CD-DVD Speed: User guide

[geno888]

3 - Basic Tests - Create Disc


This tab was introduced starting from the version 4.50 of CD-DVD Speed. Basically it's the same of the "classic" writing disc test of the Benchmark tab, but it allows the user to measure also some more data. In the classic test are showed only writing speed and disc rotation speed, whereas in the new test are showed also drive buffer and CPU utilization, both in the main window and in the plotted graph.

Line colors in the graph can be customized by the user, as already said in the options section of this guide.

Important: All writing settings in global options of CD-DVD Speed are related to the "Classic" test of the "Benchmark" tab. Except for color settings, all options of the new create disc test are located in the "Create Disc" tab (see below for more details).

Important: To start this create disc test must be used the "Start" button. Using commands in the "Run Test" menu will be executed the "Classic" test, i.e. the one executed in "Benchmark" tab and the graph will be not showed if the tab "Create Disc" is selected.



Create Disc main window





This interface is similar to the Benchmark one. In the upper part there is the combo box list to select the optical drive, the little button with gears to open global options, and two buttons, "Start" and "Exit".




Main part of the window contains the graph.




The scale on the left is writing speed, the scale on the right is disc rotation speed, and the scale in the bottom is disc capacity.

Under the graph there is a progression bar (green bar in the pic), and finally a little window showing some informations on the test.




On the right of the graph there is a panel with various options and informations.




Description of the right panel will be started from the higher part.

Disc info: Show the disc type (+R/RW, -R/RW, RAM), mediacode, and disc capacity.




Settings: This panel contain options that user must set to execute Create Disc Test.




Speed: The writing speed that CD-DVD Speed must use to run test. Available speeds vary according the media used. These speeds are stored in burner firmware.

Burn Image: If this option is unchecked, CD-DVD Speed will write predefined binary data in a selectable number of files on a blank media.

Total file number written on the disc is variable, because data are written until the last sector which makes the disc very suitable to test the read performance, so a DVD will contain much more data than a CD media.

Because data is written until the last sector which makes the disc very suitable to test the read performance, if the user doesn't have an image file that matches the exact maximum capacity of a media (remember that +R and -R media have a slightly different maximum capacity), unchecking this option is the best way to test a disc at its full capacity.

During disc writing, a graph is drawn showing four curves: writing speed, disc rotation speed, buffer level, and CPU utilization.

If this option is checked, CD-DVD Speed will write the content of an image file created by the user. Supported types are ISO and NRG (the proprietary Nero Burning ROM image file format).

If this option is checked, after pressing the start button CD-DVD Speed will ask to select the image file to burn on the disc.




Writing test will start only after the image file is selected.

Simulate: If this option is checked, CD-DVD Speed will not write any data on the disc, but it will do a simulation. Even if writing it's not really done, CD-DVD Speed will record all parameters (writing speed, disc rotation speed, CPU utilization, and buffer level) and will create a complete graph.

If this option is unchecked, the disc will be written really.

Simulation can be useful to reveal bottleneck in the data speed transfer through the interface between computer and burner. This can happen, for example, if DMA is not enabled, or if the burner is connected through an IDE to USB (or firewire) adapter.

If data source is an image file, simulation can reveal too frequent buffer emptying due to a heavily fragmented hard disc.

Simulation can also reveal if there is an excessive CPU utilization. This can happen if DMA is not enabled or if there are some processes running in background during the burning (for example an antivirus).

Speed: In these boxes are shown the test results.




In the pic are shown there are two series of these boxes: on the left what appears before test start and on the right what appears after test end. Note that the first box initially show is named "Current", and at the end of the test is named "Average".

Current/Average: During test execution, this box shows current writing speed. At the end of test it shows average speed, calculated from start and end values (see below).

Type: The type of writing. The various types of writing (CLV, CAV. P-CAV, and Z-CLV) was already described in "Benchmark" section of this guide.

Start: Similarly to what is already described in "Benchmark" tab, start is the lowest speed recorded during test execution. Ideally it's the speed at which test started.

End: Similarly to what is already described in "Benchmark" tab, end is the highest speed recorded during test execution. Ideally it's the speed at which test ends.

Buffer: This panel show informations on buffer utilization during the writing test.




A horizontal bar shows graphically buffer status. Next to the bar is shown numerically (as percentage of filling) the buffer status.

Under the bar there are other numbers that refer respectively from left to right the minimum buffer level, the maximum buffer level, and the average buffer level. These values are updated continuously during the test execution.

The little colored square shows the color used to draw the buffer line in the graph. This color can be changed by the user in global options of CD-DVD Speed.

Show graph: By checking this option, the buffer graph will be drawn in the main window. Unchecking this option, buffer graph will be not drawn.

CPU Usage: This panel shows informations on CPU utilization during the writing test.




An horizontal bar shows graphically CPU utilization. Next to the bar is shown numerically the percentage of CPU utilization.

Under the bar there are other numbers that refer respectively from left to right the minimum CPU usage, the maximum CPU usage, and the average CPU usage. These values are updated continuously during the test execution.

The little colored square show the color used to draw the CPU usage line in the graph. This color can be changed by the user in global options of CD-DVD Speed.

Show graph: By checking this option, CPU usage graph will be drawn in the main window. Unchecking this option, CPU usage graph will be not drawn.

Progress: This panel shows in real time the current position of the disc during writing process, and the time past from the start of test.



Sidenote. Regarding times shown in this panel, there is a special consideration. If the user wants to burn an image file, (see later in "Test procedure"), the user must press the "Start" button, and then select the desired image file. Probably some people noted that after pressing the "Start" button, the time counter starts too. Don't worry: the time of the burning process will be measured only after the image file is selected. In fact, after selecting the image file, the time counter is resetted so the time shown here is the time required to complete the burning.

If the user wants to burn a binary data disc, the time starts after pressing the "Start" button.




Test Procedure


To execute the Create Disc test the procedure is as follows.

1) Select the drive to use to do the burn.


