Artec Dual DVD +/-R/RW Drive

The Artec Dual DVD±R/RW Drive
A Quality DVD±R/RW for Less

By,Jeff Bouton
March 17, 2004

When it comes to CD and DVD writers, the market is filled with quality models from a wide array of manufacturers.  This wasn't always the case, however.  Just a few years back, when it was time to purchase a recordable drive, there were only a few top models, with other manufacturers trying to break into the market with cheaper, sometimes less reliable products.  Today, all of that has changed. 

While the CD/DVD writer market is still driven by front runners like Pioneer, Sony, TDK and Plextor, their lead has been shortened by a number of viable, sometimes economical alternatives.  Other manufacturers, such as LG, Lite-On and Artec focus on offering quality recorders while cutting some of the costs associated with the bigger name manufacturers.  Often times we find that theses companies can compete on the same level as the major brands, yet they are able to do this while keeping the costs down, sometimes dramatically.

Today we are going to take a look at a competitively priced dual format DVD writer from Artec, aptly named theArtec Dual DVD+R/RW drive.  This is a rather ordinary looking drive on the outside, but boasts a hefty 8MB cache and 8X/4X write speeds that make it an attractive alternative for the cost conscious consumer.

Specifications of the Artec Dual DVD±R/RW Drive What Can This Drive Do?  A Lot!

Quality & Setup of theArtec Dual DVD±R/RW Drive Nothing to Stare at, But Loaded With Features.

The Artec Dual DVD+R/RW drive came with a simple, yet complete package.  The drive included a Quick Installation Guide, 80-wire ribbon cable and an audio cable for connecting the drive directly to a sound card.  The retail package included several software titles as well, including Sonic RecordNow, Sonic DLA, WinDVD and WinDVD Creator.  Artec did a decent job of including software to not only record CDs and DVDs, but to cover a broad spectrum of CD/DVD recording and authoring.  For basic recording, Artec included RecordNow which is a recording package for creating and duplicating CDs and DVDs, while Sonic DLA is used for adding Drag & Drop (packet writing) functionality.  The Sonic titles may be less desirable than more popular recording suites, such as Nero Burning ROM, which they included with their52X CDRWthat we reviewed in June, or Roxio Easy CD Creator, however, we found them to be an adequate addition to this competitively priced package.  Also included was a copy of InterVideo's WinDVD Cinema which includes full versions of WinDVD for DVD movie playback and WinDVD Creator for DVD authoring and recording.  We should also note that this drive does not come with any blank media.  A blank CD-R and DVD is a common staple with CD/DVD burners, but Artec opted to leave these items out.

The drive itself holds no surprises on the outside.  The unit is the typical beige color commonly used for these types of drives.  The CD tray is solid black which helps enhance the accuracy of the burn by absorbing any reflected rays of laser light.  The rear of the drive was also typical, including connections for Analog and Digital audio outputs as well as IDE and power.  The drive mode selector ranges between Cable Select, Master, and Slave.  Like we said, the outside held no surprises.  The inside, on the other hand, is what really matters.

The Artec Dual DVD+R/RW drive supports 8X/4X DVD+R/RW and 4X/2X DVD-R/RW write/rewrite speeds while read speeds are rated at 12X for both formats.  CD-R/RW write/rewrite speeds are rated for 24X/10X with a top read speed of 40X.  Another strong point is the drive sports a hefty 8MB buffer that should help improve performance while reducing the chance of buffer under run errors during the writing process.

HH Test System and Benchmarks