Home > Consumer Reviews > Lite-On LVW-5045GDL Dual Format Multi-region Capable Multi Region capable DVD Recorder with 160GB Hard Drive and DIVX
Lite-On LVW-5045GDL Dual Format Multi-region Capable Multi Region capable DVD Recorder with 160GB Hard Drive and DIVX
Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
A year of good service
(5 out of 5) by Amazon Customer on Feb 20, 2006I bought this machine in January 2005 after having an LVW5005. The menus are a bit long-winded to use, especially when it comes to editing out the ads to fit a program onto a DVD but I haven't upgraded the firmware so there might be some improvements which I've missed. Otherwise this machine works very nicely. I have only had one or two failed recordings initially because I left the machine on (it has to be "off" to record). The 160Gig HD is ample even for a fortnight away at full resolution but I find SP to be perfectly adequate. It plays all the formats and the time shift function is invaluable, it allows you to pause a TV program whilst you make dinner and then continue watching it when ready. All in all I'm glad I bought it when I did.
115 of 119 people found the following review helpful:
New improved model in production
(5 out of 5) by Amazon Customer on Jan 5, 2006The manufacturers are aware of initial problems with this and a new production run is underway - It is an excellent buy for the money. I have been using the earlier GDL5026 model with an 80Gb hard drive and have had no problems at all using the latest firmware. One great advantage of these models is that you can update the firmware versions as they are released from the Liteon website. Just burn the upgrade file onto a CD and the update is recognised when you switch the recorder on with the CD in the drawer. There is also a well publicised region-free key sequence using the remote.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent
(5 out of 5) by Chodney Rotter on May 15, 2006 (Liverpool , UK)I got this unit as a birthday present and although this model had received nothing but good reviews (only 4 at the time), following the mixed reviews other Lite-On Players/Recorders had received here I was a little worried.
Lite-On DVD drives are highly thought of in the PC world though and that combined with Amazon's faultless returns policy convinced me to give this one a try.
I have not been disappointed.
It's a good price
It looks good
It's easy to setup
...and it's a doddle to use
The ample sized HDD makes for a disc-free environment, no need to scramble around looking for a blank disc when something you want to record comes on.
...and how did I manage before the time-shift feature ?
The multi-region feature needed to be unlocked as the unit was sent out set to R2, even this was easy to remedy.
...and as a matter of interest an UNFINALISED disc burnt from the units HDD played without any problems on my PS2 and if a disc will play on one of those....it will play just about anywhere......I've had discs my old record player recognised that the PS2 wouldn't !
In short, I have been extremely happy with this model and would highly recommend it.
Lite-On DVD drives are highly thought of in the PC world though and that combined with Amazon's faultless returns policy convinced me to give this one a try.
I have not been disappointed.
It's a good price
It looks good
It's easy to setup
...and it's a doddle to use
The ample sized HDD makes for a disc-free environment, no need to scramble around looking for a blank disc when something you want to record comes on.
...and how did I manage before the time-shift feature ?
The multi-region feature needed to be unlocked as the unit was sent out set to R2, even this was easy to remedy.
...and as a matter of interest an UNFINALISED disc burnt from the units HDD played without any problems on my PS2 and if a disc will play on one of those....it will play just about anywhere......I've had discs my old record player recognised that the PS2 wouldn't !
In short, I have been extremely happy with this model and would highly recommend it.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
Great Buy
(5 out of 5) by Amazon Customer on Apr 7, 2006Only had the device a week but I have tried it playing AVI files no problems. Playing copied disks no problems. Played disks my more expensive surround sound system will not play.
Recording to hard disk using SP quality is very good, you cannot tell it from live freeview TV. LP is still good possibly better than standard terrestrial tv quality, but certainly a lot better than old vhs.
Copied from my old camcorder straight to dvd the quality was really good with no visible loss which was the norm copying to vhs.
Setting up was easy though tedious. The auto tune takes a while but is really good. I only had to edit the position of one channel.
Instant record and time shift are fab facilities and basicly why I purchased the device. The timer is easy to set and much more obvious than my old JVC vhs recorder.
I was a little worried before purchase about noise but this device is very quiet and can only be heard when inserting a disk.
Recording to hard disk using SP quality is very good, you cannot tell it from live freeview TV. LP is still good possibly better than standard terrestrial tv quality, but certainly a lot better than old vhs.
Copied from my old camcorder straight to dvd the quality was really good with no visible loss which was the norm copying to vhs.
Setting up was easy though tedious. The auto tune takes a while but is really good. I only had to edit the position of one channel.
Instant record and time shift are fab facilities and basicly why I purchased the device. The timer is easy to set and much more obvious than my old JVC vhs recorder.
I was a little worried before purchase about noise but this device is very quiet and can only be heard when inserting a disk.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
A hidden gem!
(5 out of 5) by AnOldGoat on Jun 5, 2006 (UK)So, who's actually heard of Liteon? Thought not ;)
They've been making DVD drives for PCs for a while, and that's probably why these are pretty decent systems.
Probably this is also why you can upgrade these beasties too!
The manual takes a bit of reading, but you get used to it.
Watch DVDs, save recordings from HDD to DVD, record via Videoplus etc. Easy
What else you can do? Pause a programme (timeslip) and come back to it (within 3 hours). One-touch record something, and then start watching it whilst still recording it. Record from VCR/camcorder (need the right cables) and save these to DVD. Use dual-layered DVD format, so you get up to 8 hours recording.
Big tip - upgrade the firmware before you do anything else! Otherwise you have to redo a lot of what you start setting up.
They've been making DVD drives for PCs for a while, and that's probably why these are pretty decent systems.
Probably this is also why you can upgrade these beasties too!
The manual takes a bit of reading, but you get used to it.
Watch DVDs, save recordings from HDD to DVD, record via Videoplus etc. Easy
What else you can do? Pause a programme (timeslip) and come back to it (within 3 hours). One-touch record something, and then start watching it whilst still recording it. Record from VCR/camcorder (need the right cables) and save these to DVD. Use dual-layered DVD format, so you get up to 8 hours recording.
Big tip - upgrade the firmware before you do anything else! Otherwise you have to redo a lot of what you start setting up.