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Following is my personal opinion on Lacie 8x Dual Format (Internal) DVD Writer that I purchased in mid February.
The main reason for my opting for the DVD writer was to be able to archive the home made movies that we would be shooting on the recently acquired Sony Digital8 Video Camera. Little I realized that the current 60 GB drive that I have would be insufficient to handle huge amount of Video in AVI format directly transferred through Firewire cable. I had to get a 120 GB SATA drive to accommodate the new requirement. I have dedicated a 100 GB single partition for capturing and storing video.
Lacie 8x Dual Format DVD Writer: Lacie is not very commonly known company; they are specializing mainly in computer storage needs of the consumers as well as professionals. The company was the first to come out with an external 1 Terabyte drive. They also are on top when it comes to USB mobile drives (bought one for my boss but got to use it for a week to check the performance and reliability). They ventured into the optical storage category as well and had success with their external Porsche Designed writers. The company is originally French. The 8x Dual Format internal drive is based on the NEC 2500A (Firmware 1.06), hailed as the King of DVD Writers, not because of speed, but due to its remarkable ability to burn more variety of media than any other DVD Writer including the mighty Plextor 708a. On the downside, the unit is a poor performer when it comes to reading in terms of speed. When it comes to burning disks, Lacie is no slouch. One buys a DVD Writer for the sole purpose of writing and with the low price of DVD Rom Drives, it would be ideal to have both installed at the same time for different reasons. Many of you may even have one already installed. I use Asus 16x DVD Rom that I have found to be excellent in terms of speed at which it retrieves data and also for the purpose of ripping and copying service. With this combination is makes a great partnership between the two.
Progressing from 650/700 MB to 4.7 GB is a big leap when one needs to archive data. My important data which I need to back up from time to time which includes photos, reference material, MP3’s and my work is about 4 GB which I had to split into 4 parts and was using 4 CD-RW’s for backing up. With the DVD Writer I could do it in one go on a single DVD+RW disk and that too in one fourth of the time. For those who use Digital Camera’s and need to archive high resolution images will find a DVD Writer extremely useful.
The drive is very plain looking, but two things that I noticed immediately were, tray mechanism; smooth and fast and drive mechanism; absolute silence when burning and accessing data. The drive has in-built burn proof system and should be able to avoid any coasters. The date of manufacture stated on the sticker is December 2003 and the origin indicated is Malaysia. I have used the Plextor 12/10/32 (internal) and Plextor 48/24/48 (external). I noticed that both are not as silent as the Lacie.
The bundled Software: The software bundled with the drive is Roxio (Easy CD and DVD Creator Version 6.2). I particularly was not thrilled with it in terms of interface, later during use (burning), the software proved to be mediocre at best. Nero in comparison is just unbeatable when it comes to burning, it’s interface and fantastic support when it comes to updates are second to none.
The DVD+RW that I used was initially being burned at 4x (the speed that I set for burning) after a few seconds at 4x the speed dropped down to 3x and later to 2x and continued with the same 2x speed till the burning was finished. Since I was burning the first disk I did not know whether to blame the writer or the media. I later used the same data for copying on same disk using the Nero. The speed with Nero remained at 4x throughout and the disk was completed in much shorter time. This proved that the media or the burner were not the real culprit, it was the software Roxio. Software this bad should be discarded. I have no intention of burning any further disks with this pathetic software. If you are serious about speed of burning, look no further than Nero, probably the best burning software. I used the version 5.5 with the latest update (5.5.10.56) available so that it detects the drive correctly. Nero will not detect the drive if you use the older version of the software prior to 5.5.10.55. I guess the latest Nero 6 would be ideal software to use with this drive.
The Media used: The drive was bundled with a single DVD-RW disk that does not give any indication of the speed at which it can be burned but I reckon it should be 8x. I was able to get hold of Maxell DVD+R and DVD+RW media with 4x speed rating. I also managed to purchase a pack of three Verbatim Digital Movie DVD+R 4x with transparent Jewel Cases. I am sticking to the (+) media due to the reason that my current breed of DVD players in the household (three in all), are capable of handling this kind of media. The Maxell media is made in Japan and the Verbatim in Singapore. Before buying the media, unless it is for Data purpose, make sure you check the compatibility with the DVD players that you own. The latest DVD players have no problem handling the various formats including (+) media. I have yet to test any 8x media. I did not have any problem of speed with either media when I used them to burn the home made movie (my sons 1st birthday video) shot on 8mm camcorder back in 1991 and converted to AVI format using the Digital8 Camcorder which I bought few months back. A DV format would not have helped here as the 8mm playback capability is only with the Digital8 format. I will be on the lookout for media and will try to test as many brands as possible, subject to availability to get the real feel of this drive.
I am in position to state that so far the results are very encouraging and above all the price of this unit is very reasonable in terms of its performance. I have no doubt that this drive will do full justice to high speed media by burning it at set speeds rather than behave like it did with Roxio. The shortcomings are perfectly justified since it carries a very low price tag.
I do not think I would be justified in summing up this short review and coming up with a conclusion since I have not been able to use all kinds of media (especially the 8x), therefore, I am compelled to leave this review open for updates at later stage in this very thread.
If you have used this drive, please share your experience for the benefit of others, on the other hand, if you have any comments on the review itself (errors, omissions on my part) please express them on this thread.
