Watch Blu-ray And Burn DVDs: Three Low-Cost Solutions

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The Drives

We received the lowest-cost 8x Blu-ray-reading combo drives from LG, Lite-On, and Plextor. Here’s a quick look at the rated performance of each model.

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Blu-ray Combo Drive Basic Specifications
Read Speed (Single Layer/Dual Layer)
FormatLG UH08LS10Lite-On iHES208Plextor PX-B320SA
BD-ROM8x/8x8x/4x8x/4x
BD-R8x/8x6x/4x6x/4x
BD-RE4.8x/4.8x6x6x
DVD-ROM16x/12x16x/12x16x/12x
DVD-R16x/8x16x/12x16x/12x
DVD+R12x/8x16x/12x16x/12x
DVD±RW10x12x12x
DVD-RAM5x12x12x
CD-ROM, -R48x48x48x
CD-RW40x40x40x
Write Speed (Single Layer/Dual Layer)
 LG UH08LS10Lite-On iHES208Plextor PX-B320SA
BD-R/REN/AN/AN/A
DVD-R16x/4x16x/8x16x/8x
DVD+R16x/4x16x/8x16x/8x
DVD-RW6x6x6x
DVD+RW8x8x8x
DVD-RAM5x12x12x
CD-R28x48x48x
CD-RW24x32x32x
Common Features
 LG UH08LS10Lite-On iHES208Plextor PX-B320SA
LightScribe SupportYesYesYes
Buffer Size4MB2MB2MB
Underrun ProtectionYesYesYes
Over-burn supportNoYesYes
BitsettingYesYesYes
Mount RainierNoNoNo
Mounting Depth7.3"7.4"7.4"

Available as a bare drive for $100 or a retail box for $116, the UH08 from LG is probably the better deal since most users will require some kind of Blu-ray software to access its full capabilities. A high-gloss face plate frames the satin-finish drive tray cover.

Using a smaller 2MB buffer, Lite-On’s iHES208 is available for a lower $110 retail-boxed price. Lite-On even adds a silver faceplate to better match uncolored aluminum cases, although both faceplates use a rougher sand-cast finish.

With a Web price starting around $125, the retail-boxed Plextor PX-B320SA offers the same published specifications as Lite-On’s iHES208. Plextor uses a finer satin-finish faceplate, with a high-gloss cover on its drive tray.

All three drives include Cyberlink Blu-ray Disk Suite 6, but Plextor also includes a utilities CD. Similar utilities for Lite-On iHES208 can be downloaded.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
47 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Crashman
    demonhorde665why bother with a blu ray reader /dvd burner combo ??? they now have blue ray burners if i really need a dvd burner i'll jsut get a blue ray burner/reader , and a seperate dvd burner/reader
    Because you'll generally pay around twice as much to get a Blu-ray burner as you would to get a combo drive? Because you can't afford the Blu-ray blanks anyway so that spending twice as much would give you no benefits? It's right there in the article intro, really.

    If you can afford Blu-ray media and don't mind paying around twice as much for the drives, this article isn't for you. Tom's hoping for Blu-ray media prices to fall a little more before doing a Blu-ray burner article this winter.
    Reply
  • cangelini
    demonhorde665why bother with a blu ray reader /dvd burner combo ??? they now have blue ray burners if i really need a dvd burner i'll jsut get a blue ray burner/reader , and a seperate dvd burner/reader
    I personally run a Blu-ray reader/DVD writer on my workstation. No need to spend the money for a Blu-ray writer when I don't plan to burn Blu-rays at $3+ bucks a disc (especially with 4TB of network storage) and don't care to spend the extra money on the drive itself.
    Reply
  • TheDane
    What about noise levels during playback of movies using these drives (what's the point in having the "ultimate performance" BD/DVD deviceif it is unbearable loud while watching movies)?

    Some drives are VERY noisy but others (like LG's super-multiblue BD/HD/DVD/CD combo-drive) are very quiet during playback - a MUST for HTPC setups.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    TheDaneWhat about noise levels during playback of movies using these drives (what's the point in having the "ultimate performance" BD/DVD deviceif it is unbearable loud while watching movies)?Some drives are VERY noisy but others (like LG's super-multiblue BD/HD/DVD/CD combo-drive) are very quiet during playback - a MUST for HTPC setups.
    All three are similarly quiet during playback and all similarly noisy during full-speed reads and writes.
    Reply
  • dimitrik
    This article seemed mildly interesting but any comparison of disk burners that only looks at speed and not quality, i.e. recording errors, is not worth the time to read, let alone write. Really guys! You're supposed to be the hardware experts and you don't know this? Burners are judged on recording quality - you need to click the little "Disk Info" tab on NeroDiskSpeed and run the advanced tests. This is just meaningless. Thanks for wasting my time.
    Reply
  • wuzy
    What's most amazing I found is slim BD combo drives pulled out of OEM laptops sold on fleaBay are dirt cheap (~$50) compared to a desktop 5.25" ones bought brand new. You can pick either 50pin IDE or slim SATA.
    Got a HL CA10N (slot loading) here which I use in my HTPC.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    wuzyWhat's most amazing I found is slim BD combo drives pulled out of OEM laptops sold on fleaBay are dirt cheap (~$50) compared to a desktop 5.25" ones bought brand new. You can pick either 50pin IDE or slim SATA.Got a HL CA10N (slot loading) here which I use in my HTPC.
    Yes, you can find Notebook drives used easier than you can find Desktop drives, because notebook manufacturers were the first to adopt Blu-ray on a broad scale. On the other hand, comparing new prices makes the notebook drives, which tend to be slower and more expensive, appear a bad value.
    Reply
  • nukemaster
    CrashmanAll three are similarly quiet during playback and all similarly noisy during full-speed reads and writes.I would have to say the slower disc spin rate would have to make the LG quieter. I know that with most DVD drives hitting fast forward will cause the drive to spin up to a much louder speed, The LG one does not do this. They also list that the drive has a feature that makes the drive max out at different(slower) speeds depending on what is on the media. CD/DVD/BD are supposed to run slower thereby quieter. Do you have a DATA BD disc to try?
    Reply
  • avatar_raq
    It's a shame that the LG drive looked better on paper while it's the worst of the three in real life! Cheating the costumers, aren't we?!
    Reply
  • Crashman
    nukemasterI would have to say the slower disc spin rate would have to make the LG quieter. I know that with most DVD drives hitting fast forward will cause the drive to spin up to a much louder speed, The LG one does not do this. They also list that the drive has a feature that makes the drive max out at different(slower) speeds depending on what is on the media. CD/DVD/BD are supposed to run slower thereby quieter. Do you have a DATA BD disc to try?
    No. I knew people would ask so I listened to the drives in play, rip, and write modes. I don't have a sound-proof room and firmly believe that giving numbers taken from a sound meter at anything other than 1 meter while in a soundproof room provides misleading results.
    Reply