The HP DVD 300e burns DVD+Rs in half the time of the older model and comes with 2-in-1 connectivity, but the features come at a price.
HP's latest DVD burner is a speedy mobile authoring kit that will go down well with multimedia mavens and AV enthusiasts with very deep pockets. The key feature of the new machine is its 4x DVD+R speed, which is twice as fast when compared with the 2.4x speed of the current model. And as far as we know, this is the fastest DVD+R drive around.
Like the 200e model, the 300e also features USB 2.0 and IEEE1394 (or FireWire) interfaces, giving users a wider range of connectivity options. And the 300e's comprehensive software bundle should make this DVD+R drive an appealing proposition for video editing enthusiasts.
HP Australia hasn't confirmed exact release details for the DVD 300e, but it's expected to ship before the middle of the year. A representative of HP in Asia told CNET Asia that it would retail for around S$999, so Australians shouldn't expect to see much change out of AU$1,000 for the unit, although no solid pricing details were available at the time of writing.
A major highlight of the new drive is the 4x feature when writing DVD+R, a speed bump that will no doubt please fans of the format. A 4x or a 5.4MBps transfer rate greatly reduces data copying times, but this is only possible with supported DVD+R media. The drive still masters DVD+RW at 2.4x.
According to HP, the 300e takes only 15 minutes to fill up an entire 4.7GB disc when burning at 4x. In addition to its DVD support, the 300e also tackles normal CD media: It's capable of writing at 16x (faster than the older 200i's max of 10x) onto CD-Rs and supports 10x rewriting onto CD-RW media.
The drive comes with 2MB cache buffer and supports buffer underrun technology to prevent media-destroying errors when burning discs. Packet writing support for floppy-like drag-and-dropping of files is standard but limited to 2.4x when writing to DVD+RW media.
HP has also upped the connectivity ante with the 300e by including both USB 2.0 and IEEE1394 (or FireWire) connectors with the 300e, a feature that's also supported by Yamaha's CRW-F1DX CD writer. Although USB 2.0 has seen an increasing adoption in newer computer peripherals like printers and CD writers, most consumer electronics and a number of notebooks still support the standard for file transfer--a dual interface should provide users with a more convenient option for swapping data between systems and devices.
Owners of previous HP DVD writers will be pleased to know that the company has decided to stick with their software bundle for the 300e: The comprehensive package includes ArcSoft's ShowBiz DVD authoring software, a backup application from Veritas (Simple Backup 4.84) and Cyberlink's popular Power DVD software for watching DVD movies on a PC.
The company also markets an internal model internationally, the 300i. That's priced at US$499 (AU$850). HP backs both products with a one-year warranty and online support, including free device firmware and driver updates from its Web site.
Company: Hewlett Packard
Price: TBA
Release Date: By mid-2003
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