Mitsumi DW-7802TE review

Gallery

Verdict:

Review Date: 19 Aug 2003

Price when reviewed: (£149)

Reviewed By: Ben Hardwidge

Our Rating 6 stars out of 5

Review
Specs

Mitsumi has set a new precedent with the DW-7802TE.

At £126, it's the cheapest multi-format DVD burner we've seen by a long way. It also offers very similar specifications to most of the other drives on test, so it's difficult to see any reason not to buy it.

This is particularly true when you look at the performance figures. The DW-7802TE writes at almost identical speeds to both the TDK and Iomega drives in our tests, and was even the fastest when writing to DVD-RW discs. Somehow, though, Mitsumi has managed this with a drive that costs £18 less than the Iomega, and a whole £164 less than the TDK. So where's the catch?

The only possible reason not to buy the Mitsumi is a quirk of its installation. The DW-7802TE comes with Ahead Nero 5.5, but the version on the CD isn't recent enough to recognise the drive out of the box - you have to download the latest update from the Internet. Hopefully, this will be remedied in later, retail versions. The supplied Quick Start Guide isn't too helpful, either. All the areas of hardware installation are covered, but the software section simply tells you to insert the CD and 'load respective .exe file' - hardly ideal for non-technical users. The rest of the software is pretty good, though. The InterVideo bundle includes both WinDVD 4 and WinDVD Creator Plus, which covers both watching and making movie discs.

Downloading the latest Nero patch from www.ahead.de isn't exactly hard work, and if you think you're up to it then you'll get a fast and fully featured dual-format DVD burner for just £126. At this price it's impossible to argue with the Mitsumi DW-7802TE. It's a genuine bargain and a worthy Labs winner.

Prev Next

Get more reviews, tutorials and in-depth advice, every month with Computer Shopper.
Click here to try 3 issues for £1

< Previous Reviews : General Next >

Sponsored Links

Be the first to comment on this article

You need to Login or Register to comment.