In article <n8ftt0tiuuk3esk31t0hsqpuaa61ni42n8@4ax.com>,
<me@privacy.net> wrote:
I own one, and have used it to make DVD's, VCD, and SVCD's. It supplements
my Panasonic E80 and so I can make some comparisons of image quality,
features, and user friendliness.
In the two "best" DVD-bitrate modes (1 and 2 hours/disc) quality is
excellent and rivals that from my Panasonic. Some variants of this machine
support a 3-hour mode (as does the LVW-5006) but Lite-On seems to pretend
this does not exist. Some have hacked the firmware to add this feature,
and disable the copy-protection sensing on the analog inputs.
VCD and SVCD quality is about what one would expect; SVCD is actually very
nice for quick videos but limited in usefulness because of the short
recording time.
There is an old saying which describes a person as a "Jack of all trades
but a master of none". It means he does a little of everything ... but
nothing very well. There is an element of that in the "All-Write" 5005.
The 5005 is a bargain of versatility and decent quality. But the more I
use and read about it, the more I understand why some people knock it.
1. It breaks the rules by recording both DVD+ and DVD- in +VR mode. As I
understand "the rules", recording DVD- in +VR mode can confuse playback
equipment and add an additional twist to the already-complicated issue of
recordable DVD playback. (DVD-R is "supposed" to be recorded in DVD-Video
mode, and DVD+R in +VR mode).
2. VCD and SVCD recording is a great "plus" at minimal additional cost.
The quality of the recordings is even decent considering the bandwidth.
But there is little flexibility ... for instance, each track is
automatically labelled with the date and time, and there is no way to
change it the way you can with DVD (however the bitmap 'thumbnail' for
title lists on all types of disc is a frame from the beginning of the
video of each track, and cannot be changed).
3. Audio CD recording lacks the features that, on standalone audio CD
recorders, make it useful: digital audio (S/PDIF) input, automatic track
marker insertion (from either digital or analog sources) and, decent audio
fidelity from the analog inputs.
4. The TV tuner is finicky, requires manual setup and tweaking, and tunes
only in mono. If, as many people do, you are recording from a digital
cable or satellite box, you are going to use the A/V inputs anyway and
this does not matter too much.
5. Firmware bugs requiring frequent updates. The hallmark of devices
engineered in China. Complicated here by the existence of at least 2
hardware varieties with different feature sets (e.g. some support 3-hour
recording, others do not even with new firmware) and changing firmware
binary formats.
