The Bottom Line
- SureThing Lightscribe Software
- Below Average Recording Times
- High Price Tag
Description
- 16x DVD+R and DVD-R Recording Speeds
- 8x DVD+R and 4x DVD-R Dual Layer Recording Speeds
- 8x DVD+RW and 6x DVD-RW Recording Speeds
- 16x DVD-ROM Reading Speed
- 40x CD-R and 32x CD-RW Recording Speeds
- 40x CD-ROM Speeds
- 160ms CD and DVD Access Times
- 2MB Buffer and IDE Interface
- Nero Burning Suite, ArcSoft, PowerDVD and SureThing Software
- Lightscribe Media Support
Guide Review - HP dvd740i 16x DVD DL Burner
05/16/06 – HP was one of the key developers of the DVD+R format back when the DVD recording formats started. Now that both standards are supported on all DVD burners, HP has put their support behind the Lightscribe labeling feature for their latest generation of DVD burners. While the dvd740i isn't the latest drive, it is still their fastest overall drive.
The HP dvd740i shows its preference for the DVD+R format standard by supporting all the fastest speeds: 16x for recordable and 8x for dual layer and rewritable. On the other hand, it only supports slower 4x DVD-R dual layer and 6x DVD-RW speeds. CD-R speeds are supported at the lower 40x for recordable and 32x for rewritable.
During testing, the HP drive consistently scored with some of the slowest recording speeds. One of the most shocking tests had the dvd740i only writing at the 2.4x speed on 8x certified DVD+R DL media. This seems extremely unusual for a company that pioneered the format. CD-R speeds were also lower than average.
HP makes up for this somewhat with a very strong software package included with the drive. The Nero Burning suite takes care of many of the recording needs while PowerDVD allows DVD movie playback. In addition, it comes with SureThing, a program to help burn labels into Lightscribe media. But all of this comes at a price that puts it above many higher performance burners.
