Review: LaCie External DVD Writer with Lightscribe
Posted by Scout on January 26, 2009
I’ve had this LaCie DVD writer for about two weeks now and have burned over 100GB worth of data. This is my personal review of the unit as per my experience.
Build Quality
My first impression of the design was, “that’s it?” For all the hype of this model being design by “world-famous Sam Hecht”, I expected to be dazzled. It was actually underwhelming, but I’m fine with its simplicity. It’s among the lightest external DVD drives out there, coming in at 319 grams. The chassis is made of durable plastic and the drive is tray-loading (it’s basically a stand-alone laptop DVD drive). I had my doubts about it at first because applying pressure in the middle of the chassis easily made it flex, until the unit accidentally fell from a height of one meter and survived, without so much as a scratch. The shiny chocolate brown finish is a smudge magnet, though.
Performance and Reliability
Right off the bat, I was able to use the external drive without the need for drivers. I was able to burn a DVD using just one USB cable connected to my laptop for power. However, when it had trouble reading an install disc that came along with the unit (for Roxio), I had to use the AC adapter to help it along. Sourcing two USB ports for power was not a good idea as Windows reported power failures for those ports, which almost disabled them permanently. To be on the safe side, I always connect it to an electrical socket when I’m at home.
Noise and Heat
The drive was a bit noisier than I would have liked and there doesn’t appear to be much dampening mechanisms inside the chassis. It isn’t a deal breaker. My desk drowns out any noise handily into the background. As for heat, I’m happy to say that its temperature remains fairly constant even after continuous burning sessions. The drive stays cool to the touch no matter how much I work I give it, unlike my experience with an old Philips external DVD drive, on which you could almost fry an egg.
Lightscribe
Arguably its nicest feature is Lightscribe printing - that is, being able to directly laser-print labels on special Lightscribe CDs and DVDs. It’s my first one so I can’t really compare it with others, but so far I’m happy with the results. I used the free Lightscribe Template Labeler software and Bonus Packs to create labels. It takes anywhere between 5-25 minutes to print a Lightscribe label, depending on the complexity of the pattern.
Conclusion
For P4,500, I think I got my money’s worth. It could have been a little quieter, but it’s not a big problem. Thanks to the impromptu “drop test”, I’m more confident about lugging this around on my travels, in case I feel the need to, and with its light weight, it’s an ideal netbook companion. The cherry on the cake - Lightscribe - also comes in handy for special occasions, when personalized CDs can be creative alternatives to expensive gifts.
Update: I found several TipidPC sellers that offer this unit for just P3,700. Have a look here.
» Filed Under Reviews
Looking for something else? Try Search:
Read other posts
Comments
Leave a Reply
Loading ...