Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Pioneer DVR-X152
This device reads or writes virtually any DVD or CD format; see Customer Images for the variations and speeds.
Pros:
- It comes with everything needed to install and use; i.e., all necessary cables and a Nero 8 software CD.The latter provides options for copying discs, audio "ripping", audio burning, data burning (e.g., from your hard drive), and disc labeling with LightScribe laser etching technology.
- To "install" this device on my Windows XP PC, it was connected via the included USB cable, plugged into the wall receptacle with the included transformer and cables, and powered up. XP recognized it, and it worked immediately.The Nero software wasn't required to write or read CDs or DVDs, since my PC had Sonic Digital Media software for those functions.
I've only created a dozen or so of CDs and DVDs and those worked fine, so I can't comment on high volume use.
-The LightScribe feature on the Pioneer DVR-X152 will laser etch a label of your design on a CD or DVD.You'll need LightScribe enabled CD or DVD media for this to work, which is much more expensive than regular discs.
Cons:
- The Nero 8 software wouldn't fully install on my Dell XPS Windows XP system.The"custom" install option, for example, terminates with an error message that says the installation was interrupted and is shutting down, even though nothing interrupted it.I tried it several times and it always failed, which was very frustrating.However, it seems that the only thing that didn't finish was the creation of desktop and start menu shortcuts, which I did manually.The only unique function Nero offers, in my case, was creating and burning LightScribe labels. You'd think that such installation problems would have been fixed in Nero version 2, much less Nero 8.
- Clicking the "?" from Nero 8's window sends you to their web site, where they try to convince you to upgrade to Nero 9, the latest [extra cost] version.In fact, the bottom 10% of Nero 8's display is an ad for Nero 9. I'd expect such an annoyance from freeware, not from something you bought.
Other:
- The LightScribe labeling function has two settings; default and dark.On default, it takes 17 minutes to etch a label onto a disc.On the dark setting, it takes 32 minutes per disc, but the result is a much better label; see Customer Images.
- I did a timed test, backing up data via the Pioneer drive and an internal NEC DVD drive (16x, model ND-3530A).The data consisted of 2,800 digital images consuming over 4 GB, nearly filling a DVD.Software used was Nero 8 or Sonic Digital Media LE, a competitor.Here's how long it took to write (burn) that data:
...Nero took 9 minutes 19 seconds on the NEC ND-3530A internal drive
...Nero took 7 minutes 29 seconds on the Pioneer drive
...Sonic took 6 minutes 9 seconds on the Pioneer drive
This (non-scientific) test shows that Sonic software writes faster than Nero, and that the Pioneer drive using a USB 2 interface writes faster than an internal 16x DVD drive (in a Dell XPS PC).
Summary:
The Nero 8 software deserves maybe two stars, but the device itself does everything I wanted it to, which averages out to a 4 star rating.
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Product Description:
External USB 2.0 DVD/CD Writer, Black WITH LIGHTSCRIBE. Writes up to 20x on DVD-R (single layer), up to 19.6x on DVD+R (single layer), up to 8x on DVD-R/+R (DL), up to 6x on DVD-RW, up to 8x on DVD+RW media, and up to 12x on DVD-RAM. Writes up to 40x on CD-R media and up to 32x on CD-RW media. Reads DVD-ROM, DVD-VIDEO (single & dual layer), DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R (single & double layer), DVD+RW & DVD-RAM. Reads CD-ROM (Mode1 & 2), CD-ROM XA, CD-DA (CD Audio), Video CD, PhotoCD (single/multi-session), CD EXTRA, CD-Text, CD-R, CD-RW. Interfaces as USB 2.0. 2MB Buffer memory.
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