What's in the box?:
- Lite-On DX-4O1S BD-ROM Drive
- CyberLink Software CD
- Installation Guide
- USB 2.0 Cable
- AC Power Adapter
- Drive Stand
- Warranty Information
Physical Features:
The drive Lite-On sent us for this review was manufactured in April of 2008 and had firmware 2P53. This is the newest firmware currently available for the DX-4O1S.
From the front, the DX-4O1S looks nothing like its internal counterpart, the DH-4O1S. Lite-On's new external BD-ROM sports a more sophisticated look thanks in part to its glossy plastic and chrome highlights. The DX-4O1S also has its share of logos. Along with the large "Lite-On" and "Blu-ray Disc" logos, you can see a few showing support for the Compact Disc and DVD-ROM formats.
While it's hard to see, there is a small LED below the DX-4O1S's tray. Off by default, this LED lights up a bright blue when the drive is loading or reading a disc.
The DX-4O1S's enclosure is radically different from Lite-On's other external drives. Relatively compact for an external unit, it measures only 145.8mm x 180mm x 41.4mm and weighs in at 800g. Like the front bezel, the enclosure is made out of glossy black and white plastic. While this looks nice, finger prints and smudges have a tendency to stand out, especially on the black plastic.
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In case you missed the fact that DX-4O1S is capable of playing Blu-ray movies, there is an extra large Blu-ray Disc logo on top of the drive. On the bottom, the drive has four small rubber feet to keep it from sliding around when placed on a flat surface. The DX-4O1S can also be positioned vertically using the included drive stand.
The rear of Lite-On's new external drive has its share of connectors. Starting from the left, you can see its USB 2.0 connector, power connector and on/off switch.
Technical Specs:
The specs above have been taken from Lite-On's website and the documentation that came along with the drive.
| Lite-On DX-4O1S 4x BD-ROM | |
| BD Read Speeds | 4x Max (BD-ROM) 4x Max (BD-R) 4x Max (BD-R DL) 4x Max (BD-RE) |
| DVD Read Speeds | 12x Max (DVD-ROM Single Layer) 8x Max (DVD-ROM Dual Layer) 12x Max (DVD±R) 8x Max (DVD±RW) 8x Max (DVD±R DL) 12x Max (DVD-Video) |
| CD Read Speeds | 32x Max |
| DAE Speeds | 32x Max |
| Buffer Size | 8 MB |
| Access Times |
350 ms (BD) 160 ms (DVD) 150 ms (CD) |
| CD Formats | CD-DA CD-ROM CD-ROM/XA Photo CD Video CD Karaoke-CD Multi-Session CD-I FMV CD-Extra CD-Plus CD-R CD-RW |
| DVD Formats | DVD-ROM DVD-Video DVD+R/RW DVD-R/RW DVD+R DL DVD-R DL DVD-RAM |
| BD Formats | BD-ROM BD-R/RE BD-R/RE DL |
More Features:
Nero InfoTool can be used to query the drive to see what its reading and writing capabilities are. According to InfoTool, the DX-4O1S has a maximum CD read speed of 32x and an 8MB buffer.
InfoTool also shows that the DX-4O1S is an RPC-2 DVD drive. This means that the drive's region is stored in the firmware. The drive's region can be changed five times and after that it cannot be changed anymore. While there isn't an RPC-1 firmware available for the drive, the number of factory and user changes can be reset using LtnRPC .
While InfoTool gives us a quick glance at the DX-4O1S's features, DVDINFOpro provides a little more information on some of its capabilities. By looking at the screenshot above you can see that Lite-On's new external drive can read most DVD and BD formats.
Write Quality Testing:
Like the DH-4O1S, the DX-4O1S is capable of performing write quality testing with Blu-ray Disc media. When combined with CD Speed, the drive is able to report the Long Distance Code (LDC) and Burst Indicator Subcode (BIS). While it's still too early to know what "good" results should look like, c't magazine has stated that the average LDC should stay below 13 and the maximum BIS should not exceed 8. In my own testing, I've found that the LDC reported by CD Speed is considerably higher than 13.
I should also point out that the latest version of CD Speed still has some nagging issues when performing write quality tests on the DX-4O1S. In particular, the software would hang at the 99% mark when testing Blu-ray Discs.
Software:
The DX-4O1S comes with a CD containing CyberLink PowerDVD BD 7.3. Along with Blu-ray Discs, it can be used to play back CD's and DVD's as well as other multimedia formats including DivX.
Unfortunately, the version of PowerDVD bundled with the DX-4O1S only supports 2 speaker output. If you want to take advantage of movies encoded with Dolby Digital or DTS, you'll need to buy the retail version of PowerDVD.
When it comes to features, the Lite-On DX-4O1S has all of its bases covered. This good looking, external BD-ROM drive is capable of reading both single and dual layer Blu-ray Disc media at 4x and is backwards compatible with most CD and DVD formats. The DX-4O1S also sports an 8MB buffer and comes with CyberLink's popular PowerDVD software. With all this, it's easy to see why the Lite-On DX-4O1S gets a solid 9 out of 10 for its features.
