Buffalo MediaStation 8X External Blu-ray Writer

Buffalo MediaStation 8X External Blu-ray Writer

Jayesh Limaye, Nov 12, 2008 1758 hrs IST

Now create Blu-ray discs on the go with this new external Blu-ray writer.

Good performance, Reads and writes Blu-ray, DVD and CDs, eSATA, USB 2.0, Adequate bundle.

Very expensive, No standalone playback.

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Performance

The drive was connected to the eSATA ports of our test machine during the performance test. We played the Blu-ray title - Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, and watched the entire movie. Movie playback was found to be smooth, without any issues. The drive is very silent no whirring sound of any sorts was heard even when the disc was spinning at full speed.

We also used Nero DiscSpeed to measure the read speeds of the drive with CD, DVD5, DVD9 and Blu-ray media and here are the results.

DVD5 reading performance

This nice-looking ramp indicates a flawless reading performance for single layer DVDs.

Blu-ray Single Layer reading performance

Blu-ray Dual Layer reading performance

As you may notice, the reading speed goes up to 8X for the first layer, but when it jumps to the second layer, it drops sharply and stays at 6X for the rest of the reading test.

As you can see in the screenshots, the smooth ramps bear testament to the steady reading speeds.

Write speeds

We used MoserBaer DVD-R and the provided Panasonic 6x BD-R to test the write speeds of this optical drive.

Writing a sequential file took 4 minutes 46 seconds, while assorted files took 4 minutes 55 seconds. The media was detected as 16x. We also noticed that this writer does not support BookType Setting, thus will not let you create DVD-Video discs compatible with older players.

We wrote almost 25 GB of data to the BD-RE and it took us over 35 minutes 17 seconds to get the job done. This is faster as the previous Blu-ray writer (LG GGW-H20L) we had tested in May this year, which took six minutes longer to get the job done.

Our Conclusion

The Buffalo MediaStation 8X External Blu-ray Writer BR-816SU2 exhibits excellent performance at a blazing 8x for Blu-ray - the fastest in the market. It is ideal for people who want to playback Blu-ray discs on their PCs or laptops.

The connectivity option of USB and eSATA means that you can connect it to the fastest interface your PC has. In the actual tests, it performed without a hitch and was found to be one of the fastest performers even when it came to writing DVDs.

Looking at certain negative points, the drive is heavy and large, and this combined with the rather large adapter makes it unsuitable to be carried around. It did not come with any Blu-ray title, either.

The software bundle is complete, and you do not need to purchase any other software as what is provided will suffice your needs. All the necessary cables and accessories are also provided, so no complaints about that. This drive is sure to burn a hole into your pocket, and a rather large hole, when you hear that it is priced obscenely at Rs.45,000.

We would have given it the benefit of doubt if it would have featured stand-alone playback capability, but since that is not the case, we cannot recommend this drive, and certainly not at the current price point.