<br>
2) Set correctly all options, both global and specific options

3) Insert a media in the burner

4) Check again if local options (mostly if the burn image file option) are correct

5) Press the "Start" button

6) Wait until test is completed

7) Save results in HDD from menu "Save" or pressing the little floppy button (number 2 in the pic) to save a screenshot in PNG file.

[geno888]

3 - Basic Tests - Disc Info


In this tab of the main window it's possible to visualize some informations on the media inserted in the drive.




In this panel, experts can find many information. To explain all of this information it's not the scope of this guide. Here will be described only some basic informations of CD-DVD Speed.

More informations can be found in the CD Freaks Forum.

Drive and firmware: As already said describing the main interface, CD-DVD Speed shows in all its tabs information on drive model and firmware installed.




In this image, drive model is evidenced by the red square, and firmware by the blue square. In this example, we have a Lite-On SOHW 1693 with installed firmware KS0A.



Basic informations on the media

This is the most important part for most users.




Disc Type: Pretty intuitive, the disc type (-R, -RW, +R, +RW, ROM, etc)

Booktype: Disc booktype (-R, -RW, +R, +RW, ROM). Remember that for +R/RW media booktype can be changed in ROM.

Manufacturer: The manufacturer that produced the disc. Often is shown "unknow".

MID (Media IDentification code): Often know also as "Mediacode", MID is the code that actually identifies the media. This is one of the most important piece of information that the user needs to know. In fact, the brand on the box doesn't say what the exact disc type is, and to say "+R" or "-R" it's not sufficient. The same brand can sell media with many different mediacodes.

Write Speeds: Here are shown all supported burning speeds for this media. This information is located in the burner firmware. So different burners can show different speeds for the same disc.

Blank Capacity: This is the official disc capacity (when overburning is not used), i.e. how many data can be written on this disc. In our example: 4,38 GB (gigabyte) = 4488 MB (Megabyte) = 4706076672 bytes.



Extended Informations

Some other informations on the media inserted in the drive.




Layers: How many layers there are on the disc. In dual layer media will be shown as 2.

Usage: Some discs have specific usages. For example audio CD. Normal data discs will show "general" as usage.

Copyright Protection: Here is shown if the disc is copyright protected.

Disc Status: Here is shown the disc status, for example Empty, Closed, Open (for discs written in multisession), etc.



Raw Data

Binary data pre-recorded on the disc.






Options

In the bottom of the window there are some options.




Basic Informations: Checking this option, will be shown basic informations. Unchecking this information, basic informations will be not shown.

Extended Informations: Checking this option, will be shown extended informations. Unchecking this information, extended informations will be not shown.

Raw Data: Checking this option, will be showed raw data. Unchecking this information, raw data will be not showed.

Copy Text: Pressing this button all informations read from the disc will be copied in the clipboard as plain text data.

Copy HTML: Pressing this button all informations read from the disc will be copied in clipboard in html format.

[geno888]

3 - Basic Tests - Disc Quality


In this tab of the main window it's possible to execute the "Quality Test" of burned media. The main utility of this test is with burned media, but it can be executed also on pressed discs.

Important: Quality test can be done only with burners; readers are not usable because they give unreliable results.

Moreover, not all burners can do quality test. To provide a list of all burners able to do scans it's really difficult; as a rule of thumb, all Lite-On and BenQ drives can do this test; also some Pioneer and some NEC burners can do quality test, but their reliability is rather variable. Plextor burners are among the best burners able to do quality test, but they are not supported by CD-DVD Speed (Plextor drives must use a proprietary software named Plextools).

Often this test is also called "scan", but CD-DVD Speed allow to do another test named "Scan Test" (see below in "Scan Disc" section of this guide), so it's rather easy be confused between these two tests.

Important: The main purpose of this guide is to describe CD-DVD Speed and it's functions and not a discussion on significance and interpretation of test results. An accurate description on significance and interpretation requires a dedicated discussion because it's really complex and rather controversial subject. So I'll purposely avoid discussing the test interpretation. Those who are interested to know more on this subject can find a lot of detailed informations on the CD Freaks forum.
<HR>

The "Disc Quality" tab shows an interface dominated again by a graph, and a lateral panel containing some settings and informations.




Differently from other tabs, here there is no a single graph, but there are two graphs. The one above shows C1/PIE (respectively for CD and DVD media), and the one below shows C2/PIF (respectively for CD and DVD media).




Each graph contains various information.

C1/PIE Graph: The numeric scale on the left refer the number of C1/PIE Errors, the scale on the right refer the reading/writing speed, and the scale on the bottom refer disc capacity.

C2/PIF Graph: The numeric scale on the left refers to C2/PIF errors, the scale on the right refers to jitter, and again the scale on the bottom refers to disc capacity.

As already said, if in global options of CD-DVD Speed the option "Include Test Data" is selected,




above the graph will be shown also the burner and the firmware used to burn the disc.




It's also possible to show a "secure zone" in the C2/PIF errors graph




selecting the "Use Background to Show Error Limits" option in global settings of CD-DVD Speed.


<HR>

Under the graphs there are some panels showing in real time when the test is running some informations on disc quality.


<br>
PI Errors: This panel shows informations on PI (Parity Inner) Errors.

Average: The average number of PIE
Maximum: The maximum value of PIE detected
Total: The total number of PIE

PI Failures: This panel shows informations on PI (Parity Inner) Failures.

Average: The average number of PIF
Maximum: The maximum value of PIF detected
Total: The total number of PIF

Jitter: This panel shows informations on jitter. Important: not all burners are able to measure jitter. If the burner used is not able to measure jitter, this panel will remain empty.

Average: The average value of jitter
Maximum: The maximum value of jitter

PO Failures: The number of PO (Parity Outer) Failures. These are the worst errors that can be detected on a disc. Usually POFs are indicative of unreadable data on the disc.
<HR>


On the right of graphs there are other panels containing more informations.




