HPā€™s dvd1040e is an external 20x Super Multi DVD burner. Thus, it lets you quickly record to single- or double-layer DVDs, and to DVD-RAM. It lets you preserve (and edit) up to 8.5GB of video, photos, and multimedia on one double-layer disc, plus store, backup, transport, and share documents on DVDs and CDs. And this high-speed drive supplies you with the latest version (1.2) of HPā€™s cool LightScribe disc labelling technology. The only downside is that it doesnā€™t play Blu-ray movies. Plus, it fell off the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.

The dvd1040e is encased in a black plastic chassis that can hardly be called contemporary. Indeed, the drive looks like a bygone product of the 90s. Still, itā€™s fantastic value at Ā£49.61 ($59.99) and should serve you well. The dvd1040e records to all major formats (Ā±R/Ā±RW, DVD-RAM, CD-R/RW), and even does it respectably: double-layer DVDs at up to 8x, recordable DVDs at up to 20x, rewritable DVDs at up to 8x, and DVD-RAMs at up to 12x.

The biggest benefit of the drive is its LightScribe technology. HP’s invention lets you burn labels directly onto special discs. If youā€™re tired of figuring out how to neatly and efficiently label your CDs and DVDs, LightScribe has the answer: use the same laser that burned the data to make the label for the other side of the disc. LightScribe allows the dvd1040e to burn a silk-screen-like, high-contrast label on the topside of CD or DVD media with a LightScribe dye coating. After completing a data burn, you are prompted to flip the disc over so you can burn a label onto it. There are no consumables like ink or ink jet cartridges; the only consumable is the disc itself. The discs have a thin, laser-sensitive layer on the label side of the disc.

Labelling a LightScribe disc can be done before or after you burn your data, and you can even label a number of discs in successions - whether or not youā€™ve already recorded data on them. The important thing to remember is to always insert the LightScribe disc label side down when burning a LightScribe label. You can choose to create a label with text and graphics, and you can choose the area of the disc in which your label will be inscribed - from a simple band of text (ā€˜title onlyā€™) to a complete design that covers the entire disc (ā€˜full labelā€™). When you print your design to disc, you can choose from three quality modes: draft, normal or best. Best, of course, provides the highest contrast and darkest design areas so it looks better, but the burning process takes longer.

The drive comes bundled with Nero 7 Essentials OEM (available separately for an amazing Ā£2.99), a basic version of the retail Nero 7. Fully Vista compatible, it enables you to burn your discs quickly and easily and is primarily designed around disc burning, rather than media manipulation which you find in full burning suites. Nevertheless, you can edit video, organise photos, create slideshows, backup data, and create personalised labels. Thereā€™s also HP LightScribe labelling software provided, a USB 2.0 cable, power supply, and matching stand for using the drive in a vertical position. Sadly, HP doesnā€™t supply any blank media to get you on your merry burning way.

HPā€™s dvd1040e is a seriously plain looking burner. However, it reads and writes to just about anything and it comes with a good software bundle which includes the excellent Nero Recode video-encoding package. Unfortunately, its overall DVD burning performance is below par, making it one of the slowest external burners weā€™ve tested. On the plus side, itā€™s speedy as heck when writing CD-R discs. If youā€™re looking for bargain burner - say for an old laptop - or just dig LightScribe, the dvd1040e is a steal. [7]