Digital Trends

Plextor PX-504A April 20th, 2003 | by Ian Bell

Introduction:

Those familiar with Plextor as a company are usually not surprised when Plextor introduces a product to market later than their competitors all in the name of better quality. Plextor's name and reputation has traditionally been synonymous with performance and quality. This time however, Plextor's new PX-504A DVD+R/RW drive is lacking their usual refinement with mediocre dirve performance and the lack of an included DVD+RW disc or audio cable.

Plextor chose to support the new DVD+R/RW format with their PX-504A drive as opposed to the older —R/RW format. We think this is a good thing because the DVD+R/RW format allows you to copy and/or create a table of contents and other special features found on most DVD movies allowing for perfect DVD movie copying. Around 70%-85% of stand alone DVD players entering the market support the DVD+R/RW format promising some longevity to your purchase. Unfortunately disc size is still limited to 4.7 GB of storage space with the +R/RW format; identical to the —R/RW formats.

Features:

The Plextor PX-504A supports 4X DVD+R and 2.4X DVD+RW writing speeds as well as a 16X CD-R and 10X CD-RW writing speeds. Plextor packages the PX-504A with a minimal software package including Roxio's Easy CD Creator 5 DVD Edition and Photo Suite 5SE. Dantz Retrospect is also included as a backup and restoration solution. Also included with the PX-504A is an IDE cable, mounting screws and a DVD+R recordable disk. What Plextor failed to include is a DVD+RW disc or an audio cable bumping your purchase price up a little more if you decide you need the missing items. If you have a black colored computer and would like to find a matching DVD writer, the Plextor PX-504A is also available with a black faceplate.

The Plextor PX-504A features Buffer Under Run Proof technology to prevent buffer underrun errors as well as Plextor's PoweRec writing error reduction control which is designed for stable recording at maximum speed. For complete drive specifications please click on the specifications links above and below the review.