Disc Info: Show informations on the disc tested.

Type: The type of tested disc (+R/RW, -R/RW, RAM, ROM)
ID: The mediacode of tested disc (see more info in "Disc Info" section of this guide)
Date: Disc date.


There is a special consideration regarding date. The value shown here is not the date when disc is tested, but the date when disc was created. If the disc was created burning an image file, then this label shows the date when the image file (ISO or NRG) was created and not the date when disc was burned.

For example, if the image file was created on 01-01-2000, even if the disc was burned on 01-01-2006 the date showed will be 01-01-2000.

Label: The disc label.

As already said, it's possible to avoid showing the disc label by unchecking the option "Show Disc Label" in global options of CD-DVD Speed.

Settings: In this panel there are all available settings to execute the Quality test.





Speed: Very important, this box allows the user to select at which speed to execute the Quality test. The speed to select varies according to the burner used to do the test and the media tested. For CD media, with any burner suggested speed is "Maximum". For DVD media, selected speed is related to the burner.

As already said, it's rather complicated to explain the reasons for these choices, so I'll give only some very general indications. More precise informations can be found in CD Freaks forum.

• For Lite-On burners up to the 1693 the preferred speed to select is 4x
• For Lite-On drives starting from 1635 the preferred speed id 8x
• For BenQ drives the preferred speed id 8x
• For NEC and Pioneer drives the preferred speed is 5x.

Refresh: Near the speed box there is a little button. Pressing it CD-DVD Speed does a refresh of available speeds that can be used to do Quality test with the specific burner selected. It can happen that if there is more than a burner connected to the computer this list can need to be updated because each burner will have a different set of available speeds. See as examples the following pics:

Speeds available for Lite-On SOHW1693




Speeds available for BenQ DW1640




Start: This box contains the starting block from which Disc Quality test must be started. Selecting zero makes CD-DVD Speed start the test from the beginning of the disc. This value can be manually changed to start test from a desidered block of the disc.

End: This box contains the end block to be tested, i.e. where the test will be stopped. CD-DVD Speed automatically loads a value here when the disc is inserted in the burner. Anyway, the user can change manually these values to scan only of a specific segment of the disc.

Quick Scan: Unchecking this option, Quality test will be executed on the entire disc. Checking this option, Quality test will be executed according to options selected for quick scan, as already described (see Options --> Disc Quality).




This method consists in execute a scan only in some segments of a given length of the disc, as showed in this schematic picture:




Important: Before executing a quick scan, it's important to set correctly in global options of CD-DVD Speed how many measure points to scan and length of each point.

Show C1/PIE: Checking this option CD-DVD Speed will draw a graph of C1/PIE. Unchecking this option, the C1/PIE graph will be not drawn.

Show C2/PIF: Checking this option, CD-DVD Speed will draw a graph of C2/PIF. Unchecking this option, the C2/PIF graph will be not drawn.

Show Jitter: Checking this option CD-DVD Speed will draw a graph of jitter. Unchecking this option, the jitter graph will be not drawn. As already said, not all burners are able to measure jitter.

Show read speed: Checking this option, in the C1/PIF graph will be shown also a curve for scan speed. In the following picture, scan speed is the one drawn in red.




As already said, the color of this curve can be customized by user (see Options --> Disc Quality).





Show write speed: Checking this option, in the C1/PIE a graph will be shown also writing speed. In the following picture, write speed is the one drawn in white.




As already said, the color of this curve can be customized by user (see Options --> Disc Quality).

If when disc was burned in the global options of CD-DVD Speed was checked the option "Include Test Data", writing speed was written in the disc during the burn.




If the option "Include Test Data" was unchecked, writing speed can't be drawn because it wasn't stored on the disc, so even if the option "Show Write Speed" is checked, no writing speed curve will be drawn. The only exception to this is if the disc was burned some minutes before than Disc Quality test is executed, because writing speed curve is still in CD-DVD Speed memory. However, closing CD-DVD Speed after burning and before running Disc Quality test will clear memory, so again no writing speed curve will be showed.

Quality score: Based on results of Disc Quality test, CD-DVD Speed assign a score




A score of 100% is a perfect disc, without C2/PIF errors (a very improbable event).

Finally, in the lower right corner of this window there are some informations on the running test.




Progression: The progression of the running test (the percentage of disc scanned).

Position: The disc position being tested.

Speed: The current scanning speed.



<HR>
Test Procedure


To execute Disc Quality test the procedure is the following:

1) Select the drive to use to run test.




2) Insert a disc in the burner

3) Select the tab "Disc Quality"

4) Check that global settings of CD-DVD Speed are set in the correct way

5) Select scanning speed

6) If a full scan is desired, uncheck the option "Quick Scan"

7) Press the "Start" button on the main window

8) Wait until test end

9) Save scan results as PNG file pressing the save button (number 2 in the pic)

[geno888]

3 - Basic Tests - Scan Disc


In this tab can be executed the "Scan Disc" test.




This test is a bit different from "Disc Quality Test", even if often this latter is called scan.

Again, main window is dominated by a graph.




Graph represents a map of all disc sectors, and each sector is drawn with a little square. When test is running, each square (sector) will be showed in a different color according its status.

Green for normal sectors, perfectly readable;

Yellow for damaged sectors that are still readable because internal correction error capabilities of the burner;

Red for damaged sectors that contain uncorrectable errors (and then unreadable data).

Above the graph can be drawn the burner and firmware used to test disc.




As already said, this information can be omitted unchecking the option "Include Test Data" in global CD-DVD Speed options.




Under the graph there is a box showing more detailed test results. See below for more details.




On the left there are some panels.

Disc Info: Show informations on tested disc.

Type: Disc type (+R/RW, -R/RW, ROM, RAM)
ID: Disc mediacode. See "Disc Info" tab for more details.
Date: Disc date.

There is a special consideration regarding the date. The value showed here is not the date when disc is tested, but the date when disc was created. If the disc was created burning an image file, then this label show the date when the image file (ISO or NRG) was created and not the date when disc was burned.

