Available by itself or as part of a retail kit, LG Electronics’ Super Multi Blue Rewriter GGW-H20L offers the greatest bang for the buck of any currently available Blu-ray Disc (BD) recorder. With a street price currently running around $275, not only is the GGW-H20L a comparatively economical choice, it’s a peppy feature-leader supporting a kitchen sink’s worth of optical formats as well as LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling.
Those who opt for the retail package (reviewed here) receive all the bits and pieces necessary to get up and running quickly. In addition to the recorder, it includes Serial ATA (SATA) data and power connector cables, mounting screws, CyberLink’s Hi-Def Suite (consisting of PowerDVD 7.3, PowerProducer 4, Power2GO 5, InstantBurn 5, PowerBackup 2, LabelPrint and BD Advisor) and a blank LG BD-RE rewritable disc.
On paper, the GGW-H20L’s specifications are impressive. A near universal solution, the unit deals with all manner of BDs, DVDs, CDs, and even throws in HD DVDs for good measure. Specifically, it records BD-R/RE (SL/DL), DVD±R (SL/DL), DVD±RW, DVD-RAM, CD-R, and CD-RW, as well as plays BD-ROM/R/RE (SL/DL), HD DVD-ROM (SL/DL), DVD±R (SL/DL), DVD±RW/RAM, and CD-ROM/R/RW.
Beyond dealing with now-defunct HD DVD, the unit’s most distinguishing feature is its ability to read and write single-layer BD-R discs at 6X speed. Disappointingly, however, while 6X recording may sound tantalizing, benchmark testing with Nero’s DiscSpeed 4 proves it to be more of a marketing gimmick than a meaningful leap forward in performance (see chart). In particular, burning begins at a modest 2.5X near the disc’s inner diameter and reaches 6X only by the time the laser hits its outer edge. This averages to roughly 4.4X over the entire length of the disc with full recording taking 21:39 (compared to 22:30 for 4x CLV operation using Verbatim, MBI and Falcon/TDK discs). Be aware that 8X units due out later this year are expected to drop single and dual-layer BD-R writing to below 15 and 30 minutes, respectively. For day-to-day activities, where completely full discs are seldom written, faster times and lower blank media prices can often be achieved by recording at 4X. On the whole, however, the GGW-H20L gets the job done in jig time, with solid BD, CD, and DVD operation, although DVD±R dual-layer is somewhat of a laggard.
Satisfyingly, the unit records at high speed blanks from a broad array of manufacturers. For example, full 6X speed was supported for two out of the three producers of 4X-rated BD-Rs I tested (Verbatim, TDK) and one of the four 2X brands (Verbatim). As well, 16X speed wasn’t a problem for fourteen out of the fourteen 16X-rated DVD-Rs and eight out of the nine DVD+Rs.
Capping off the GGW-H20L’s long list of features is its LightScribe capability. An alternative to hand writing labels with a marker, LightScribe uses the recorder’s writing laser to impart low-contrast monochrome text and graphics directly to the face of specially coated red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and gold-colored CD-R and single-layer DVD±R media (BD-R discs are not available). Using Verbatim and MBI discs in highest quality mode, it took the GGW-H20L roughly 21 minutes to produce full surface images (e.g., Film Reel) and 6.5 minutes for smaller circular title-sizes (e.g., Race Day).
Like it or not, getting the most out of any Blu-ray recorder means investing in a respectably powered PC. Realistic system requirements for playing commercial BD and HD DVD movie discs, as well as crafting high-definition video projects, means using at least a Pentium Core 2 Duo (1GB RAM) running Microsoft Vista or Windows XP SP2 with 60GB free hard drive space, a Serial ATA (SATA) connection, an ATI Radeon HD series or NVIDIA PureVideo HD-conforming graphics card, and an HDCP-compliant digital display (an analog VGA D-Sub will also work). Additionally, Internet access is a must to retrieve periodic compatibility, content protection and software updates. For this evaluation I used Vista Ultimate SP1 32-bit edition, 2GB RAM and an ATI Radeon HD 2400 Pro (Catalyst version 8.8).
As with most recorder bundles, the included software is really just a tease. Thus, be prepared to do some homework and consider purchasing a universal recording application, BD video authoring tools and BD movie playback software (for a list of what’s available see The Authoritative BD FAQ). For example, to view a few commercial movies, I gave Corel’s WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray version a spin. Currently, it supports HD DVD and BD BONUSVIEW content (a BD-Live update is scheduled for early 2009) and had no trouble playing titles in my collection including King Kong, Serenity, Royal Space Force, Freedom, Heroes, Ratatouille, Pirates of the Caribbean, and others.
On the whole, LG’s Super Multi Blue Rewriter GGW-H20L has a little something for everyone. It offers sound writing performance, broad media compatibility, LightScribe facility and provides BD, HD DVD and DVD video playback for those with mixed movie collections. Realistically, however, it’s expensive fare for all but die-hard enthusiasts and professionals but should prove to be a fine choice for those needing Blu-ray capabilities today.
Review originally appeared on EMediaLive, September 19, 2008.