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Buyer's Guide: The Best Monitors 
Buffalo Technology DVSM-PN58U2
| Caractéristiques | |||
| Blu-ray read / write | no / no | ||
| DVD read / write | yes / yes | ||
| CD read / write | yes / yes | ||
| Dimensions/Weight | 137 x 20 x 142 mm / 340 g | ||
Pierre-Jean Alzieu
Test date: October 19, 2009
Test date: October 19, 2009
Burning
Naturally we tested the drives in burn mode. Buffalo Technology bundles CyberLink software for burning CDs and DVDs, but we stuck with the same application for all our tests - the free-of-charge CDBurnerXP Pro.
The results were unexpected. Buffalo Technology came out ahead of the two Korean-made products. On our test machine, it took around 9 minutes to burn a 3 GB image file, compared to a little over 11 minutes with the Samsung.
The results were unexpected. Buffalo Technology came out ahead of the two Korean-made products. On our test machine, it took around 9 minutes to burn a 3 GB image file, compared to a little over 11 minutes with the Samsung.
According to Buffalo, The DVSM-PN58U2 portable DVD burner is designed for professionals and people on the go who use a netbook. They've put a glossy housing around it for some extra pizazz. This type of finish is pretty standard these days - you find it on monitors, TVs, and notebook computers - so the Buffalo will blend right in with whatever else is grazing nearby.
For power, Buffalo provides a USB "Y" cable, with one connector going to the drive itself, and two going to the computer. Of course the burner can operate with a single USB connector. The second one is used only if the USB port doesn't supply enough power. We'll see if it's really necessary to connect both USB cables to your netbook.
Read-write speeds
| Buffalo Tech. DVSM-PN58U2 LG GSA-E50L |
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Time taken to create an ISO image of our test DVD (s)
The data-rate test was run on a Hercules eCAFE EC-900 XP. The transfer rate was no different with one USB cable than it was with two. Also, our test results for copying files from the DVD to the computer were very close from one unit to another - the difference was negligible. The results for ripping an ISO image of our test DVD, however, gave the Samsung a clear advantage.
Noise levels
| Buffalo Tech. DVSM-PN58U2 LG GSA-E50L Samsung SE-S084B |
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Noise levels during operation (dB)
As you might expect, we found differences in noise level between burners. The Buffalo Technology wasn't among the quietest, at 47.7 dB while operating. The Samsung SE-S084B did better, with 45.5 dB under the same conditions.
Power consumption
| Buffalo Tech. DVSM-PN58U2 LG GSA-E50L Samsung SE-S084B |
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Energy consumption (W.h)
To test energy consumption, we measure the computer's power usage with the external optical burner operating. We multiply that measurement by the average time (in hours) taken to create a disk image and burn a DVD. Our result worked out to 2.9 Wh for the Buffalo. The Samsung did a lot better. Under the same conditions, its score was 2.7 Wh. That result translates into better energy efficiency for the Samsung.
Pluses
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DVD burn time
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Looks good
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Comes with burning software
Minuses
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Speeds: takes more time to create ISO image
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Casing shows fingerprints
The Buffalo Technology DVD player / burner is the smallest and lightest in its category, and that's important for people who are always on the go. However, it's not the quietest in the group.
