Customer Reviews

Delkin BurnAway CD-RW / DVD-ROM combo drive - Hi-Speed USB ( DDBURNAWAY DVD )

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I just used the burnaway to archive and backup photos while on vacation. Every couple of days I burned a DVD of photos and mailed it home. Actually, I burned two copies and mailed them separately, just in case one got lost in the mail.

The burner is very easy to use- just insert your memory card and a blank DVD and press a single button, and everything is done for you. It is also quite compact and easy to stick in your luggage. Nice carry case and a full assortment of cords.

Downsides... it is quite slow. A 4 GB DVD takes 4 hours to burn. Not sure why, but this was consistent. The battery only lasts an hour, so you have to keep it plugged in to do a full DVD (and make sure, if you are staying in a hotel, that the room power doesn't shut off when you leave). Also I did have an occasional DVD come home in the mail unreadable, so mailing two copies was nice. The failure rate was 10% or so, but I was admittedly using cheap blank media.

I would buy it again, but if you are considering a purchase you should keep these caveats in mind. For me, the alternative would have been a hard drive storage device, but I would prefer to have multiple copies in the mail so that I couldn't lose all my pictures if my rental car/luggage gets lost or stolen.

I purchased the Delkin BurnAway and used it successfully on a long trip to China. When I checked it a few months later before another trip, it refused to write DVDs. I brought it to Delkin (who are located a twenty minute drive from me) and, after testing, handed me a brand new replacement unit. However, despite it passing my practical tests at that time, it wrote weird files (the top half of each jpeg was missing) when I made a final check shortly before leaving for Africa. I have not attempted to use my Delkin BurnAway since. This type of device is useless if it is not reliable.