In order to test the LVW-5055GDL+ for playback capabilities, we used several files encoded with most commonly used Video and Audio codecs. You can view more details about all the encoded files in this PDF.

In short, the device supports the following audio/video/picture extension filenames:

• Audio: WMA, MP3, WAV
• Video: .DVD+VR, VOB, MPG, DAT, AVI, DIV, DIVX
• Pictures: BMP, JPEG

The HDD/DVD recorder as a player, has two major disadvantages:

1. Most users will want to sort their contents into folders (e.g. /Mpeg, /DivX), but the LVW-5055GDL+ will transfer all playable files to the root, meaning the sort is lost. Imagine a DVD disc with many small Video files. You would waste many hours looking through a long list, trying to find your media file.
2. While a file is playing, there is no way to skip to the next file, since << and >> don't function. There is no way to create some kind of playlist. Moreover, after each file finishes, the device automatically switches to the TV tuner! So, if you need to play another file, you have to go through the whole procedure, pressing the "Contents" button, wait for the files to load, etc.

However, this only applies to Video files! When playing back audio, folders are present, next/previous buttons work! We hope that LiteOn will address this inconvenience with a future firmware release.

After finalizing a disc containing several video clips, you will be given a menu with thumbnails of each clip, from which you can select one to view

Looking at the contents of the finalized disc below, as you can see there are two folders, Video_RM and Video_TS:

With DVD Decrypter, you can split the files, using IFO mode:

The table below gives the resolution and quality for each recording mode

As the table shows, HQ quality produces the best visual results, with full DVD resolution and max 9.1mb/sec, whereas SLP offers VCD resolution. So it's up to you to decide if a title deserves the best, medium, or lowest quality.

Audio Tests

We used several audio formats from almost all current compressed/uncompressed music files:

The LVW-5055GDL+ will only recognize certain types of audio formats. Full Mp3 support is present, while WAV and WMA are supported too.