Product on Review: LiteOn iHES208 BD Combo
Manufacturer: LiteOn
Street Price: £98



Optical drives are often an overlooked purchase when it comes to upgrading the home computer – I’ve fallen foul of just selecting the cheapest available at the time. The market for ROM devices is typically ruled by a small band of manufacturers, LiteOn being a familiar name and could indeed be considered a market leader.

At VH this is an area that we have only recently begun delving into and our 2nd review today is occupied by another LiteOn drive. This time it’s the turn of the iHES208 – an internal drive with X8 Blu Ray functionality as well as offering a ‘combo’ DVD-RW and CD-RW. Whilst we appreciate that DVD media is still holding the crown of popularity, Blu Ray is slowly gathering attention. Part of the fact that DVD remains the default media choice is due to Blu Ray devices still costing a premium. Just like most new technological advancements, the cost to start with is always going to be high. SSD’s are a great example of that. But there is good news, Blu Ray devices are beginning to drop in price as the market embraces such technology which is great news for consumers.

So without further delay, let’s take a look at the Liteon offering.

LiteOn’s take on the iHES208

The iHES208 can record on the market’s most popular DVD and CD media, as well as playback from media including Blu-ray, DVD and CD. The drive reads Blu-ray discs at up to 8X and supports the following writing speeds: DVD±R at 16X, DVD±R DL and DVD+RW at 8X, DVD-RW at 6X and DVD-RAM at 12X. “The iHES208 is a great solution for those looking for the advanced technologies of Blu-ray in home entertainment,” said Christine Hsing, Marketing Manager at PLDS. “The drive will not only allow them to play high-definition content such as Blu-ray movies, it will also let them easily share data files, presentations, home videos and other image files on DVDs or CDs.”

Specifications

BD Family

Read
BD-ROM/R/RE SL 8X
BD-ROM/R/RE DL 4X
Access time
350ms

DVD Family

Write
DVD+R 16X
DVD-R 16X
DVD+R9 8X
DVD-R9 8X
DVD-RAM 12X

ReWrite
DVD+RW 8X
DVD-RW 6X
Read
16X

Access time
160ms

CD Family

Write
CD-R 48X

ReWrite
CD-RW 32X
Read
48X

Access time
150ms

PC Required
For High Definition BD Playback & Authoring: (Only Windows XP SP2)Pentium D 3.0GHz or faster CPU and 1GB or higher RAM are required.
Compatibility
Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4 / XP SP2 / Vista / Windows 7
General
Environment
Operating 5°C to 45°C; Relative Humidity: 10% to 80%
Non-Operating -40°C to 60°C; Relative Humidity: 5% to 95%
Dimension 146(W) x 41.3(H) x 178(D) mm
Weight < 0.8Kg
Voltage Requirements
+5V +/-5% ripple: 100mVpp
+12V +/-10% ripple: 200mVPP