DVD Writer at the Lacie's Website
The main reason for my opting for the DVD writer was to be able to archive the home made movies that we would be shooting on the recently acquired Sony Digital8 Video Camera. Little I realized that the current 60 GB drive that I have would be insufficient to handle huge amount of Video in AVI format directly transferred through Firewire cable. I had to get a 120 GB SATA drive to accommodate the new requirement. I have dedicated a 100 GB single partition for capturing and storing video.
Lacie 8x Dual Format DVD Writer: Lacie is not very commonly known company; they are specializing mainly in computer storage needs of the consumers as well as professionals. The company was the first to come out with an external 1 Terabyte drive. They also are on top when it comes to USB mobile drives (bought one for my boss but got to use it for a week to check the performance and reliability). They ventured into the optical storage category as well and had success with their external Porsche Designed writers. The company is originally French. The 8x Dual Format internal drive is based on the NEC 2500A (Firmware 1.06), hailed as the King of DVD Writers, not because of speed, but due to its remarkable ability to burn more variety of media than any other DVD Writer including the mighty Plextor 708a. On the downside, the unit is a poor performer when it comes to reading in terms of speed. When it comes to burning disks, Lacie is no slouch. One buys a DVD Writer for the sole purpose of writing and with the low price of DVD Rom Drives, it would be ideal to have both installed at the same time for different reasons. Many of you may even have one already installed. I use Asus 16x DVD Rom that I have found to be excellent in terms of speed at which it retrieves data and also for the purpose of ripping and copying service. With this combination is makes a great partnership between the two.
Progressing from 650/700 MB to 4.7 GB is a big leap when one needs to archive data. My important data which I need to back up from time to time which includes photos, reference material, MP3’s and my work is about 4 GB which I had to split into 4 parts and was using 4 CD-RW’s for backing up. With the DVD Writer I could do it in one go on a single DVD+RW disk and that too in one fourth of the time. For those who use Digital Camera’s and need to archive high resolution images will find a DVD Writer extremely useful.
The drive is very plain looking, but two things that I noticed immediately were, tray mechanism; smooth and fast and drive mechanism; absolute silence when burning and accessing data. The drive has in-built burn proof system and should be able to avoid any coasters. The date of manufacture stated on the sticker is December 2003 and the origin indicated is Malaysia. I have used the Plextor 12/10/32 (internal) and Plextor 48/24/48 (external). I noticed that both are not as silent as the Lacie.
The bundled Software: The software bundled with the drive is Roxio (Easy CD and DVD Creator Version 6.2). I particularly was not thrilled with it in terms of interface, later during use (burning), the software proved to be mediocre at best. Nero in comparison is just unbeatable when it comes to burning, it’s interface and fantastic support when it comes to updates are second to none.
The DVD+RW that I used was initially being burned at 4x (the speed that I set for burning) after a few seconds at 4x the speed dropped down to 3x and later to 2x and continued with the same 2x speed till the burning was finished. Since I was burning the first disk I did not know whether to blame the writer or the media. I later used the same data for copying on same disk using the Nero. The speed with Nero remained at 4x throughout and the disk was completed in much shorter time. This proved that the media or the burner were not the real culprit, it was the software Roxio. Software this bad should be discarded. I have no intention of burning any further disks with this pathetic software. If you are serious about speed of burning, look no further than Nero, probably the best burning software. I used the version 5.5 with the latest update (5.5.10.56) available so that it detects the drive correctly. Nero will not detect the drive if you use the older version of the software prior to 5.5.10.55. I guess the latest Nero 6 would be ideal software to use with this drive.
The Media used: The drive was bundled with a single DVD-RW disk that does not give any indication of the speed at which it can be burned but I reckon it should be 8x. I was able to get hold of Maxell DVD+R and DVD+RW media with 4x speed rating. I also managed to purchase a pack of three Verbatim Digital Movie DVD+R 4x with transparent Jewel Cases. I am sticking to the (+) media due to the reason that my current breed of DVD players in the household (three in all), are capable of handling this kind of media. The Maxell media is made in Japan and the Verbatim in Singapore. Before buying the media, unless it is for Data purpose, make sure you check the compatibility with the DVD players that you own. The latest DVD players have no problem handling the various formats including (+) media. I have yet to test any 8x media. I did not have any problem of speed with either media when I used them to burn the home made movie (my sons 1st birthday video) shot on 8mm camcorder back in 1991 and converted to AVI format using the Digital8 Camcorder which I bought few months back. A DV format would not have helped here as the 8mm playback capability is only with the Digital8 format. I will be on the lookout for media and will try to test as many brands as possible, subject to availability to get the real feel of this drive.
I am in position to state that so far the results are very encouraging and above all the price of this unit is very reasonable in terms of its performance. I have no doubt that this drive will do full justice to high speed media by burning it at set speeds rather than behave like it did with Roxio. The shortcomings are perfectly justified since it carries a very low price tag.
I do not think I would be justified in summing up this short review and coming up with a conclusion since I have not been able to use all kinds of media (especially the 8x), therefore, I am compelled to leave this review open for updates at later stage in this very thread.
If you have used this drive, please share your experience for the benefit of others, on the other hand, if you have any comments on the review itself (errors, omissions on my part) please express them on this thread.
DVD Writer at the Lacie's Website
