Digital Trends

TDK VeloCD 24/10/40F March 14th, 2003 | by Ian Bell

Testing

I ran the test on my home computer which consists of an Athlon XP 1700+, 512mb of PC2100 DDR memory. The TDK VeloCD FireWire ReWriter burned a 640MB in just about 4 minutes and 50 seconds. That's the equivalent to 2.21MB per seconds, not bad at all. The CD-R and CD-RW read times are not the fastest, around 1.1MB per second transfer rate and if you aren't a super techie, you probably won't care as long as the drive is reliable and does not shoot out coasters which it is due to the integrated Burn Proof Technology. You can surf the web and continue with your work without worrying about ruining the burning process.

Software and other Surprises

TDK has always included a lot of software with their CD writers and the VeloCD drive is no exception. It is the little details that surprised me when I opened the box. Included were some blank CD's plenty of software and a special pen for labeling your CDs; there was even a VHS tape cassette included for learning how to use the drive and its software.

TDK includes their own Digital MixMaster software which lets you rip audio from CDs, copy CDs in various different formats (disc at once, track at once etc..), create disc images and compile music compilations. If this isn't enough for you, TDK even threw in version 5.5 of Nero, an excellent cd writing software package.

While I found TDK's software to be a little too high-tech and complicated, I was very familiar with Nero and found it simple to use in all aspects. Those with a knack for learning things patiently should find TDK's Digital MixMaster rewarding and powerful.

As with most CD writers, Music Match is included as well. I decided to install it to try it out and found the appearance of the program very hip, but registration and payment was required to fully utilize the program. If you currently have a subscription to Music Match then you can rest assured that it will be compatible with this drive.

For Mac users, the included software package was pretty thin (as with most cross compatible hardware) and only included Roxio Toast 5.0 standard. The bright side is that this program worked great with the VeloCD ReWriter and I had no trouble with it. If you like to use iTunes then you are out of luck, the drive does not support it; TDK includes MusicMatch as a substitute.

Conclusion and Final thoughts

I was blown away by the TDK VeloCD Firewire 24/10/40F CD ReWriter. It runs flawlessly, is fast and looks extremely cool. The software package is fantastic and the included pen, video cassette and detailed instructions show TDK's dedication to the consumer as well. If you are looking for a fantastic external CD burner, then the VeloCD FireWire ReWriter is for you. MSRP is $315.99.