LVW-5005 DVD Recorder (Progressive Scan) - Security Camera User Rating

Manufacturer: Lite-on
Model: LVW5005
Average User Rating: Number of User Reviews: 33

Reviewed by: mick5 from MA on Feb 14, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 2 Weeks

Strengths: I have recorded with great results on 2 different "no-name" blank dvd-r discs,a house brand at computer store , and Velocity,both .50ea !. Very easy-to-use,discs play in other units,GREAT RECORDER.

Weaknesses: Would have preferred a "finalize " button right on the unit, but the menu option gives you a chance to change your mind. A record speed button would also be great.Not a big deal,though.

Summary: (Edited February 22nd by mick5) I researched DVD recorders for 2 years,and settled on this INCREDIBLE UNIT !!. The About.com user reviews , the price ( $159.00sale at BIG _ ),and the multi-record format beat out the big name brands. It seems only one reviewer had a bad one " out-of-the-box ", so I put it through the paces within the first two weeks. I also checked the date of manufacture on the box, and got the most recent ( within four months ), I assumed it would have the latest updates configured in. I purposely purchased from a big box retailer, because it gives you 90 days,and in fact their regular price is $ 179, at least $ 10 cheaper than everywhere else !!. The two blanks and the rewriteable that comes with it all work fine, and play in my LG (Zenith) player. I am testing discs on my friends units ( 3 different brands ) this week. I purchased 2 pack DVD-R 's for testing before buying any quantity. The weaknesses I listed are minor ( more inconvenences) , compared to all the great features. Also, suprised that you can "pause" the recording process,didn't expect to be able to do this, my cd recorder doesn't have this option.This unit may go down as a " CLASSIC" (like the Pioneer rt 707) someday.!!! ????HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !!!

Reviewed by: edfishel from MD on Jan 15, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 30 Days

Strengths: Very simple controls; good quality pictures; ability to record both DVD-plus and DVD-minus.

Weaknesses: None

Summary: We liked the first recorder so much that we purchased a second to record the services at church. Having the ability to read/record both DVD formats is very important.

Reviewed by: dontolj from KY on Mar 27, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 45 Days

Strengths: very easy to use

Weaknesses: NA

Summary: made about 35 DVD's as I am Migrating my vhs collection to DVD...
so far the unit has performed with no "coasters" and great quality.

Reviewed by: jonathan7 from WA on Oct 31, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 5 Days

Strengths: Records to both DVD -R/-RW & +R/+RW, great GUI interface makes use a breeze, good documentation, easy to use remote, 1 year warranty on both parts and labor, and recording quality is great.

Weaknesses: While it does not have some of the extra features of more expensive models (Guide+, etc.), I have not found any other real weakness in this entry level price range model.

Summary: I have to admit, after reading some of the reviews of other entry level DVD Recorders (and the problems people encountered), I was not sure I was ready for the step up to a DVD Recorder. Then I saw the Liteon LVW5005 at one of the major Warehouse Clubs for a great price. It also featured All-Write technology, which means it would write to both of the major DVD Recordable media standards (+/-). Since the Warehouse Club had a good return policy, I decided to give it a try. I couldn't be happier with my decision.

I found unit setup to be easy, and user guide documentation good. This Liteon model has great screen display interfaces, making internal setup also a breeze. Most impressive is their "Easy Guider" GUI interface. Just hit "Easy Guider" on the remote, and a graphical interface leads you through whatever you want to do - playback, record, format, finalize, etc. In fact, I was able to record, edit titles, finalize, etc. even before thoroughly reading the manual, just by using the "Easy Guider" interface. This is one feature Liteon has done a great job with.

I have already made several recordings, from both TV and VHS media, without any problems. After finalizing the DVD media (be sure to finalize if you want to be able to playback on regular DVD players), I had no compatibility problems with my two DVD players (one of which is a few years old). I have finalized several disks so far without any problems or glitches. Even the ones I recorded at EP mode have great playback quality.

