Lite-On LVW-5005 All-Write DVD Recorder

DVD recorders continue to gain popularity but not just for computers. DVD recorders are becoming major components in consumers' home theater setups. It's no surprise that many of the big names in consumer electronics, like Panasonic, Pioneer and Toshiba, have released DVD recorders, but some of you might be surprised to see Lite-On enter this fray for your hard-earned cash. Lite-On is a name most of you probably know from inexpensive yet good-performing optical drives, such as CD-RW and DVD-ROM drives.

While researching Lite-On's newest PC DVD+/-RW drives, I stumbled across the LVW-5005 DVD recorder. I just couldn't resist. I had to have one and see what it's like to have a DVD recorder hooked up in place of my VCR for recording TV shows. Plus, I knew many of you would be interested in the LVW-5005 because it's an affordable entry-level component that would fit in great with many of your home theater systems. So, let's dig in and check out what Lite-On has to offer in the LVW-5005.

The LVW-5005 has some nice features and specifications for a unit in its class, especially when compared to some more expensive competitors. "One Touch Recording" is exactly what it sounds like; with recordable media in the player, you simply press record and can start recording whatever you're watching. The "Easy Track Navigator" is a great feature that helps you recognize the programs you've recorded. The Navigator is a directory of thumbnail images that represent tracks on the DVD, just like chapters on a movie DVD.

Those of you with digital video cameras will appreciate the front DV Link (IEEE 1394) input connection. You can transfer video and audio from your camcorder to media in the LVW-5005 quickly and easily. As you'd expect from any decent DVD player / recorder on the market, this unit supports component video and progressive scan (480P) output.

One of the biggest features being pushed with the LVW-5005 is its "All Write" technology. This means that you can use DVD-/+R, DVD+/-RW and CD-R/RW media to record to, which is definitely a big plus for those just wanting to buy whatever they find at their local brick and mortar store without having to worry about standards.

Features

The LVW-5005 also features a MCTF video noise reduction circuit to improve recording quality. It's nice to see Lite-On add little extras to try to improve recording and the overall experience when using the LVW-5005.

Specifications

To get the entire list of specifications for the LVW-5005, please visit this page at Lite-On's web site. It should tell you about everything you want to know. I'm going to go over some of the info listed on that page.

These tables, especially the last one, should appeal to everyone interested in this unit. You can see the supported media types in the first table and the applicable content formats in the second one. The last table is the one I was most interested in though as I was setting everything up. I kept wondering just how much I could record on the included DVD+RW. Well, you can quickly see that the recording time varies with the recording quality level, just like you are probably used to with your VCR. The higher time limit means more compression and therefore lower quality. It's nice to see that you can get 6 hours of recording out of a blank recordable DVD. Don't expect the picture quality to be that great at this setting (SLP) though. I'll get more into that a little later.

These tables are also very important as you plan out how you want to connect the LVW-5005 to your current home theater setup. I think most people will be happy with the types of connectors available on the LVW-5005. They definitely suit my basic home entertainment needs.