Sony AW-G170A DVD-writer review

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Testing procedure

Lately we've tested eleven of the latest DVD-burners with thirty-five different sorts of DVD-media and we have subjected the new AW-G170 to the same rigorous testing procedure. We burned all the discs to maximum capacity and subsequently tested every single one on burn quality with the aid of Nero CD/DVD Speed version 4.51 in combination with a BenQ DW1655 drive.

In our previous tests the latest generation DVD-burners on offer from Sony and NEC were not quite up to standard, we experienced various problems with compatibility and the average quality scores were under par when compared to the competition. Alas, neither company seems to have learned from their mistakes as this drive seems to continue the trend set by its forebears.

Starting of with DVD+R. Of the eight different brands of DVD+R discs tested only three could be burned satisfactorily at the maximum speed of 18x: Maxell 16x DVD+R (media code MAXELL 003), Plextor 16x DVD+R (media code YUDEN000 T03) and Verbatim 16x DVD+R (media code MCC 004). Three of the eight discs were partially unreadable resulting in a score of 0 and the quality of two other discs was simply unsatisfactory.

Sadly enough things don’t really improve with the use of DVD-R. We were able to burn four of the eight discs at the maximum speed of 18x, but only two of these discs were of a quality that could be called good. Nero CD/DVD speed doesn’t leave room for doubt as in five cases it deals out a score of 0.

The AW-G170 is marginally better at burning double layer discs than previous drives from both NEC and Sony but then you’ve said it all. Only one type of double layer disc (Verbatim DVD+R DL 8x) was burned at a satisfactory quality.

Finishing of with Rewritable discs: five of the seven DVD+RW discs were burned successfully and in the case of DVD-RW all of them. This however, does not change our verdict in the slightest as overall we come to the conclusion that the burn quality does not suffice.