Verdict: That's 'N' for Ninja
The numerous different recordable DVD formats are like blood types: the discs might all look the same, but you can't always use every type of DVD in every drive, and you can't use every writer to create every format. Trying to write a +R with a -R drive or putting a +R into a non-compatible player might not result in the same catastrophic failure of vital organs that can follow pumping someone full of the wrong type of blood, but you still won't be able to get at your data. All of which makes multi-format compatible DVD writer/readers like the TDK 440N the equivalent of superhuman. The 440N can write to both DVD+R and -R discs, and to +RW and -RW rewritable DVDs, as well as standard CD-R and CD-RWs.
However, all superbeings have their weaknesses: Superman has kryptonite, while Batman has his tormented past and a fondness for black rubber. The TDK 440N's weakness comes in the glowing form of the DVD-RAM format, which the drive can't write to. Still, this isn't a huge problem - DVD-RAM is the rarest DVD format and is really only useful for long-term data backup.
New 8x writers are due imminently, but a 4x drive like the 440N should still be capable of writing a whole 4.7GB DVD +/-R in close to 15 minutes. TDK has also specified the 440N as a 2.4x burner for +RWs and 2x for -RWs.
To test how closely the 440N sticks to these quoted maximum speeds, we wrote 4.22GB (4,323.89MB) of data to each of the different DVD formats using the supplied software, Pinnacle Instant CD/DVD. Our test burn comprised 6,141 files, ranging from 10KB Word documents to 100MB QuickTime movies, organised across 185 directories. The 440N took 16 minutes 51 seconds to create a DVD+R and 15 minutes 50 seconds to create a -R. The 4x speed is equivalent to writing 5.5MB a second (5,408KB/sec), so the 440N wrote at 3.2x speed on average for the +R and 3.4x for the -R. Both are reasonably near to their top quoted speeds.
The drive worked closer to flat-out with rewritable DVDs, burning a +RW at an average speed of 2.1x (25 minutes, 45 seconds) and a -RW at 1.9x (28 minutes, 35 seconds). For the +R and -R tests we used branded media, with generic discs for the rewritables, so the 440N is happy with either. Reading back the entire written DVD to the hard disk took 17 minutes, 50 seconds - just over 3x on average, considerably slower than the 440N's 12x quoted maximum. However, this is still a favourable result compared to other DVD drives in a variety of Custom PC's test rigs. It beat the Benq 1232C and Plextor PX-504A, both 12x DVD read drives. The 440N's CD performance was also fine, writing at an average 12x speed for a CD-R and 7x for a CD-RW.
The TDK's design is as strong as its performance. The black fascia is ideal for those with black cases, and the simple front panel is bereft of useless headphone sockets and volume dials. The slightly recessed eject button and contrasting shiny/matte textures give the drive a focused, calm look, and the overall build quality is good. The tray is strong enough that you needn't worry it will break if you push it back in.
TDK bundles a range of Pinnacle software with the drive, in addition to InstantCD/DVD 7.0SE. InstantCopy SE allows you to make 1:1 copies (but not of CSS-encrypted commercial DVDs, of course) while Expression is a multimedia box of tricks that's most useful for authoring discs for playback on set-top DVD players.
CONCLUSION
Shopping for a black DVD writer no longer means having to sacrifice on performance. The 440N is capable of writing to all the mainstream optical formats, and its burning performance is only a little short of excellent.
