LG pleasantly surprised the attendants of the 2007 International CES trade show in Las Vegas last January with the introduction of the first combo drive that supports both the Blu-Ray and the HD DVD formats. The new GGW-H10N is a Super Multi Blue drive compatible with Blu-ray Disc, DVD, CD read/write and HD-DVD-ROM.
The GGW-H10N can record up to 50GB (on a dual layer 50GB BD-R/BD-RE recordable media) of data, equivalent to 4-1/2 hours of high-definition video or 22 hours of standard definition video. Surpassing the market standard, LG is providing a 4x recording speed for Blu-ray Discs, which means that it takes only 23-24 minutes to burn a full single layer BD-R disc (25GB), compared with 46-47 minutes with conventional 2x recording. Of course, the drive's support for reading of HD DVD-ROM (SL and DL) media is also among the main strengths of the device.
Specifications
| BD-R(SL) |
4xCLV |
| BD-R(DL)/BD-RE (SL/DL) |
2xCLV |
| DVD-R |
8xCLV |
| DVD-R(DL) |
4xCLV |
| DVD-RW |
6xCLV |
| DVD+R |
8xCLV |
| DVD+R(DL) |
4xCLV |
| DVD+RW |
8xCLV |
| CD-R |
16xCLV |
| CD-RW |
16xCLV |
| BD-ROM(SL) |
4x CAV. |
| BD-ROM(DL) |
3.2x CAV. |
| BD-R(SL) |
4 |
| BD-R(DL)/BD-RE(SL/DL) |
3.2 |
| HD DVD-ROM(SL) |
3x max. CAV |
| HD DVD-ROM(DL) |
2.4x max. CAV |
| DVD-R/RW/ROM(SL/DL) |
10x/8x/12x/8x max. CAV |
| DVD-R DL |
6x max. CAV |
| DVD-Video (CSS Compliant Disc) |
6x max (SL/DL). CASV |
| DVD+R/+RW |
10x/8x max. CAV |
| DVD+R DL |
6x max. CAV |
| CD-R/RW/ROM |
32x/24x/32x max. CAV |
| CD-DA (DAE) |
24x max. CAV |
Host interface: ATAPI / Serial ATA
External dimensions(WxHxD): 146x41.3x190 mm (W/O Bezel)
The front panel covered with the various logos, which reveal the drive's support for multiple formats.
Our model was manufactured in May of 2007.
Retail package contents
The LG BD-RE GGW H10N drive comes with a blank Blu-ray Disc LG BD Rewriter & HD DVD-ROM Drive Solution software package, including:
- Power2Go, Instant Burn (BD/DVD/CD Writing Software)
- Power Backup (Data Backup Software)
- Power Producer (Authoring Software)
- PowerDVD (Blu-Ray/HD DVD Movie Playback Software)
System Requirements (HD Playback)
HLDS suggests the following minimum PC requirements for playback of HD DVD or Blu-Ray movies on your PC.
- CPU: Intel Pentium D 3.2 GHz or equivalent (Recommended: Core 2 Duo E6300 or higher
- O/S: Windows XP (Home / Professional / Media Center Edition) with SP2, Windows Vista (x86, x64)
- RAM: 1 GB or more
- HDD: 30 GB or more of available space (60GB for Blu-ray Disc authoring) Blu-ray Disc / HD DVD movie playback
- Graphics cards: Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX or later model, AMD Radeon x1950Pro or later model, latest graphics drivers installed.
|
Graphic Card |
Driver |
Interface |
HDCP |
Analog |
3 |
VGA (D-SUB) |
Not required |
Digital |
DVI or HDMI |
Compliant |
|
Monitor |
Interface |
HDCP |
Resolution |
Analog |
VGA (D-SUB) |
Not required |
1024x768 or more (Recommended: 1920x1080) |
Digital |
DVI or HDMI |
Compliant |
Systems not meeting these minimum requirements may not be able to play or create Blu-ray discs and HD DVD playback discs. More information about movie playback is available in the following pages of this review.
The drive is based on the RENESAS R8J32701FPV Chipset, as seen in the pictures below. Note, that removing the drive's cover void's the warranty.
The core technologies of the Super Multi Blue Drive are Optical Pickup technology, which supports Blu-ray disc write/playback, HD DVD playback and DVD/CD write/playback, as well as the system controlling the Optical Pickup securely and effectively.
Installation:
The LG BD-RE drive was recognised by Windows XP as "LG HL-DT-ST BD-RE GGW-H10N 1.01".
Note, that the Region control features indicated by the Nero InfoTool utility above, refer to the DVD format and not Blu-Ray.
