CD Freaks presents Plextor PX-708A review! - Club CDFreaks

**G@M3FR3@K** · 18-09-2003

Yes, I've finished it

Quote:

Plextor has always been a well known brand in the optical storage industry but it took quite a while before they released their first DVD recorder. At the beginning of this year, in January, Plextor announced their first DVD recorder, the Plextor PX-504A. That drive only supported the DVD+R(W) recording format and could write DVD+R media at 4x and DVD+RW media at 2.4x.

Now, about seven months later, Plextor has released their second DVD recorder and this time Plextor made sure that their drive would be something special. With their new PX-708A drive Plextor has released the world's first 8x DVD+R recorder which means that it's possible to record a complete DVD in less than 10 minutes! Another thing that's interesting is that Plextor has made this drive a dual format recorder, meaning that it supports both the DVD-R(W) and DVD+R(W) formats.

Check it out here!

*Airhead* · 18-09-2003

Cool review! Good job as usual

drvcd · 18-09-2003

Looks great, but how is the ripping speed if you disable the limit as explained in thread http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread....threadid=75527 ??

**G@M3FR3@K** · 18-09-2003

I honestly completely overlooked that.. I will update the review a.s.a.p!

Nhawk · 18-09-2003

"This P-CAV recording method is very common since we see this type of recording on all new CD-RW recorders."

Well, actually the drive uses Z-CLV for DVD+R 8X recording and not PCAV (and thus pauses, increases the speed, produces PI/PO error and continues the write)

As for the DVD-RIP, it looks like CDRInfo also made that mistake until I emailed him. He mostly updated the review, except he still didn't update the graph for DVD-RIP that still shows 2X speed only.

I also wonder if you tried writing any CMC or Ritek CDR discs on the drive. So far the drives (I tried 3 on 2 computers) failed to write the TDK (Ritek) CDR at around 60min mark. Plextor engineering is looking into it now.

**G@M3FR3@K** · 18-09-2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Nhawk
"This P-CAV recording method is very common since we see this type of recording on all new CD-RW recorders."

Well, actually the drive uses Z-CLV for DVD+R 8X recording and not PCAV (and thus pauses, increases the speed, produces PI/PO error and continues the write)

Hmm you sure about this? I couldn't get the Nero 'show actual write speed' trick to work for some reason so I couldn't check the actual speeds the drive was recording at. I've changed the text for now so it doesn't lead to any confusion. New DVD-Video graphs are on their way for the review, running the last test now.

I feel pretty stupid for overlooking this 'unlocking' thing

Oh and no, I only recorded Philips and Plextor 4x media for the review. I do know that Plextor is working hard on improving the firmware for this drive.

Nhawk · 18-09-2003

Check this page for the 6-8X Z-CLV graph.

Also, here is the graph showing the PI/PO error when the drive switched speeds (picture provided by aviationwiz on CDRLabs)

**G@M3FR3@K** · 18-09-2003

Ok, thanks for the information Nhawk.

The review has now been updated with the Nero CD-DVD results for SL and DL DVD-Video reading when the drive is in 'unlocked' mode. Check out the updated read speed results here.

NoLimit · 18-09-2003

nice review mate

good work on that one..

drvcd · 18-09-2003

Great review! a "little" better speed on DVD video reading....
I just ordered one!

Nhawk · 18-09-2003

DVD-Rip speed is definitely great, however, I was surprised when my old Toshiba SD-M1502 drive was able to rip a DL DVD-Video disc faster than Plextor. I used a hacked firmware on the Toshiba that disables the 2X ripping limit.

Also, G@M3FR3@K, you may want to mention in your review that even though you didn't check the PI/PO rate of the DVDs using KProbe, that other people reported good results with RicohJPNR01, MCC002 and YudenT01 DVD+R media.

And if you get a chance, can you try burning some lower quality CD-R media (like CMC/Ritek) and see if it's successful.

Update: Just got off the phone with Plextor Engineering and they confirmed "Write Fail" problem with TDK (Ritek) CDR media and high C1/C2 error rate with CMC Magnetics (to be expected in case of CMC).
Verbatim(MCC) and TY seem to work well though.

NoLimit · 19-09-2003

this is 8X burn (nero dvd speed test) on a Sony DVD+R media (4X certified)
i think its too bad...maybe a media problem.

Nhawk · 19-09-2003

NoLimit: Try to ID the media. I don't think Sony manufactures their own media.

