Advantages: One touch recording, no discs needed, cheap set but great quality
Disadvantages: Only recognises certain discs, needs updates regularly

...This is a great set!!! does everything you need. Records from the TV with one touch of a button, straight onto the hard drive which will take hours of programmes, there's no loss of quality as it is all digital! So crystal clear images every time. We have had our recorder for about 4 years now and its still going strong, we have to download updates from the LiteOn website periodically to keep it up to date. It plays all types of DVD's, CD's, MP3's, picture discs, VCD's, SVCD's, Data discs, Media discs and will copy all discs as long as they are not protected by copyright. It will even play Nero media files taken off your PC. It records DVD RW/R +/-, CD RW/R +/-, will write in MP3 format if the original was in MP3. Its not that slow either, its a great all rounder and simple to use. My dad is the expert on this machine... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap, Good quality, Can be made 'Region Free'
Disadvantages: No IDE cable supplied

...-ROM', then double click on your drive that is in the list, then click the 'settings' tab, this will display the firmware revision your drive has at present.. ** Conclusion ** I do not know the exact business politics involved, but for those that might find it useful, 'Lite-on' seem to have gone through a rebranding process, as this particular product has a 'JVC Lite-on IT' badge, and is connected with JLMS - A subsidiary of Victor company of Japan Limited (JVC). I must admit to having a fond soft spot for Lite-on, as this is my 3rd piece of kit from them and I have never been disappointed with their quality, and certainly not their price as they are one of the cheapest around. So in the end if you are playing a DVD game or watching your collection of movie DVD's, or want to spend time ripping discs, then you will not be disappointed... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Low cost, good company reputation, Fast, Supports both +/- formats, Free updates, burn DVDs
Disadvantages: Only supports certain branded discs to begin with

...Note: Model should be SOHW 812s. NOT "SHOW" as Ciao put it. I bought myself a DVD±RW burner drive from CCL Computers for the very low price of £69.67, excluding postage, but it’s a great price for what you’re getting. DVD Re-Writers prices have fallen from about £200-£300 so I thought I’d get me one to back up files. I’ve wanted one since they introduced them but they were expensive back then. I wanted one mainly to back up my files. I have had a CDRW drive up till now but I could only fit up to 650MB or 700MB on them on a CD. CDRs start to pile up if you have a lot of files to burn. I bought the LiteOn SOHW 812S 8x 8x +/- DVD Re-Writer. It’s like a CD Re-Writer, but it can also write to blank DVD’s. It can write to DVD +R and -R at 8x (8 speed) or 10,800KB/sec, and DVD +RW and -RW at 4x (4 speed) or 5400KB/sec and read them at 12... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Cheap, can be made multi-region. Works well. PC Pro Best Buy
Disadvantages: Doesn't alter the fact that dual layer media is not cheap! Possible dual-layer compatibility issues with home DVD players

...'s no IDE ribbon but you do get the screws to fit it. If you are removing an existing CD or DVD writer, this is not a problem - you merely swap out the connections one at a time and slide it in place, screwing it down at the last moment. This all assumes that you're not scared to take the lid off your PC and can identify either the bit you're whipping out, or a spare 5.25 inch bay. It's very easy to forget to connect the audio lead to a new drive, and then wonder why you can't play CDs anymore - I find the ease with which you can forget this is inversely proportional to how difficult it is to get the lid off the PC again! WHY LITEON? WHY NOT ANY OTHER CHEAPO BRAND? There are several of what I'd term second-tier far-eastern brands all probably sourced from the same factories in Taiwan or South Korea if we did but know it. Names like AOpen... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Fast speeds, value for money
Disadvantages: none

...Lite-on are a well respected company that have been around for a while. LITE-ON oringinated from a team of scientist and engineers from ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Insitute) in 1995. LITE-ON Information Technology corportation are constantly devoloping anit-vibration mechanical design, advanced circuit design and increased performance. LITE-ON Information Technology Corporation (LITE-ON I.T.) this was a big part of the LITE-ON group which concentrated on the optical storage devices which then led to the creation on these fine CDROM drives we have today. This LITE-ON CD-RW is a very good drive and after purchasing one for personnal use I have purchased many more for computers I have built for friends and family. Very easy installation, driver support is excelent. With dvd-rw's coming down alot in price recently I... Read review