For example, if the image file was created on 01-01-2000, even if the disc was burned on 01-01-2006 the date showed will be 01-01-2000.

Label: Disc label. As already said, this information can be omitted by unchecking the option "Show disc label" in CD-DVD Speed global options

Settings: Options to customize Scan Disc test.




First of all, the test speed must be selected. This varies according the test. In fact, Scan Disc test consist of two parts:

1. Read Test (or File test)
2. C1/C2 -PI/PO Test (or Surface Scan)

Read Test (or File Test)

It is aimed to check file readability. CD-DVD Speed simply reads all files on the disc and reports all errors.




Test results are reported both in the graph and, in a more detailed manner, in the box under the graph. As said previously, each square represents a disc sector, and sectors are drawn in different colors according their status.

In the same way of Transfer Rate Test (TRT), Read Test can be used for two main reasons:

1. Test optical drive
2. Test a burned disc

To test an optical drive can be used some special test discs containing standard defects, like A-BEX discs.

If the user wants to check a burned media, the Scan Disc Test is aimed to verify that burning was successful and that disc is readable in all its parts.

Similarly to TRT, to test burned media I suggest to set test speed as "Maximum". in this way, discs will be checked in the worst conditions. If a disc passes the test successfully in the worst conditions, burning was done correctly.


C1/C2 -PI/PO Test (Surface Scan)

In the second part of Scan Disc test, it is checked quality (integrity) of each sector of the disc, and results are shown again in the graph.




This latter test is very similar to Disc Quality test, but results are presented in a different way. In fact, in the graph is reported sector status and not error numbers. Again, sectors are represented in different colors as described previously:

Green are integer sectors. Yellow are damaged sectors that can still be read thanks to the internal error correction routines of the drive, so data can still be retrieved. Red are damaged sectors, and unreadable. They should be the same of POF showed in Disc Quality test.

The speed to select for this test is related to the media checked, similarly to Disc Quality test. For CD media should be selected "Maximum" speed. For DVD media the speed should be selected in the same way for Disc Quality test, i.e 4x for Lite-On drives, 8x for BenQ, etc.

Under the graph are shown some details on test results.

File: File name

Position: File position on the disc

Length: File length

Quality: File quality (calculated based on the number of read errors measured)

PIE: Parity Inner Errors (this is shown only for burners able to measure it)

PIF: Parity Inner Failures (this is shown only for burners able to measure it)

POE: Parity Outer Errors (this is shown only for burners able to measure it)

POF: Parity Outer Failures (this is shown only for burners able to measure it)

Jitter: Jitter (this is shown only for burners able to measure it)

To explain the significance of these parameters is out of the scope of this guide. Anyone interested can find more details in CD Freaks forum.

Under settings panel there is another panel showing, in real time when test is running, some other test information.




Here are reported in percentage all disc sectors: Good (in green color), Damaged (in yellow color), Bad (in red color).

In the following panel are reported, again in real time when test is running, other informations:




Progress: Test progression (100% when test is completed)

Position: The position of optical pickup on the disc

Speed: Current reading speed




Test Procedure


To execute "Scan Disc Test" the procedure is the following:

1) Select the drive




2) Insert a disc

3) Select first step of the test ("Read Test")

4) Select the correct speed (suggested = "Maximum")

5) Press the "Start" button

6) When test is finished, save results as PNG file pressing the save button (number 2 in the pic)




7) Select second step of the test ("C1/C2 - PI/PO Test")

8) Select the correct speed (according the drive used)

9) Press the "Start" button

10) When test is finished, save results as PNG file pressing the save button (number 2 in the pic)

[geno888]

4 - Menu
<br>
In this section of the guide will be described all menus.

[geno888]

4 - Menu - File






First two commands in File menu are rather intuitive: they allow to save test results and to load test results.

Note that after running CD-DVD Speed, both "Load" and "Save" menus are greyed out, and remain in such way until a disc is inserted in a drive.


Load Results

As showed in picture, "Load" menu contain two items:




Load single file: Open a single test results file. By selecting this item a dialog window will be opened asking to locate file on hard disc.




Important: The only files that can be opened are the binary ones (file extension ".dat"). If test results were previously saved in a different format, it will not be possible to open them with this menu item. See more details on file formats later.

After selecting the file to open, all results will be shown in the main window in the "Benchmark" tab.




Database: Selecting this item can be opened at the same time more than one test results file. This allows the user to do some comparisons.

Important: Database tool is aimed to do comparisons of drives performance, and not to compare disc results. Then, to use correctly the database function of CD-DVD Speed the same disc should be always used with different drives, or results in the database will be not comparable.

Selecting this menu item, will open the following window:




From this window user can select what test result files to import in the database to do comparisons. To add files in the database it's sufficient to press the "Add Results" button.




From the dialog window the user can select all desired tests to import. Obviously, to do comparisons it's necessary to select at least two files. Once all desired files are selected, press the "Open" button.




Now the database window shows all results imported. The red arrow shows that it's possible to exclude some imported files simply by unchecking them.

Once all desired results are checked (or unchecked), it remain to select which tests must be compared from the list available in the lower part of the database window, and then press the "Graph" button. In this way, CD-DVD Speed generate a graph that compare all selected results.

Here are shown a lot of examples of the database function of CD-DVD Speed.

Transfer Rate (Graph)




And the graph





Transfer Rate




And the graph





DAE Quality




And the graph





Seek Times




And the graph






CPU Usage




And the graph





Burst Rate




And the graph





Spin up/down




And the graph




Load/Eject




And the graph







Save Results




After a test (or a number of tests) is completed, results can be saved.

