Posted by <normanstrong on 02/27/06 15:28

As I promised last week, here is my review of the Ilo DVDR05 and the Lite-On
5115. This will be a review comparing these two low cost recorders.

The Ilo sells for 99$ at Wal-Mart and the Lite-On cost $120 at Costco. I
bought both of them.

The Ilo records on DVD+R/RW only; the Lite-On will record on both + and -
discs.

The Ilo has component, S-Video and composite inputs and outputs, along with
a DV camera input; the Lite-On has the same, except no S-Video.

The Ilo front panel display is excellent; the Lite-On's is totally
unacceptable as it's shipped. I had to pry off the bezel and substitute a
piece of circular polarized plastic before I could read the display at all.
The Ilo is a yellow 7-segment display, as is the Lite-On.

I use DVD+RW discs for both machines, but they have different ways of
formatting the blank disc. As a result, I've taken to erasing the disc
before programming it. When I owned only the Ilo, I reformatted the disc
after watching the contents.

Both recorders will record at HQ, SP, LP, EP, SLP speeds, the Ilo adds SEP,
for a full 8 hours of recording, and the Lite-On adds "Just Fit".

Both are easy to program, although I'm more skillful on the Ilo--at least so
far. It seems that both companies are doing their best to make their
respective instruments friendly. It's good enough for me, but my wife is
having trouble with both.

The picture quality is good on both. I feel that the Lite-On is slightly
sharper, but it may be my imagination.

The Lite-On has a fan, but so far it hasn't turned on.

Since I bought both recorders for time-shifting, I have yet to evaluate the
DV inputs.

Norm Strong

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