Customer Reviews

Lite-On LVW5001 DVD Plus Player/Recorder

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Great value. Finally a DVD recorder priced to replace the VHS recorder. Record from analog or digital (firewire) devices.

First the good.

DVD recorder works well. Auto chapter marking. TV tuner has auto scanning and neat window feature where you can see the channels being scanned in a window from the setup menu. Has progressive out...even for TV signal. Lots of inputs....rca front, firewire front, S-video back. Has 16-9 and 4-3 outputs. 4 recording speeds/qualities....from 6 hrs (mpeg1 352x288) to 1 hr (mpeg2 720x576.) Dolby Digital and DTS. Plays MP3, Jpeg, VCD, Super VCD.

Next the not so good.

Recorder must be turned off and back on to "take" recording settings.

Remote is very weak...must be aimed directly at recorder.

RCA video out jack does not work even though they provide a yellow jack and that is the only cable you get (at least not on mine.) In the directions it says that it will only output to a single output device...the one you choose in the setup menu. There are three choices, s-video, component, and progressive (no rca.) Switching output is a bit tough...when you do it blanks out the output you were using, leaving a black screen and then you must select OK in 10 seconds or it switches back...but you can't see the new source to click on "OK" until you have something hooked to it so you almost need two output sources or a TV with two inputs that you can switch quickly between. I used one with picture in picture. If you have component in, this isn't such a big deal...just leave it on component in.

No mpeg3/DIVX

No CD recording...DVD+R/DVD+RW only.

No time shifting...no TIVO features.

Need to check disk space before recording.

Overall conclusion:

Recommended. A great device for those that want to save old video tapes onto new digital media. Nifty digital VCR.

This is my first review on Amazon & I'm only doing this to counteract the brainless knuckleheads who give products on Amazon bad reviews they don't deserve. Almost anything listed on Amazon has undeserved bad reviews from these morons which helps screw up purchase decisions made by people like you & me who use these reviews to help decide whether to purchase anything.
Anyway, the bottom line is this a great and super easy to use very inexpensive DVD recorder (I got mine for $169 new from one of the chain stores)and a moron could figure how to use it in 5 minutes- its that easy and simple, ignore what some of the idiots said here. It copies old VHS tapes to DVD and TV broadcats to DVD with great results & total ease. This DVD recorder burns DVD+R & DVD+RW discs, which is what I've always used anyway. As it copies and records in real time, you should get & use the cheapest DVD+RW discs (I can get them for less than 30 cents each) as it takes the same time to record on a 1X disc as it does a 8X disc. Also you do not need to finalize DVD+RW discs but you do need to finalize DVD+R discs, so there clearly is an advantage using a DVD+RW disc here which as I said are available at the 1X speed super cheap.

I've had my Lite-on LVW 5001 for more than 3 months now and since that time have used it for hours at a time most days. So far, I am very happy with the performance of the machine as well as the picture and sound quality. I have read elsewhere that this model comes with a mono tuner, but mine, manufactured in March 2004 has a full stereo tuner. One handy hint is to ONLY use good quality DVD+R/RW discs such as Verbatim or TDK as I have found these work the best. A really good recorder for the price! I'm very happy.

Pro: Recorder is simple to set up and operate, it does take getting used to, the disc's have to be formatted but that takes less than a minute. Easy to record off the air, even at 6 hour rate, the digitizing of the analog TV signal seems to look better during playback than off the air. Price is a positive, you can find them for $279. The recorded disc DVD+R or +RW also play on Apex, Pioneer (portable), Norcent (cheap DVD player) but doesn't play well on a Samsung DVD player (I have all of these players).
Con; It doesn't fully record 2 hours in the 2 hour mode, I found the max was 1hr 56 minutes. This seems to be the same in the longer modes, just shy of the expected time. The other con is the one touch recording, you have to manually turn it off or it keeps going to the end of the recordable time on the DVD. Each press of the recording button is not 30Min like a VCR.
Overall, I am Really Impressed and would consider buying another unit because it also plays regular DVD's as well or better than regular DVD Players.