This unit can also record audio on CD-R/RW media. It can also do VCD/SVCD recordings. I have not used these features yet, so can not comment. But is is great this unit has those potentials. It has line in jacks on the front, as well as a DV-Link, behind a hidden panel. On the back it features s-video and composite inputs, as well as component, composite, and s-video outputs. It also has both coaxial and optical outputs for digital audio.

Again most impressive to me is the ease of use of this recorder, and it's logical interfaces for both setup (including channel setup), and use ("Easy Guider"). Again, it does't have some of the "other" extras of the higher priced machines - but for a DVD Recorder at a good price, for a first time user (that also being me), I couldn't be happier.

Reviewed by: tweb24 from IL on Aug 11, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 3 Weeks

Strengths: Records and plays all formats, records from Tivo

Weaknesses: A little noisy, on the slow side when powering up, can't fast forward unless you have remote

Summary: (Edited August 11th by tweb24) I purchased this DVD recorder so I could put all of my home movies onto DVD. I chose the Lite-On All-Write model because I was fearful of what would play on the majority of my DVD players I had already owned. The first time I recorded I used an Imation DVD-R, and it worked perfectly on 3 different brands of DVD players as well as my laptop and desktop computers. This is the format I will use for now. The system did come with a DVD+RW which I used to test various situations out.

If I didn't have Tivo I would probably use this more to record my favorite shows. Also, for you Tivo users, you are able to transfer a show to DVD. Just go through the menu saying you are going to transfer to a VHS tape but actually start your DVD recorder (of course you have to have it hooked up correctly).

I did go to the Lite-On website to find what brand of media they recommend. I had read reviews before I bought that stated people had all kinds of problems finding a brand that worked. I stuck with a couple of brands given from the list (there are many to choose from but not ones I could go out to a local store to buy). I have had success with Imation DVD-R ($1.50 each with a case) which I bought at a local office store as well as Ritek G04 DVD-R ($.50 each on a spindle) which I found online. Both brands have worked for me, so I have no plans of trying any other.

There is an easy guider button that guides you through the recording process. You do have to make sure you finalize your DVD-R before trying to view it on another DVD player, but it's no big deal. You have different recording modes to select from: 1 hour, 2 hrs., 4hrs., and 6 hrs. I have only used the 2 hour mode but have actually had it record up to 3 minutes over before it stopped.

The only real negative I have found about this unit is that you can't move forward or backward through a DVD unless you have the remote. There is an eject, play, play-slow motion, and stop on the front but no fast forward or rewind. That seems a little strange but not something that would stop me from buying this model.

I felt I got a great price 3 weeks ago, but you can get them even cheaper now. I did make sure I went to a website that offered me to return it for credit if I wasn't completely happy with it. There were several websites that only offered to replace it with an identical model which always makes me skeptical. You still get a 1 year warranty on parts and labor, but I'm not sure why some won't let you return it if you are not satisfied. Anyway, I was going to wait until Christmas time to actually buy one thinking I would get a great price then, but I love that I went ahead and purchased this model. Watching home movies on DVD is so much nicer than watching it on tape. I will be using my DVD recorder a lot!

Reviewed by: jopipramiscal from NJ on Dec 12, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 2 Weeks

Strengths: Recording capabilities in all formats. Easy to use controls and software. Recording and playback quality. Great value for the features.

Weaknesses: None in terms of quality. The only comment i have is that there are few controls on the unit itself in which you would really need the remote control and there is no DVI cable included.

Summary: I have shopped around really well before I ended up buying this model. I'll be honest, I am big fan of bigger electronic names out there like Sony, Panasonic and Toshiba in which almost all models in this level I already compared to this one, nothing comes close to the this Lite-on model particularly.

For the price, the value just gets better and better with the amount of features availbale. One particular excellent feature is the "write all" feature which makes you record on any DVR format which can save you lots of money in the long run.

I'm a gadget guy so I don't mind complicated controls, but this one has so much simplicity that it is so fool proof that even my mom can record TV shows through this recorder.

