What's in the box?:
- LG BP40NS20 Portable 6x Blu-ray Disc ReWriter
- Super Multi Blue Install Disc
- Quick Setup Guide
- USB Cable
- Warranty Information
Physical Features:
The drive Milleniata sent us for this review was manufactured in December of 2011 and had firmware ML01. This is the newest firmware currently available for the BP40NS20.
The BP40NS20 is one of the smallest Blu-ray Disc writers to come through the 'Labs.. Measuring 160 x 22 x 153 mm, it's not much larger than a couple of jewel cases stacked on top of one another. The BP40NS20 is also constructed out of silver plastic. It's hard to tell by looking at the pictures below, but the top of the drive has a glossy UV coating that is supposed to resist scratching.
On the bottom, the BP40NS20 has four small rubber feet to keep it from sliding around when placed on a flat surface. The plastic also has a rubberized coating which makes it a little easier to hang onto the drive.
The LED and eject button are located along the front of the BP40NS20. This LED lights up green when both reading and writing.
Along the rear, you can see the BP40NS20's USB 2.0 interface. This connector not only transfers data but provides power for the drive.
Technical Specs:
Most of the specs below have been taken from LG's website and the manual that came with the drive.
| LG BP40NS20 Portable 6x Blu-ray Disc ReWriter | |
| BD-R Write Speeds | 6x (CAV) 4x (P-CAV) 2x (CLV) |
| BD-R DL Write Speeds | 6x (CAV) 4x (P-CAV) 2x (CLV) |
| BD-R TL Write Speeds | 4x (Z-CLV) 2x (CLV) |
| BD-R LTH Write Speeds | 6x (CAV) 4x (P-CAV) 2x (CLV) |
| BD-RE Write Speeds | 2x (CLV) |
| DVD+R Write Speeds | 8x (CAV) 4x (P-CAV) 2.4x (CLV) |
| DVD+RW Write Speeds | 8x, 4x (Z-CLV) 3.3x, 2.4x (CLV) |
| DVD-R Write Speeds | 8x (CAV) 4x (P-CAV) 2x (CLV) |
| DVD-RW Write Speeds | 6x, 4x (Z-CLV) 2x, 1x (CLV) |
| DVD+R DL Write Speeds | 6x, 4x (Z-CLV) 2.4x (CLV) |
| DVD-R DL Write Speeds | 6x, 4x (Z-CLV) 2x (CLV) |
| DVD-RAM Write Speeds | 5x (P-CAV) 3x, 2x (Z-CLV) |
| M-DISC Write Speeds | 4x (P-CAV) 2.4x (CLV) |
| CD Write Speeds | 24x, 16x (Z-CLV) 10x (CLV) |
| CD Rewrite Speeds | 24x, 16x (Z-CLV) 10x, 4x (CLV) |
| BD Read Speeds | 6x Max (BD-ROM Single Layer) 6x Max (BD-ROM Dual Layer) 6x Max (BD-R) 6x Max (BD-R DL) 6x Max (BD-R TL) 6x Max (BD-R LTH) 6x Max (BD-RE) 6x Max (BD-RE DL) 2x Max (BD-RE TL) 4.8x Max (BDMV) |
| DVD Read Speeds | 8x Max (DVD-ROM) 8x Max (DVD±R) 8x Max (DVD±RW) 8x Max (DVD±R DL) 5x Max (DVD-RAM) 4x Max (DVD-Video) 8x Max (M-DISC) |
| CD Read Speed | 24x Max |
| DAE Speed | 24x Max |
| Buffer Size | 4MB |
| Access Times |
260 ms (BD-ROM) 270 ms (DVD-ROM) 240 ms (DVD-RAM) 260 ms (CD-ROM) |
| CD Formats | CD-DA CD-ROM CD-ROM XA CD-I FMV CD-Bridge CD-Extra CD-Plus Video CD Photo CD CD Text CD-R CD-RW |
| DVD Formats | DVD-ROM DVD-R/RW DVD+R/RW DVD+R DL DVD-R DL DVD-RAM DVD-Video |
| BD Formats | BD-ROM BD-R/RE BD-R/RE DL BD-R LTH BD-Video BD-MV |
More Features:
By looking at the picture below, you can see that LG's new Blu-ray Disc writer is identified as an "HL-DT-ST BD-RE BP40NS20."
Nero also shows that the BP40NS20 has a maximum CD writing speed of 24x and a 4096KB buffer. This buffer is also backed up by some form of buffer underrun protection. According to Nero, the BP40NS20 can write CD-Text and overburn. When testing the drive's capacity I found that the drive was able to overburn up to 95:10 with CompUSA's 99 minute CD-R media.
Using Alex Noe's Weak Sector Utility we were able to determine that the BP40NS20 is a "two sheep" burner. This means that LG's new drive is capable of backing up titles protected by SafeDisc 2, including version 2.51.
Here is a screen shot from Erik Deppe's Opti Drive Control. Among other things, this program queries the drive to see what its reading and writing capabilities are. Opti Drive Control had no problems detecting the BP40NS20's reading and writing speeds and supported disc types.
Opti Drive Control also shows that the BP40NS20 is an RPC-2 DVD drive. This means that the drive's region is stored in the firmware. The region can be changed five times and after that it cannot be changed anymore. Unfortunately, a patched RPC-1 firmware is not yet available for this drive.
While Opti Drive Control gives us a quick glance at the BP40NS20's features, DVDINFOpro provides a little more information on some of the drive's reading and writing capabilities. By looking at the screenshot above you can see that LG's new drive can read and write to most BD and DVD formats.
The BP40NS20 doesn't let you set the book type of single layer DVD+R or DVD+RW media. However, the drive automatically sets the book type for DVD+R DL discs to "DVD-ROM". This greatly reduces compatibility problems, especially with older DVD players.
