Toshiba SD-M1712 DVD-ROM Review

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

DVD-ROM : DVD-ROM , DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM
CD-ROM : CD-DA, CD+(E)G, CD-MIDI, CD-TEXT, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, CD-I Bridge (Photo-CD, Video CD), CD-I, Multisession CD (Photo-CD, CD-Extra, CD-RW, CD-R), CD-R (read), CD-RW (read)

Reads 8cm and 12cm DVD and CD
Data buffer: 192 Kbyte
Data rate:

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

Access time:

DVD 95 ms
CD 85 ms

Installation: horizontal and vertical
MTBF 100,000
Weight: 0.99 Kg.

The drive arrived in the OEM package. The design of the front panel is very ascetic, like that of the 1612. On the whole, the models 1612 and 1712 are identical except the smaller data buffer of the 1712. The front panel has only a Load/Eject button.

This is one of rare drives which can read DVD-RAM Type 2 which can be taken out of the case.

Additional information on the device

Nero CD-Speed

EAC Configuration Wizard

Test results

Quality of operation with CDs

CDWinBench 99

CDWinMark99 - 2700
CD-ROM Transfer Rate

Inside - 3030 KB/s
Outside - 6440 KB/s

CPU utilization - 1.53%
CD-ROM Access Time - 84.9 ms

Testing with a standard CD

	TOSHIBA SD-M1712
Average Speed	33.49x
Start Speed	19.17x
End Speed	44.46x
Random Seek	90 ms
1/3 Seek	105 ms
Full Seek	153 ms
Reading type	CAV
CPU usage 1x	0%
Accurate stream	Yes
DAE quality Score	10
SpinUp Time	1.14
SpinDown Time	3.12
Disc Recognition Time	5.33 sec

CD-ROM Drive Analyzer

CD-R reading

CD-RW reading

Scratched CD reading

Advanced DAE Quality(Nero CD-Speed)

Offset	-2008 bytes ( -502 samples)
Sequential Read Test	Average Speed: 22.18 X Data Errors: 0 Sync Errors: 0
Harmonica Read Test	Average Access Time: 126 ms Data Errors: 6 Sync Errors: 0 Total Data Errors: 6 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 OK 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): 01:05.01 -> incorrect! Absolute position (01:07.00): 01:07.01 -> incorrect! Index (5): 5 Test 2 Track (17): 17 Relative position (01:33.00): 01:33.01 -> incorrect! Absolute position (33:35.00): 33:35.01 -> incorrect! Index (1): 1 Test 3 Track (36): 36 Relative position (00:00.00): 00:00.02 -> incorrect! Absolute position (70:02.00): 70:02.02 -> 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	21.6x	20.3x
Total errors	0.00%	0.00%

EAC scores (superb quality)

	Licensed disc	Pirated disc
Average extraction speed	9.8x	9.8x
Total errors	0.00%	0.00%

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

The drive copied the 780MB discs flawlessly. Copy time is 4 min. 30 sec.

Quality of operation with DVD

Nero DVD Speed

Testing with the one-layer DVD

	TOSHIBA SD-M1712
Average Speed	5.88x
Start Speed	3.31x
End Speed	7.84x
Random Seek	110 ms
1/3 Seek	121 ms
Full Seek	164 ms
Reading type	CAV
CPU usage 1x	1%
SpinUp Time	1.33 sec
SpinDown Time	2.00 sec
Disc Recognition Time	9.64 sec

Testing with the two-layer DVD

	TOSHIBA SD-M1712
Average Speed	3.64x
Start Speed	2.02x
End Speed	2.19x
Random Seek	111 ms
1/3 Seek	114 ms
Full Seek	153 ms
Reading type	CAV
CPU usage 1x	1%
SpinUp Time	1.21 sec
SpinDown Time	1.64 sec
Layer Change Time	57 ms
Disc Recognition Time	6.73 sec

Compatibility with recordable DVD

DVD-R reading

DVD-RW reading

DVD+R reading

Unfortunately, the disc failed to finish reading the test DVD+R. After several attempts we found out that the drive stumbled at 4GB with a reading error.

DVD+RW reading

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 - 5/10
CD

Seek - 6/10
General noise - 7/10

Seek - 6/10
General noise - 7/10

On the whole, the drive works noisy at the maximum speed. It's possible to reduce the speed only using external programs (CDBremse, Nero DriveSpeed). The programs support the following speeds: 48x-32x-20x-8x.

Vibration

In operation with the unbalanced discs the drive vibrated noticeably and loudly. However, it didn't prevent the drive from reading the disc successfully.

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 - 45°C
T of the lower surface - 45°C

Possibility to make it multizone (RPC-1)

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

Conclusion

This is a further extension of the DVD-ROM line from Toshiba. The test results of this solution are almost identical to the previous 1612. The reduced buffer size had no negative effect. As always, Toshiba made a good DVD-ROM drive. The problems with reading of the DVD+R can be caused by incomplete compatibility between the drive and disc.

Roman Shelepov(srl@ixbt.com)

Write a comment below. No registration needed!