Lite-On LVW-5045 Review – Standalone HDD+DVD Recorder

While the Easy Guider offers a handy way of setting up a recording timer, some users would prefer to have more control over the timer or to quickly set up a timer without running through screen after screen.  For example, it is not possible to modify or delete a timer through the Easy Guider. 

Setting up a manual timer

Like most VCRs, this Recorder has a Timer button on its remote.  When pressed, the following screen shows:

It is nice to see that up to 16 timers can be setup.  This makes it possible to set up several timers to record daily episodes of programmes.  With a VCR however, this could not be easily done unless the user ensured a blank / rewound tape was present each day and watched all the programmes before the next day, especially with multiple timers.

A timer can be set up by highlighting it and pressing ‘Enter’:

Each field accepts the following values or options:

When a filed is filled, the Recorder automatically moves to the next field in the series as shown in the above menu.  Once the recording quality mode is set up, the remaining free space is shown for both the HDD and loaded disc in the top right section.  The following screenshot shows a filled in example:

While most VCRs have an option to schedule a repetitive recording, these will keep on recording the scheduled time until the user removes the timer later on.  However, this Recorder gives the option to place a start and stop, such as if one wants to perform a daily recording for a particular period of time.  This option is within the ‘Advanced’ section:

If the above restriction is applied to the recording set up on the previous screen, it would limit the recording to from the 13^th of June to the 24^th of June.

The following Video clip shows an example of setting up the above timer (apart from the restriction):

Setting up a timer using Video Plus+

Setting up a timer using Video Plus+ is a fairly quick process since the channel, start & end time and date do not need to be entered.  The Video Plus+ entry screen can be brought up by pressing ‘ShowView’ or ‘Video Plus+’ depending on the Lite-On remote:

Even though Video Plus+ only covers the channel, time period and duration, the Recorder actually eliminates the options for the Weekly repeat option as well as the advanced options.  Then again, the hidden options can be brought up by selecting ‘Date/Time Setting’.

The following screen shows a filled in example using a Video Plus+ code from a TV guide:

Checking and activating the timers

Once one or more timers are set up, it is possible to view these by pressing the ‘Timer’ button.  The following screen shows an example of a few timers:

The following screen shot shows the remaining details after pressing the right arrow button:

If any timers have a problem such as if the wrong type of disc is loaded or if the timer has expired, the Recorder will show an exclamation beside the timer with a little info about the problem.

Finally to activate the timers, the Recorder must be put into standby mode.  Otherwise the following message will appear: