Verdict: The Toshiba clearly isn't the kind of tool you'll blame for bad work
Tools aren't particularly interesting items (unless you count the shiv in The Chronicles of Riddick) - but where would we be without them? Screwdrivers and Dremels, for example, are essential tools for modders, and DVD writers have much more in common with these types of tools than with the hardware inside the PC. Graphics cards, CPUs and motherboards all add features or performance, whereas DVD writers perform a useful, if slightly dull job.
However, like a trusty Philips-head screwdriver, DVD writers are also cheap. Toshiba's latest model, the catchily named SD-R5372-BK, costs less than £40, yet it can write dual-layer discs and is faster than the Elite-listed Asus DRW-1608P, which we reviewed two months ago.
Optical drives, along with hard disks, seem to be one of the few products that manufacturers haven't tried to improve with copious numbers of LEDs. As a result, the Toshiba isn't much to look at, with a minimal fascia and single LED on the front, but it's quick. The test model boasts 16x DVD+R and DVD-R write speeds, 4x for DVD+RW and DVD-RW, and 5x for 8.5GB DVD+R9 media. With the latest firmware (TU55 at the time of writing), re-write speeds increase to 8x for DVD+RW and 6x for DVD-RW.
This makes the Toshiba far quicker than the blank media currently available, but when DVD+RWs faster than 4x do appear, you'll be glad that you chose the Toshiba. Even more odd is the 5x DVD+R9 write speed. We've heard of 2.4x, 4x and even 6x, but not 5x. We hoped that the Toshiba might let us choose a 6x write speed on 4x DVD+R9 media, but even with the new firmware, it wasn't to be - 5x remained the top choice in Nero Burning ROM.
The Toshiba's CD write speeds are fairly standard - 48x for CD-Rs and 24x for CD-RW. CD-ROMs can be read up to 48x and DVD-ROMs up to 16x.It has a 2MB buffer, CD Text support and buffer underrun protection. Like other DVD writers, the Toshiba can read DVD-RAM discs (out of their caddies) but not write to them. Mount Rainier isn't supported, but this will put few people off buying.
Thankfully there aren't any other 'technologies' shouted about on the box - no anti-vibration measures, no 'PowerREC' and no 'FlextraSpeed.' We're sure the Toshiba has things under control, though; it just prefers to be understated.
Understated though it may be, the Toshiba flew through our benchmarks. Using our usual test rig to allow comparison with other DVD writers, we burned our standard 4.2GB of assorted files onto a 16x DVD+R, using the latest version of Nero Burning ROM. The Toshiba took just five minutes and 41 seconds to complete this task - almost 40 seconds faster than the Asus. It fared similarly well with a DVD-R disc, at five minutes and 39 seconds.
We weren't expecting miracles in the dual-layer test and the Toshiba duly burned the 8.5GB of files in 22 minutes and six seconds, three minutes and 12 seconds slower than the Asus. This works out as 6.1MB/sec, compared to the 7.7MB/sec of the Asus. Burning a DVD+RW disc at 4x (due to the lack of faster media) took 13 minutes and 39 seconds. The same test with a DVD-RW took three seconds less. Both times are about a minute quicker than the Asus, making up somewhat for the slower dual-layer performance. The Toshiba also made up ground when it came to CD-R speed. A full 700MB disc was written in two minutes and 46 seconds - one of the fastest times we've seen.
Both the read tests were a few seconds slower than the Asus. The Toshiba ripped a 4.3GB movie in four minutes and 55 seconds - four seconds adrift of the Asus, while the CD audio ripping test took eight minutes and 57 seconds.
CONCLUSION
We couldn't find a supplier selling the black-bezeled retail kit, so the price stated is for a bare DVD writer, without any accessories or software. As the retail bundle is based around Pinnacle's Instant CD/DVD, we can't see too many people being upset, not least because it makes the Toshiba almost £16 cheaper than the Asus. Nero is a better burning package, and can be found very cheaply on eBay. The Toshiba is a faster writer than the Asus drive at everything apart from dual-layer discs. Add in the lower price, and the Toshiba clearly isn't the kind of tool you'll blame for bad work.