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Advantages: To many to list, but buries all competition.
Disadvantages: A slightly dated looking remote

...wanted to get a new one for the living room as our existing one was too big for the stand that came with our new television. I popped into our local Argos and noted this model for £200, apparently on a special offer £70 off the normal RRP. Never one to turn my back on a bargain and very pleased with Liteon I decided to make the purchase. I was fully aware that it had a build in hard drive but found upon returning home that there were lots of other things it did too. Unpacking And Installation The box that the Liteon DVD recorder came in was a kind of plastic based material, upon opening the box I was greeted with a message:- Thank you for purchasing this Liteon product, here at Liteon we care about our environment. Once you know that your happy with this machine please place this strengthened box in warm water and it will dissolve... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Easy Backup from TV/SAT/VHS/MiniDV Camcorder - Features Timeslip / Edit Out Adverts / 160Gb Storage Capacity / Writes on both DVD+/- R and CD's
Disadvantages: Slow to boot up / Difficult to cut to exact frames when removing adverts

...and would copy onto and from almost anything. The convenience of not having to search for a disc and being able to record or back up video then edit out bits I didn't want, was just too huge an attraction. Unfortunate most of the machines I liked at the time with large hard drives cost £500 plus! Then I saw the LiteOn. I already used LiteOn CD writers in my PC's so new the name. Did some research and even found that LiteOn manufacture DVD drives for Sony of all people! Apparently they are one of the largest manufacturers of DVD drives in the world? So, this machine could write to DVD + and - R and CD's, it had a 160GB hard disc, allowed you to edit video and all for…£280.00! - Bargain! Of course it's now even cheaper, but even 6 months ago when I got mine it was still considered a bargain. 6 months on I am still not disappointed. I can... Read review

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Advantages: Good quality burner at a decent price
Disadvantages: Can't think of 1

...was burning on my old drive and that was it you knew the burn had failed. Not with Liteon I can dance around the room and burn without a glich I don't intend upgrading this baby just yet and after 2 years in technology terms thats a bit unusual. I've thought about upgrading the firmware but to be honest I don't see the need. It does a perfect job as is. If it ain't broke don't fix it. This DVD writer is 1 superb deal it's fast, cheap and top notch quality... Read review

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Advantages: High capacity, Auto-sync software
Disadvantages: High initial cost

...The sony micro vault is a lightweight and practical solution to the hassle of transferring files one from one location to another. It's light weight and small size mean that it can easily fit into a trouser pocket or laptop bag. The USB 2.0 interface means that it will be compatible with nearly all pc's purchased within the last 6-7 years, removing the hassle of burning CD's or DVD's only to find that the destination computer's drive does not support their speed or format. USB 2.0 means that files will transfer quickly and easily, with 5GB taking just a couple of minutes. The Micro Vault also has auto-sync software, allowing you to sync files on your computer and usb drive at the click of a mouse. No need to fiddle around with copy and paste. You can also store multiple versions of a document or other file at different stages... Read review

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Advantages: Price. Fast CD writer
Disadvantages: Poor sustained data transfer

....5minutes? Wrong. The cd only writes at a maximum of 32X towards the inner of the cd and is infact quite a bit slower towards the outer (NOTE: this is the same for all CD writers so is not a specific disadvantage to this one). The fastest write times for an 80 minute cd you get are usually about 3.5 minutes which is still very fast. Also i have compared the data transfer rates of this lite-on with that of my Pioneer DVD. They both have the same cd read speeds of 40X yet the pioneer is much faster. I can only think because it is a higher quality drive. Therefore i would expect a plextor 32X writer to be a little faster than the lite-on though Plextor drives come at a premium price. Finally the Lite-on has a rewrite speed of 12X, i will have to take their word on this as i have never tried using a rewritable cd with it. Rewritable cds are so... Read review

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