The news
Lite-On is now selling across Europe a burn-everything internal E-IDE DVD-writer, the SHM-165H6S, that's able to create labels directly to disc using the LightScribe system.
The unit is said to write to DVD-RAM at 5x, burn to both types of dual-layer media - at 8x for DVD+R9 and 4x for DVD-R9 - and create labels on LightScribe CDs and DVDs at 1.6x.
Burn speed for single-layer DVDs is claimed to be 16x for DVD-R and DVD+R - Lite-On has resisted the move to 18x - while speeds for rewriteables are reckoned to be 8x for DVD+RW and 6x for DVD-RW. Write speeds for CD are 48x (CD-R) and 24x (CD-RW). Full specs are included below.
The SHM-165H6S also uses an intelligent burning technology that we talked about in our wide-ranging interview at CTS 2006 with Lite-On's Jelmer Veldman.
Back then in May, it went under the working title of HyperTuning but now has a different and permanent name - Super AllWrite. Inclusion of Super AllWrite is reckoned to increase the likelihood that a burner will successfully write to a disc of poor quality or from a lesser maker whose discs haven't yet been added to the firmware's compatibility list.
What a drive equipped with Super AllWrite apparently does is carry out a series of test burns – the success of which it checks – to try to figure out the best burning strategy for that particular disc. This is said to happen in just a few seconds and be totally transparent to the user.
The inclusion of such technology - assuming it works well - is of considerable benefit. It should mean far few disappointments for users who don't realise that not all blank media is created equal. And that should be good news not just for novice users but also for resellers, distributors and manufacturers because it ought to mean that fewer burners are returned as faulty when in fact the real problem is that they've been used with dodgy blanks or those from lesser-known brands.
Lite-On
SHM-165H6S - specifications |
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DVD Family |
Write |
|
DVD+R |
16X (21600KB/sec) maximum by CAV |
|
DVD-R |
16X (21600KB/sec) maximum by CAV |
|
DVD+R9 |
8X (10800KB/sec) maximum by
Zone CLV |
|
DVD-R9 |
4X (5400KB/sec) maximum by CLV |
|
ReWrite |
||
DVD+RW |
8X (10800KB/sec) by CLV |
|
DVD-RW |
6X (8100KB/sec) by CLV |
|
DVD-RAM |
5X (6750KB/sec) by PCV |
|
Read |
16X (21600KB/sec) maximum by CAV |
|
Access time |
160ms |
|
|
|
|
CD Family |
Write |
|
CD-R |
48X (7200KB/sec) maximum by CAV |
|
ReWrite |
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CD-RW |
24X (3600KB/sec) by Z-CLV in
UltraSpeed disc |
|
Read |
48X (7200KB/sec) by CAV |
|
Access time |
160ms |
|
LightScribe labeling |
CD-R Media |
1.6X |
DVD+R Media |
1.6X |
|
Buffer Size |
2MB (MAX) |
|
PC Required |
Pentium 4 1.3GHz or higher CPU
and 128MB or higher RAM are |
|
HDD must have access time
< 20ms; with a minimum of 650MB free |
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9GB free space for creating a
DVD image file (9GB for double layer; |
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Compatibility |
Microsoft Windows XP / 2000 SP4 |
|
MTBF (Life) |
70000POH |
|
S/N Ratio |
> 75dB |
|
General |
Environment |
|
Operating |
5deg C to 50deg C; Relative
Humidity: 15% to 80% |
|
Non-Operating |
-40deg C to 65degC; Relative
Humidity: 15% to 95% |
|
Dimension |
145(W) x 41.3(H) x 170(D) mm |
|
Weight |
< 0.9Kg |
|
Voltage Requirements |
||
+5V +/-5% and less than 100
mVp-p ripple voltage |
||
+12V +/-10% and less than 200
mVp-p ripple voltage |
Check out Lite-On's take on page two - where you'll find the press release about the SHM-165H6S - and let us know your own thoughts in this thread in the HEXUS.lifestyle.news forum.
HEXUS.links
HEXUS.community :: discussion thread about this articleCTS - 2006 :: interview with Lite-On's Jelmer Veldman