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Lite-On iHAS422

Katherine Stevenson — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:30:55 -0500

DVD drive déjà vu

Now that Lite-On is sharing the same drive manufacturing line as Plextor (not to mention Sony, HP, and Philips), you might wonder whether there is any difference between this 22x DVD burner and the Plextor PX-850SA 22x burner we reviewed in March. In fact, the two burners are virtually the same in terms of parts and mechanics, so differences really come down to the firmware each company uses and the tweaks and optimizations each makes to the final product.

The first thing we discovered is that Lite-On didn’t tweak this drive with an over-speed feature. So, like the Plextor PX-850SA, the burner stayed within the confines of the DVD+R media’s 16x rating, writing 4.38GB of data to a single-layer disc in 5:43 (min:sec). Samsung’s SH-S223, which can reach 20x-plus speeds when writing to 16x media, was almost a minute faster, at 4:46.

Behind the signature Lite-On faceplate is a drive that might as well be from Plextor.

There was also little difference between the two drives’ performance with double-layer media. The Lite-On’s 8x rating for DVD+/-R DL enabled the drive to write 7.96GB of data to a disc in 16:36 vs. the Plextor’s 16:33—both considerably slower than the 13:13 achieved by Samsung’s SH-S223, rated at 16x for DL media. But the Lite-On (like the Plextor before it) was superior to the SH-S223 at reading double-layer video discs, taking 10:16 to rip the contents of a movie DVD, compared with the Samsung’s 15:26.

By now it hardly seems necessary to say that the Lite-On’s performance writing data to DVD-RW media (14:54) and also reading the same disc (6:37) was on a par with the Plextor drive’s. It was quite clear from our testing that, though it may be possible for vendors to achieve noticeable differences in performance on identical hardware, that’s not the case here. The only things differentiating the Lite-On iHAS422 from the Plextor PX-850SA are the Lite-On’s less stylish faceplate, older software (Nero 7 Essentials vs. Roxio Creator 10 CE), and much lower price ($40 vs. $75).

Lite-On to Ship 24X DVD Writer in May

Paul Lilly — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:50:00 -0600

Earlier this week Lite-On announced a new line of internal DVD writers it says will be the fastest on the market with a 24X rated write speed. The new drives will come in three different versions, with all three sporting Lite-On's SmartErase data erasing feature. Lite-On's fastest model, the iHAS624, will be the only one to come with the company's LabelTag feature, which allows users to create label tags on the data side of the disc.

"PLDS is proud to manufacture the fastest 24X writers in the market, especially with included technologies such as LabelTag," said Christine Hsing, Marketing Manager at PLDS. "LabelTag provides a cost-effective and flexible method for professional disc labeling, a great solution for today’s busy professional, and people on-the-go."

Lite-On says that users can still add data after using its LabelTag technology, which works on any standard recordable media. Two of the drives -- the iHAP424 and iHAS624 -- will also support LightScribe.

The iHAS324 with SmartErase will be available in March, the iHAP424 with SmarErase and Lightscribe by the end of March, and the iHAS624 with SmartEarase, LightScribe, and LabelTag by mid-May. No word yet on pricing.

Image Credit: Lite-On via Electonista

Lite-On Predicts that Blu-Ray Combo Drives Will Go Mainstream in 2009, Burners in 2011

Paul Lilly — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:30:42 -0600

While Blu-ray continues to inch into living rooms amid lower prices, it won't be long until the high definition format becomes a mainstream feature in PCs, says Lite-On. The optical drive maker predicts 2009 as the year BD combo drives are a standard option in new PCs, with BD burners becoming commonplace by 2011.

By Lite-On's count, BD-ROM drives, BD combo drives, and BD burners are already showing signs of significant growth as the total number of global shipments has increased from 700,000 units in 2007 to 1.7 million in the first of 2008 alone.

But it all comes down to price, and OEMs will continue to charge between $100-$200 for BD combo drives in 2009, according to DigiTimes. Lite-On says the price of BD burners is expected to drop to between $50-$100 in 2011.

Image Credit: Lite-On

Lite On 4x Blu-ray Triple Writer DH-4B1S

Katherine Stevenson — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:26:27 -0500

Lite On’s new drive may sport a faster 4x BD-R write rating, but it performs worse than its 2x kin.

