Using Verbatim branded LightScribe CD-R media I dropped a JPEG image into the supplied labelling software and set it burning.
The results are, in my opinion at least, pretty damn impressive and you also don’t have to worry about sticky labels peeling off inside your CD player.īecause HP invented the LightScribe technology, it had an exclusive period where no other optical drive manufacturer was allowed to produce a drive, but I fully expect to see every DVD writer supporting LightScribe in the future, after all any extra functionality is good for the end user. The etching is done using the laser inside the drive and it means that even notebook users can create professional looking discs while they’re on the move.
Using special LightScribe media, the HP dvd640i can etch an image or text onto the top of a disc. Basically LightScribe is a method of printing labels onto optical discs without using either a printer or a label. It was something that definitely caught my attention – something that isn’t easy when you’ve been covering technology for as long as I have. I first saw LightScribe in action back in October 2004 when I attended an HP product showcase in Monte Carlo. In fact, despite it’s undoubtedly tardy behaviour it has one trick up it’s sleeve that no other DVD writer I’ve reviewed has exhibited – LightScribe functionality. In fact it’s been many months since I’ve seen test results as slow as those turned in by the HP dvd640i, but this drive isn’t about raw performance. First things first, this is a very slow DVD writer, at least it is by modern standards.