Lite-On IHES208 8X Internal Blu-Ray Combo Drive (Black)

by Lite-On

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 5.8 x 1.6 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0026IADEC
• Item model number: IHES208-09 BLACK/RETAIL
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #65 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Computer Components > Internal Optical Drives > Internal DVD Drives
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 14, 2009

Product Description

Lite-On IHES208-08 8X Internal Blu-Ray Combo Drive, Retail

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ripoff? - Firmware limits Blu-Ray Dual Layer Rips to Half Speed, December 19, 2009

By 

Robert Salita "Software Developer" (CHI PAR PHX SYD PDX CLD NKC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lite-On IHES208 8X Internal Blu-Ray Combo Drive (Black) (Personal Computers)

Disappointed to find drive rips Blu-Rays at same speed as 4x drive. If this is your use, save your money and buy a slower drive. The bottleneck is clearly drive speed.

Update 12-Jan-2010: Drive is very fast ripping DVDs. However, Blu-Rays rip 20% slower than my 4x LG. Very disappointed with Blu-Ray results. Otherwise, drive is great.

Update 25-Jan-2010: More information about the drive's slow Blu-Ray ripping performance is becoming available. Confirming my observations, there are reports that the shipping firmware limits dual layer Blu-Ray ripping to 4x. This is contrary to the specifications. However, you can increase the speed by using MediaCodeSpeedEdit software. Look for the program on cdfreaks website. With this software, the drive becomes a great performer.

Update: 30-Oct-2010: Drive won't read some commerical recordings. No problem on my older, slower drive. This drive was a real lemon. I lowered the rating to two stars.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not exactly DOA, but close!, August 2, 2011

By 

Seth (South East) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lite-On IHES208 8X Internal Blu-Ray Combo Drive (Black) (Personal Computers)

Generally speaking, I'm a steadfast fan of Liteon drives. I've heard and read many comments that Liteon is a bargain brand or that they're cheap, but what many people don't know is that for the longest time, Liteon, along with LG, made most drives that were sold under the name-brand names, one classic example being Sony! (Although lately I've read that Liteon has been began outsourcing the manufacturing of some of their drives, which is ridiculous!) So, while others spent more money to get a "better, name-brand" drive, what they were really getting was a Liteon with a different label. Meanwhile, I'd get the same drive at a lower price, usually with bonus features enabled and/or supported from/by the factory, such as DVD book-type setting. Therefore, I've been buying Liteon drives for a few years now, and I've only ever replaced a Liteon drive when updating to new technology. Which leads me to the reason I bought this drive. I upgraded from a Liteon 24X DVD (iHAS424-08 - the one with the mediatech chipset/an actual Liteon drive, unlike the iHAS424-98!) which has been the best, most feature-rich drive I've ever owned. Unfortunately, the new bluray drive only lasted about 3 weeks of total installed time. I only used it to read/rip about 3 blurays and about 5 DVDs. It functioned well during that time until it started being dropped from Windows while reading a disc. The only way to get it to work again was to completely power-off the computer and restart, at which point it would work again but only for a few minutes. So, while it didn't completely die, it was circling the grave not long after first use! So, out of the 10 or 12 I've owned, this became the first Liteon drive that has failed for me.

The Good:

-Made by Liteon, which has been a good brand for me in the past.

-Nice all-around feature set; high disc compatibility, and lightscribe!

-The classic Liteon form factor; super short length compared to other brands!

The Bad:

-Apparently shipping with bluray rip-speed limits in firmware, though workarounds are available and relatively easy to implement...

-Doesn't include Smart-Erase capability.

-It died way too soon; it happens...

The Remarkable: Amazon's RMA service!

When the drive failed, I sent an email to customer service stating the problem succinctly and asked if it was possible to return the item and receive a replacement. To my surprise, less than 4 hours later on the same day, I received an email response that not only stated that I could return the item but actually included a printable, pre-paid return shipping label to use when sending the item back. But the shock didn't end there. It also stated that the replacement would be shipped immediately via one-day shipping at no further cost to me! Sure enough, by the end of the next day, I'd received a new replacement drive! Wow, now that's service, folks! Thanks, Amazon, for going above and beyond for a loyal customer!

The Conclusion:

-Well, I'll use the replacement drive for a while and update this review and hopefully be able to elevate my rating. Come on, Liteon; don't let me down twice!

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Technically competent but noisy, October 1, 2009

By 

Bud - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

First things first. This is the full retail package from Lite-On. It includes a silver bezel which is a really nice feature if you have a silver or aluminum case. In fact, it is one of only a couple Blu-ray drives available in North American with a silver bezel.

It does include some OEMed CyberLink software which I didn't really check out, but it is fairly obsolete version 7.x which is surprising since this Lite-On product is pretty new. (The current CyberLink software is 9.x.) It also includes a SATA cable if you don't have one lying around. The cable is a basic, cheap one, and you will probably want to spring for one of the right length and with locking tabs on it.

Next, unlike the freakish "photoshopping" of the picture that Amazon displays, it does have LightScribe, although I did not test this functionality. Technically, this is an 8X BD-ROM drive and 16X DVD+/-RW drive. Synthetic benchmarks that I ran showed it is at least this fast. It is noticeably faster than other 16X DVD drives that I have from Pioneer.

Unfortunately, I am used to Pioneer drives. Compared to the Pioneer 5X BD-ROM drive, this is very cheaply made. To give you an idea, the Pioneer drive weighs over 35 oz while this item weighs just under 25 oz. Although the tray operation is quieter than Pioneers', it's case is thin, and it is loud. Even using Nero's DriveSpeed to slow it down to an 8X DVD, it is noticeably louder than a Pioneer at 16X when reading the majority of my media, which is DVD. When playing movies, the noise is a definite distraction and an ultimate deal-breaker.

In the end, I went with the Pioneer because it is not only quieter but also a better looking drive, and I have plenty of silver bezels for those as well as Lian-Li aluminum case bezels. If pure performance is your bag, then this is a very technically competent drive and you get LightScribe features over comparable offerings. If you don't care about the silver bezel, get the OEM version which is cheaper (but does not include the bezel or the cable or the software) because the software is worth passing on.