If the user is interested to save only a screenshot, it's sufficient to press the save button (the one showed as number 2)

<br>
Alternatively, it's possible to save all results in a file on hard disc. CD-DVD Speed allows the user to save three different file types:[LIST][*]Binary (.dat): Binary data are a must if the user wants to use the database tool of CD-DVD Speed, because this is the only file format that can be imported.
<br>[*]Text (.csv): This item saves a plain text file. Even if file extension is not ".TXT", this file can be opened with any text editor.
<br>[*]HTML (.html): Selecting this item, test results will be saved in a "HTML" file which can be opened with any internet browser. In this file all test results are reported, including also a picture of graphs.

Important: In CD-DVD Speed global options it's possible to modify how many data will be saved in this html file according to how is set the option "Include Status".




If "Include Status" is checked, will save the graph and all other test results. If "Include Status" is unchecked, only the graph will be saved.



Options


Selecting this item of File menu will open the global settings of CD-DVD Speed. All options were already described.



Exit


Selecting this item of File menu, CD-DVD Speed will be closed. It's possible to close it also by pressing "ALT + F4".

[geno888]

4 - Menu - Run Test


To execute a test with CD-DVD Speed there are two ways:

1) Select in global options which tests must be executed




and then press the "Start" button in the main window of the "Benchmark" tab.

2) Select manually a single test from the menu "Run Test".




Important: If in global options was selected also the "Create Data Disc" test,




it's necessary to insert a blank media in the burner, or at least a rewritable media, or an error message will be shown:




Consequently, to execute a group of tests with an already burned media it's necessary uncheck the "Create Data Disc" test. This error is shown also if the drive used to execute tests is a reader (because a reader can't execute a writing test anyway).

Obviously, the more selected tests, the more time will be required to complete.

Let's see in detail all menu items.

Important: All items in this menu are related with basic tests executed in the "Benchmark" tab. If these items are selected in a different tab, tests will be executed anyway, but results will be not visible because only the "Benchmark" tab is able to visualize them.

Here will be described only the function of each menu item. All tests have been already described elsewhere.



Selected (F11)

This item runs all tests that were selected in global options of CD-DVD Speed. This command can be executed also by pressing the "F11" in the keyboard.



All (F12)

This item runs all basic tests, also the ones unchecked in global options.

Differently from the previous command, this time CD-DVD Speed check automatically which tests can be done, so if an already burned media is inserted in a drive the "Create Disc Test" will be automatically avoided without any error message.

This item can be selected also by pressing F12 in the keyboard.



Transfer Rate (F2)

This item executes only Transfer Rate Test (TRT). It's possible to select this item also by pressing F2 in the keyboard.



DAE Quality (F3)

This item executes only DAE Quality test. It's possible to select this item also by pressing F3 in the keyboard.



Access/Seek times (F4)

This item executes only Access/Seek times test. It's possible to select this item also by pressing F4 in the keyboard.



CPU Usage (F5)

This item executes only CPU Usage Test. It's possible to select this item also by pressing F5 in the keyboard.



Burst Rate (F6)

This item executes only Burst Rate Test. It's possible to select this item also by pressing F6 in the keyboard.



Spin Up/Down (F7)

This item executes only Spin Up/Down Test. It's possible to select this item also by pressing F7 in the keyboard.



Load/Eject (F8)

This item executes only Load/Eject Test. It's possible to select this item also by pressing F8 in the keyboard.



Create Data Disc (F9)

This item executes only Create Data Disc test writing predefined binary data. It's possible to select this item also by pressing F9 in the keyboard.

Important: Selecting this item from the "Benchmark" tab, will be possible to save an image of the graph. Selecting this item from the "Create Disc" tab will run the create disc test but the graph will be not visible and can't be saved because the test is ran in the background in the "Benchmark" tab.



Burn Image File (CTRL-F9)

This item executes only Create Data Disc test writing the content of an image file. It's possible to select this item also by pressing CTRL-F9 in the keyboard.

[geno888]

4 - Menu - Extra


This menu contains some advanced tests to analyze audio discs, and contains also the bitsetting tool.




The following items are located in this menu:

1. Advanced DAE Quality Test: This menu contains three items
   
   
   
   
   and two other items are located here:
   
   
   <br>
   
2. Overburning Test<br>
   
3. Erase Disc<br>
   
4. Bitsetting

[geno888]

4 - Menu - Extra - Advanced DAE Quality Test



Advanced DAE Quality Test is rather different from the simple DAE previously described in basic tests. It's a deeper test that unveils any problem that a drive can have in extracting digital audio.
A special test disc must be used to execute this.



Create Test CD


CD-DVD Speed is able to create the special test disc necessary to execute this test. It's sufficient to insert a blank media in a burner and select the first item in "Advanced DAE Quality Test" menu.




This will open the following window:




In the upper part of this window there are some options available:




Write Speed: Here it's possible to select at what speed must be burned the disc. Being the test disc an audio CD, many experts suggest to burn it at not more than 16x. Burning the test disc at a speed higher can introduce some errors and using a test disc containing errors can give false results. In fact, will be really difficult to distinguish which errors are due to a bad performing drive or to a bad burned media.

Test Capacity: On the right there is another box showing disc capacity (expressed in MSF, i.e. Minutes, Seconds, Frames).

Simulate: Checking this option, disc will be not written, but will be made a simulation. Unchecking this option, disc will be burned.

RAW Mode: Checking this option disc will be burned in RAW mode. Unchecking this option, disc will not be burned in RAW mode.

Once selected desired options, the user can start disc writing, pressing the "Start" button. The "Close" button, instead, will close this window.

In the central part of window, are shown some information on writing process.




Position: Optical position on the disc during burning.

Relative: Relative position of optical pickup during burning process, i.e. the percentage of disc written until now.

When burning proceeds, the bar is filled in green color.




Some other information is showed on the burning process:




Capacity: Disc capacity, expressed both in MSF (79:54.74) and in MegaBytes (703 MB).

Dye type: the dye used on the disc burned.

Manufacturer: Disc manufacturer.

Disc type: What type of disc is burned.

Finally, some other informations on the disc:




Manufacturer: Disc manufacturer.

Type: Disc type.

