LG GGC-H20L
No matter what brand we are talking about, I must say I am disappointed with most optical drives available on the market today. Of course, I wasn't able to try them all, but it seems the lifespan of these devices is much shorter than before(one of my friends still has a Teac 8X CD writer, and after more than 8 years and burning probably more than 5000 discs, it still works like a charm), according to my own experiences, and those of my friends. Anyway, today I have to tell you a few things about the LG GGC-H20L, a Blu-ray/HD DVD Combo Drive that can be a useful upgrade from that DVD writer most of us have at this time. Unfortunately, I can't tell you how well is going to work this drive in 2012, but probably most of its current and soon-to-be users will change it in the meantime. Ooook, so let's see what do we have here...
We all know the HD DVD format lost the war, but there are still plenty of HD DVD discs around, so why not be able to use the best of both high end formats - the Blu-ray and HD DVD? That's exactly what the LG GGC-H20L allows you to do, apart from using the good old CDs and DVDs, of course. Its main drawback may be the fact that it can't burn Blu-ray and HD DVD, but you can't have them all, after all...can you?
Using the SATA interface, the LG GGC-H20L has a 4MB buffer and the following performance specifications:
Read Speed
DVD-ROM Read: 16x, Max
DVD-RAM Read: 5x, Max
CD-ROM Read: 40x, Max
BD-ROM/R (SL) Read: 6x, Max
BD-ROM/R (DL) Read: 4.8x, Max
BD-RE (SL/DL) Read: 2x, Max
HD DVD-ROM (SL) Read: 3x
HD DVD-ROM (DL) Read: 3x
Write Speed
DVD+R Write: 16x
DVD+RW Write: 8x
DVD+R DL Write: 4x
DVD-R Write: 16x
DVD-RW Write: 6x
DVD-R DL Write: 4x
DVD-RAM Write: 5x
CD-R Write: 40x
CD-RW Write: 24x
Access Time:
BD-ROM: 180ms
HD DVD-ROM: 210ms
DVD: 160ms
CD: 150ms
The writing modes supported for DVD discs include Disc-At-Once, Incremental Recording, Restricted Overwriting, Sequential Recording and Random Recording, while CDs can be burned using Track-at-Once, Disc-at-Once, Session-at-Once or
Packet Recording (fixed & variable).
The LG GGC-H20L supports both 80 and 120 mm discs, and the list of supported disc formats for writing is pretty long, including DVD+R DL 8.5GB, DVD+R 4.7GB, DVD+RW 4.7GB, DVD-R DL: 8.5GB, DVD-R 4.7GB, DVD-RAM, DVD-Video, as well as CD-DA, CD-R, CD-RW, CD-Extra or CD-Text.
Having 146 x 41.3 x 185 mm without bezel, and a weight of 870g, the LG GGC-H20L offers good all-around performance, and apart from not being able to burn Blu-ray and HD DVDs, as I mentioned above, has only another (minor, for most of us) drawback - the fact that it does not allow Bitsetting of DVD+RW media.
At last, I should add a very strong argument for considering the LG GGC-H20L is its price - for under $200, you get a drive capable of reading both Blu-ray and HD DVD media, as well as burning CD and DVD discs. What else can you ask, for its price?
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No matter what brand we are talking about, I must say I am disappointed with most optical drives available on the market today.