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

The DVD recording capabilities work fine, setting the timer is simple and you get good quality DVD's. My only complaint is the tv tuner. When I first hooked up the cable all I got was snow on the tv tuner. I went into the setup menu and found I had to adjust each channel manually to get a decent television picture. Fine tuning each of the channels was time consuming and annoying. It's not my cable because my tv and 2 other vcr's get perfect reception by just hooking up the cable. The sound output from the unit is also higher than my other equipment requiring volume adjustment when switching between the tv and dvd recorder. Maybe I just got a mediocre unit. Price and other functions make it a good deal.

Yes, the price sounds like a steal, but upon living with this machine, I am sorry I bought it, even at the low price. I won't repeat some of the other criticisms already written about, but I did find some drawbacks which I couldn't live with. I have a LOT of irreplaceable DVDs made on my Pioneer DVD recorder, which I no longer have. The Lite-On 5005 will not play ANY of them, regardless of the make of the disks. Their tech support people were very nice, as mentioned elsewhere, but each time directed me to do different things, none of which worked. Second, the directions manual and terms used in it, are unique to Lite-On, and take a lot of figuring out, which was difficult. Third, when putting my satellite TV signal into this recorder, for some reason the recorder "saps" the color --- the colors are very pale, just this side of black and white. The recordings I made on the Lite-On were pale in color also. When I turn off the DVD recorder, the colors in the signal are bright and normal. Unless you don't care that much about the quality of your recordings, put your money toward a higher-end product.

LVW 5005 is easy to setup/use and has very good recording quality. I have been using it over a week primarily to backup my DV tapes to DVDs using the FireWire connection. So far I successfully transferred 10 tapes without much hassle. I have been using TDK DVD+R 4X. Note that there is a recommended list of writable DVDs for this product - you cannot use any cheap variety you find in the store. Once it corrupted a DVD+R after I tried to pause recording several times -- but largely I have been successful with pausing while recording to skip unwanted parts of my tapes. Also, I could play all the DVDs it wrote on my PC. However, there was one quirk - I had to change the name of the default title before I could play any DVD+RW on my PC.

I did my online research before buying it. You can download the manual and have a look at it. Also there are many reviews online and a separate online forum to discuss issues concerning 5005. You can also upgrade the firmware that controls the device easily.

Note that you cannot connect 5005 to a computer. If you edit a movie on a computer, you have to transfer it to a DV tape before burning a DVD with it. Also, the support for editing is minimal - you can change the name of the title.

Even after so many updates, the firmware of the device still seems to have some bugs. I updated the firmware to the latest version as soon as I got my unit. However, sometimes,it did not recognize my FireWire input if I connect the camcorder before I started the easy guider (the interface for recording). However, oddly enough, if I connect the cable half-way through the easy guider menu, it did fine. Therefore, sometimes, you should have some patience to try out different things. May be a later firmware version will fix those problems. Anyway, I am happy with it - it's worth the money.

I own one of these units and the advertising that this unit will record on just about any DVD is a bold faced lie. When I first received this unit, I had to buy three different brands of blank DVDs before I could find one that worked. Then, when I ran out of the ones I bought, I went out and bought more of the exact same brand, capacity, speed and format. They would not work in the machine.

I then contacted the manufacturers customer support and asked them what blanks I should purchase. From their suggestion of compatible blank DVDs I purchased three different brands and none worked. I talked to the customer service again to get further suggestions, bought two more different brands and they didn't work, either.

By the way, I still have one of the original disks that worked and I can still record on it but I am running out of space on it. None of the other blank DVDs I have purchased will work. I have over $200 worth of blank DVD discs that will not work in that machine that claims to have "AllWrite" technology.

If there were the capability to rate this item as ZERO stars, I would.

For the price, the features of this model are simply unsurpassed. Have used it frequently for nearly a year with no quality problems, and it does what other models that cost a lot more don't. It's also extremely easy to use - perfect for those who find electronics hard to deal with.

Postive Points:
1) Very easy to use with its Guider
2) Records CDs!!
3) Records both types of DVD media
4) Easily made region free and great PAL/NTSC conversion
5) Quick hook-up of camcorders thru IEEE-1394 with great results
6) Unmatched value for the price
7) Has progressive scan mode
8) Plays DVDs, CDS, SVCD, VCD, MP3s and jpg discs
9) Excellent picture on 1, 2, and 3 hour modes

Negative Points:
1) Tuner does not record in stereo - mono only!
2) Picture quality at 4 or 6 hr mode mediocre.
3) Takes a minute to prep blank media before use

Comments: This unit will record on both +/- media, but it shows a strong preference for +R/RW - a lot of gripes in other reviews stem from that. To record TV in stereo, you must use the line-in from a VCR - that sucks. And contrary to a previous review, it will record for a set time by pushing the record button several times, but the machine doesn't spin down or turn off after it stops recording. Like other brands, the 4-6 hour recording gives mediocre picture, but using a S-VHS cord helps alleviate this.
Overall, given the price it is well worth it. Got it at Costco and they don't sell junk. Would get another one if I needed another DVD Recorder.