As one of the founding members of the DVD+RW Alliance it's no surprise to find that Ricoh's second-generation drive, the MP5125A, supports DVD+R/+RW. This is different to its predecessor, the MP-5120A, which was DVD+RW only.

The MP5125A writes both formats at 2.4-speed and reads at 8-speed; slower than some of the other drives in this review. Its CD performance is pretty average too; it writes CD-Rs at a maximum of 12-speed, re-writes at 10-speed and reads at 32-speed.

To maintain compatibility with DVD-ROM drives and DVD players, the Ricoh MP5125A features Lossless Linking technology, which keeps gaps in data recorded to within one micron, especially when editing or adding data; as we've said earlier, it's a neat trick. The DVD+RW Standard defines a technology called High Frequency Wobbled Grove that allows such precise positioning to be achieved, and that's included here too. The drive also features a 2MB buffer to help prevent buffer under-runs.

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Ricoh supplies all the items you need to get started; IDE and audio cables, mounting screws and suchlike. The most impressive thing about the package, besides the drive itself, is the software bundle. Ricoh includes Nero Burning ROM 5.5 for CD and DVD mastering, InCD for Packet Writing, WinProducer for Video Capturing and editing, Neo DVD for DVD authoring and WinDVD for playing DVDs. Add to this one disc of each of the four media (DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD-R and high speed CD-RW) and you have a complete setup in a box.