- High Speed 16x Burning with DVD+R
- Dual-Layer Compatibility
- Good CD-R Speeds
- Only Supports 12x Speed for DVD-R
- Limited to 2.4x for DVD+R Dual Layer
- 16x DVD+R and 12x DVD-R Recording Speeds
- 4x DVD+RW and DVD-RW Recording Speeds
- 16x DVD-ROM and 8x DVD+/-RW Reading Speeds
- 40x CD-R Recording Speed
- 24x CD-RW Recording Speed
- 48x CD-ROM Reading Speed
- 2MB Buffer
- EIDE/ATAPI Interface
- Available in Beige or Black
- Nero Express 6, InCD4, WinDVD Creator, WinDVD Recorder and DVD Copy Software
1/03/05 - DVD burners used to be a very expensive, but the change in the market was so rapid that now even top of the line brands can be found for at or below $100. Samsung previously was an outsider in terms of optical storage, but they now are one of the top names for CD and DVD burners with the TS-H552B.
As with most drives on the market, the TS-H552B is compatible with both +R and -R formats. It also supports the new dual-layer DVD+R media for nearly twice the storage capacity. Support for CD recording is strong with a 40x speed for CD-R and 24x for CD-RW.
Testing of the drive was done using Nero CD/DVD Speed application on a variety of media. The drive performed at or above specifications for all of the media types. This is very impressive as many manufacturers tend to overestimate real world performance. Especially impressive was the CD reading speed that was closer to 52x than the listed 48x speed. Dual-layer media does provide for increased storage, but the limited speed of 2.4x means that roughly 4 DVD+R's can be burned in the time it takes to make a single DVD+R dual-layered disc.
Another nice feature with the TS-H552B was the relatively low noise generated by the drive during reading and writing operations. This has become problematic for some drives with the increases in the spin rate of the media.
Overall, the Samsung TS-H552B is a very good all around drive. It isn't the fastest at any one media type but it has strong performance for all of them.
