Review of the Lite-On 8x External Slim DVD Writer
June 8, 2009 by Andrew Edney 
2 Comments
So you may ask yourself why you need an external DVD writer? Well, there could be plenty of reasons. You may have a netbook or other laptop that doesn’t have a DVD drive, or you may have a Windows Home Server that doesn’t have a drive. Whatever the reason, having a small external DVD writer available to use can be a great help.
Yes, there are ways around needing an external drive – such as using USB sticks to install software or copy files, but at the end of the day, having a good old fashioned DVD writer is simple, easy and relatively cheap!
A lot of the external DVD writers out there are quite big, in fact, in some cases are the size of a brick, and then they have their own separate power supplies. If you have a netbook for example, the last thing you want is an external drive that is as big, and even heavier than your actual computer!
This is where the Lite-On 8x External Slim DVD Writer comes into play. It really is tiny, weighs next to nothing and is powered directly from the computer, so no extra power supply to lug around.
SPECIFICATION
Interface: High Speed USB 2.0
Data Transfer Rate :
Write
DVD+R : 8X maximum
DVD-R : 8X maximum
DVD+R DL : 6X maximum
DVD-R DL : 6X maximum
DVD-RAM : 5X maximum
CD-R : 24X maximum
Rewrite
DVD+RW : 8X maximum
DVD-RW : 6X maximum
CD-R : 24X maximum
Read
8X maximum
Access time
130ms
Weight : <350g
Buffer Size : 2MB
Colours: White, Black, Red, Blue
BOX CONTENTS
The box contains only four things – the DVD writer, a USB cable and software disk and quick guide.
The quick guide is literally a couple of short lines in connecting the drive and installing the software, but that is really all that you need.
The bundled software is Nero 8 Essentials, so you have everything you need to write DVDs. Considering this is a new device it would have been better to have shipped it with Nero 9, just because that is the latest version. And of course, you don’t have to use Nero 8, you could use whatever you wanted, including the built in writing capabilities of Windows.
A LOOK AT THE DRIVE
The drive itself is very small, and in fact is only a little bigger than a DVD.
The front has a single button to open the drive and the back has a single mini USB connection and a small LED light to show you if the drive is on and usable (blue means ok, flashing red means that there is not enough power to use the drive properly).
Connecting the drive to your computer is simple, just plug one end of the USB cable into your computer and the mini USB end into the drive. If the LED flashes red then you can plug in the additional USB connector into your computer to give additional power.
CONCLUSION
This is a nice drive, and is very simple to use. Because it is connected via USB it is never going to be as fast as an internal drive, but the chances are that you are considering buying something like this because you cant have an internal drive. It is very quiet, which means if you are going to use to watch movies, for example, it helps!
My only real comment on this drive is the USB cable. It is very short which meant that when I tested it on a desktop PC I literally had it hanging off the front, which is not a good move!
This drive currently retails for around £50, and I can honestly say that if you need an external drive, for any reason, this one is well worth considering.