I am very much positive with the reliability of this product. Liteon is well-respected in DVD drive and recorder products such as the ones found in most PCs today. I personally have one installed in my PC and it has been 2 years now and it still runs like new.

This is the best DVD recorder in the market out there in its class, I assure you that.

Reviewed by: jpot328 from UT on Oct 26, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 7 Days

Strengths: *** "ALL-WRITE" Technology: write to DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-R/RW *** Good menus *** The recorded DVD-R disks work in my Honda Odyssey's factory dvd player

Weaknesses: The weaknesses are negligible: no FWD/REW buttons on box, as noisy as any recorder will be, no s-video cable included.

Summary: (Edited October 26th by jpot328) Some have said it has a slow startup, but compared to my first DVD-Recorder (Go-Video 6530), the LVW-5005 has a quicker startup and response to commands, and it's less noisy. The noise occurs only when it is spinning up to start recording or finalizing, I guarantee it will not bother you at all. You don't hear a thing while it is recording the program. I have Dish Network with the PVR. When I want to keep a show, I transfer it to a DVD. And I record cartoons/movies for my kids and transfer them to DVD and play them in our Honda Odyssey. In order to do that, you have to have a DVD-R recorder. The DVD+R recorders do not set the 'booktype' bit, at least most don't. The Go-Video did not, and neither does the Lite-On. Therefore, a DVD+R disk is not fully DVD-ROM compliant without this bit set, and they will not work in the Honda Odyssey.

Reviewed by: vkazarov from PA on Dec 30, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 2 Days

Strengths: Pretty reliable so far, burned couple of DVDs from VHS with no problems

Weaknesses: has Macrovision protection, but can be easily bypassed without firmware revisions

Summary: (Edited January 03rd by vkazarov) Recording DVD is pretty simple, insert blank DVD (+ or - R or RW), select source and hit Record. Recording time in SP mode is 2 hours 4 mins 9 secs, so you can squeeze a bit more than 2 hours. Macrovision can be bypassed by recording first couple of seconds from another non_macrovision protected source, like digital camera, then pausing, and then connecting VCR, and restarting recording. Read more about it on videohelp.com section for this recorder.

Reviewed by: tn5williams from TN on Nov 3, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 2 Months

Strengths: Easy to set up! Easy to program! Easy to record!

Weaknesses: You have to use the remote for some options not available on face front of device. (such as moving from one chapter to the next)

Summary: This is my first experience with a DVD recorder. I had no trouble setting it up. I had no trouble with recording. It was nearly $100 cheaper than any of the others I looked at such as the Sony or Panasonic. I have recorded VHS to DVD and I have recorded TV programs. I love the fact that you can use DVD-RW. I record and watch and erase. But, can choose to erase one or more programs and leave others. I love that!

Reviewed by: rick4rj from WI on Aug 14, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 2 Days

Strengths: dual formates +/-: TV Tuner; lighted display;front video/audio inputs; composite cables; 2x-16x fast forward/reverse

Weaknesses: S-Video and component cables not included; separate video connections needed for TV

Summary: Very easy to setup and use. Be sure to use separate video connections to TV besides cable. Be sure to check the approved list for blank disks. Check with customer service for updates.

Reviewed by: tarheelfan from NC on Dec 18, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 3 Weeks

Strengths: Recording in both -R & +R formats. Easy to setup and use. Great value compared to other comparably priced units.

Weaknesses: A little noisy. Would be nice if it came with a firewire cable.

