Lite-On ESAU208 External Slim DVD Writer Review

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 at 10:14 am

For the most part, I am very pleased with The Lite-On ESAU208 External Slim DVD Writer. It is very lightweight, easy to install, and attractive while performing many important functions for me.

I did have some problems playing DVD movies (which was to be its main function for me). After contacting both the Lite-On and Nero customer service departments several times and receiving absolutely no replies, I did discover through a posting on a message board that I needed a DVD decoder and I could there was a free VLC player available which included the needed DVD decoder. After installing the free VLC player software, my DVDs played without any problems. Eventually I did hear from Nero and they stated that I needed to purchase the Nero 9 software since the provided software did not include decoders/encoders needed to play DVDs. Of course they did not mention anything about any free software being available.

Once I had the decoder software installed, I have found it to be a terrific addition to my home office, making it so much easier to load programs instead of having to "share" my PC's internal drive. But I did find that loading the software was not very intuitive and the program itself took a long time to install and did not alert you when the installation was complete.

I would recommend the Lite-On ESAU208 External Slim DVD Writer. It is a good value for the money and works very well after installing the software and downloading the DVD decoders. It is very portable, easy to use and is light weight. I feel that the advertising is a little misleading in regards to the DVD functions and not including the necessary decoder, but after the decoder was installed, I have no complaints for the unit itself.