I have bought this recorder from NewEgg.com for $286.00 with free shipping! let me tell you I have researched DVD Recorders for some time now and was going to make the mistake of buying a "BIG NAME" brand, glad I didn't! this recorder is easy to setup and use. Recording quality from cable actually was visibly better as mentioned in other reviews. As far as other reviews that say remote is week - I can be 20' away and it works flawlessly and the guy with the s-video problem - you need to enable that connection in the menu (probably someone that doesn't read manuals). the key selling point is you can upgrade the firmware yourself instead of sending the unit in to the company,costing you $$ unlike the pioneer 310 that I was going to buy, has a date problem with the recorder..no way was I going to buy a recorder that I would possibly have to send back to them to fix before I could use it! why does the BIG NAME companies make you send your product to them? how come they can't incorporate firmware updates for there products? also when in search for DVD recorders I noticed that the Popular ones in stores and online had alot of OPEN BOX RETURN SPECIALS makes you wonder why doesn't it? if you want a recorder with the same features and don't need a hard drive this is the one!Bottom Line LITE-ON ROCKS!!!! Don't waste your hard earned money Paying for a "NAME"

First of all, I paid $267 for this Lite-On DVD recorder, and it has a $30 dollar MIR. I got free shipping from newegg.com and so far I love this product. I can record from my direcTV clearly and I didn't even need to read the manuals for directions. It was so easy to connect to my TV, Satellite Receiver and VCR and the interface is very simple. I have already recorded television shows and I've already backed up some home VHS tapes onto DVD. And they look fantastic. DONT FORGET YOU HAVE TO FINALIZE DVDs to get them to read on other DVD players!! (Just like a regular DVD burner/ CD burner will finalize discs when you burn them off a computer)

Only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is because the discs get really really really hot when theyre done burning.

This recorder is still hard to come by. I have had about 30 days experience with it, and here are my thoughts. The good: 1) Intuitive menu's that I have grown to appreciate 2) burns a disc successfully and plays on my 3 other dvd players in the house. Here is the not so good: 1) 1 button record only records, for example, it does not give you the option of 30 minutes, 60 minutes and so on. I wish it would. 2) It is finicky playing audio cd's. This is a big drawback. 3) I think it takes a while to load the disc (I am not sure if that is representative of all recorders, but it seems a little long 4) It's odd that the S-Video port is not enabled out of the box. You need to be aware of this before you return it. Hook it up to a composite video source first and then enable the s-video. Lite-on has a good reptuation for their PC products. This unit appears to have positive reviews overseas.

I got the rebranded Gateway version of this DVD+ recorder while it was on sale. I have a Panasonic DVD-R recorder which is much better: better picture quality, better reliability, and better user interface. Also, DVD "minus" discs are much more compatible with DVD players than DVD "plus," although if you have a new player, it should have no trouble with either format.

The real problem with the Lite-On/Gateway is build quality. The player feels cheap, and it does tend to get hot as some reviewers have pointed out, which is a problem for those of us wanting to keep it in an entertanment center. You literally need to put an AC next to it to cool it during long recordings. Also, my particular unit broke after a few months, so I don't have much confidence in this brand.

You might be better served with a Panasonic or Toshiba, which will offer better quality and reliability (important for DVD recordings) at a reasonable price.

When I saw this DVD recorder on sale I was amazed that prices had dropped so fast, but after having it for 30 days I just find myself wishing I had been a little less impulsive. At first it worked quite well, the recording quality on HQ,SP and even EP are quite good. I noticed a number of artifacts during quick screen transitions or fast motion, but compared to VHS recordings the colors are much richer, edges sharper, and one of the nicest surprises is the ability to fast forward at various speeds to jump over commercials. How could I give this up? The cons...

1) disc failures with DVD+RW media can render recordings and whole discs unusable (happens 5% of time)
2) startup time is a painful 30-60 seconds (swapping discs can take over a minute)
3) you can only record 3h 50m on 4h disc, 1h55m on 2h disc, etc. This seems like no big deal until you start recording 1h programs and up to half of each DVD is wasted!
4) menus are slow and difficult to navigate
5) DVD+R/W media only plays in DVDs made in past 1-2 years.
6) discs are not spun down when idle, and recorder gets very hot.
7) interface for mp3 and jpeg playback is horrible.

But judge for yourself; go try one out at the store. It does everything it claims to, but given the above problems, I just can't recommend it. If you are considering buying a DVD-recorder I would wait 6 months for the next generation of recorders to come out in this price range.

I just picked up the LVW-5001 on sale for $199 after mail-in rebate and can't say enough good things about this dvd recorder. Set-up was easy and the clear, crisp picture is incredible. It puts my other name-brand dvd player to shame! The "Guider" feature makes formatting & finalizing dvd's extremely easy. Another nice feature is the front a/v inputs, which makes connecting a vcr, camcorder, etc. to it much easier than other models that have the connections in back. And I agree with earlier reviews in praise of the updates available from the LiteOn website. All you have to do is download the updates from the website, burn to a cd, place the cd in the unit and it updates itself to correct for any bugs or to add system enhancements. This is a much more efficient way of making corrections or adding enhancements, and much more cost effective than shipping it off or bringing it to a service center. You can't go wrong with this unit if you're in the market for a dvd recorder!