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The Lite-On LH-20A1L Review

You can read the review here

Please feel free to comment on the review in this thread.
You are also invited to post tests results of this drive here as well.

Brilliant review, Dee! Thank you very much for taking your time to do it.

If you'd like me to check over the review [check for typos], let me know.

As of right now, I only see a couple of typos [that I figured I would point out]:

Introduction page: "Our package was the bulk version and contained the Lite-On LH-2-A1L drive, fixing screws, software CD-ROM, and manual."

Conclusiong page: " Negative:

* Introduction Noise levels are high when the drive is running at high speed. "

Thanks Albert
Please feel free to point out any typo's.
I'll fix the ones you mentioned now.

Thank you Dee-27, nice review

A nice review, and useful as always. Looking forward to the next (is there a review of the NEC 7200 coming up ?)
But I missed the Advanced Tests: special features like sheep test, DAE performance etc.

Very good and extensive review Dee-27

I have an observation though regarding overspeeding media test results :

Why not also test at the maximum rated speed ? different batches of media can cause problems when overspeeding and that is the fault of the media , not the burner

@geerten
I have no knowledge of an ongoing 7200 review. So far, Optiarc hasn't sent any one in the review team one for review.
Regarding the advanced tests. We are in the process of restructuring our reviewing methods and testing procedures. The advance tests you mentioned, will be back in my reviews very soon. Along with a few more advanced tests.

@minaelromany
All my review media is kept separate from my own stuff. The same batches are used for all reviews. I know for a fact these discs are good.
Regarding (overspeed) We always burn the media for our reviews at the maximum allowed by the drive. If a manufacturer claims a disc can be burned faster than its rated speed. It should be able to do this.

My only question is what was the firmware level of the the drive at the time of the review? This information is always handy for any drive review because it allows one to check the manufacturer's website to see if they may have just put out a more current version that possibly addresses the detected shortcomings.

The firmware used in the review is BL05 as I seen from Nero Infotool screenshot (it's also stated the firmware under that screenshot)

Thanks. Don't know how I missed that infotools screenshot.

That's really strange. When I go to the Liteon firmware download page and click on the download button, the file name is 20A1LBL02.zip (dated 1/2/08).

Regional download sites are not updated as frequently as the Global one.

See here for all the latest links: No-Frills Links to Official LiteOn ODD Firmwares.

superhero

Thanks. Funny that the BL05 update date is the same as the file I found on the Lite-on's regional download link (1/2/08). Oh well.

Excellent way to determine burners quality apart from batch inconsistency

Another observation : jitter levels ! Why don't you use nero cd/dvd speed for scanning which also has jitter testing ?

Soon i hope. As i said above, review testing methods are being discussed. So providing some other testing issues can be agreed soon. CD-Speed scans along with jitter tests should be around soon.

I´m disappointed about the MCC004-scan

Did u only use 1 MCC004 or more for testing?

No, i burned 2 discs. The first one was the better of the two, but not by much and that is the one i used in the review. Same applies to other media which didn't get as good a result as expected. Although sometimes the second burn was better, again, not by much.

Thx, Dee

Didn´t use Liteon a learning OPC?

I was eagerly awaiting a review of this model here @ CDFreaks.com.
Thanks and for this review!

Useful indeed, I am currently in the market for a LiteOn LH-20xAy drive and this SATA LightScribe could very well be the drive of choice for my "soon" next to be system...

I am really surprised that the DVD+RW 8x Verbatim result were that good.
In the test by c't (german mag) this DVD+RW got really bad results.
Same drive, same firmware, discs tested by Audiodev....

Aside from that result, they stated:
This drive is the best Liteon has published yet! A really good overall performer.

Is this drive worth purchasing as a replacement for an older IDE liteon writer?

It's a pretty good drive if your system supports SATA CD/DVD drives. The PATA equivalent ends with an "H" but the newest models have a different naming scheme, e.g. iHAS322 for the SATA 22x model.