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Burners That Do MoreThese three external drives aren't just DVD burners.Melissa J. Perenson, PC World
What do you want your external DVD burner to do? Drop Melissa a line.
Let's face it: DVD burners are now ubiquitous, and it's harder than ever to tell internal drives apart. But by their very nature, external drives have always had a little more room for differentiation. And the latest crop of external models to cross my desk is no exception.
Two recent drives from LG Electronics and Sony share the ability to capture video as well as to burn standard data and video discs. A third drive, from Lite-On, offers unique buttons for dubbing data to disc, rather than relying solely on burning software to do the job as conventional models do. The idea of adding video inputs to a burner isn't new--Hewlett-Packard, Iomega, and Sony have all released drives that do this. The new LG and Sony models, however, show a new attention to design and function that represents a clear evolution from those earlier attempts. Plus, prices are now significantly lower.
The advantage to buying an external drive that can do more than just burn discs is obvious: After all, as much as any number of vendors would be happy to sell you a USB-based box with video inputs, why would you want one when you can get those capabilities built into your disc burner?
Lite-On Ez-Dub
Lite-On's $119 USB DVD burner Ez-Dub (model SOHW-1673SU) offers the standard specs: 16X DVD+/-R, 8X DVD+R double-layer and 4X DVD-R dual-layer write speeds, and 8X DVD+RW and 6X DVD-RW rewrite speeds. The software bundle is also pretty ordinary: CyberLink PowerDVD 5 and Nero Express 6.6, which includes NeroBackItUp and NeroVision Express 3.
What's out of the ordinary are the two buttons on top of the unit. One is labeled Dub, the other, File. With these buttons, and the Ez-Dub software designed by Lite-On and Ulead, this drive enters another realm of convenience.
The Dub button is intended for...