MaximumPC 2001 11

A

re you wondering whether it’s finally

time to spring for a Blu-ray burner?

Lite-On’s iHBS212 might provide the

best argument yet for taking the plunge.

That’s certainly the case if cost is a decid-

ing factor. At $160, the iHBS212 is the least

expensive Blu-ray burner we’ve tested yet.

That’s $40 less than our Best of the Best pick,

Plextor’s B940SA—a savings you could put

toward the purchase of Blu-ray media. And

the two drives have virtually identical write-

speed ratings: 12x BD-R, 16x DVD+/-R, 8x

DVD+/-R DL, to name a few key specs. In fact,

it’s likely the drives contain identical parts,

given that Lite-On and Plextor use the same

manufacturing line.

But even drives produced on the same

line can achieve differentiation by way

of firmware and performance tweaks, as

happens to be the case here. While Plex-

tor’s drive is tuned to reach 12x BD-R write

speeds with both Panasonic and Sony media,

the Lite-On iHBS212 favors only the lat-

ter brand. When testing the iHBS212 with

a Sony disc, the drive managed to write

22.5GB worth of data in 12:04 (min:sec).

With a Verbatim disc, our standard for drive

testing, the iHBS212 filled a single-layer

BD-R in 23:12. Those numbers aren’t as

impressive as Plextor’s 12x drive: 10:57 and

11:13 for Sony and Verbatim, respectively.

In standard DVD+R performance, the

two drives show less divergence. Both are

rated at 16x, with no

preference given to

any specific media.

The Lite-On iHBS212

filled a single-layer

disc in 5:36 compared

to the Plextor’s time of

6:01. Our double-layer

write test saw the Lite-

On drive hit a time of

19:19 compared to the

Plextor’s 15:29. Both

drives made strong

showings in DVD rip-

ping, taking just over 10 minutes to copy the

contents of a double-layer movie disc.

As is par for the course, the Lite-On

iHBS212 comes with a complement of

CyberLink BD software for movie playback

(including Blu-ray 3D), disc burning, and

data backup. It also supports LightScribe

disc-labeling.

While we appreciate the cost savings you

get with the iHBS212, we’re still inclined to

choose the Plextor B940SA for its superior BD

write performance. –KATHERINE STEVENSON

Lite-On iHBS212

Least expensive BD burner yet

The Lite-On iHBS212 is a great

second-choice drive if you

don’t have enough for its

Plextor B940SA stepsibling.

86 | MAXIMUMPC | JAN 2011 | http://www.maximumpc.com

IN THE LAB^

REVIEWS OF THE LATEST HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

Best scores are bolded. All tests were conducted using Nero DiscSpeed and Verbatim media. Our test bed is a

Windows XP SP3 machine using a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700, 2GB of Corsair DDR2/800 RAM on an EVGA 680 SLI motherboard, an EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS card, a Western Digital 500GB Caviar hard drive, and a PC

Power and Cooling Turbo Cool PSU.

BENCHMARKS

Lite-On Plextor Pioneer

iHBS112 B940SA BDR-2203

DVD Write Speed Average 11.77x 11.73x 11.64x

DVD Read Speed Average 12.07x 11.97x 11.93x

Access Time (Random/Full) 113/227ms 163/361ms 173/365ms

DVD Ripping 10:13 10:09 10:06

Time to burn 23:12 11:13 14:56

22.5GB to BD-R (min:sec)

Time to burn 45:02 43:00 45:35

22.5GB to BD-RE (min:sec)

VERDICT

$160, http://www.liteonit.com

9

Inexpensive 12x BD

writes; strong DVD

performance.

Inferior to Plextor

B940SA in BD-R write

speed.

STEP BROTHERS

LITE-ON IHBS212

BIG BROTHER