Lite-On AllWrite LVW-5005 DVD/CD Recorder

by Lite-On

Product Details

• Item Weight: 6.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 9 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0001DYXOU
• Item model number: LVW5005
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (118 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,768 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #78 in Electronics > Televisions & Video > DVD Players & Recorders > DVD Recorders
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Lite-On's LVW-5005 AllWrite DVD recorder revolutionizes the way you record your videos. It accepts all types of 5-inch recordable optical media: DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, or CD-R/-RW. It's also equipped with analog and digital video inputs and MCTF (motion-compensated temporal filtering) video noise reduction to improve the quality of your programs as you record them.

Playback features abound, including MP3 CD and JPEG digital image CD and progressive-scan video outputs to deliver seamless, razor-sharp images on high-definition and HD-ready TVs and monitors. The player is capable of writing most video formats, too, depending on the type of blank media you're using: from highly compatible DVD+VR-mode video discs (DVD-Video) to video CD and SVCD (super video CD).

A single blank recordable DVD offers up to 6 hours of recording time (in SLP mode), which is equivalent to the maximum duration of a T-120 VHS videocassette in SLP mode. Unlike your SLP tape, however, your recordable DVDs won't degrade with every viewing, and access to points within the programs is incomparably easier. Moreover, the physical size of a single VHS cassette is about 10 times larger than a DVD disc.

For all DVD recording, each new recording is always placed after previous recordings unless you intent to overwrite it (when using rewritable media). The DVD recorder can automatically divide a recording into chapters by inserting chapter marks at 2- to 15-minute intervals during recording. Editing features include title edit, title naming, title protect, title overwrite, and title erase.

One-touch recording makes it easy to record favorite programs or capture video from external sources, including composite-video, S-video, and IEEE 1394 digital video. The unit's easy-track navigator provides a directory of thumbnail images so you can quickly and easily locate chapters on your DVDs. Unique thumbnails represent segments that you can play or edit.

Before sharing your digital content with others, all discs must first go through a process known as finalization. Once a DVD+R, DVD-R/-RW, CD-R or CD-RW disc has been finalized, it can be played back on other CD or DVD players or on PCs.

The recorder's convenient front-panel DV Link (IEEE 1394) input lets you transfer footage from digital camcorders or PC audio/video programming in their original digital quality.

As a player, the LVW-5005 positions you to enjoy DVD-Video discs in NTSC, PAL, and SECAM formats (depending on your media and your TV/monitor), DVD+VR (compatible with DVD-Video players in most cases), video CD, super VCD, audio CD, MP3 CD (maximum number of recognizable files: 1,000; compression rate: between 32 kbps and 320 kbps), and JPEG CD (maximum number of recognizable pictures: 1,000).

The component-video input (selectable between standard 480i and progressive-scan 480p) separates the color and brightness signals to ensure the highest picture quality. Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts.

What's in the Box
DVD player/recorder, remote control, remote batteries, user's manual, an AC power cord, a stereo analog audio interconnect/composite-video cable, and an RF coaxial AV cable.

Note: Lite-On recommends use of Nero 6 Ultra Edition disc-writing software, sold separately, for creating discs to be used for the components firmware upgrades. Further, not all high-definition televisions are fully compatible with this product's progressive-scan output, which occurs at 525p rather than the usual 480p, and may produce undesirable image artifacts. In the event of 525p progressive-scan picture problems, Lite-On recommends switching the component-video output to "standard definition" (480i).

Product Description

Are you still deciding whether to choose between a +RW/+R and a RW/-R DVD Recorder? LITE-ON IT introduces a solution that solves this ongoing dilemma. Our LVW-5005 DVD recorder AllWrite provides the best solution for simplifying your decision making. The "All Write" capabilities of the LVW-5005 allow users to write their digital content to most popular digital discs, including DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW and CD-R/RW discs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

153 of 158 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than I hoped..., May 14, 2004

By 

Koeeaddi "shmuelman" (Denver) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lite-On AllWrite LVW-5005 DVD/CD Recorder (Electronics)

I had been holding off on purchasing DVD recorders because of either high prices or poor reviews. I took a chance on this model, because of good reviews on the internet, it being at the right price point, and the fact that I filled up my PVR. It has exceeded my expectations. The recording quality at SP (two hours) is virtually indistinguishable from the PVR recordings from my dish. Four hour LP mode still exceeds a mid quality VCR, with no annoying flicker or color bleeding. The burner worked first time, every time. The controls, even timed record, are intuitive and simple, with an excellent system menu that makes all the features easily accessible. Pop in a disc - it is immediately recognized and formatted if necessary. You can easily set the time for chapter marks and append new material.
Amazingly, the burner accepts every type of media - DVD + or - R and RW, as well as CD-R and CD-RW, although I have not tried making a CD-V or audio CD. The instruction manual is well done and easily readable.
This is one of the best engineered pieces of hardware I have come across in years. Works better than any VCR I have ever owned. Basically, you just hit the record button and get a great recording. I have not used it yet for transferring and editing home videos, but if you just want to record from your cable or dish, this unit can't be beat. One weird glitch: Doesn't display closed captioning - at least on my Mitsubishi TV.

111 of 114 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, September 27, 2004

By 

Uncle Dutch (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lite-On AllWrite LVW-5005 DVD/CD Recorder (Electronics)

This is just the thing for transferring VHS/miniDV to DVD. Also, with the ability to use it as a DVD "VCR" and the DV-link, it's a no-brainer at the selling price. Similarly-featured units list for hundreds more. The variety of supported media is good. Operation is easy and intuitive. The quality of recordings from standard cable signal is quite impressive. I was leary of some of the concerns other people had, but the newest revision (LVW-5005) seem to have corrected most of them. Overall, I think this is an incredible product for the price and will hope for the best on long-term reliability.


I did notice a few things that are annoying, but not critical:

-No RF modulator on the cable input (can't monitor on ch3/4 like a VCR). You have to use the RCA input on a TV or other device to monitor the unit (No big deal, most TV's have RCA input).

-I found it best (for quality) to split the incoming cable and send separate runs to the TV and LVW-5005.

-I've seen the time counters on other players get confused with discs recorded on the LVW-5005.

-You'd think that once you created your own DVD, you'd be able to copy it with DVD-XCOPY or the like. That didn't work for me. The only program I've found yet that makes copies of the outputed media is Clone-DVD. Clone-DVD seems to fix the time display problem mentioned above.

-DVD-RW and DVD+RW disks created on the LVW-5005 may not play in older DVD players, though finalized DVD-r's seem to play on anything.

85 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Good while they last, November 1, 2005

By 

J. Pawlowski (Allentown, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lite-On AllWrite LVW-5005 DVD/CD Recorder (Electronics)

Somewhere around your 100th-200th disc or 5-7 months it won't read blank discs anymore or record on them. This is due to the short lived cheaper lasers they put in them. They get weak over time. Also if you leave the unit on when not using it, even when there's no disc in the machine, the laser stays on. So just by leaving it on, forgetting to shut it off, you're killing the laser by shortening it's lifetime. I have 2 of these units, plus an older one they made for the AKAI brand name from the year before, but it's almost identical. They all suffer from dimming lasers after a few months or 100-200 discs.

I'm an electronics seviceman & a videographer. Lasers do wear out, & cheap ones go dim sooner.

The machine performed great before the laser dimmed.

So you'll have to ask yourself if it's worth the price to burn only 100-200 discs or only last 5-7 months.

How long your Lite-On machine (ANY MODEL) lasts will depend how much you use it & how long leave it on even when you're not using it.