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

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

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.

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.

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LG GGC-H20L

Katherine Stevenson — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 22:59:24 -0600

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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Asus BC 1205PT

Katherine Stevenson — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 22:57:05 -0600

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.

Plextor PX-810SA

Katherine Stevenson — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 13:36:02 -0500

Ever since Plextor stopped manufacturing the PX-755SA DVD burner, we’ve been on the hunt for a worthy replacement. We loved the Plexy’s SATA interface, so we’re not settling for anything less going forward. (It’s just plain foolish to opt for a drive with an oversized, outdated parallel connector when SATA models are available.) Since SATA drives from Lite-On and Asus failed to win us over in the August issue, we corralled a couple new contenders, including Plextor's new PX-810SA.

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Samsung SH-S203B

Katherine Stevenson — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:05:58 -0500

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Asus DRW-1814BLT

Katherine Stevenson — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:05:39 -0500

We assessed the Asus DRW-1814BLT--and we approve!

Lite-On LH-20A1S

Katherine Stevenson — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 18:03:58 -0500

Lite-On LH-20A1S will burn DVDs without burning a hole in your pocket.