Hi all! Finally got round to logging back in :-) Long time no see... - Chris
Hi all! Finally got round to logging back in :-) Long time no see... - Chris
Member since:21.03.2004
Reviews:8
Members who trust:1
LG is one of the world's largest electronics manufacturers, and in recent years has become more and more widespread in the world of IT and gerneral consumer electronics.
I remember when LG were first on the scene, billed as another 'cheap and cheerful, but don't expect much' type of brand, a bit like the Matsui's of todays world. They have, however, shaken off this image by proving themselves to provide good, efficient equipment at a lower price then the competition.
The GSA-4081B is no exception to the above rule.
What is it? ========
The GSA-4081B is a DVD reader / recorder / rewriter that is installed in a computer system to allow the copying of data and audio onto DVD media. It will also read, write and rewrite cds as well. Please note, I'm not encouraging people to use this to make copies of DVDs and cds for their mates, as I'm not allowed to because thats illegal. Take the last sentance however you wish :-)
The drive comes as a sealed unit that is mounted inside your pc, either as an additional drive if your system allows this or as a replacement to another CD drive. You can also get 'caddies' to allow the drive to go outside your PC.
How does it work? ===============
The drve is supplied with a number of pieces of software, at the time of writing these are:
The above may change due to supply and demand. These pieces of software work on Windows 98 to Windows XP and come on CD.
You install the above programs on your pc and these are used for different functions.
B's Clip is used to allow the DVD to act as if it was a floppy disk or hard drive. You can drag and drop files into the DVD, format the disk and delete bits and pieces from the disk.
B's Recorder Gold is used to copy DVDs and CDs to disks, with a similar principal to Nero and Easy CD Creator (if you have used them before). If you haven't used either of the aforementioned programs, they provide you with a wizard to which you can use to select the relevant files you want.
Cyberlink PowerDVD is a program that turns your computer into, in effect, a TV that is able to read DVDs and play these on your screen. This is pretty useful if you don't have a standalone DVD player connected to your TV, or if you like watching movies by yourself if the main TV is occupied.
What can i do with it? =================
You can make Audio CDs, Data CDs, Audio DVDs, Video DVDs and Data DVDs. I use mine a lot to back up important documents as you can fit roughly seven cds onto one disk. If you think that one cd can hold abut 600 floppy disks, thats roughly 4200 floppys on one dvd! For technical peeps, one dvd holds 4.2GB of data uncompressed. If this is compressed, it can be up to about 9gb!
How easy is it to use? ==================
Very. A nine year old could probably master it within a couple of minutes. The programs provided are either self explainiatary or have good instructions with them. If you need further assiatnce, user guidesfor each proram are also on the CDs.
How much does it cost and how available is it? =====================================
I paid £75 for mine from dabs.co.uk in April 2004, but when you read this, the price may have gone down. The availablity at time of writing is a bit touchy as it is a fairly new unit (dabs are currently out of stock, but have over 10000 arriving in 3 days or so). I think this unit will become commonplace over the next few months.
Would you recommend it? =====================
Yes - definatly! If everyone had one of these, it would make backups and storeage much easier! Plus the beauty of this drive is it reada nd writes - and + DVD formats, as well as RAM. Don't worry if you don't know what the last statement means! Basically, think of VHS and Betamax - two different standards which are current competing to win the format battle. If you don't know what VHS and Betamax are,ask your dad or grandad!
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