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You should not be surprised to hear that Hewlett Packard has manufactured a LightScribe enabled DVD Writer. After all it was HP that developed the LightScribe technology that enabled user-defined labels to be burned on optical media in order to create professional-looking disks.

What however is surprising is the fact that HP has neglected to include any LightScribe media with the DVD Writer. In fact the only media supplied is a couple of software CDs. While normal blank optical media is readily available at an economic pricing level, the same can not be said at present of LightScribe media. I feel this is an opportunity missed by HP as it means that some users will be unable to immediately test the LightScribe feature.

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The drive in question is the HP dvd640i DVD Writer. Before adding the drive to your system, you need to install the software located on the main CD. Options are available to install various applications, more of which later, before a check is carried out on the host system. The checking process provides feedback details as to the appropriate settings for the drive’s jumper, IDE controller and data cable. This information can be printed out and used when fitting the drive to the system. A short video showing how to fit the drive is included for those who have not yet experienced this fairly basic operation.

Retaining screws are included in the box but you will need to provide the connecting data ribbon cable whether this is of the single or double-headed type. Straightforward instructions for fitting the drive are supplied. On restarting the system, an automatic test will be carried out to certify that the drive is connected correctly.

The drive, with its black fascia, has a 2MB data buffer. It can handle DVD-ROM, DVD+R Dual-Layer, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD-ROM, CD-R and CD-RW. Write speeds range from 40x down to 24x for CD media and 16x for DVD+R to 2.4 for DVD+R DL. While the drive is not going to win any awards for speed, you do get the benefit of LightScribe labelling.

However, even in this respect, speed of operation is hardly going to set the pulse racing. For a full disk graphics image you are looking at around 28 minutes per disk although this does reduce to approximately a couple of minutes if all you need is a basic text title. LightScribe technology is not currently designed for mass labelling but rather aimed at the user who wants to create individual professional-looking labels for a personal disk collection.

HP has bundled a number of tools for taking advantage of the drive’s burning and labelling capabilities. For a start you get a copy of ArcSoft’s ShowBiz software. This product can be used for video capturing and editing tasks; creating DVDs and various slideshows; plus add LightScribe labels. Also providing LightScribe labelling facilities are MicroVision SureThing SE Plus and Sonic RecordNow. With the latter product, you get the ability to create music and data disks. Completing the software bundle is a copy of Cyberlink PowerDVD for playing commercial and home produced DVDs.

As one of the first LightScribe enabled DVD Writers on the market, the dvd640i is worth considering especially if speed of operation is not your prime concern. The bundled software is impressive but swapping one of the titles for some blank media would have been preferable. Pricing should be in the region of £69 or less.

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