Entered CNET Catalog: 08/28/2004
SKU: ND3500A
Manufacturer: NEC Corporation
Manufacturer description
NEC ND3500A is the first advanced double layer 16x DVD re-writer. This model incorporates NEC's leading optical storage technology to offer a high capacity, reliable device, ideal for digital video recording, storage and PC data back-up applications. ND3500A delivers significantly improved performance, ensuring users need no longer compromise on quality of video and stills due to lack of space on the disc.Product summary
The good: Double-layer (DL), multiformat disc support; fast DL DVD and audio CD burning; S/PDIF port.
The bad: Slothlike DVD rip times; limited, toll-based phone support hours.
The bottom line: The ND-3500A's fast burn times with certain media aren't enough to make this an indispensable drive.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 03/11/2005
The NEC ND-3500A double-layer burner has two faces--literally and figuratively. For starters, the internal drive ships in two faceplate colors: black and beige. The ND-3500A also offers impressive speeds in certain areas but uninspiring performance in others. Your best bet for a fast, internal double-layer DVD burner remains the Pioneer DVR-A08XL. And if you can do without double-layer capability, the Plextor PX-712A is still one of our top choices for handling single-layer discs.
Like most internal drives, the NEC ND-3500A has a simple face, with only an emergency-eject pinhole, an eject button, and a tiny LED status light. Audiophiles will appreciate the S/PDIF digital audio-out port on the ND-3500A's back edge, though they'll have to buy their own cable since the drive doesn't ship with one.
Installing an internal drive like the ND-3500A is slightly more complicated than plugging an external USB- or FireWire-based drive into one of your computer's ports, but the ND-3500A's quick-start guide (an electronic version on the included CD) or CNET's own how-to guide can help you on that front. Despite their more complex setup, internal IDE-based drives usually deliver faster speeds than external USB drives.
NEC leaves all of the ND-3500A's software tasks up to one suite--Ulead's DVD MovieFactory 3.5 Deluxe. The bundle offers a handful of capable apps, including MovieFactory 3.5 SE and VideoStudio 8.0 SE DVD for video and DVD creation, editing, and burning; DVD Workshop 2.0 SE for more extensive DVD authoring; BurnNow for basic CD and DVD burning; and DVD Player for viewing discs. Though earlier versions of Ulead's software suite have proven capable, we still prefer Nero 6.0 for burning and creating DVDs.
Though double-layer DVD media speeds currently top out at 2.4X, the ND-3500A has the capacity to burn 4X double-layer (DL) discs once they come on the market (rumor has it that 4X DVD-R DL media will be available in the next couple of months). The drive also provides fast write speeds, burning DVD+/-Rs at 16X. Though NEC claims that the ND-3500A can maintain its 16X write speeds even on 8X DVD+/-Rs, we were able to reach only 12X on an 8X DVD-R disc and 8X on an 8X DVD+R disc. With other media types, the ND-3500A writes to DVD+/-RWs at a respectable 4X and CD-RWs at a satisfying 24X. Finally, the ND-3500A reads DVDs at a quick 16X and CDs at a rapid 48X.
CNET Labs' benchmark testing revealed that the drive is adept in only some tasks. The drive burned double-layer DVDs just a few seconds faster than the ultrafast Pioneer DVR-A08X (in our tests, we used 2.4X DL media, which the NEC and Pioneer drives write to at 4X speed). The NEC also earned one of the fastest audio CD-burning scores we've seen to date. The DVR-A08XL had the last laugh at double-layer DVD ripping, though, completing this job nearly 20 minutes faster than the ND-3500A. The NEC also faltered in our single-layer DVD rip test. The remainder of the ND-3500A's test results in audio CD ripping and DVD+/-RW reading were merely average. We're happy to report that our test disc played successfully in four out of four drives.
(Shorter bars indicate faster performance)
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4.4GB DVD Video burn test | |
4.4GB DVD Video rip test (from DVD Video) |
** The BenQ drive was tested with 16X DVD-R media supplied by BenQ.
(Shorter bars indicate faster performance)
|
7.9GB DVD Video burn test | |
7.9GB DVD Video rip test (from DVD Video) |
(Shorter bars indicate faster performance)
|
74:35 CD Audio burn test | |
74:35 CD Audio rip test |
(Shorter bars indicate faster performance)
|
4.22GB RW write test | |
4.22GB RW read test |
Unless otherwise mentioned, all write tests are run with Verbatim media, rated at the drive's maximum speed. Find out more about how we test optical drives.
The ND-3500A's one-year warranty is standard among double-layer burners. Toll-based tech support for the unit is available only Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT. At press time, the ND-3500A wasn't listed in the FAQ information on NEC's support Web site, though we were able to find free documentation downloads for the drive.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8out of 8 user reviews
Excellent Drive! Succeeds where LG GSA4167 FAILS!
Pros: Solid Performance, No Buffer Underrun, Excellent for ripping DVD's
Cons: Looks slightly dull, and pretty noisy!
Focus/Track Error, never finishes the burn, and I replaced it twice but it didn't work with my P3 1GHZ on Intel 815EEA Motherboard!
I tried so many things, I eneded up wasting money on shipping for the RMA's and on the so many blank DVD-R's that I threw in the garbage.
Then we were graced with the gift of NEC 3500. Never failed, steady transfer rate of about 24 MB/sec.
The only problem is that it is LOUD! You can really heart it spinning the disk...
Other than, excellent value, good drive to have.
If you are making up your mind whether this NEC or LG, go for the NEC. I tried both, and NEC is far more superior and reliable.
out of 8 user reviews
there is seriously something wrong with CNET
Pros: no-scratching your head fast, easy burning
Cons: won't work too well with some external enclosures
out of 8 user reviews
A Nice Burner
Pros: Cheap and well made. I got mine from newegg.com on March 2005. No problem so far. Been burning movie and cd.
Cons: It is OEM drive. Therefore, no burning software is included.
out of 8 user reviews
Perfect Simply
Pros: The whole drive, it was one of the first, it was one of the best
Cons: so far, none
out of 8 user reviews
best bang for your buck
Pros: faster then my plextor
Cons: software included dual disks cost
out of 8 user reviews
Best DVD Burner for the money (2004)
Pros: It's fast, stable and reliable. It's quiet too. I've had no problems with any of the blank media I've used: Sony, Fuji, Verbatim. I recently purchased a pack of Sony 4x DVD+Rs and this drive wrote to them at 8x speed. Fantastic! DVD movies, CD music, data
Cons: None so far. NEC Drive Firmware (none needed yet) http://www.de.nec.de/software overview2.php/id/557 Nero 6.0 Ultra http://www.nero.com/us/nero-u p.php DVDshrink http://www.dvdshrink.org/what .html
out of 8 user reviews
wonderful Burner, Great price
Pros: easy to install, burns great and very reliable. new firmware ver. 2.18 at www.de.nec.de
Cons: None yet!
out of 8 user reviews
My first DVD±RW... and I expect it to last
Pros: So far, this thing just does the job. Primarily used to backup data and for video conversion from Hi8mm to DVD+R. It just does a great job.
Cons: None yet, but firmware updates will likely be hard to find since the NEC version of the drive is not sold in the USA. Also DL media is pricy and I don't know how much faith I would put in it being so new...
