ASUS's new portable Blu-ray Disc writer was very easy to install. Thanks to its USB 2.0 interface, the entire installation process took only a matter of minutes. With no jumpers to worry about, it was as simple as connecting the USB cable. Once connected to our test computer, it took a few seconds for plug and play to install the necessary drivers. After making sure that the drive was recognized correctly in the Device Manager, I was ready to start installing the software.
Software Installation:
As I mentioned earlier, the SBW-06C1S-U comes with a CD full of software from CyberLink. If you have autorun enabled on your computer, the menu pictured below will automatically come up when you insert the disc.
Clicking the button in the upper left will bring up another menu where you can read about the various applications included in the suite. Otherwise, you can start the setup process by clicking the "Install Now" button.
After selecting your preferred language and entering your customer information, you'll be presented with a number of installation options. From here, you can choose to install InstantBurn, Power2Go, PowerBackup or PowerDVD. Simply select the components you want and click next a few times. Once the files are copied over, you can start start watching movies and burn your own discs.
The Documentation:
As with ASUS's other optical drives, the SBW-06C1S-U doesn't offer much in the way of documentation. The closest thing to a manual is the drive's "Quick Installation Guide." This small, fold out guide is broken up into 33 different languages with everything but English getting less than half a page worth of instructions. As you can imagine, the instructions are very brief. Thankfully, ASUS has provided a few small diagrams showing how to hook the drive up to your computer and attach the included stand. If you're looking for things like the SBW-06C1S-U's specs or system requirements, you'll have to check the back of the box or visit ASUS's website. You won't find that information in the guide.
For ease of installation, the SBW-06C1S-U is hard to beat. Thanks to its bus-powered, USB 2.0 interface, it's as simple as plugging in a single cable. On the other hand, the documentation ASUS has provided is brief and doesn't have a lot of drive specific information. However, it should be enough to get the drive installed and working correctly. With this in mind, I give the installation an 8 out of a possible 10.