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. True, the company’s latest Blu-ray burner is cheaper than the Lite On LH-2B1S we reviewed in July 2007 ($450 vs. $600) and has a faster BD-R write rating (4x vs. 2x), but we’re not the least bit moved by these changes. For starters, the new DH-4B1S is still more expensive than the aforementioned LG GGW-H20L, and its “improved” BD-R rating has actually made burning to that media slower! It took us 48:00 (min:sec) to burn 22.5GB to a single-layer disc. Certain this was a mistake, we ran the test again—for a time of 48:14! (With the 2x Lite On drive, this very task took just 46:14.) The DH-4B1S was actually faster burning to BD-RE media—where it’s rated at just 2x—writing 22.5GB to a rewriteable disc in 46:12.

With such pathetic Blu-ray performance, it might seem moot to discuss the DH-4B1S’s other attributes, such as DVD burn times, but here you have it: The drive is rated at 12x for DVD+R single-layer discs; in our tests, it wrote 4.38GB of data to that media in 7:09 (min:sec). That’s a decent time, but LG’s GGW-H20L, which is rated at 16x, took just 5:40 to complete this task.

Like all the Blu-ray burners we’ve ever tested, the DH-4B1S comes bundled with a collection of CyberLink applications for backup, copying, playback, and authoring chores. We can’t hold the drive responsible, but we’d appreciate CyberLink’s software more if it weren’t so twitchy.

Aesthetically, the drive is pretty standard, although it does sport an LED strip across its front that signifies drive operation and whether it’s working with CD, DVD, or BD media. The DH-4B1S smartly sports a SATA interface.

We always expect technology to progress by leaps and bounds, but a drive such as this makes us feel like Blu-ray is at a standstill.

Lite-On 20A4PU EZ-Dub Optical Drive

Katherine Stevenson — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:05:33 -0500

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.

Another distinction of external drives is convenience. The EZ-Dub connects to a PC via USB and is ready to go with you anywhere. Lite-On also equips the drive with two touch-sensitive buttons to make common optical chores easier: a Dub button for disc-to-disc copies and a File button for backing up files to a disc. Pressing the button automatically launches the bundled EZ-Dub software, and then it’s just a couple steps to completing the aforementioned tasks. In the end, it saves a bit of time, but these tasks aren’t all that laborious when you use the traditional means: The drive also comes bundled with the Nero 7 Essentials package.

Of course, what should matter most about any optical drive is its performance. The EZ-Dub is rated for 20x DVD+R write speeds, just like the Samsung SH-S203 that we’ve been recommending for many months. But Lite-On’s drive took a full minute longer than Samsung’s to write 4.38GB to a single-layer DVD+R (6 minutes vs. 5 minutes). And when writing to a double-layer disc, Lite-On’s drive took 17:56 (min:sec) to Samsung’s 13:10. Still, these scores are solid, if not stellar—and if what you’re after is an external drive solution, Lite-On’s EZ-Dub is a credible choice.

Lite-On BD Triple Writer LH-2B1S

Katherine Stevenson — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:31:14 -0500

As far as Blu-ray burners go, Lite-On’s Triple Writer comes across as the most forward-looking, with the simple inclusion of a serial ATA interface—a feature that’s been sorely lacking in all the other Blu-ray drives we’ve tested. Really, it should be standard issue with any so-called next-gen device, as parallel support will only get more scarce over time.

The Triple Writer also stands out with an illuminated indicator strip across its front bezel that informs you of drive activity and whether it involves BD, DVD, or CD media. Maximum theoretical write speeds for the three formats are 2x, 12x, and 32x, respectively. A 2x BD burn speed is standard in today’s Blu-ray drives; DVD and CD speeds are typically capped at 8x and 24x, respectively.

In our DVD burn test, the Triple Writer wrote 4.38GB of data to a single-layer DVD+R in 7:09 (min:sec), besting all previously tested Blu-ray drives by a good two minutes. As expected, the TW was with the pack in BD-R burns, taking a leisurely 46:41 to fill a 25GB write-once disc, but its performance with rewriteable media surprised us. All the other drives we tested took approximately twice as long to write to BD-RE as to BD-R—the result of a data verification process. But Lite-On feels confident enough with its Triple Writer to have disabled verification in the drive in order to increase BD-RE write speeds. In our admittedly limited tests, we had no problems reading the TW’s BD-RE discs.

In fact, taking into account the TW’s relatively low price, its SATA interface, and its superior CD and DVD write speeds, the Triple Writer is the closest thing to something we might buy—not that we’re even considering it.