Summary: (Edited December 18th by tarheelfan) I have been very pleased so far with this unit. I have made several recordings, from Digital 8, standard 8mm, TV and VHS media without any recording problems. I have yet to use a media that would not record on this unit. So far I have used Maxell (TYG01 media code), Maxell (MXLRG02 & MXLRG03 media code), TDK (TTG02 media code) & HP(PHILLIPS 041 media code) and they have all recorded without problems. All the above mentioned media play back without problems on my Hitachi, Toshiba and one of my Apex dvd players. The only compatibilty problem I have had is for some reason the taiyo yuden(maxell tyg01 media code) disks will not play back on an older Apex player I have. It is really strange because I can take the liteon lvw-5005 recorded disk and copy it on my PCs DVD burner using the same tyg01 type media and the copy will play on the player(????). This has not been much of a problem since the other media types work without problems. I did shop around quite a bit before I ended up buying this model and could not find any other unit in its price range that comes close to the Lite-on 5005.

Reviewed by: shister from CO on Dec 4, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 2 Days

Strengths: Easy to set up, easy to record. Lightweight, nice appearence, fits in well with other components. Playback is very easy, pictures on the screen tell it all.

Weaknesses: None that I know of.

Summary: Manual is easy to use and easy to understand. Hookup is very simple, especially if you are replacing a current DVD player. Remote is easy to use, requires a short training period. I record dieectly from a Directv DVR to retain lasting DVD recordings of music and shows. This makes editing a snap.

Reviewed by: doccinema from IN on Jan 9, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 28 Days

Strengths: A wonderful piece of equipment. I have used it to make DVD's from older VHS family tapes, copy tapes from Digital Camcorder and downloaded DVD from Final Cut Pro using firewire. All were great.

Weaknesses: Audio does not play while recording from firewire. Firewire is only input

Summary: Great equipment for the price. Product is very easy to use and Audio or Video is very easy to record. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a lower end DVD recorder non in a computer. Works well with all media.

Reviewed by: dys70 from GA on Jun 28, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 30 Days

Strengths: Does all it says and creates DVD and VCD and SVCD easy and with High Quality. 1 Year warranty. They say firmware upgrades will enhance future formats supported. Best Buy

Weaknesses: 1.Wish it came with at least one S-Video cable also... 2. Cannot select Playing DVDs to the RF-Out port. 3. One Problem found: You can only create 29 session on a single DVD that must be finalized.

Summary: (Edited July 31st by dys70) This will Definitely be a VCR replacement.
I will be transferring my old VHS and Hi8 videos to DVD so they will last longer.
Very Easy to use. (But I read the manual :-)
You can record and output to any device (variety of input and output ports).
The RF-In(TV/Cable) tuner only sends its player output to one of the output ports not the RF-Out(TV/Cable only directly passes the input cable signal) connection; So if your TV does not have Composite input, RCA video/audio input, or S-Video input then you better use a VCR or another device as a tuner for the older TV and connect it to one of the output ports on the LVW 5005 Recorder.
Wish I had the feature like my VCR where I would see the contents of the DVD playing or just tell it to pass thru the RF(Cable) signal since I have a old TV, then my VCR would not be needed.

Found a Bug in the Firmware that only lets you create 29 sessions on a DVD that needs to be finalize. (DVD+RW media does not need finalizing). You create session when you stop and start on the same DVD media. This is nice in that you can go Right to that point on the DVD using the Top Menu during playback, and it creates a Thumbnail picture on the top menu. Most people will not create 29 sessions on a single DVD. LiteOnIt tell me they do not know if they can fix it. Their support people are nice but weak on working on none user guide problems.

Reviewed by: 8052681619 from TN on Dec 18, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 9 Days

Strengths: All write technology. Light weight & sleek design. Easy set-up and operation. Great GUI for quick set-up & recording!

Weaknesses: No S-Video cable supplied. When recording from home VHS the unit saw it as "copy-protected".

Summary: The Lite-On LVW-5005 is a remarkable innovation in technology. As an "all write" technology there is no longer the worry of whether you HAVE to use just DVD-R/RW or DVD+R/Rw; this unit does it all.

The enclosed users guide has step by step setup instructions. Installation is a snap and in as few as 5 - 10 minutes you are ready to start recording.

