Home > Consumer Reviews > Lite-On AllWrite LVW-5005 DVD/CD Recorder

this was my first attempt at dvd recording. It took all of 25 minutes to set up and record.So far only used tdk +rw as no finalizing is needed. So far everything works as it is supposed to,and is super easy.I am by no means tech savy,if you a looking
for a cheap stand alone I would reccomend this model.The abiblity to record different media is a great plus! I have now burned over 55 hours of home movies,t.v. shows using +r, -r ,
and vcd.This machine is easy!I cannot believe how great it is,noise does not seem to be a problem for me, nor ,finalizing
the guider feature on the remote makes it simple. Only flaw would be the editing feature,but for the money and my needs this again is not a drawback.I have been running this almost non-stop for over a week and have not encountered any problems.
If you want to jump in the dvd recording market this is a great place to start!!So far it has played every and anything.All the finished dvds have played on my cheap Apex player with no problems and likewise on the lite-on. I have gone back to the manual numerous times I have found it easy to read and understand,the remote is simple and front panel buttons are helpful,all in all a great product.

I bought my LVW5005 during 2004 Thanksgiving Sale, just finished exploring its features since Late Dec. I am still amazed how easy it is to operate & set Timer to record my favorite TV shows.

I called the tech support line once, and was connected with a live support in 30 seconds. The support line is listed wrong, should be 1-888-854-8366 (8liteon) NOT (4liteone)

Being a risk taker, I used Memorex DVD+RW & No Brand DVD+R that were not on the recommanded list and they worked just fine. And I also use cheap CD-R/RW to record hour long TV show with no problem. Finalized DVDRs play perfectly!

However, a finished DVD+RW is NOT ALWAYS recognized by other DVD players. (DVD+RW need not be finalized) And the VCD is also not recognized other than the LVW5005.

This model supports both PAL & NTSC, but unfortunately, most PAL is Region 6 and is not supported by this Region 1 only player.

Currently, I have it hooked up to a VCR, a JVC DVD player and a home theater system.

Overall, I am very pleased with this DVD recorder,it does much more than I expected. I cant wait to transfer all my VHS to DVDs for more shelf space.

I can't believe it. I just bought it. I am generally astonished that this can even be sold legally. It didn't even last me a month. It worked okay until yesterday, and now it won't read discs, won't finish recording anything, and generally refuses to work. I just had a "video now" recorder, and it worked for about six months, and slowly stopped working. It was a gift, so I figured I had lost nothing, and I went ahead and purchased another dvd recorder. Bad idea. After reading hundreds of reviews and websites, I have discovered that it is best to purchase a panasonic dvd recorder if you expect it to last. Unfortunately I have already lost my money on this one, and have been left with a sour taste for dvd recorders.

I bought this about one year ago, and was initially very pleased with it. Unfortunatley it just started to deteriorate after a short time. Firstly the cover is not on there very well and always seemed ready to fall off, you need to be very careful with that! I have also had lots of problems with it accepting new disks, instead of preparing a disk for recording it takes 10 minutes to waste it by turning it into a "data disc". I guess maybe you need to use the ultra expensive disks for it, I have no proof on that though. Also it sometimes doesn't recognize a disc it finalized! Meanwhile another machine or any computer can read it. I would not buy this item knowing what I know now. I think Lite-on should take greater care in releasing products to people. A final thing was, it doesn't play CD's very well, it always inserts a loud click and sound gap in the sound every minute or so. It makes listening to CD's aggrevating, DVD playback was the best use of this product. But its a recorder, so dont get it for that!!

Before I gush I will list the few complaints I can come up with. These units run hot and have a cooling fan on the back which makes a faint high-pitched whining sound at about the same frequency as the noise TV tubes make (so if you can't hear them you won't hear this). I would also have liked to have Angle, Subtitle, & Zoom functions on the remote control but, as I hardly use them, I don't really miss them. Otherwise this unit is an absolute gem. The price is right as is the price of their discs - you simply buy whichever type is on special as they accept all formats. The inbuilt tuner, timer recording mode, choice of all DVD, VCD, & CD formats, camcorder interface, photo slideshow mode, coupled with the choice of recording lengths and the ease of use makes this unit a logical, far superior, and very affordable successor to the VCR as well as rendering redundant slide projectors, CD & MP3 players, and audio cassette recorders. Another advantage is LiteOn's regular firmware upgrades (which you download from their website, burn onto a CD and insert into the unit) which not only fix any bugs that may develop but also add new features & capabilities. This unit has also generated great interest on the internet with much advice and firmware tweaks available to adjust the unit to better suit your regional viewing habits. I have had no problems with my 5005 at all and I love it. It is far easier to use than any VCR but do remember to finalize your discs when using DVD-R, DVD+R, & CDR formats. I thoroughly recommend this unit to all. Buy it, check LiteOn's website and others for firmware updates/tweaks, and transfer all of you videocassettes over to DVD and don't look back.