AOpen DUW1608/ARR 16x DVD+/- R/RW Review - Conclusion
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This drive is clearly a mixed bag in terms of performance. While it did exceptionally well in some tests, it just plain fell on its face in others. It was able to write a very good quality DVD+R but only at 12X, well below its rated 16X. There may be media out there that will allow the DUW1608/ARR to burn at 16X, but media that will burn at 16X in other drives was a no go here. DVD-R just wasn't a go; plagued by high errors and failures, the burnt disc was virtually unplayable in other DVD players.
This drive was also limited to 8X speed for DVD-R. This is a little strange since many 16X DVD+R optical drives can also write DVD-R at 16X. DVD+DL performance was also a little shaky, with the resulting discs being able to play on some DVD players but not others, and high error rates on the second layer.
On the other hand, the chameleon kit is great. Beige is OK for some cases but looks horrible on black ones. The additional face plates should be able to hook you up regardless of the color of your case. Transfer rates for all types of media (except DVD+DL) were excellent, however, CPU usage was high.
In the image above you might be able to make out a couple of upcoming reviews (the case and the Pioneer drive), but most importantly you can see the AOpen Chameleon DUW1608/ARR living up to its name.
Highs
- Double layer writing support
- Fast transfer rates for most types of media
- Chameleon bezel kit
- Competitively prices
Lows
- Limited media support
- 16X DVD+R...maybe?
- Poor DVD-R burn quality
- So-so DVD+DL burn quality
- High CPU usage during most operations
Even though I list many lows for this drive, all of them could possibly be fixed with a good firmware upgrade. Hopefully AOpen will be offering one in the very near future. With a good firmware upgrade this could be a very good DVD writer and for a reasonable price.
For anyone looking for help with this drive, AOpen hosts an active forum with lots of information at : http://club.aopen.com.tw/forum/viewforum.asp?forumID=44
Thanks to AOpen and Intersight for providing this review sample.
Thank you for reading this review of the AOpen DUW1608/ARR. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to mention them in the comments section at the bottom of this page, or contact me at Memphist0@DevHardware.com. You can also find more computer hardware help on our forums, or visit our front page for more hardware news and information.
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