Capacity: Nominal (official) capacity of the disc, i.e. how much data can be burned normally in the disc.

Maximum: Maximum capacity of the disc, i.e. maximum amount of data that can be burned in the disc (in overburning)

Extra: Capacity difference between maximum and nominal capacity.

After pressing the "Start" button, disc burning can begin.




At the end of burning process:




we can see a summary of all information on the just created disc:





Run Test


Now that we have a testdisc, it's possible to execute the Advanced DAE Test: It's sufficient to select the item "Run Test":




The following window is opened:




In this window are shown all informations on Advanced DAE Test. Some of these informations are shown in this window, but most results are contained in the little box at the bottom of window.

When test proceeds, various parts of the window are filled progressively with new collected data, and a progression bar show test status.




When the test ends, the window contains all test results:




All test results can be saved on hard disc pressing the "Save" button. An example of such results can be seen by downloading the following file:

Test Results

Let's see now in detail the test results. The window is organized in sections, each showing a group of results.

Test Results:




Average Speed: After tests end, the average speed is calculated and shown here.

In this panel are showed results of two tests: "Sequential Read Test" and "Random Read Test".

"Sequential Read Test" simulate a DAE under ideal conditions. Most of drives will pass this test without errors. The harmonica read test is then executed. This is very thorough for the drive: many drives will not pass this test without errors.

"Random Read Test" then allows to identify errors located on the disc. Disc errors can be of two types:

Data Errors: These are just audio samples which are read incorrectly. Usually the cause of these errors is a bad media. Two possible solutions are to use a better quality media or to decrease the drive speed.

If the number of data errors is not too high you probably won't hear them because the internal error correction routines of the drive should be able to fix them.

CD-DVD Speed detects them by comparing the read bytes with the known data from the test disc. In fact, as said previously, CD-DVD Speed already knows what data should be in the disc because the disc was created by CD-DVD Speed itself.

Sync Errors: A sync error occurs when the drive does not read the audio sector requested by the application but a sector near it. For example when the application requests sector 1000 the drive may return the data from sector 999.

When this happens either some samples are missing or samples are repeated. This error is probably audible.

The test disc contains data which allows CD-DVD Speed to determine whether the correct sector is read.

Quality Score: Based on the number of errors a score is given. A score of 100.0 is a perfect score.

On-the-fly Copying: After checking the DAE quality, the test will determine whether the drive can be used in combination with a recorder to make backups of audio discs on the fly.




The test will check if an audio disc can be copied without any errors at different speeds ranging from 1-16X

Advanced Features: Finally some advanced features of the drives are tested.




Offset: All drives start reading audio sectors at a different position from the actual start position. This offset is usually a few 100 samples. Also recorders don't start writing at the start position.

CD-DVD Speed reports the total of the read offset of the tested drive and the write offset of the recorder which was used to create the test disc.

Read Leadin: To make perfect copies a drive should be able to read data before the start position (see offset explanation).

Read Leadout: To make perfect copies a drive should be able to read data from the leadout (see offset explanation).

Read CD Text: Checks the drive's ability to return CD Text information.

Read Subchannel Data: Subchannel data contains information such as index markers, track number, etc. A drive must be capable of returning this information to make perfect audio copies.

Summary window: In this window are reported in detail all test results.




The content of this window can be saved on hard disc, as already stated, and you can see an example of this data in the following file:

Test results



Error Test


Main purpose of this test is to determine drive error correction ability. To execute this test it's necessary to use a standard test disc called "A-BEX" (TCD-714R, TCD-721R o TCD-726). On these discs are created intentionally a series of standardized defects on reading surface, that allow to do precise measures on drive performance. Basically, these A-BEX discs are audio CD that contain the same data but different defects ranging from light to heavy.

This test is made in two steps (each one selectable from menu): "Create Image" and "Error Test".




Create Image: First step it's data extraction from A-BEX disc to create on hard disc an image file without errors.




Trying to use a disc different from the A-BEX, test can't be started because the "Start" button is greyed out and an error message is shown:




With the correct disc test can be started:




Pressing the "Start" button, test begin:




If the drive is not able to create the image file (most of drives fail in this test), the following error message will appear:




If the drive is able to successfully create the image file, the following message will appear:




This image file can be used to the second step of this test.

Run Test: The second step of "Error Test" consists of reading data from A-BEX disc and comparing them with image file previously created to be sure that is a perfect copy.




After inserting the A-BEX media in the testing drive, it's sufficient to press the "Start" button. When test is running, the start button changes name and becomes "Stop".




Other than compare disc read data with image file on HDD, this test also measures C2 errors on the disc, shown in a graph when the test is running.




The window contains two graphs: the one above (red square) shows C2 errors, the one below (green square) show errors found when comparing with the image file on HDD.




At the end of test, there is the window with results. Here there are some test results obtained with various drives. According to results a score from 0 to 100 is assigned to the drive.













As already said, this test is designed to be executed with A-BEX discs, but it can be executed also a "limited" version of this test using the CD-DVD Speed DAE test disc. See above to see how to create this disc. Using this disc it's not necessary to run the first step of the error test, because CD-DVD Speed already knows the content of the disc. Here are reported results obtained using the CD-DVD Speed DAE test disc.

After selecting which drive to test




insert the CD-DVD Speed DAE test disc and click on "Run Test".




The following window is opened:




Press the "Start" button to begin the test. When test is completed, it's possible to read results:




A final consideration: being this test suited to be used with A-BEX discs, it's useless to run it with a different disc.

[geno888]

4 - Menu - Extra - Overburning



Introduction

Without going too deep into the discussion, overburning consists of writing on a disc an amount of data in excess of the official capacity of that media. This is possible writing data on a part of that disc zone know as "Leadout". Leadout is a zone of the disc that has the function to specify where the disc ends, and normally contains only zeros. By filling a part of leadout with real data instead of zeros, it's possible to increase the official capacity of the disc.

