Looking to build a new entertainment PC, or wanting to add some new life to your aging HTPC? Blu-Ray is just what the doctor ordered, and LiteON is looking to help you out, by adding the LiteON iHOS104 4x Blu-Ray Disc Reader to their lineup. This multi-disc reader, will play CD's, Upscale your DVD's, and display the 1080p goodness of Blu-Ray discs on your PC. How about all of that for well under a c-note? Click here to continue reading.
Introduction:
I am fairly new to the HD game. I acquired a 42" 1080p LCD television earlier this year. I immediately ordered the HD services from my provider, and gazed with approval at the screen. Very soon after I added a Upscaling DVD player, but found myself really wanting more. Blu-Ray was obviously the next logical step. With standalone Blu-Ray players still a bit out of my price range, I dug up the very meager HTPC I put together a while back. I figured if I can add Blu-Ray and DVD playback, along with assorted file based media and online media capabilities all in one package, I would be in pretty good shape when it came to getting the most out of my television. This is where the LiteON 4x Blu-ray reader enters the picture.
Features and Specifications:
The LiteON iHOS104 Features Blu-Ray movie playback and True Theater HD software. Along with playing Blu-Ray Discs in full 1080p, the True Theater HD Software will also upscale your standard definition DVD's to true HD. This isn't just for DVD's but also will upscale any 480p video file to full 1080p as well.
Drive Features:- SMART-X(*) function smartly adjusts CD-DA / VCD / DVD data extraction to a fastest allowable speed according to both data request rate from host and disk quality
- Support for DOS 6.xx, Windows XP/ 2003/ Vista and Linux Operating System
- Flash ROM support on line programming capability
- Serial ATA Revision 2.6, ATA-8, MMC-6 and SFF-8090 V7 compliant
- MPC level 3, PC2001 System Design Guide, MultiRead/UDF compliant
- Support Ultra DMA mode 5
- AACS compliant (incl. Rom mark)
Drive Specifications:
Interface: SATA
Media Support:- BD read compliant: BD data, BD video of 12 cm diameter
- CD read compliant: CD-DA,CD-ROM, CD-ROM/XA , Photo-CD, Multi-session Video-CD, CD-I FMV, CD Extra, CD Plus, CD-R , and CD-RW discs of 8 or 12 cm diameter
- DVD read compliant: DVD single/dual layer (PTP, OTP), DVD-R(4.7G), DVD-R multi-borders DVD-R Double Layer, DVD+R, DVD+R multi-sessions, DVD+R Double Layer, DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs
Data Transfer Rate (Maximum):- BD Media - 4x (BD-ROM/BD-R/BD-RE DL CAV reading)
- DVD Media - 8x (DVD-ROM/+R/+RW/+RDL/-R/-RW/-RWDL CAV reading)
- CD Media - 32x (CD-ROM/R/RW CAV reading)
Random Access Times:- BD family - 250ms
- DVD family - 160ms
- CD family - 150ms
Buffer Size: 2MB
Installation Angle: Horizontal or Vertical
Environmental Temperature:- Operating 5C - 50C
- Storage -20C - 60C
- Humidity Operating 8%-80%
Physical Dimensions: WxHxD 5.74x1.62x7.28 inches
Weight: 1.76lbs
System Requirements for HD Blu-Ray playback:
CPU: Intel Pentium D 3.0 or higher
Memory: 1GB RAM or higher
OS: Windows XP SP2 / Vista
Graphics: HDCP compliant graphics card with 256MB RAM
Support 1920x1200 Resolution, and 32-bit color
Recommended GPU: nVidia 7600GT or ATI 1600 or higher
Monitor: HCDP capable monitor or TV for digital output.
These are pretty standard specifications for an optical drive. One note I would like to add when it comes to the compatibility section. The box states that the drive is compatible with Windows XP and Vista, in my testing I used the Windows 7 RC. There were no issues with the drive or software under Windows 7.
Overview:
The LiteON 4X iHOS104 Blu-Ray drive arrived at my house in a pretty standard looking retail box. The packaging was nothing revolutionary, but adequate for protecting its contents. First let’s examine what comes in the box.
The LiteON model iHOS4 4X Blu-Ray drive with black faceplate fitted.
One Silver replacement faceplate.
One Sata Cable.
Four mounting screws
One instruction manual
One copy of PowerDVD BD Edition
Everything needed to install the drive into a pc that has a SATA capable motherboard and power supply is included. A nice touch is the additional silver faceplate, as many HTPC cases have a silver front.
Installation and Testing:
Installation is as basic as installing any optical drive. As for my testing platform, I chose to go as close to the minimum specs as I could. This came in the form of a Dell GX620, with a Intel Pentium 4 3.06Ghz CPU, 1 GB of RAM, and the on board Intel 82946G Express chipset. I loaded up the supplied Cyberlink PowerDVD 8 Blu-Ray edition software that was included in the packaging, and was immediately informed that the Intel 82945G chipset was not going to cut it. I looked around my various parts for a low profile PCI-Express video card I could use. I found an XFX 7300 but it too was not up to the specs needed for true HD playback. With no low profile options insight, I decided to Frankenstein a solution together. I did have a full height eVGA8600 GTS available (Special thanks goes out to member Trace) and an Antec 400 Watt power supply, since the Dell's power supply did not have the appropriate power connectors.
With all the requirements having been met, and PowerDVD loaded up with no complaints, I was ready to slip a freshly rented Blu-Ray movie into the drive. I must comment that I was impressed when I pressed the eject button on the drive. The tray was very smooth and fluid in its movement, and nearly silent. It gave me the impression of quality, that I have missed in some of the LiteON products I have previously owned.
Now for the real test, watching a Blu-Ray movie. With PowerDVD full screened on my 42" HDTV and 1080p playback in full swing, the picture quality was brilliant. There was absolutely no macro blocking during scenes with fast action, and the colors were vibrant. With the same setup I had tried watching a 1080p H.264 trailer that was plagued with frames dropping, but not the case with the Blu-Ray.The drive was very quiet. It truly was a step up from my providers HD quality I had grown a custom to. I did notice a slight stutter when the movie was first loading up, or when skipping multiple chapters, and lasted less than a second or two. I attribute this to the minimal specs of my test system.
Next up was testing the upscale feature of the drive. I loaded up a DVD and proceeded to watch. The LiteON iHOS104 did an excellent job upscaling the 480p DVD to 1080p. Dithering was smooth and almost unnoticeable. I would say it was slightly better than my standalone upscaling Phillips DVD player. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the full theater treatment when it came to the audio side of things. The version of PowerDVD included is only a 2 channel version. For the full surround treatment you will need to upgrade to a newer version of the software.
Conclusion:
The LiteON iHOS104 Blu-Ray drive is a wonderful addition for anyone that is looking to add Blu-Ray playback to either their current PC setup or HTPC setup without breaking the bank. It provided superb playback even on its meager PC requirements. It's near silent operation was very unobtrusive as well. The drive may not be able to burn media back to a disc, but this is not what everyone is looking for. With this drive you won't have to pay a premium for a feature you may not want or need. Currently the iHos4 will set you back just under 70 dollars from Newegg, which in my opinion is pretty good bang for the buck.
You can purchase the LiteON iHOS104 Blu-ray drive from Newegg.com or Amazon.com for under $70.
Editors Note: Newegg will have this drive marked down to $45 this coming Friday. It is a Doorbuster deal and will not last all day so make your purchase early.
Pros:- Price -- under 70 dollars
- Silent Operation
- Solid tray operation
- Superb playback with minimal specs required.
Cons:- Software included is only 2CH, but to be expected for the price.
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