Looking for a straight answer on PI/PO testing!!

[Tidy]

I have been reading a lot about PI/PO testing and how it is really the only sure way to test burn quality.

I bought a Pioneer 108 and have been burning 8x media at 16x with no problems whatsoever. Whoever said 16x on the pioneer is slower than 8x is incorrect. At least that is not what I am experiencing. I have gotten my full disc burns down to 6:30 seconds and the video and data looks great.

What I am getting at is I would like to do PI/PO testing on my burns to check the real quality. What drives can I buy that will do this testing? Will LiteOn ROM's do it or just burners? I don't know much about this subject. A list of model numbers would be excellent although I know I am probably asking a lot!!

[drjtech]

The short answer is to check the LiteOn Forum at cdfreaks:

http://forum.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=44

There you will find the long answer, including how to interpret your KProbe results, etc.

The straight answer is that KProbe requires a LiteOn burner to test PI/PO.

You can get the LiteOn 832s at newegg for $68.00:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-106-953&depa=0

-drj

[Tidy]

do ALL liteon burners support this testing? If they do then I can just get a cheap slow one on ebay to do the testing with. Thanks for the help.

[RickTheRed]

I have a Liton dvd-rom 167T.
I use cd/dvd speed software and usually perform the transfer rate test. If the result is nice and smooth, I know the burn is usually good. A bad result with the transfer rate test will usually means bad pi/pif results.

The advantage of the transfer rate test is speed.
Don't you find it weird to take 15 minutes to test a 6.5 minutes burn disk?

[Heff]

BenQ DW1620 with a firmware update due this week (oct 25th) will give you PI/PIF and jitter scores and you get the best burner on the market to boot! All for $67 at Newegg.

[steve2713]

I've been using my LiteOn 163 DVD-ROM drive, and it seems to work fine for me. I've heard many times that using a DVD-ROM isn't as consistent or accurate as a DVD burner for testing, but I don't really see where this has been an issue. The test results I get from it correspond with my discs that play well and have smooth transfer rate tests, and it shows high PI/PO #s on discs with poor transfer rate tests and skipping discs, etc. It tells me what I need it to - discs with bad test results I have problems with, and discs with good test results I have no troubles with.

[henry_nettles]

BenQ DW1620 with a firmware update due this week (oct 25th) will give you PI/PIF and jitter scores and you get the best burner on the market to boot! All for $67 at Newegg.

This firmware has now been released. The latest Nero CDSpeed and the latest DVDInfoPro will now perform PI/PO testing on the Benq 1620.

And the price is $71 shipped (can't forget the shipping!). For more information, see the Benq forum at club.cdfreaks.com

[RickTheRed]

BenQ DW1620 with a firmware update due this week (oct 25th) will give you PI/PIF and jitter scores and you get the best burner on the market to boot! All for $67 at Newegg.

Humm, I have read your other posts. Do you work for BenQ
Just kidding.
There is no best. It depends on your needs, media availability where you live and what do you plan to do with it.

[cchang]

The latest Nero CDSpeed and the latest DVDInfoPro will now perform PI/PO testing on the Benq 1620.

Will those two programs perform PI/PO on NEC 2500a? Thanks!

Never mind. I just checked their web sites, seems only work for Benq.