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Samsung SE-T084 Slot-in External Slim DVD-Writer


Date
: 03/8/09 – 09:41:47 PM

Author
:

Category
: Optical Devices

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer:
Samsung

Introduction

Today, Samsung is one of the world's leaders in the field of electronics. Founded in 1938, they have built quite a reputation and earned the trust of their followers, especially in the realms of mobile phones, displays, audio players and household appliances. We have taken a look at one Samsung external DVD burner in the past, but today we have a look at their latest drive, the SE-T084.

With DVD's slowly being phased out to the newer and better Blu-Ray discs, DVD's are still a reliable choice for backing up data and recording videos. This external DVD burner is designed to be small, slim, and convenient. But many size reductions compromise performance. Will this be true with the T084? Read on to find out!

Page 2 : Package

The outer package is cardboard, a very popular choice among many consumer products.

The front and back of the box details all of the features and specifications of the drive.

Included is the drive (in a protective shield), cloth case, manual, installation disc, and USB cable.

The drive is very attractive, with a smooth matte white finish, and embossed Samsung logo.

The drive is designed to be very portable, the drive is only a hair thicker than the diameter of a penny, and would easily fit in a jacket pocket.

The rear of the drive holds the USB connector, as well as a vent.

The bottom of the drive has four rubber feet for traction, as well as regulations and standards markings.

The T084 has a slot loading design instead of the conventional tray loader, which is a very nice touch Samsung included.

The included cloth case fits perfectly, and would protect the drive wherever it goes.

Now let's go over the specifications of the T084.

Page 3 : Specifications

Here are some of the features listed on the Samsung website:

The TruDirect technology was implemented in an earlier external drive Samsung released, and is a pretty unique feature for those who make videos and want them to be written instantly on a DVD. TruDirect by-passes the need to write the video onto a hard drive before burning onto a disc, this makes the burning process faster. Also, the drive does not need a separate power source, just plug in the USB cord and the drive is ready to use, very convenient.

Many modern drives can write at speeds up to 16X, but with only a USB cord powering the unit, it is not surprising to see that the maximum write speed is 8X.

Now that we have had a taste of the T084 on paper, let's install the drive to get some testing done.

Page 4 : Installation

The drive does not need any drivers, and can be used just by USB. Windows and Nero will recognize it as a DVD burner, and it is ready to use. The installation disc includes Nero software as well as the software required to use Trudirect.

The installation process begins by inserting the installation disc.

In the Autoplay menu, you can choose to install Nero or Trudirect.

The installation program will then take care of the rest.

Now that the drive is ready to use, let's test burn some discs.

Page 5 : Testing

The specifications of the system used for testing:

• Gateway M-6864 FX Notebook

• Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 @ 2.00 GHz
• 4GB DDR RAM
• Ati Mobility Radeon HD 2600

For the duration of the test, the system will be running only on critical processes. We will be using Nero CD/DVD Speed for testing, version 4.7.7.15.

The first test will be burning on a Mitsui DVD+R 16X. Note that this drive can only write up to 8X speeds.

The write speed is a steady climb up to 8X but is erratic throughout, although the buffer maintained 100% for the duration of the burn. This could be the power fluctuations of the USB port as the drive does not run on an external power supply. The 4GB DVD was written in just under 11 minutes.

The benchmark results look good, with the random access time being 137 ms, which beats the advertised time of 160 ms.

The quality of the disc burned is very poor. With a high number of PI errors and failures, the disc received a quality score of 3 out of 100. Note that the majority of the PI failures occurred near the end of the disc, where the write speed was the fastest, which increases the chance of errors. The surface scan of the disc reveals a perfect scan, so the PI errors and failures are not due to a scratched up disc, but a poor write on the disc.

The second test will be on a Taiyo Yuden DVD-R 8X.

The burning speed graph looks similar to the first test, with a slightly higher number of ‘bumps’.

The reading graph looks almost identical to the above test, with a slightly higher random access time of 144 ms.

The Taiyo Yuden write was much better, with a quality score of 50. The number of PI failures dropped dramatically, and is much more evenly spaced throughout the disc. The number of PI errors is much lower as well. And once again, the surface scan rendered perfect.

Page 6 : Conclusion

With the rise of the Blu-Ray and the steady downfall of the DVD, Samsung still backs up the DVD format by producing attractive internal and external drives. The Samsung SE-T084 is very well designed with its small form factor, sleek design, and quick connectivity. TruDirect is also a great program for users who want to write discs directly from their video camera.

The reading speeds of the drive exceed it's specifications, and would make a great solution for those looking for a portable DVD drive for their netbooks. However, having no external power source and very small size seems to compromise quality. The poor results from the DVD writing tests may deter customers from this product, but the portability of the drive still makes it a strong contender in the external DVD burner market. Those looking for a very portable solution to a DVD burner should take an in-depth look at the T084.

Advantages

• Portability

• No external power supply required
• TruDirect writing technology

Disadvantages

• Poor writing quality

• Limited to 8X write speed

Overclockers Online would like to thank Samsung for making this review possible.