM3 8x 10:47
Sony 16x DVD-R SONY16D1 8x 10:49
Taiyo Yuden 16x DVD-R TYG03 8x 10:59
Verbatim 16x DVD-R MCC 03RG20 8x 10:56

So what about writing quality? 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 SHM-165H6S (firmware HS0E) 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. 


Sony 16x DVD+R @ 8x
(RITEK F16
)

BenQ DW1640 - CD Speed
Transfer Rate


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

BenQ DW1640 - CD Speed
Transfer Rate


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

BenQ DW1640 - CD Speed
Transfer Rate


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

BenQ DW1640 - CD Speed
Transfer Rate

The eNAU608'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)

BenQ DW1640 - CD Speed
Transfer Rate


Sony 16x DVD-R @ 8x
(SONY
16D1)

BenQ DW1640 - CD Speed
Transfer Rate


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

BenQ DW1640 - CD Speed
Transfer Rate


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

BenQ DW1640 - CD Speed
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.

  DVD+RW
Quick
DVD+RW
Full
DVD-RW
Quick
DVD-RW
Full
Lite-On eNAU608 0:12 11:31 0:36 12:23

To test the eNAU608's packet writing performance I used Drag-to-Disc 9.0. 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
Lite-On eNAU608 11:30 9:36 11:01 9:28 24:40 11:36

Double Layer DVD Write Tests - Nero Burning Rom 9.4.26.0:

To test the double layer DVD writing performance of the eNAU608, 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.

  DVD+R DL DVD-R DL
Lite-On eNAU608 24:29 24:33

The eNAU608 performed relatively well when writing to DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media. Thanks to its 6x writing speed, the drive took 27:53 to write 8001MB of data to DVD+R DL media and 29:13 to do the same with DVD-R DL discs. So what about writing quality? Take a look below.


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

BenQ DW1640 - CD Speed
Transfer Rate


Verbatim 8x DVD-R DL @ 6x
(
MKM 01RD30)

BenQ DW1640 - CD Speed
Transfer Rate

The eNAU608's writing quality wasn't as good as I had expected with Verbatim's DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media. Looking at the screenshots above, you can see that the error rates were a very high throughout some sections of the discs. In the case of Verbatim's 8x DVD-R DL media, there were also a small number of PO Failures which caused some readability problems.

Performance Revisited:

While Lite-On's new portable DVD writer had a few rough spots, it performed as expected throughout most of our tests. The eNAU608 turned in some relatively good times when writing to DVD±R, DVD±RW and DVD±R DL media. Writing quality was an issue though, as the PI/PIF rates were quite high with DVD±R DL discs. Nevertheless, the eNAU608 was fairly quick when reading DVD's.  In our tests, the eNAU608 was able to read data and video DVD-ROM's as well as most recordable media at 8x. 

The eNAU608 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 eNAU608 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 Lite-On eNAU608 gets a solid 8 out of 10 for its performance.


The eNAU608 is a great choice for anyone looking for a compact and lightweight DVD writer. Along with a good looking, customizable design, it offers a long list of features as well as some of the fastest reading and writing speeds available on a portable drive.

The eNAU608 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 DVD±R DL discs. When it came to reading DVD's, the eNAU608 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 eNAU608 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 eNAU608 performed as expected. The drive was relatively quick when writing to CD-R and CD-RW media and its writing quality was quite good.

When it comes to features, Lite-On's new portable DVD writer definitely delivers. Along with the ability to power itself off a computer's USB bus, the eNAU608 sports an interchangeable top cover that can be customized to match a user's style and personality. The drive also includes support for Lite-On's SMART-BURN, SmartWrite, OverSpeed and LabelTag technologies as well as HP's LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling system. To top it all off, Lite-On includes software from Nero for both Windows and Linux-based computers.

In the end, it usually comes down to price. For what it offers, the eNAU608 is surprisingly affordable. Available in your choice of black or white, the retail version of the drive can be purchased from Amazon or through some of the vendors on PriceGrabber for as little as $50.

Lite-On eNAU608
8x USB 2.0 DVD±RW/RAM
Features:
Installation:
Performance:
10
8
8
Overall: 8

Highs:

  • Customizable top cover
  • 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 CD writing quality
  • Supports LabelTag and LightScribe disc labeling technologies
  • Good selection of writing and rewriting speeds
  • Supports bitsetting for DVD+R/RW and DVD+R DL media
  • Compact and lightweight design
  • Supports SMART-BURN, SMART-X, SmartWrite and OverSpeed technologies
  • Powered off the USB bus
  • Includes Windows and Linux software from Nero
  • Affordably priced

Lows:

  • Questionable writing quality with some DVD±R DL media
  • Poorly designed USB cable
  • High access times
  • Only a 1.5MB buffer