According to standards, on CD media leadout must have a length of 90 seconds. Usually it's possible to write also over these 90 seconds, but over this limit data has a very high probability to be unreadable.

It must be considered, however, that overburning write data on a disc zone usually suited to contain only zeros. Moreover, this zone is in the more external part of the disc, and more prone to become damaged, dirty (for example with fingerprints), and warped. Consequently, it's very easy that data written in overburning can be lost because are unreadable.

Most 80 minutes CDs officially can contain data up to 81:30:00 (MM:SS:FF, respectively minutes:seconds:frames), and in some (very rare) cases can reach a capacity of 82:50:00 (MM:SS:FF).

Overburning is not limited to CD media, but it's possible also with DVD media. Usually DVD overburning is not advised because the external border of DVD media is much more prone of CD media to become ruined, but with some very high quality media (Taiyo Yuden) it's still possible that data written in overburning will remain readable. Moreover, differently from CD ones, only very few DVD burners are able to support overburning.

Some claimed that most of DVD media can contain data in overburning up to 4580~4600MB, but as already said, only with very high quality media data written in overburning are readable and will remain readable in time.


Important

Not all burners do support this feature, and it's important to know that overburning can damage the drive. Then, to avoid as much as possible to damage hardware overburning should be done only on media suited to support it. Some CD-R allow to write in overburning up to 99 minutes, and others reach only 90 minutes. It is strongly suggested to avoid to going over recommended overburning capacity of a disc to avoid damage to the burner.

Another important consideration is that a disc written in overburning it's out of standard specification for that media. Consequently, it's possible that some readers (mostly standalone players) will be not able to read these discs.

It is still possible to write some data over the 90 seconds of leadout, but these have an extremely high probability to be unreadable. Error numbers starting from this point rise very fast, as showed in this picture:






Menu Overburning




This menu item allows to do only a simulation of the overburning process to help users to test a burner and to know how much data can be written on the currently used media. The real burning must be done in a different way, described later in this section of the guide.

Selecting this item will be opened the following window:




In this window we can see many elements:

Write speed: Selected speed to run test. I suggest to use the same speed that the user plans to use to do the real burn on that media. For example, if it will be used an audio CD, I suggest to do the burn at a maximum speed of 16x. Anyway, the user can select any desired speed.

Test capacity: In this box the user must insert how much data must be written on the disc. It's possible to insert manually a value, or leave the value that CD-DVD Speed insert automatically based on the official capacity of the disc (in our example 90 minutes).

Simulate: This option is activated by default, because as already said from this section it's possible to do only a simulation: no data will be written on the disc.

RAW Mode: Checking this option, simulation will be done writing in RAW mode. Unchecking this option, simulation will be done writing data in normal mode.

Start: Pressing this button, test begin. When test is running, this button change name and become "Stop"; pressing it will stop the test.

Close: Pressing this button, window will be closed.

Write Position: In this panel are reported writing information when the test is running.




Position: Current position of optical pickup during writing.

Relative: Relative position of writing related to effective (official) disc capacity.

In the center of this panel there is a bar that shows test progression. When test is running, this bar will be progressively filled in green color.

The green color refers to data written on the official disc capacity.

The yellow bar refers to data written over the official capacity of the disc (i.e. the part of the disc written in overburning).

The little bar in dark green represents the buffer status.

The blue line refers to the official disc capacity.

The red line shows the current/final position of optical pickup i.e the current writing position.

Disc Informations: Show informations on disc inserted in the drive.




Capacity: Official disc capacity.

Manufacturer: Disc manufacturer.

Dye type: The dye found on the writing surface of the disc.

Disc type: The disc type.

Maximum: Maximum capacity of the disc (i.e. maximum amount of data that CD-DVD Speed was able to write on that disc).

Extra: The amount of data in excess that CD-DVD Speed was able to write on that disc over the official capacity.



Overburning Test Procedure: Simulation


To execute the overburning simulation test the procedure is the following (pictures are obtained using a CD media):
1) Select the drive to use to run test.




2) Insert a disc in the burner

3) Select "Overburning Test" from menu "Extra"




to open the overburning simulation window.




4) If desired, select the option "RAW mode"

5) Select the amount of data to write on the disc or leave the official amount of data detected by CD-DVD Speed after it identified the disc.

In this first example I leave the automatically detected value, i.e. the "official" amount than can be written on a 90 minutes CD: 89:57:74.




6) Press the "Start" button to begin the test. Note that progression bar will progressively fill the box in the center of window. See above for color explanation.




If simulation ends successfully, i.e if disc can contain data up to the amount selected by the user, the following message will be shown:




7) Press the "OK" button to see in more detail simulation results.







<HR>
After completion, I executed another simulation test increasing the automatically detected value to a higher capacity: 99:57:74. Pressing the "Start" button, the test begins and runs in the same way described above. This time, however, at a certain point the drive is not able to write more data on the disc, because the capacity initially inserted it's excessive and disc can't contain so much data. The following error was obtained:





At the end of test, CD-DVD Speed detects that this specific disc can be overburned to a maximum capacity of 92:35:11 (12:35:12 more that official capacity of the disc).

At this point, CD-DVD Speed asks the user if this value must be added to the internal overburning database. In this way, every time CD-DVD Speed sees this specific media it already knows how much data it can contain in overburning. If the user decides to add these results to database, test results will be visible in the window (see red square).





Overburning Test Procedure: Real writing


To execute the actual writing of data in overburning on a disc the procedure is the following (pictures are obtained using a CD media):

1) Select the drive to use to run test.




2) Insert a disc in the burner

3) Run a create disc test

As already described above, this can be done in two ways: in the "Benchmark" tab or in the "Create Disc" tab. My suggestion is to use the "Create Disc" tab, but obviously the user can select the preferred one.

4) Open global options of CD-DVD Speed pressing the little button with gears




5) Select the option "Overburning" in the "Transfer rate" panel of global options.