You can choose to record your favorite television programs just as you would with your VCR and you can also convert those old VHS tapes to DVD. The only glitch that I found was from transfering a documentary that I recorded to VHS from TV. During the recording process about 3 different times (this being a 6 hour documentary) the LVW-5005 stopped recording suddenly and displayed a "copy-protected" message. Evidently it thought that my copy was protected with Macrovision. It wasn't a big deal though, I just stopped the VHS at the point of the interruption and began recording again. in the future this means that I may have to sit and watch any further transfers of VHS to DVD as they are recording.

The sleek GUI interface makes it easy for recording. It walks you through step-by-step and is as easy as 1 - 2 - 3. It does take about a minute for a blank DVD disk to be loaded and prepared for recording, this means that a last second decision to record a program for later viewing may not be an adequate amount of time. You will problably lose the 1st few seconds.

Al in all, I couldn't be happier with my purchase. It is the perfect replacement for a VCR, allowing you to program for recording while you are away and OTR works well if you already have a disk in the unit. I can honestly say that with the LVW-5005, I have purchased the last VCR I will ever own.

Reviewed by: blackbear9 from NJ on Dec 16, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 2 Weeks

Strengths: Easy for someone that just wants to put a DVD in and start recording.

Weaknesses: None so far.

Summary: I purchased this based on the Pricegrabber feedback. I wanted a recorder that I could transfer my home movies to as they were starting to lose their quality and became brittle. I have recorded two disks and they have played on 3 different DVD players in addition to the 3 computers in our home. The quality appears to look better on the TV but thats really what I wanted.

I am now experimenting with video editing software to create nicer menus and adding special effects.

Reviewed by: supafatboy from CA on Nov 8, 2004
Rating:

Experience:

Strengths: The recording quality was extremely impressive with very little quality loss on the video side, and no loss of quality on the end of sound.

Weaknesses: None so far. This DVD Rocks!

Summary: Everyone should definetly buy this! I bought mine for mere low $200.00. Works great and easy to use makes this fun for my whole family. I recommend this product to anyone.

Reviewed by: kjary from FL on Jul 9, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 2 Weeks

Strengths: ability to record to almost any media, speed, cost, one button recording or playback

Weaknesses: noisy, lack of connectibility

Summary: This dvd recorder is a very cost effective way to get into dvd recording. Its greatest feature is its ability to record to almost all media available as well as its easy to use navigation via an on screen display that only requires the use of one button to record or to play. The only drawback that I have encountered in this unit is the noise level on disk spinup. Also, its lack of rear panel connectibility as compared with more expensive units.

Reviewed by: duc_n_tran from CA on Nov 20, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 2 Months

Strengths: All Write technology, looks good

Weaknesses: 4/6 hour mode has lower resolution, so for 2 hours plus movie, must set it to 4 hour mode, would be nice to have a 3 hour mode with 2 hour resolution. Only 1 S Video input and 1 RCA input

Summary: Overall, this is a great product that takes most DVD types, easy menu navigation. I have other products from LiteOn, great features for great prices.

Reviewed by: rosenstein from FL on Dec 5, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 4 Days

Strengths: Nice price

Weaknesses: Doesn't work.

Summary: Doesn't work. Would not read a single store bought movie DVD, or any other media I tried. It was supposed to be Region 1 (says so on the back of the unit); all my movies are region 1. It indicated that it was the wrong region. I have owned more than half a dozen DVD players in the past, and this is the first one that right out of the box would not recognize any media, including numerous store bought region 1 movies.

Went to the Lite-on website for help. Forget it. Tried to download a firmware update to see if that would help. The instructions were completely wrong (2 different sets of directions for the same firmware update), then they provided a rar file which when extracted gave me an unusable file that could not be burned as an iso image.
Sending the unit back....

Reviewed by: rizhouse from CA on Mar 26, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 1 Months

Strengths: NA

Weaknesses: NA

Summary: Great service, great product, nothing more to say. The product arrived quickly, works better than I had anticipated. I've burned 50 DVD's and love this machine. Happy Easter

Reviewed by: sgsu from FL on Mar 23, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 2 Weeks

Strengths: I just bought it from a local warehouse club and it got very good price for the features provided.

