Review 0001: Samsung Ultra Thin DVD Writer

Review of Samsung’s Ultra Thin DVD Writer

My passion has always been buying gadgets. It need not be the latest but there is some functional purpose as sometimes, the reviews I read are mostly from the guy’s perspective and not as a buyer of the product.

The product I have bought and tested today is the Samsung Ultra Thin Writer(SE-208). As indicated on the box, this Writer is Winner of the Red Dot Design 2015.

Some basic specs as follows:

• OS: Mac OS X (10.4.6.1), Microsoft Windows XP (SP 11) / Vista 7/8
• CPU: Pentium 4 (2.0 Ghz); Atom (1.6 Ghz)
• RAM: 2 Gb
• Interface: USB 2.0
• Supported Media Speed: Min (DVD RAM Write – 5x) Max (CD Rom Read – 24x)
• Max Writing Speed: DVD+R Write & DVD+RW Write (8x)
• Product Made in Philippines

Unboxing and Aesthetics

I was very attracted to the packaging as it tells me the Writer is indeed ultra slim. Indeed, the device is on 14mm thick and no longer than a standard ruler as the length does not exceed 15 cm.

The material of the DVD writer is in plastic but the holding it does not feel flimsy or too heavy at 208g. The colour came in my favourite red and black which contrasts very well, looking modern and not boring at all.

Installation

The setup and installation was seamless. It was plug and play as once I start up my Surface Pro 3 (running on Windows 10 OS), the device was immediately detected upon me logging in. I was offline so there was no online assistance required.

But in case of any issues, the setup CD was also provided but I do not think it will be necessary for most case

Using the device

I used the DVD Writer as a music CD reader to import the music into my iTunes.

Ejecting the drive was simple enough, there is an eject button next to the Samsung logo. It was useful that the button and indicator light is on top as the typical design is at the sides and you need to bend over to check if you pressed the button. Thus, this design allowed ease on the eye as the light blinker will tell you if the DVD writer is working.

The CD used had 11 tracks and imported at a speed of 256kps. The songs got transferred within 8 minutes, similar to the speed which my desktop CD writer does.

For writing of DVD, I will update this review again once it has been tried.

What I like

• Low cost (less than $30 SGD)
• Small size and slim built (about my palm size)
• Easy installation

What I dislike

• The eject button is a bit small
• Speed can be improved if it uses USB 3.0       

Next review: Wireless Doorbell without batteries