NoLimit · 19-09-2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Nhawk
NoLimit: Try to ID the media. I don't think Sony manufactures their own media.

i couldnt..there is no media code..tried plextools and nero cd/dvd speed.nothing worked..the drive couldnt identify the media code/manufactuare

**OC-Freak** · 19-09-2003

NoLimit - Your my saviour!!!

Finally someone else which gets bad scans with this drive and discs written at 8X - more to follow on sunday or monday as I've still some tests to finish.

To get the manufacturer, download dvdinfopro from www.dvdinfopro.com

Waiting for your results

MoUCLAs · 20-09-2003

I wanted to ask if we can write DVD-Audio with these , and the plextor , dvd writers..? Knows anebodY??

surg · 21-09-2003

@MoUCLAs
AFAIK every DVD writer could write DVD Audio but i think copy protection and mastering software are the problem.

MoUCLAs · 21-09-2003

i meant if a dvd writer could write a dvd with audio songs for example that i have in mp3 format.. like when i write a audio cd from it..??

**G@M3FR3@K** · 22-09-2003

A DVD recorder cannot write normal audio files to a DVD disc in CD format if that's what you mean.

NoLimit · 23-09-2003

Quote:

Originally posted by OC-Freak
NoLimit - Your my saviour!!!

Finally someone else which gets bad scans with this drive and discs written at 8X - more to follow on sunday or monday as I've still some tests to finish.

To get the manufacturer, download dvdinfopro from www.dvdinfopro.com

Waiting for your results

sorry for being late.
here are the results :

btw,this DVD+R is made in taiwan..

*icey* · 24-09-2003

I was going to purchase this drive, but after months of delay it seems plauged with problems.

Why cant they get basic burns with low errors sorted before releasing a top-end product to market?

Many cheaper makes seem to write better than this plextor - and I dont mean at x8 on x4.

18-09-2003	#2 (permalink)
Airhead Letiled Modelatol Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: La Suède Posts: 6,937	Cool review! Good job as usual __________________ This line is currently vacant. Or Is It??? You want fast answers? Use our search. <-- Or else! If you have not already, read our rules! <-- Or else again! bcn_246: "Wales are shitty animals to, all they do is swim around and make funny noises that people cant hear." You really should join us on IRC! IrcNet, #cdfreaks-int \| Or go here Fear my massive avatar history log! Not updated! "But do they keep increasing in size like mine?" - kwkard

18-09-2003	#4 (permalink)
G@M3FR3@K Senior Moderator Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Utrèg, The Netherlands Posts: 8,777	I honestly completely overlooked that.. I will update the review a.s.a.p! __________________ CDFreaks.com - Independent CD and DVD recording news around the clock! I do not provide support via PM or e-mail, use our Forum instead. Need some help? Please use our search function first. When asking for help, please detail your problem! Become a member of this forum, it's free! Register here!

18-09-2003	#5 (permalink)
Nhawk CD Freaks Rookie Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New York, NY Posts: 40	"This P-CAV recording method is very common since we see this type of recording on all new CD-RW recorders." Well, actually the drive uses Z-CLV for DVD+R 8X recording and not PCAV (and thus pauses, increases the speed, produces PI/PO error and continues the write) As for the DVD-RIP, it looks like CDRInfo also made that mistake until I emailed him. He mostly updated the review, except he still didn't update the graph for DVD-RIP that still shows 2X speed only. I also wonder if you tried writing any CMC or Ritek CDR discs on the drive. So far the drives (I tried 3 on 2 computers) failed to write the TDK (Ritek) CDR at around 60min mark. Plextor engineering is looking into it now. Last edited by Nhawk; 18-09-2003 at 20:18.

18-09-2003	#8 (permalink)
G@M3FR3@K Senior Moderator Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Utrèg, The Netherlands Posts: 8,777	Ok, thanks for the information Nhawk. The review has now been updated with the Nero CD-DVD results for SL and DL DVD-Video reading when the drive is in 'unlocked' mode. Check out the updated read speed results here. __________________ CDFreaks.com - Independent CD and DVD recording news around the clock! I do not provide support via PM or e-mail, use our Forum instead. Need some help? Please use our search function first. When asking for help, please detail your problem! Become a member of this forum, it's free! Register here!

