DVD Writers

A DVD writer is a cost-effective way of backing up important data and video files from your PVR. Here are ten of the best.

Lite-On SHM-165P6S

Manufacturer:	Price:
Lite-On IT	£31.65 inc VAT
Reviewer:	Review Date:
James Gorbold and Nick Goldstein	Jul 2006

	OVERALL RATING

SCORE

5/6

Verdict: A distinctly middle-of-the-road performer

A few years ago, the only way by which you could own an optical drive in any colour other than beige was to buy a can of spray paint and paint it yourself. These days, most optical drives are available in black and beige, but Lite-On goes one step further.

In the box of the SHM-165P6S are three interchangeable bezels (black, beige and silver), allowing you to match the drive to your current case, and also easily change the bezel colour if your next case is a different colour. Also included is Nero Suite, an audio cable and pack of screws, making installation a simple process.

The drive is rated at the following writing speeds: DVD-R at 16x, DVD-R9 at 4x, DVD-RW at 6x, DVD+R at 16x, DVD+R9 at 8x, DVD+RW at 8x, CD-R at 48x and CD-RW at 24x. It can also write to caddyless DVD-RAM discs at 5x.

The SHM-165P6S proved to be a very middle-of-the-road performer, burning every type of media we tried with it, though not particularly quickly. It's also a fairly undistinguished ripper, finishing the DVD ripping test in just over 13 minutes.

The SHM-165P6S's interchangeable bezels are handy if you regularly change your case, but it isn't the fastest DVD writer or ripper, nor is it the cheapest drive on test, which means that we can see no reason that you should buy it over the Samsung or Pioneer models.

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