2 - Options: Transfer Rate


These settings are specifically referred to the Transfer Rate Test (TRT) of the "Benchmark" window.





Graph




In this panel can be modified settings relative to graph drawing.

Test Length: This slider allows the user to select accuracy of TRT.




The user can select if he/she wants to do a fast or an accurate test. A higher accuracy will show a more detailed graph but the test will take longer.

My suggestion is to select max accuracy, because the main purpose of TRT is to test readability of burned media.

Show RPM: selecting this option




in the TRT graph the disc rotation speed will also be shown. If this option is unchecked, TRT will not show the disc rotation speed.

Maximum Speed CD: this setting allow the user to select the maximum value displayed in the graph scale when a CD media is inserted in the drive.




I suggest to insert a value a little higher than max read speed of installed drives, to avoid that a segment of the curve could be drawn on the window margin. For example, for a drive able to read up to 52x speed, I suggest a value of 53 is inserted.

Maximum Speed DVD: this setting allows the user to select the maximum value displayed in the graph scale when a DVD media is inserted in the drive.




Again, I suggest the user inserts a value a little higher than max read speed of the installed drives, to avoid that a segment of the curve could be drawn on the window margin. For a 16x drive, I suggest a value of 17 is inserted.

Show minimum/maximum: If checked, this option will show in benchmark window minimum and maximum values of speeds recorded in Transfer Rate Test (TRT).




If the curve is regular, minimum value will be the start speed, and maximum the end speed.

If the curve is irregular, minimum value will be the lowest speed recorded, and maximum the highest value reached.

High resolution graph: This setting allows to select whether graph must be drawn at low or at high resolution.




This option can be set both for read and for write tests. I suggest to select both these options to have a clearer image of test results.


Write options




In this section can be changed writing options. It's possible to select the writing method, to do overburning, how much to overburn, and to set other burner options.

Write mode: Media can be written in different ways:

• SAO (cue sheet) (Session At Once)
• TAO (Track At Once)

Here it's possible to select writing mode when CD-DVD Speed do a create disc test. Default setting is SAO.

In SAO mode can be selected also the so-called "Overburning", i.e. to write more data than the official capacity of the disc. Selecting this option, CD-DVD Speed will write on the disc the exact amount of data specified in the box (see the red arrow). Beware: not all burners supports overburning, and writing in overburning can damage the drive. Moreover, to do overburning is better to use special suited media, or data can be unreadable.

Disk type (Simulation only): Some drives can do simulated burnings, i.e. do a burn without writing anything on the disc.




You can choose to simulate writing an audio or a data disc.


Finally, there are some other burner settings:




Buffer underrun protection: Checking this option, will be enabled the drive's buffer underrun mechanisms if available. These allow to interrupt burning process if drive buffer is empty, and to resume burning when buffer is again full. By unchecking this option, buffer underrun mechanisms of the burner will be disabled. Important: it is recommended to leave this option checked when testing the write performance for Z-CLV write modes.

Write and verify: This option is related with RAM media writing. Checking this option, writing of RAM discs will be done with the verify option on, i.e the disc is checked during the burn, and if there are errors, the wrong sectors of the disc are written again. If unchecking this option, there will be no verification during the burning, and the writing time will be shorter.

Direct overwrite: This option is aimed at telling CD-DVD Speed how to burn rewritable media. There are two possibilities: first erase and then burn, or directly burn without erasing. Checking this option, rewritable media will be overwritten without erasing. Unchecking this option, trying to write on a not-empty media will give the following error message:




Burn image file: Again there is an important consideration: this option is related only with the writing test done in the "Benchmark" window. Checking this option, CD-DVD Speed will run the "Create Disc Test" burning an image file created by user (ISO or NRG). Unchecking this option, the "Create Disc Test" will burn on the disc binary data up to the full disc capacity or up to the value selected by user if "Overburning" was selected.

Include test data: Checking this option, besides binary data or image file, CD-DVD Speed will also burn on the disc also some additional data: the drive used to do the burn, installed firmware, and burning graph. This information can be seen in the "Disc Quality" test graphs. This can be useful to interpret scan results. Unchecking this option prevents the saving of these additional informations on the burned disc.

Checking this option can be useful because sometimes error spikes in scans are related, for example, with buffer emptying during burn. In this way it's easier to find what can be the cause of a group of errors on a burned media.