DVD writers buyers guide

Speeds

The speed of DVD rewriters are indicated in terms of “16x speed”, meaning that the device can write a DVD at 16 times the normal speed of an original DVD drive (1x = 1.32Megabyte/second). However this does not mean that the entire disc will be written at 16x speed, a drive will start slower on the inside of disc and then gradually build up speed towards the outer rim of the disc. A 16 speed drive will burn a disc on an average speed of around 11x or 12x.

Discs also differ in the maximum speed they can be written. All current rewriters will burn a DVD-R or DVD+R on 16x speed, while Plextor and Samsung have already released drivers that can burn these at a maximum speed of 18x. There are only a few brands of media that will support this speed, which in practice will mean that even with a 18x drive most discs will be written at a maximum of 16x.

For DVD+RW (rewriteable) discs 8x speed is a standard, where a DVD-RW will burn at a maximum of 6x speed. Double layer DVD+R DL will burn at 8x speed, while again Plextor has released a drive that can write these disc at a maximum of 10x speed. DVD-R DL is a format that hardly anybody uses. There are noticeable differences in maximum speeds, with 4x, 6x and 8x being the most common.

A full DVD will be written in around 6 ½ minutes on 16x speed, and if you have suitable discs for an 18x drive it will take around 5 ½ minutes. To write a disc on 8x speed will take you between 7 and 8 minutes, 4x speed around 15 minutes and to burn a disc at 2x speed will take almost half an hour. This changes when you use a double layer disc, as these are still written at around 2.4x speed and as these discs hold twice the amount of data it will take up to 45 minutes for such a disc to be written. Higher speeds for double layer discs are therefore more than welcome, as on 4x speed it will take “only” 25 minutes, and on 8x speed (effectively an average of 6x or 7x speed) will reduce that time to 15 minutes.