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Review: Lite-On SOHR-5239V ADVERTISEMENT
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Reviews of plain CD-R/RW writers are hardly ever seen here at CD Freaks these days and so we are really happy to present you a review of even such a device. The Lite-On SOHR-5239V was kindly provided to us by Lite-On BV (NL) and features 52x CD-R, 32x CD-RW writing speed and reads CD-ROM media with up to 52x speed.
Company Information
Corporate Information
Lite-On IT Corporation is part of the Taiwanese Lite-On Group, which consists of nine consolidated companies. Lite-On Group is a world leading company in digital convergence (3C: Computer, Communications, and Consumer electronics) employing 35,000 people worldwide. Lite-On Group has 45 factories, 29 branch offices, and 4 R&D centers worldwide and generated total revenue of 6 Billion USD in 2004.
The roots of Lite-On IT lie in Taipei, Taiwan, where Lite-On Electronics Inc. was founded in 1975. Back then the core business consisted of production of clock-display LEDs. Because LED (Light Emitting Diode) formed the mainstay of Lite-On in the early years, the English word "Light" inspired the corporate name.
In the twenty years that followed, Lite-On gradually expanded its business throughout the Asian Pacific region to become a respected Taiwanese manufacturer with various established subsidiaries that form Lite-On Group today.
Company Profile
Lite-On IT started of as a business unit within Lite-On Technology Corporation in 1995. By that time the market for Optical Disc Drives (ODD) was growing very fast, and to be able to play a significant role in this, Lite-On Technology decided to establish a dedicated business unit to produce high quality CD-ROM drives. A large manufacturing facility was established in China to meet all demands and Lite-On soon became Taiwan’s biggest CD-ROM drive manufacturer, and number three worldwide.
Due to the growing success in the ODD market, Lite-On IT transformed from a relatively small business unit to an independent subsidiary of Lite-On Group, producing over 1 million drives per month. In 1999, the foundation of Lite-On IT Corporation as the youngest member of the Lite-On Group was a fact. Besides headquarters in Taipei, branch offices were established in the United States (California) and Europe (The Netherlands).
In the years to follow, Lite-On IT continued its growth in the ODD business, by setting extensive distribution networks in Europe and the United States. With the introduction of more ODD products, like CD-RW, DVD-ROM, COMBO and DVD-RW drives, Lite-On IT increased it’s production from 1 million drives per month in 1999, to no less then 5 million drives per month in 2005. With this unique achievement Lite-On IT became the world’s second biggest ODD manufacturer.
Historic Timeline Lite-On IT Corporation
1995 Founded as a business unit in Lite-On Technology Corporation
1997 Opening of production facility in China
1998 No. 1 CD-ROM Manufacturer in Taiwan & No.4 Worldwide
Opening of branch offices in USA and Europe
1999 Production capacity over 1 Million per Month
Spin-off from Lite-On Technology Corporation as
Lite-On IT Corporation
No. 3 CD-ROM Manufacturer Worldwide
2001 Lite-On IT becomes a public listed company
Production capacity over 2 Million per Month
2002 Production Capacity over 3 Million per Month
Slim type Combo starts production
Foundation of business unit “Digital Consumer"
2003 Production Base moves from SJP to GZP (Science Park)
Production capacity over 4 Million per Month
DVD-Rewriter starts production
Launch of first Lite-On DVD Recorder
2005 Production capacity over 5 Million pieces per Month
2006 Lite-On IT acquires BenQ's ODD Business
Lite-On IT becomes No. 2 ODD Manufacturer Worldwide
Management Philosophy
Vision
Lite-On leads the way in 3C convergence, bringing computers, communications, and consumer electronics together to expand the reach and value of technology, to foster new opportunities, and to ensure continued business success.
Our vision is maintained by the core values of our management philosophy:
Quality
High quality standards are the core of every activity and lead to customer loyalty and satisfaction.
Integrity
Integrity fosters trust. We place great value on creating technologies that incorporate the human touch.
Innovation
We honor the spirit of innovation while striving to be creative and responsive to customer needs. This in turn helps strengthen our competitive advantage in the global marketplace.
For more information about the core values of Lite-On Group, please refer to the corporate website: http://www.Lite-On.com/
Drive Specifications
Now let us take a look at the detailed specifications of the Lite-On SOHR-5239V
- The shortest physical drive length design, 170 mm only.
- Innovated SMART-BURN technology to automatically check media quality and set limit to burning speed to ensure successful writing sessions & data retainability.
- Buffer UnderRun Error free & automatically adjust writing strategy plus running OPC to meet various burning condition.
- SMART-X supporting high speed DAE & VCD extraction for copying.
- VASR to reduce vibration & noise during recording & reading.
- Support Fixed Packet, Variable Packet, TAO, SAO, DAO, Raw Mode Burning & Over-Burn.
- Support formats of CD Family, CD-R & CD-RW discs ( up to 99min ).
- Belt Tray Loading Mechanism.
- Conforms to Orange Book Part 2,Volum 2, 3, Part 3 Volume 1, 2, and 3 : High Speed & MMC2 commands.
- Mt.Rainier Ready.
- Plug & Play Device with Emergency Manual Eject function.
What’s inside the box?
Here we will have a quick look at what the drive came shipped with
Lite-On sent us the dive without any package, so we can just have a look at the drive itself.
Front-view (bezel)
Top
On the sticker at the top of the drive we can find some security information, serial number, drive name and that the drive has been manufactured back in November 2005.
Bottom
Sides
On the back of the drive there are from the left: undocumented pins, digital Audio connector; analogue audio connector; pins and jumper to set the drive to cable select, slave or master; IDE connector and finally the power connector.
Now, let us install the drive and check out the features on the next page…
