Posted 08/20/08 at 11:00:00 AM by Katherine Stevenson

We expected LG’s new 6x external Blu-ray burner to perform similarly to the company’s GBW-H20L, what with the two having identical read/write speed ratings, but we were wrong. The external drive is a bigger, more expensive letdown.

Hit the jump for the reason we're crying into our corn flakes.

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Blu-ray, optical drives, USB 2.0, external drive, blu-ray burner, reviews, lg be06

Posted 08/11/08 at 12:00:00 PM by Katherine Stevenson

When we reviewed LG’s GGW-H20L Blu-ray burner in December 2007 we applauded its superior BD-R write speeds and ability to also read HD DVD media. Now that the latter feature is irrelevant, we welcome LG’s new GBW-H20L. It boasts all the same DVD and BD read and write specs as its predecessor, sans the HD DVD reader—and comes with a healthy price cut.

Hit the jump for the greatness. 

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optical drives, hardware, LG, blu-ray burner, kickass, reviews, gbw-h20l

Posted 07/11/08 at 06:26:27 PM by Katherine Stevenson

It doesn’t matter a lick to us that Blu-ray has prevailed in the high-def format war if the hardware remains expensive and uninspiring. We have to admit, we thought the tide was turning when we reviewed LG’s GGW-H20L Blu-ray burner back in December. That drive represented a dramatic price drop (falling to $500 from its predecessor’s $1,200 price tag in a matter of months—and now settled at $400 MSRP), and its 6x rating for BD-R media resulted in burn times we could actually live with (22.5GB in a little over 20 minutes).

Sadly, Lite On has not followed LG’s lead. Instead, they've released a drive that's made zero strides since its aged predecessor.

Hit the jump for the gory details.

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Blu-ray, DVD burner, optical drives, hardware, Lite-on, blu-ray burner, reviews, build a pc

Posted 04/04/08 at 06:05:33 PM by Katherine Stevenson

One of the most obvious differences between an external optical drive and its internal brethren is in appearance. A device that’s going to sit out in the open for anyone to see, after all, has to look the part. Lite-On’s latest EZ-Dub optical drive accomplishes this with a fashionable white and black aesthetic that would surely do Apple proud. It’s an update from the more staid look of the previous EZ-Dub model, which was also nearly two inches longer and a half-inch taller. As with the older model, this EZ-Dub comes with a stand, so you can set the drive on its side to save desktop space.

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usb, external, DVD burner, optical drives, consumer electronics, Lite-on, reviews

Posted 01/28/08 at 02:14:04 PM by Katherine Stevenson

It’s no surprise that high-def optical drives are getting less expensive while their specs improve—that’s the trajectory of all emergent technologies—but we are still taken aback by the dramatic strides LG’s GGW-H20LI represents. Just a few months ago, in our September issue, we reviewed this drive’s predecessor, the GGW-H10NI, and not only is its follow-up better in every respect, it’s half the price!

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optical drives, HD DVD, hardware, blu ray, LG, kick ass, ggw, reviews

Posted 01/15/08 at 06:23:19 PM by Katherine Stevenson

As far as we’re concerned, the Blu-ray burner to beat these days is LG’s GGW-H20L1 (reviewed December 2007). Unfortunately for Sony, its BWU-200S isn’t the drive to do it. We pretty much knew this before we even began testing the drive—after all, the BWU-200S is rated for 4x Blu-ray write speeds compared to the LG’s 6x speed rating.

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sony, optical drives, hardware, blu-ray burner, bwu, 4x burner, reviews

Posted 12/18/07 at 10:59:24 PM by Katherine Stevenson

So your DVD burner is getting a little long in the tooth and you’re ready for an upgrade, but you’re not all that keen on adopting next-gen tech. And who can blame you? Even the falling price of hardware doesn’t make up for the relatively slow burn times, costly media, and compatibility issues that plague Blu-ray burners (and the same would be true of HD DVD burners if you could even find them!). Trouble is, you’ve got a brand-new 27-inch LCD that’s just begging to display high-def movies. What’s a consumer to do? Well, you could buy a combo drive—one that lets you read next-gen discs and write data to fast, friendly CD and DVD, like the two models we review this month.

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Blu-ray, DVD burner, optical drives, HD DVD, hardware, LG, combo drives, reviews, build a pc

Posted 12/18/07 at 10:57:05 PM by Katherine Stevenson

So your DVD burner is getting a little long in the tooth and you’re ready for an upgrade, but you’re not all that keen on adopting next-gen tech. And who can blame you? Even the falling price of hardware doesn’t make up for the relatively slow burn times, costly media, and compatibility issues that plague Blu-ray burners (and the same would be true of HD DVD burners if you could even find them!). Trouble is, you’ve got a brand-new 27-inch LCD that’s just begging to display high-def movies. What’s a consumer to do? Well, you could buy a combo drive—one that lets you read next-gen discs and write data to fast, friendly CD and DVD, like the two models we review this month.

Click Read More for more. 

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Review, asus, Blu-ray, optical drive, DVD burner, optical drives, hardware, combo drives, build a pc, Asus BC 1205PT