LG GSA-5169D Super Multi review

Cut-price online shops may be itching to flog you DVD movies to replace your VHS collection for under a tenner a throw, but if you're intent on ditching the VCR, there may still be a stumbling block - your treasured collection of home videos.

Transferring them to DVD using your PC needn't be a painful business.

In January, we looked at the Philips DVDR16STK, a DVD writer and video capture bundle that was simplicity itself to use - in every respect but one. Because it was an internal drive, you had to open up your PC and use a screwdriver to install it. Why, we asked, hadn't we seen an external device that could do the same job? Well, it seems LG heard us - because that's just what the GSA-5169D is.

The only thing that marks this slightly bulky silver drive out from any other external DVD writer is a handful of connections at the rear. There's an S-Video in port and a phono socket for composite video, plus the accompanying stereo audio sockets. No cable is supplied to hook up your video recorder, but you can pick one up for around £10 from an electrical shop.

The drive's OneTouch capture software works a treat. Its Expert mode allows a bit of finesse, with tools to edit out the bits you don't want and for splitting video files to fit various sizes of disc from CD to DVD. Basic filters are available to remove speckly noise from old recordings. The other mode, Easy Wizard, automates the process, enabling you to transfer VHS to DVD with a few mouse clicks. Recording starts when you press play on the video recorder. Once you've captured the clips you're after, you press the software's Record button to burn it to disc.

At £86, the 5169D costs only a few pounds more than standard external DVD writers with comparable specs, so whether you're timid about tinkering inside your machine, or you simply want to add a DVD writer to an old laptop and fancy throwing in the option of video capture, it's a quick and cost-effective upgrade.

Author: James Nixon