Like many people, I never expected DVD writing speeds to reach 20x, let alone 22x. Nevertheless, LG has pulled off this impressive feat with the GH22LP20. Aimed squarely at enthusiasts, this new "Super-Multi" drive offers features like SecurDisc and LightScribe as well as some of the fastest DVD writing speeds available.
The GH22LP20 is the first drive from LG with the ability to write to both DVD-R and DVD+R media at 22x. At this speed, it took the drive about 4 and a half minutes to burn an entire 4.7GB DVD. This level of performance carried over to our rewriting tests where the GH22LP20 turned in some respectabletimes with DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM media. Writing to DVD±R DL media wasn't a problem for LG's new drive either. Thanks to its 16x writing speed, the GH22LP20took less than 11 minutes to burn 8GB of data.
When it came to media compatibility, the GH22LP20 gave us some mixed results. While the drive wrote tomost of our test media at its rated speed or better, only four types worked at 20x. On the other hand, the GH22LP20's writing quality was fairly good for the most part. However, there is still room for improvement, especially with Verbatim's 16x DVD-R and Traxdata's new 16x DVD+R DL media. Hopefully, LG can address this in a future firmware update.
LG's new "Super-Multi" drive also performed relatively well in our DVD read tests. While the GH22LP20's seek times were a little higher than I would have liked, it was able to read single layer DVD-ROM's and DVD±R media at 16x. The drive also read DVD±RW, DVD±R DL and DVD-RAM media at an impressive 12x, but slowed to only 6x when reading DVD-Videos.
Reading CD's wasn't a problem for the GH22LP20 either. In our tests, the drive read pressed and CD-R media at speeds as high as 48x and CD-RW discs at 40x. LG's new drive wasn't as fast in our DAE tests. However, it still ripped audio CD's at a respectable 40x. When it came to writing CD's, the GH22LP20 performed as expected. The drive had no problems holding its own when writing to CD-R media. However, itsZ-CLV writing method put it at a slight disadvantage in our rewriting tests.
When it comes to features, LG's new drive definitely delivers. To prevent buffer underruns, the GH22LP20 has a 2MB buffer that is backed up by Super Link buffer underrun protection. The drive also supports HP's LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling system and has the ability to set the book type of DVD+R and DVD+R DL media. Most notable though, is the GH22LP20's SecurDisc technology. This hardware and software-based solution not only protects your data against unauthorized access and copying, it ensures maximum reliability through a redundancy-based defect management system.
In the end, it usually comes down to price. For what it offers, LG's new "Super-Multi" drive is surprisingly affordable. Current prices vary depending on the seller, but the OEM, or bulk, version of the GH22LP20 can be picked up for less than $30 on Pricegrabber.
| LG GH22LP20 22x DVD±RW/RAM |
|
| Features: Installation: Performance: |
10 8 7 |
| Overall: | 8 |
Highs:
- Writes to DVD-R and DVD+R media at 22x
- Writes to DVD+RW media at 8x
- Writes to DVD-RW media at 6x
- Writes to DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media at 16x
- Reads single layer DVD-ROM's at 16x
- Reads DVD±R media at 16x
- Reads DVD±RW and DVD±R DL media at 12x
- Reads and writes DVD-RAM media at 12x
- Features 48x CD-R and 32x CD-RW writing speeds
- Features Super Link buffer underrun protection
- Supports LightScribe and SecurDisc technologies
- Good CD writing quality
- Includes software from Nero and CyberLink
- Supports bitsetting for DVD+R and DVD+R DL media
- Affordably priced
Lows:
- Questionable writing quality with some DVD±R and DVD+R DL media
- Had a hard time reaching its rated speeds when reading pressed discs
- Reads DVD-Videos at only 6x
- Cannot set the book type of DVD+RW media
- Cannot do write quality testing
- Overburns to only 93:54
