Panasonic SW-9585C

This is one the few drives with the ability to write to non-cartridge type DVD-RAM discs, which makes it desirable if you already own a DVD-RAM-based set top DVD recorder. If you're a heavy user of rewritable discs then DVD-RAM will benefit you because of its robustness. DVD-RAM discs use error correction and can theoretically be rewritten up to 100,000 times. In addition, the discs can be used just like a hard drive, which means you can drag and drop data to and from the disc without having to finalise it, and programs can even be installed onto it. Of course, it will only be readable in drives that support DVD-RAM.

The SW9585C's supports 4X double layer burning. It created a disc that was playable in our older Pioneer 106D DVD burner and our Zensonic Z330 DVD player.

We didn't have any problems with any of its DVD burning or read functions, although when it came time to rip a music CD the drive proved slower than most others we have looked at. Music CD rips took close to 10 minutes.

This drive is one of the few that uses the PCAV method for reading DVD discs, and its real world performance proved very good. Its DVD-R read performance in particular was very quick.

It's also one of few drives to use the CLV method, instead of the CAV method, for writing DVDs. Its write performance was average for DVD+R and DVD+R DL media, while its DVD-R time was rather slower than many of the other drives we have tested.