The Plextor PlexWriter 24/10/40A CD-RW Drive
The perennial CD Burn King steps it up a notch

10/8/01 - By  Dave Altavilla

It seems like only yesterday we were showing you the performance and quality of Plextor's 16X Burner.  However, like most PC technologies, perpetual and incremental performance enhancement, is a requirement to survive in the High Tech jungle.  Plextor, world renowned for top quality high performance recordable drives, is not about to sit on its collective laurels while the competition passed by. 

Soon after the release of the Plextor 16X recorder, we had gotten wind that 20X drives, from the likes of Richo, Acer and Yamaha, were waiting in the wings.  It took Plextor less than 5 months to deliver their answer to that call, the PlexWriter 24/10/40A.  This is our take on this exciting new Plextor Burner that promises to burn a full CD in the 4 minute range.

Specifications / Features Of The PlexWriter 24/10/40A
Turning and Burning

  • E-IDE (ATAPI-4) interface

  • "Burn Proof" Technology - Eliminates buffer under-run errors and allows for better multi-tasking in the Windows environment while creating a new disc.

  • "PoweRec II", an exclusive Plextor technology, guarantees the highest quality write across a broad base of media

  • 3-in-1 drive: 24X CD-R, 10X CD-RW, 40X max CD-ROM

  • 140ms Average Random Access

  • 4 MB Buffer

  • Capable of Digital Audio Extraction at 40X max

  • Supports CD-DA; CD-ROM (Mode 1); CD-ROM (Mixed Mode); CD-ROM XA (Mode 2, Form 1 and Form 2 and Mixed Form; CD-I; Photo CD; Video CD; CD-Extra; CD+G; CD Text

  • Compatible with a large number of CD-R and CD-RW media

  • Flash ROM allows for easy upgrade over the Internet

  • Windows 95/98/2000/ME and NT4.0 Compatible

  • Supports Disc-at-Once, Track-at-Once, Session-at-Once, Variable & Fixed packet writing modes

Click images for full view
 
 

 
Upon inspection of the feature set for the 24/10/40A, you'll notice that the on board Memory Buffer has been double from 2MB on the 16/10/40A, to 4MB on this 24X unit.  Of course, this buffer is also backed up by Plextor's patented "Burn Proof" technology, which allows for the ability to multi-task while burning a ROM and yet still produce a perfect disc, versus the proverbial drink "coaster".

PowerREC II:

Finally, Plextor introduces us to yet another first in CD Recordable Technology, "PowerREC II".  Frankly, we never heard of even PowerREC #1 for that matter.  However, this seems to be a solution to a problem with CD-R drives, since their introduction.  For many years, end users have relayed stories of specific CD Media that was basically useless in particular CD-RW drive.  Perhaps it was just a bad case of the "flakies" or outright refusal to burn at a decent speed without totally wasting an otherwise perfectly good CD-R.  Many times, there were certain brands of CD-R discs that just weren't friendly to certain CD-RW drives.  Plextor's answer to that is "PowerREC II". 

Here's what Plextor claims this technology delivers.

"All Plextor CD-RW drives contain a media catalog of all certified media, listed by manufacturer and part number. This catalog is stored in ROM and is used to set the appropriate "Write Strategy" for the disc being recorded. This feature not only enables the drive to successfully burn a disc at high-speed, but assures the user that the disc has been written as precisely as possible, improving the playback ability on all other CD drives, even those of poorer quality. This assurance comes even though the disc media itself might contain some imperfections.

Plextor's 24/10/40A CD-RW drive also features a highly sophisticated algorithm that checks the quality of the media at each stage of its Z-CLV write process. Once a zone has been reached, the drive will optimize its laser power to begin writing at the highest speed possible, while maintaining superb write quality. A feedback mechanism, controlled by firmware, monitors the results of the write process for conformity."


There you have it folks.  Does this sound to you like a little marketing spin or real innovation?  We have an inkling that it is a little of both but we'll let you be the judge.

Let's see how these new features pan out in our testing.

 

Setup, Installation and  Software