Conclusion

The LiteOn LVW-5045 is a very impressive device as far as its appearance is concerned. It undoubtedly stands out from other, usually black, stand-alone devices. We connected the LiteOn using all provided connections in order to test them. For audio, we recommend the digital outputs for advanced sound reproduction, DD5.1CH and DTS 5.1CH. The included remote control is ergonomic and easy to use. Owing to the simplicity of the menu, you can do almost anything you wish in a few, simple steps.

The LVW-5045 has a built- in tuner for TV signal reception. This is very good as a feature, although it seemed to us that it should be a lot easier to locate a channel, although the control interface is very helpful.

The great pro that makes these devices special is the recording capability with both DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW formats along with AudioCD, VCD and SVCD. There are several connections enabling recording from other sources. It is worth noting that except for the usual AV and Scart inputs, it is also equipped with a DV connection for digital recordings. Meeting our expectations, the device can also record from TV channel with the built-in tuner. The provided writing qualities are also a desirable feature as you can record up to 6 hours in SLP quality. However we recommend the highest quality- HQ and SP. Also, the builtin hard drive gives a much larger degree of freedom as to the amount of video we can record and keep in storage before we decide to commit it on DVD.

The writing quality is good with almost all the DVD media we used. Although there were some cases with increased PI/PO levels, CDSpeed didn't report any problems. The error correction of the LiteON LVW-5045 is rather good. It managed to read over 1.8mm defects, but off course this depends on the type of scratch. However, with the CD-Check Audio test disc, we have observed better behavior.

The LiteOn LVW-5045 is already on the market at various prices, ranging between €450-€550, which will certainly make it quite popular, considering the features it packs at that price. However, since the market for this kind of devices is growing rapidly, prices should be significantly lower in the not so distant future.

- Firmware upgradable
- Easy to setup/use.
- DV IN.
- Advanced features like timeshift recording
- Good error correction/writing quality.
- Supports DVD disc burning up to 8x
- Explanatory manual.
- Good price
- Reads DVD+R DL discs
- Hard drive can be used to store video, music, photos
- Can be made region free

The Bad

- No "transcoding" function to fit higher quality video on a DVD disc
- No S-Video output
- does not always achieve full writing speed when copying content from the hard drive to DVD discs (media list needs to be improved)

Design & Body
Reading
Writing
Media Compatibility
Ease of use
Features
Connectivity
Value for money