Asustek has just unveiled its new DRW-20B1S/B1ST DVD rewriter with SATA connectivity and Optimal Tuning Strategy (OTS) technology. According to the manufacturer, the new DVD burner is able to burn DVD-RAM media at 12X, DVD+/-R discs at 20x and DVD+/-R double layer media at 12x.

The strongest point in the DRW-20B1S/B1ST is the addition of Asustek's Optimal Tuning Strategy technology that adds an extra layer of data integrity when burning on any optical support. According to Asustek, when OTS burning is enabled, the unit would perform a test burning before physically writing the data to the optical medium.

The intelligent OTS technology takes into account media, drive variations as well as operating temperatures and then adjusts the writing speeds for the optimal burning process. More than that, OTS stores disk profiles and automatically loads the same preset when the same disk type is used for burning.

The DRW-20B1S/B1ST DVD burner also features the company's E-Green Engine technology, a power-saving measure that automatically shuts down the drive when it has been idle for more than 2.5 minutes. Although the technology will not account for significant energy savings, it does keep the drive from prematurely wearing out.

The new DVD burner from Asustek is backwards compatible with CD optical media and can burn CD-R / CD-ROM disks at 48x, while rewritable media (CD-RW) can be written to up to 32x speeds.

Since DVD movies are still riding the multimedia wave, Asustek also tweaked the drive to optimize it for home-theater PC environments. Using the AFFMII algorithm, it balances the air pressure inside the unit, thus making it quieter.

Asustek did not offer additional details about pricing and availability yet.