Like many, the performance of first generation LightScribe drives left me wanting more. To implement this new technology, most drive manufacturers had to make some sacrifices in regards to performance. LG's new external "Super-Multi" drive is a step in the right direction. Along with support for LightScribe, the GSA-2166D offers good looks and some of the fastest DVD writing speeds available. While this would normally be a winning combination, things like writing quality kept it from getting top marks in our review.
Unlike previous LightScribe drives, the GSA-2166D can write to both DVD+R and DVD-R media at 16x. At this speed, it took the drive less than 6 minutes to write an entire 4.7GB DVD. The GSA-2166D also performed pretty well with DVD-RAM media. However, its Z-CLV writing method put it at a disadvantage when writing to DVD+RW and DVD-RW discs. On top of that, it would not erase or packet write at anything faster than 4x. The GSA-2166D was able to redeem itself somewhat in our double layer DVD+R recording tests. Thanks to its 8x writing speed, the drive took less than 18 minutes to burn 8GB of data.
When it came to media compatibility and writing quality, the GSA-2166D gave us some mixed results. It wrote to most of our test media at its rated speeds. However, unlike some of LG's previous "Super-Multi" drives, it was not able to write to any 8x DVD±R discs at 16x. Also keep in mind that if you want to write to DVD+R DL media at 8x, you will need to buy media rated at this speed. Writing quality was also an issue with the GSA-2166D as we saw high PI/PIF rates and even some PO Failures with a number of discs. Hopefully, LG can address this in a future firmware update.
LG's new "Super-Multi" drive also performed pretty well in our DVD read tests. The drive was able to read single layer, data DVD-ROM's at 16x and had some fairly good seek times. Reading recordable media wasn't a problem for the GSA-2166D either. In our tests, it read DVD±R discs at 16x and both DVD±RW and DVD±R DL media at 8x. Unfortunately, the drive also read DVD-Video's at only 8x. While this doesn't have any effect on movie playback, there are faster drives out there if you want to backup your movie collection.
The GSA-2166D was also fairly quick when reading CD's. In our tests, the drive read pressed and CD-R media at speeds as high as 48x and CD-RW discs at 31x. On top of that, it was able to rip audio CD's at an impressive 47x. The GSA-2166D also performed pretty well when writing to CD-R media. LG's new drive not only turned in some impressive times, its writing quality was quite good. Unfortunately, due to its Z-CLV writing method, the GSA-2166D did not do as well as some of the other drives in our rewriting tests.
Like LG's previous "Super-Multi" drives, the GSA-2166D isn't short on features. Along with support for all major CD and DVD formats, it has a 2MB buffer that is backed up by Super Link buffer underrun protection. The drive also has a good number of writing and rewriting speeds to choose from and has the ability to set the book type of DVD+R and DVD+R DL media. Of course, the GSA-2166D's biggest feature is its LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling system. While not exactly a speedy process, LightScribe is a great alternative to markers and stick on labels.
While the GSA-2166D has its rough spots, it has a lot of potential. If LG can improve the writing quality, it could be one of the better external 16x DVD writers out there. The GSA-2166D should start shipping shortly after you read this and is expected to run about $130 at places like Best Buy.
| LG GSA-2166D USB 2.0 16x Super-Multi |
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| Features: Installation: Performance: |
10 9 6 |
| Overall: | 8 |
Highs:
- Writes to DVD±R media at 16x
- Writes to DVD+RW media at 8x
- Writes to DVD-RW media at 6x
- Writes to DVD+R DL media at 8x
- Writes to DVD-R DL media at 4x
- Reads single layer DVD-ROM's at 16x
- Reads DVD±R media at 16x
- Reads DVD±RW and DVD±R DL media at 8x
- Reads and writes DVD-RAM media at 5x
- Features 48x CD-R and 32x CD-RW writing speeds
- Excellent DAE speeds
- Features Super Link buffer underrun protection
- Good CD writing quality
- Includes software from Nero and CyberLink
- Supports bitsetting for DVD+R and DVD+R DL media
- Easy to install thanks to USB 2.0 interface
- Nice looking design
Lows:
- Questionable writing quality with some DVD±R and DVD+R DL media
- Cannot write to 8x DVD±R media at 16x
- Had a hard time reaching its rated speed when reading pressed CD's
- Packet writes DVD±RW media at only 4x
- Erases DVD-RW media at only 4x
- Reads DVD-Videos at only 8x
- Cannot set the book type of DVD+RW media
- Has a 2048KB buffer
- Overburns to only 93:56
