Advances are still happening in the world of optical
drives believe it or not, and more than just boosts to DVD
write speed! In this review PCSTATS is testing a particularly neat technology built into the LiteOn
iHAS524 12x DVD-DL (24x DVD±R) recorder that may just convince you to
spring for a sleek new SATA drive.... The iHAS524 can write text
to the underside of any DVD-R or CD-R media, but this isn't LightScribe and
it does not
require specially coated disks. Interesting, yes?
LiteON's LabelTag technology allows you to write
a text-based circular label into the data side of any DVD±R or CD-R disk. The
text is created by 'burning' the un-used portion of the disk in a pattern
that leaves legible text behind. Written bits are slightly darker by nature,
these bits need only be arranged to 'write' text or even small
two-colour images/logos to the recordable side of DVD±R or CD-R media.
LabelTag gives the best results with DVD-R's because the darker purple
colour has better contrast, but regardless of the media, non-removable labels are
an enticing option for archival, promotional, presentation, photographic, recording software serial numbers or simply cataloging data
stored to recordable optical media. The label will never come off,
get lost or separated from the disk.
PCSTATS will dive
into what LabelTag does and how it works in a moment,
and we'll show you actual examples of lables written to DVD-R and CD-R media
so you can judge it yourself. First let's cover the basics of
the LiteOn iHAS524 12x DVD-DL (24x DVD±R) recorder.
For
everyday DVD burning the SATA-based Lite-On iHAS524 DVD-DL burner has
got everything you'd expect
from a DVD-writer, including dual-layer DVD writing and reading at speeds
of 12x, compatibility with both + and - formats, as well as CD-Rs and
CD-RWs. It does not read nor write to Blu-Ray disks but
does come with a 2MB cache buffer.
This SATA-based optical drive is one of
the new generation of 24x DVD writers, so it's easily fast enough to handle
both movie playback and 8.4GB DL DVD data discs at a quick
pace. The drive comes with a manual, installation screws, SATA cabling and Nero 9 Express
Essentials software. The LiteOn iHAS524 isn't expensive, you can find them in most stores for
just $40 CDN ($40 US, £20 GBP)!
Lite-On's iHAS524 is designed for
use in standard sized computer towers and HTPC cases, so it'll fit into any
free 5.25" PC expansion bay. The drive's specific measurements are 17 x 14.5 x
4.1cm, which make it about average for an optical drive. As long as your case isn't
tiny you should be able to install it without an
issue.
This DVD-DL
drive comes in a stylish, slimming black... like pretty much ever computer
peripheral these days. The only controls on its bezel are the eject button, a
status LED and manual eject hole for removing stuck disks. Lite-on's iHAS524
drive uses SATA power and SATA data cable connections which provide greater
bandwidth and lower latency, plus the ability to hot-swap optical drives. Serial ATA has essentially replaced IDE on all motherboards released
in 2011 and forward.
Lite-on iHAS524 DVD±R/RW DL
Recorder Supported Media Read/Write
Speeds
|
|
Read: |
Re-Write: |
Write: |
Blu-Ray |
NO |
NO |
NO |
DVD |
16x |
- |
- |
CD |
48x |
- |
- |
DVD+RW/-RW |
8x/6x |
8x/6x |
8x/6x |
DVD-R/+R |
24x |
- |
24x |
DVD-R DL |
12x |
- |
12x |
DVD-RAM |
12x |
12x |
12x |
CD-R |
48x |
- |
48x |
CD-RW |
32x |
32x |
32x |
|
|
|
|
Writing
modes for DVDs on the iHAS524 are indicated in the above chart. There are a lot
of formats in this day and age and it supports most of them except the
ill conceived HD-DVD and of course Blu-Ray which requires significantly more expensive hardware. The
drive supports DAO (Disc-at-Once) and Incremental Recording, as well as restricted
overwriting and sequential recording. CD writing can also support TAO
(Track-at-Once) and SAO (Session-at-Once) recording, in additional to
mutli-session recording.
LiteON LabelTag
Tested with DVD-R and CD-R Media
LabelTag is a new technology offered by LiteON
with its 24x DVD+R rated optical drives that allows you to write a text-based
circular label on the data side of regular DVD±R or
CD-R disk media. Unlike Lightscribe, special media is not required because LabelTag creates the
label by writing to the un-used portion of the disk, assuming space remains. The technology works
best with DVD-R's as the darker purple/blue of the writable side offers better
contrast. CD-R media stands up well,
but different brands can enhance the effect or diffuse it slightly depending on the
intensity of disk colour. Below is an example written to a Maxell
DVD-R.
A simple text editor bundled in with the supplied Nero Express
Essentials 9 software that lets you compose the LabelTag, select different fonts
and change font side while a representative image displays exactly how the
LabelTag will appear on the surface of the disk.
Label Design window for setting up the text on DVD-R
media.
There are a couple
caveats to be aware of when using LabelTag, we'll discuss that
next...