18-09-2003	#9 (permalink)
NoLimit CD Freaks Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Dubai Posts: 217	nice review mate good work on that one.. __________________ PC1: Plextor PX-716A FW: 1.10 LiteOn LTR-52327S FW: QS0E PC2: LiteOn LTD-166S FW: DS1C NEC ND-2500A FW: Herrie V3 both running on a windows xp sp2 machines with P4 2.0GHz processors and 512MB of ram

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18-09-2003	#3 (permalink)
drvcd New on Forum Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 3	Looks great, but how is the ripping speed if you disable the limit as explained in thread http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread....threadid=75527 ??

18-09-2003	#7 (permalink)
Nhawk CD Freaks Rookie Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New York, NY Posts: 40	Check this page for the 6-8X Z-CLV graph. Also, here is the graph showing the PI/PO error when the drive switched speeds (picture provided by aviationwiz on CDRLabs)

18-09-2003	#10 (permalink)
drvcd New on Forum Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 3	Great review! a "little" better speed on DVD video reading.... I just ordered one!

18-09-2003	#11 (permalink)
Nhawk CD Freaks Rookie Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New York, NY Posts: 40	DVD-Rip speed is definitely great, however, I was surprised when my old Toshiba SD-M1502 drive was able to rip a DL DVD-Video disc faster than Plextor. I used a hacked firmware on the Toshiba that disables the 2X ripping limit. Also, G@M3FR3@K, you may want to mention in your review that even though you didn't check the PI/PO rate of the DVDs using KProbe, that other people reported good results with RicohJPNR01, MCC002 and YudenT01 DVD+R media. And if you get a chance, can you try burning some lower quality CD-R media (like CMC/Ritek) and see if it's successful. Update: Just got off the phone with Plextor Engineering and they confirmed "Write Fail" problem with TDK (Ritek) CDR media and high C1/C2 error rate with CMC Magnetics (to be expected in case of CMC). Verbatim(MCC) and TY seem to work well though. Last edited by Nhawk; 18-09-2003 at 22:50.

19-09-2003	#12 (permalink)
NoLimit CD Freaks Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Dubai Posts: 217	this is 8X burn (nero dvd speed test) on a Sony DVD+R media (4X certified) i think its too bad...maybe a media problem. __________________ PC1: Plextor PX-716A FW: 1.10 LiteOn LTR-52327S FW: QS0E PC2: LiteOn LTD-166S FW: DS1C NEC ND-2500A FW: Herrie V3 both running on a windows xp sp2 machines with P4 2.0GHz processors and 512MB of ram

19-09-2003	#13 (permalink)
Nhawk CD Freaks Rookie Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New York, NY Posts: 40	NoLimit: Try to ID the media. I don't think Sony manufactures their own media.

19-09-2003	#15 (permalink)
OC-Freak Senior Admin Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Cdfreaks review lab - Norway Posts: 5,660	NoLimit - Your my saviour!!! Finally someone else which gets bad scans with this drive and discs written at 8X - more to follow on sunday or monday as I've still some tests to finish. To get the manufacturer, download dvdinfopro from www.dvdinfopro.com Waiting for your results __________________ I'm a real freak in many aspects!

20-09-2003	#16 (permalink)
MoUCLAs New on Forum Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tagarades,Salonica,Greece Posts: 8	I wanted to ask if we can write DVD-Audio with these , and the plextor , dvd writers..? Knows anebodY?? __________________ _________________________________________________ Greek TECH Portal.... http://www.micronews.tk

21-09-2003	#17 (permalink)
surg CD Freaks Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 330	@MoUCLAs AFAIK every DVD writer could write DVD Audio but i think copy protection and mastering software are the problem.

21-09-2003	#18 (permalink)
MoUCLAs New on Forum Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tagarades,Salonica,Greece Posts: 8	i meant if a dvd writer could write a dvd with audio songs for example that i have in mp3 format.. like when i write a audio cd from it..?? __________________ _________________________________________________ Greek TECH Portal.... http://www.micronews.tk

22-09-2003	#19 (permalink)
G@M3FR3@K Senior Moderator Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Utrèg, The Netherlands Posts: 8,777	A DVD recorder cannot write normal audio files to a DVD disc in CD format if that's what you mean. __________________ CDFreaks.com - Independent CD and DVD recording news around the clock! I do not provide support via PM or e-mail, use our Forum instead. Need some help? Please use our search function first. When asking for help, please detail your problem! Become a member of this forum, it's free! Register here!

24-09-2003	#21 (permalink)
icey CDFreaks Resident Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 634	I was going to purchase this drive, but after months of delay it seems plauged with problems. Why cant they get basic burns with low errors sorted before releasing a top-end product to market? Many cheaper makes seem to write better than this plextor - and I dont mean at x8 on x4.

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