Introduction

TDK is a name that I’m sure many of you have heard before. They are a big name in the world of optical drives but also have their hands in basically every computer market outlet in the world. They not only do optical drives of all kinds, but also handle semiconductors, speakers, portable CD-MP3 Players, inkjet paper, and many other accessories. Whenever I see a list of top CD-burners though, I end up seeing TDK listed among them, and today I’m here to tell you if TDK’s “reputation” holds up.

It should also be worth noting that currently many DVD burners are hitting the market at this time. If you don’t know, DVD’s can hold much more information than a standard CD but even after price drops they still remain very expensive. Not only that, but there is currently two different DVD recorder formats on the market. I could go into a whole other article on this alone but I will just say that CD Burners as of now still hold an important place for backing up and storing useful, and not so useful, information.

Bundled Software & Packaging

The box that the burner came in is, to put into words, an average box. It conveys what it needs to about the burner and lets us know what’s inside. Bundled within is a software CD which has Ahead Nero, TDK Digital MixMaster (or as the box says, “Turns your PC into a Digital Jukebox”), InCD Packet Writing Software, Adobe ActiveShare, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and Windows Media Player for anyone in the world who doesn’t have this. Also on the CD are some helpful Installation Videos for those who have never installed a CD Drive before as well as a “How To” video about the Digital Mixmaster software. Not only that, but you get another helpful fold out poster that gives step by step instructions on how to properly install the CD-Burner. TDK makes it very easy for any novice to install the burner easily. Some other things included in the package are an IDE Cable, some screws (4) and what appears to be a wrench but I believe it is provided for the emergency eject (emergency eject being the little hole on most CD Drives which lets you pop open the drive without pressing the open button), a promotional packet for TDK, one free CD-RW, one free CD-R, and a TDK brand CD marker. All in all, this is a very nice package with plenty of materials inside. Now the CD Drive itself is snugly wrapped in plastic and supported by two cardboard like shells on each side.

Installation

As I stated earlier, instructions on how to install the drive are included on the CD and you get a nice poster on how to do it as well. They make it very easy and obvious with what to do in every case. They even go as far as stating situations of different configurations and tell you where the jumper on the Drive should be placed, as well as where you should plug the IDE cable in. The drive was installed into the 5 ¼” bay, and getting it up and running went on basically without a hitch. Besides a dropped screw in the case (which was five minutes of shaking the case over my head) the installation went very smooth. Installing the Nero burning software took only a couple of minutes and was basically a clicking Next and Yes affair.

Specs

I took the list of full specs from TDK’s website as it basically shows everything that is everything about the drive.

veloCD 48/16/48 Specifications
Product Name	VeloCD
Model Number	AI-481648
Minimum System Requirements:
Processor	Intel Pentium 266 MHz processor or equivalent
Operating System(s)	Microsoft Windows 98/98SE/ME/NT 4.0/2000 or XP
Memory	64 MB RAM
Hard Disk	200 MB hard disk space for software installation (PC)
Hard Disk	700 MB hard disk space for temporary CD-image files (optional)
For Hardware Installation	available standard half-height drive bay
Other	48X or faster SCSI or E-IDE CD-ROM required for direct CD-to-CD copying (DAE-capable CD-ROM drive required for direct audio CD copying)
Performance Specifications:
Write Speed	48X
Rewrite Speed	16X
Read Speed	48X
Rip Speed	48X
Burst Read	16.6 MB/sec.
Data Buffer	2 MB
Spindle Motor	Brushless
Error Rate	<10^-9 (soft read error), <10^-12 (hard read error)
Disc Specifications:
Compatible Disc Sizes (without adapter)	12 CM, 8 CM, business card and most custom-shape discs.
Readable Formats	CD-DA, CD-ROM (Mode 1), CD-ROM XA (Mode 2: form 1 or form 2), Photo CD, VideoCD, CD-I, CD-Extra, CD Text
Writeable Formats	CD-DA, CD-ROM (Mode 1), CD-ROM XA (Mode 2: form 1 or form 2), Photo CD, VideoCD, CD-I, CD-Extra, CD Text
Writing Modes	Track-at-Once, Disc-at-Once, Multisession, Fixed and Variable Packet Writing
Front Panel:
Buttons	Tray open/close, manual emergency eject pin hole
Lights	Busy, write
Disc Loading	Auto
Headphone Jack	1/8-inch stereo mini-jack
Volume Control	Thumbwheel
CD Audio Controls	Stop/Eject
Rear Panel:
Power Supply	DC connector
Data Interface Connector	IDE bus, 40-pin flat ribbon type
Audio Output(s)	stereo analog, digital
Jumper Switches	Master, slave, cable select, UDMA
Dimensions and Weight:
Dimensions	145.8mm x 41.3mm x 190mm (WDH)
Weight	1.0 kg
Reliability:
MTBF	70,000 POH- 100,000 POH @25% duty cycle
Tray Loading	30,000 Load Cycles

Also worth noting is the use of Buffer Underrun Protection which is used to prevent the creation of a drink coaster instead of a useful CD. From my understanding of the technology, when you burn a CD the laser can out run the data being transmitted so what the Buffer Underrun Protection does is allow the laser to stop mid-burn so that the buffer can “recharge” and continue burning again. Another thing that TDK claims is that the veloCD line of products now features “Constant Angular Velocity (CAV) burning technology” that allows you to burn faster and even multi-task while burning. The thing is, I looked over the website and couldn’t find a thing about what CAV actually does or is. Maybe I’m just blind so if you’re still curious you might want to investigate.

(Editor’s note: CAV is actually when the CD spins as a constant RPM, but the farther out the laser travels, the faster the disk will burn. Most CDRW’s have this feature, which allows them to claim they can burn up to 52X CDR speeds.)

Next: Testing and Conclusion