cvmanjoo Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 (edited) Just Curious, there will be no hardware revisions for optical drives? Edited January 5 by cvmanjoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 If it is encrypted firmware, that's why there's no update package for it. ASUS doesn't want it out in the wild for anyone to reverse engineer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 5 minutes ago, cvmanjoo said: Just Curious, there will be no hardware revisions for optical drives? ASUS probably just meant for that discontinued model. IF ASUS makes a new model, I would be pretty sure they'd update the firmware for it, if necessary. The big question being if ASUS makes a new model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 It's out for delivery. Estimated time within the next 2 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 Okay, I've received it and connected it up. ImgBurn DOES return that the firmware is 3.11! I 15:31:17 -> Drive 5 - Info: ASUS BW-16D1HT 3.11 (D:) (USB 3.0) So, ASUS was, as usual, just flat out wrong! 3.10 may have been the last firmware update PACKAGE released, but ASUS DID develop a 3.11 firmware that is ONLY available on models that ship from the factory. So, I'm just now burning a Verbatim MKM branded 8x DVD+R DL. IF it passes Verify, that's a good sign and I can continue on with the other tests, starting with 8x Ritek DVD+RW and then 2x Memorex RITEK BD-RE. I'll report back with the results. And, if all tests eventually pass, I'll update my original review of this drive to reflect this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 Well, what do you know?! Firmware 3.11 fixed the MKM Verify failure at the Layer change! Still need to test inkjet MKM, though. Plus, 8x DVD+RW and 2x BD-RE next. I am bit concerned over the write rate. The max was 8.1x but the average was 6.3x. I did not actually watch this burn. I let it go while I was doing something else. So, I don't know for how long 8x was actually written. I've seen some drives that get to 8x but only for like 2 minutes of the total burn. Need to watch another burn from beginning to end to be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 The drive does appear to have one problem. It ejects discs too forcibly. Meaning if the drive is on its side, and I HAVE to have my USB drives on their side to fit the desktop real estate I have, this is a big issue because the discs fall out onto the floor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 Unfortunately, the drive cannot be placed on its side, in either a PC case or in a USB enclosure. 2 of 3 burns resulted in discs on the floor. I rearranged my real estate so the drive can be set flat, but it's not to my liking. My USB HDD now has to sit behind it so I have to move away from my desk in order to see the HDD activity and power indication light. But, it's doable and tolerable. Just not ideal for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 Okay, both types of 8x DVD+RW from Ritek, RICOH and the Imation ones, still are good in 3.11. 3.11 doesn't destroy the discs anymore. Onto 2x Memorex RITEK BD-RE and inkjet 8x MKM DVD+R DL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 I started the MKM inkjet test. The ASUS writes slightly less efficiently to 8x DVD+R DL. The LG WH16NS60 writes them first at 4x for 2 and a half minutes, then at 8x for most of the rest of the time, the 4x for the last 2 minutes. The ASUS writes at 4x for the first 2 and a half minutes, then at 6x for another 2 and a half minutes, then at 8x for most of the rest of the time, then drops to 6x for some of the end time, before dropping to 4x for the last 2 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 I also need to perform playback tests on DVD Video for 8x DVD+R DL and the 2 8x DVD+RW. Then, after the CD-R and CD-RW write tests, I need to perform playback tests on CD Audio written to them. The 2 8x DVD+R DL that were written will be playback tested next after the current disc I am watching is done, which will take about 2 hours. Then, I can watch those as I specifically chose discs I haven't watched yet so I can playback test those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 The inkjet MKM 8x DVD+R DL write test passed. Just got to perform a read test on it a few days, when I can get around to watching it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Data write to BD-R passed. I don't have any Blu-Ray Video to test with. On to BD-RE data write test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Well, I forgot about the BD-RE and went to inkjet 16x MCC DVD-R. Write test passed. Just need to perform playback test. NOW onto BD-RE test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Data BD-RE write test passed. Onto branded 16x MCC DVD-R write test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 16x branded MC DVD-R write test passed. Onto CD data read and image copy test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Okay, CD data read and image copy test passed. Onto Audio CD disc read test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Audio CD disc read test passed. Onto branded CD-R Audio CD write test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Memorex branded CD-R Audio CD write test passed. Onto inkjet Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO Audio CD CD-R write test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Inkjet Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO Audio CD CD-R write test passed. Onto branded Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO Audio CD CD-R write test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Branded Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO Audio CD CD-R write test passed. Onto Memorex Mitsubishi 24x Ultra Speed CD-RW Audio CD write test. If this test passes, it will be the last test I should need to perform on this drive before declaring it ready for prime time. All that will be left will be the various DVD Video playback tests and Audio CD playback tests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Memorex Mitsubishi 24x Ultra Speed CD-RW Audio CD write test passed. So, I'm fairly confident this drive is FINALLY read to become my new go to BD drive after 3.11 firmware was released. I still need to perform the above mentioned playback tests to be sure, though. And there are a few other read tests I haven't tried yet, but they're so uncommon I don't know when I'll even come across the possibility of testing those. I'll update my initial review of the drive to reflect these new tests results. And once all of the playback tests are done, I'll post those results here and in the drive review I made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvmanjoo Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 Wow! Thats nice to know. All tests are passed. Good to know that I got a good drive. Thank you for all your tests and confirming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 I forgot a series of tests. They normally only apply to Pioneer drives, but I always perform them, just in case the Pioneer issues pop up on other drives. Unformatted Ritek and Ricoh Imation 8x DVD+RW write tests passed. Immediate 2nd writes to just formatted Ritek and Ricoh Imation 8x DVD+RW write tests passed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Playback test of branded 8x Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO DVD+R DL passed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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