Important: if the "Overburning" option is unchecked, the disc will NOT be written in overburning. Be sure to select the right media type. If you want to do an overburning on a CD, then the "Overburn CD" option must be selected. The same is for DVD.

6) Modify the value in the box to specify how much data must be written on the disc. Again, be sure to write the right value in the right box (if you are doing an overburning on a CD, don't modify the value on the DVD box).

7) Press the "OK" button and return to the main CD-DVD Speed window.

8) Select the tab in which to execute the burning (again the two possible choices are "Benchmark" or "Create Disc").

"Benchmark" tab: Select menu "Run Test" and then the item "Create Data Disc (F9)" to write predefined binary data or the item "Burn Image File (CTR+F9)" to write an image file.

"Create Disc" tab: The procedure is the same as already described to create a data disc. First of all the user must decide if they want to write predefined binary data or an image file. After all options are set in the desired way, press the "Start" button and the test begin.

9) Once the burning ends, we can see the graph.




After writing I also did a verification test, running first a Transfer Rate Test (TRT):




and then a "Disc Quality" test:






<HR>

Overburning test with DVD media


To run an overburning test with DVD media, the procedure is the same as described above.
Selecting "Overburning Test" from menu "Extra" a simulation can be executed, but the actual writing must be done from "Benchmark" or from "Create Disc" tab after changing global options in the desired way.
Here are reported some test results provided by Dee-27

Simulation test with PLEXTOR PX-760A burner




Actual writing with PLEXTOR PX-760A burner




Failed attempt in overburning simulation




Another actual writing test with TOSHIBA SD-R6112 burner

[geno888]

4 - Menu - Extra - Erase Disc
<br>
This menu item is aimed to erase rewritable media.

Selecting this item will be open a window containing an horizontal progression bar and erasing options:


<br>
In fact, rewritable media can be erased in two ways, so CD-DVD Speed asks the user which method must be used.

Quick Erase: Selecting this option, disc content will not be actually deleted, but it erases only the TOC (Table of Content), i.e. that part of the disc containing all informations on what is the content of the disc. If this section of the disc is erased, the drive "see" an empty disc. This method requires a very short time (usually less than a minute).

Full Erase: Selecting this option, the disc will actually be erased completely. All files will be deleted from the disc. Obviously, this method requires more time because all of the disc surface must be written. The time required is related to the media. As a rule of thumb, the time required to do a full erase is the same as required to do a complete writing of that media. For example, to do a full erase of a 4x RW DVD it occur about 15 minutes at 4x speed.

[geno888]

4 - Menu - Extra - Bitsetting






This item allows the user to modify bitsetting options of DVD burners that support this function. in other words, some DVD burners are able to modify the so-called "Book Type".

Book Type is an information located at the start of all DVDs. Based on this information, an optical drive is able to know what type of media is inserted. This information is physically written on the disc.

Book Type is not important only for burners, but also for readers (mostly for standalones) because it's necessary to correctly identify the inserted media.

Many standalone players, mostly the older ones, have many difficulties to identify burned media because they aren't able to identify them or, more frequently, because manufacturers purposely blocked their recognition in firmwares. By changing book type it's possible to "cheat" the player making it "believe" that the inserted disc is not a burned one but a "pressed" one.

A very important consideration: book type can be changed only in "plus" media (+R/RW e +R-DL), because in all other media types book type is already written on the disc. On "plus" media, instead, booktype can be changed during a burn, if the burner supports this function.

In fact, not all burners are able to change book type. Moreover, each burner has a different behaviour regarding this setting.

For example, on Lite-On burners selected setting of book type is stored in drive eeprom and it remains the same even after a computer reboot. On LG burners, instead, this setting is restored to the default setting after a computer reboot, and must be changed any time by the user.


<HR>
Selecting this menu item will open a window that allows the user to change booktype settings of the currently selected burner.




What appears in this window changes slightly accordig to the selected burner, but basically what will be described here will be usable with any burner.

Drive Settings: Here there are all settings that can be modified by the user on that specific drive. In our example, the burner is able to change booktype on +R media and on +R-DL media, but not in +RW media (these options are greyed out).




Here it's possible to see the current booktype selected and the changes that can be done.

Disc Type: The type of disc

Book Type: The book type currently selected.

New Setting: The new setting that user can select. To change it, simply select a new one from the combo box (see red arrow).

Set: After selecting the desired setting, press the "Set" button to apply changes.

Set as default: If the burner supports this function, the change can be made "permanent", i.e. the just set option will be maintained also after a computer reboot. In our example, the burner won't allows this to be done, so the option is grayed out.

Disc Settings: Here are shown the current settings for the media inserted in the drive.


<br>
In our example, in the drive there is a +R media and currently selected booktype is +R.

The "Refresh" button allows to do a refresh of the window content.

The "Close" button closes this window.

[geno888]

5 - Menu - Help
<br>
Help menu contains only two items: Manual and About.


<br>
Manual: This item opens the CD-DVD Speed manual. This is not included in CD-DVD Speed zip file downloaded from website, so selecting this item will show the following error:


<br>
It's possible to download a user manual from website but it's available only for an old version of it.

About: This item gives information on CD-DVD Speed. Here we can see the author, Erik Deppe, program version (that now it's visible also in the main window bar), and links for CD-DVD Speed and for Nero website.

[geno888]

6 - Acknowledgements


Some acknowledgements to all people that helped me to realise this guide.

Digital Video Forum staff, to have published this guide and because they gave me some space on their servers to store all images contained in this guide.

Erik Deppe, author of CD-DVD Speed, who helped me to understand some technical aspects too difficult for me. A big thanks to Erik for all corrections made to this guide.

Eltranquil and Dee-27, moderators on CDFreaks, that helped me to solve some technical problems and gave me some test results that I couldn't execute because I don't have the necessary hardware.

James4Eva, that read all this guide helping me to eliminate all translation errors contanined in my writings (English is not my primary language).

<br>
A big thanks to all

[Chewy]

cdspeed user's guide

well done geno, an amazing accomplishment