Hewlett Packard DVD 100i

Hewlett Packard is a recent recruit of the DVD+RW development group, but has wasted no time in bringing to market a drive using this standard. Its product, the DVD 100i, is an internal drive with an ATAPI interface that provides rewriteable functionality on DVD and CD-based media.

A comprehensive manual and quick installation guide are provided, as well as a video on the driver CDRom to further clarify installation.

Screws and cabling are included, as well as one DVD+RW and drivers for Windows 98, ME and 2000 (Windows XP has built-in support). The drive's grey bezel is unlikely to match non-HP PCs, but has more character than most, with a blue eject stud alongside the 35mm headphone socket and thumbwheel volume control.

The drive writes DVD+RW media at 2.4-speed (maximum 3.32Mbps), which is a step above the 2-speed write speed of DVD-R drives on branded media.

It reads DVD-Roms at 8-speed, while CDRom handling is equally impressive at a read of 32-speed. The CD-RW functions are slower, though.

The software bundle is comprehensive and helps to justify the difference in price between this and other DVD+RW drives. In addition to CyberLink's PowerDVD, utilities such as RecordNow, Simple Backup, MyDVD and Drive Letter Access allow the DVD 100i to be used for data and audio disc burning, system archival and packet writing.

For connection to your soundcard, both analogue and S/PDIF connectors are provided, but the box only contains an analogue cable. If you're concerned with DVD+RW's potential incompatibility with DVD-Rom drives and consumer players, a list of compatible products can be viewed at HP's website.

While the DVD 100i is a well-rounded product there are less pricey DVD+RW drives available that are faster at writing CD-RWs.

Price: (as reviewed ex. VAT) £424.68

Contact: Hewlett Packard 0990 474 747
www.hp.co.uk

See also:

Panasonic DVD Movie Studio

A complete solution for capturing, editing and DVD authoring at an attractive price.  18 Jun 2002

Developers announce next-generation DVD

New format will hold 27Gb of data, or 13 hours of TV.  10 Jun 2002

Philips DVDRW208K

Pricey, but this DVD+RW has everything you need.  05 Apr 2002

Philips DVDR-1000

Put that old VHS deck out to pasture.  21 Feb 2002

Hewlett Packard DVD100I

If packet writing performance is your thing, this drive is nothing short of staggering.  01 Feb 2002

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