TEAC DV-516E DVD-ROM Review

ATAPI, ATA-4 interface, UDMA support.
Formats supported

DVD-ROM : DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, DVD-R (Disc-at-once and Multi border), DVD-RW , DVD+RW DVD-R, DVD-RW
CD-ROM : CD-ROM Mode 1, CD-ROM XA Mode 2 (Form 1, Form 2) Photo CD (Single & Multi Session) CD-DA (4-10X at Play audio, 16X at data extraction) CD Extra (CD plus), CD-I , Super Video CD CD-RW (Supports Addressing Method 2), CD-TEXT

Reads 8cm and 12cm DVD and CD
Data buffer: 512 Kbyte
Data rate:

DVD Transfer Rate 16x (21600 KB/s)
CD Transfer Rate 48x (7200 KB/s)

Access time:

DVD 85 ms
CD 85 ms

Installation: horizontal and vertical
MTBF 100,000POH (20% duty)
Weight: 1.05 Kg.

This is the first TEAC's solution on the DVD-ROM market, and the mod asceticism trends hasn't affected this drive yet. That is why the drive can properly play Audio CD-ROM without PC's help. The front panel has a rubber layer to reduce noise and protect from dust. The tests must be very interesting as TEAC is considered a company producing high-quality and efficient devices.

Additional information on the device

Nero CD-Speed

EAC Configuration Wizard

As usual, both programs have different attitude toward processing C2 errors. But I trust EAC more because this program extracts audio tracks itself, and if it says it can use C2, it means it.

Test results

Quality of operation with CDs

CDWinBench 99

CDWinMark99 - 2690
CD-ROM Transfer Rate

Inside - 2910 KB/s
Outside - 5650 KB/s

CPU utilization - 1.25%
CD-ROM Access Time - 75.8 ms

Testing with a standard CD

	TEAC DV-516E
Average Speed	27.42x
Start Speed	15.72x
End Speed	36.41x
Random Seek	85 ms
1/3 Seek	95 ms
Full Seek	169 ms
Reading type	CAV
CPU usage 1x	0%
Accurate stream	Yes
DAE quality Score	10
SpinUp Time	0.23
SpinDown Time	3.56
Disc Recognition Time	0.01 sec

CD-ROM Drive Analyzer

CD-R reading

CD-RW reading

In the tests the drive had several problems of detection of the test CD-RW. When the drive could detect it, it read the disc at a high speed. Scratched CD reading

Advanced DAE Quality(Nero CD-Speed)

Offset	2256 bytes ( 564 samples)
Sequential Read Test	Average Speed: 29.37 X Data Errors: 0 Sync Errors: 0
Harmonica Read Test	Average Access Time: 119 ms Data Errors: 0 Sync Errors: 0 Total Data Errors: 0 Total Sync Errors: 0 Quality Score: 100.0
On The Fly Copying Simulation	Copying at 1 X OK Copying at 2 X OK Copying at 4 X OK Copying at 6 X OK Copying at 8 X OK Copying at 10 X OK Copying at 12 X too slow Copying at 16 X too slow
CD Text	Drive is capable of reading CD Text information
Subchannel Data	Test 1 Track (01): 01 Relative position (01:05.00): 01:05.40 -> incorrect! Absolute position (01:07.00): 01:07.40 -> incorrect! Index (5): 5 Test 2 Track (17): 23 incorrect! Relative position (01:33.00): 01:51.40 -> incorrect! Absolute position (33:35.00): 51:53.40 -> incorrect! Index (1): 1 Test 3 Track (36): 53 incorrect! Relative position (00:00.00): 02:30.40 -> incorrect! Absolute position (70:02.00): 112:02.40 -> incorrect! Index (1): 1
Leadin	Drive cannot read data from the Leadin
Leadout	Drive cannot read data from the Leadout

CD audio track extraction (CDDAE 99, EAC)

CDDAE scores

	Licensed disc	Pirated disc
Average extraction speed	27.6x	26.5x
Total errors	0.00%	0.00%

EAC scores (superb quality)

	Licensed disc	Pirated disc
Average extraction speed	7.8x	7.6x
Total errors	0.00%	0.00%

Direct copying of information from 780 MB CD-R (90 min.) to HDD

The drive copied the 780MB disc flawlessly. Copy time is 4 min. 40 sec.

Quality of operation with DVD

Nero DVD Speed

Testing with the one-layer DVD

	TEAC DV-516E
Average Speed	6.36x
Start Speed	3.58x
End Speed	8.48x
Random Seek	92 ms
1/3 Seek	106 ms
Full Seek	171 ms
Reading type	CAV
CPU usage 1x	1%
SpinUp Time	0.23 sec
SpinDown Time	2.56 sec
Disc Recognition Time	0.0 sec

Testing with the two-layer DVD

	TEAC DV-516E
Average Speed	5.91x
Start Speed	3.28x
End Speed	3.56x
Random Seek	107 ms
1/3 Seek	107 ms
Full Seek	172 ms
Reading type	CAV
CPU usage 1x	1%
SpinUp Time	0.23 sec
SpinDown Time	2.41 sec
Layer Change Time	85 ms
Disc Recognition Time	0.0 sec

Compatibility with recordable DVD

DVD-R reading

DVD-RW reading

DVD+RW reading

Unfortunately, the drive couldn't detect the test DVD+R disc.

DVD-Video playback with Cyberlink PowerDVD 4.0

The DVD video was played without any problems. No artifacts were noticed. The quality wasn't affected either when the layer was changed.

Noise

Tray - 6/10
CD

Seek - 4/10
General noise - 7/10

Seek - 4/10
General noise - 7/10

On the whole, the drive works noisy at the maximum speed, especially the 'seek' operation. It's possible to reduce the speed only using external programs (CDBremse, Nero DriveSpeed). The speed can be lowered in 1x steps.

Vibration

In operation with the unbalanced discs the drive performed quite well, though it vibrated a little. However, it didn't prevent the drive from reading the disc successfully at the high speed.

Thermal conditions

The thermal conditions are good. The measurements were taken after 2-hour intensive operation.
T inside the PC case - 36°C
T of the upper surface - 44°C
T of the lower surface - 45°C

Possibility to make it multizone (RPC-1)

According to www.firmware-flash.com/ it's still impossible to change the drive status from RPC-2 (region locked) to RPC-1 (region free).

Conclusion

Well, the drive hasn't come up to our expectations. The drive is quite noisy though it works at a very high speed. In the tests the drive had some problems with detection of some CD and DVD media. Actually, this is a standard drive without any bells and whistles.

[ Next Part. Toshiba SD-M1712 DVD-ROM Review ]

Roman Shelepov(srl@ixbt.com)

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