Weaknesses: Manual for DV link (digital camcorder) should be improved for better instructions.

Summary: I have spent a year thinking about upgrading my computer to record the digital camcorder mini DV tapes onto DVD disks. However, the price is way above my budget to do it right and it is very time consuming. Now at a very limited cost, I can back up all my vacation tapes onto DVD's for future review and no troubles.

Reviewed by: thiru on Jan 3, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 2 Days

Strengths: Easy to use, supports multiformat

Weaknesses: Poor picture quality

Summary: Reason for buying this recorder - is to copy recordings from my VHS and Hi8 tapes to DVD and CDs (as backups - ie to have an exact copy of the originals) with much ease.

Producing the copy was easy.

I expected the qulaity of the DVDs to be the same as the originals. Unfortunately quality is very poor. If any one can prove that the qulity of the DVDs recorded is the same as the originals (indoor and outdoor video clips), I would withdraw my comments, appologise and go and buy it again.

Reviewed by: shortfinger from NV on Feb 2, 2005
Rating:

Experience:

Strengths: does record on all disc so far once set up easy to record at a touch of a button

Weaknesses: make sure your tv or the device you are going to run it thru has phono plugs connection. takes a little bit to set it up read the booklet. its not a vcr might want to buy one that has a harddrive

Summary: my very first dvd recorder bought it at a warehouse store because of price.
lucky i have phono plugs on my tv so i had no troubles connecting it.
if you use a dvd rw it takes a little bit for it to format the disc reason you might use a dvd rw if you record a lot of tv shows and want to erase them after watching it.
also after i recorded one cdr disc i went to play it and it would not said invalid disc not sure why it even recorded it then to have that happen. lucky for me had just record a hour show never got the machine to play that cdr
but have record four other cdr with no troubles
i`m very new at the dvd recorder stuff
you can set this machine up to record only a few hours at a time if you want to or up to 6 hours
you have to do that before you start. it is by default 2 hours
also when i first connected it i could not figure out way i was not getting anything from it no picture nonthing
then i figured it out it was using the AUX of the tv does not go to channel 3 like vcrs

i tried playing one of the recording on my computer but did not play not sure why yet might need to get a program to play it a recording for the dvd to computer
i do have a lot of pictures of family and stuff on the computer have made a cdr of them and they played on the
dvd recorder with no troubles it plays one picture after another

one thing i might do next time i buy a dvd rcorder is to buy one that has a harddrive on it so as to not have to put a dvd disc into the machine to record a movie would save on using disc

it is a nice dvd recorder once you learn the remote and have it all setup it works okey so far
i have not use the edit stuff yet or set it up to record a tv show when i`m not there yet either
but for the price so far so good

Reviewed by: justbeing0 from IL on Apr 18, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 2 Days

Strengths: I can't find any because the machine seems not to work at all.

Weaknesses: Can't set it up, so, can't use it all all. Have called customer service twice but haven't got a real solution yet.

Summary: I can use the remote control to turn on power and "open/close", but when I pressed "setup", nothing happened. I tried many times and always got that. The machine actually "played" the CDC I put in it (I can tell that by looking at the display on the machine--the numbers were changing), but I can't see the content. Nothing shows up on my TV.

First I was told to buy a modulater, so I did. I connected the modulator to the TV as shown on the manual, but when I press "setup" button (when the CDC recorder is powered), still, nothing happened--the light panel on the machine remained the same, having the words either "stop" or "no disc", depending if there's a disc in it; nother shows up on my TV screen no matter which channel.

The second time I called, I was told to download the newest version of the firmware. But when I went to their website, I found that first you are supposed to see something on the TV screen. But that's never happened to my machine.

I'be bought a lot of electronics online and always had good experience except this one. This machine is very frustrating.

Next 25
Jump to Page 1 2