By: whinsch (24-Jun-08)      Experience with product: 3 Months

Strengths:	Reads/Writes most formats, looks good
Weaknesses:	Cost

Full User Summary
Got this to go with new HTPC I built. Have HD/BluRay disks, equipment already, so even though HD is gone, it's still very useful to me. Drive works fine with everything you use most, in terms of formats. You can't go wrong. Be prepared however for canges in the BluRay movie format which seems to keep evolving - using firmware updates which aren't a problem. I wanted a reasonable multiformat BluRay writer for use with my camcorder and this is just what I needed. It works well in this capacity. The major drawback is that is is a bit pricey, as are writable BD media (which will come down in price soon). Highly recommend this drive.

By: shopper21 (12-Jun-08)      Experience with product: 2 Months

Strengths:	PRICE, VERSATILITY, SPEED, EASY INSTALLATION
Weaknesses:	NONE SO FAR

Full User Summary
I was waiting for blu ray writers to come down in price and this definitley fit my budget. I picked it up for less than $300. I didnt need the ability to read & write HD discs but i'm sure thats a nice feature for those of you who have some HD discs or blank media. Overall I am very pleased so far with this drive.

By: H Paul (30-May-08)      Experience with product: 3 Months

Strengths:	Very attractive front panel and solid/firm tray performance. Excellent value with bonus features such as HD-DVD reading capability.
Weaknesses:	Thin plastic film, not apparently for removal, reduces appeal of front panel. Also, bundled PowerDVD software is crippled for two-channel audio playback only, with limited (and pricey) upgradeability.

Full User Summary
This is a great choice for maximum versatility when you want to get into Blu-Ray. Currently there are hardly any Blu-Ray players on the market that are compatible with the Profile 2.0 specification for the Blu-Ray format, and at that there are constantly evolving problems of compatibility with movie releases. Getting a Blu-Ray drive rather than a standalone player is a very sensible choice, as long as you can connect your computer to your HDTV. Using PowerDVD, you can get Profile 2.0 compatibility and the ease of easy software updates as they happen. So, having settled on a Blu-Ray drive instead of a standalone player, you then have to decide on whether to add burning capability. Simply put, the format war is over, and eventually you will want the ability to burn Blu-Ray discs just as you have the ability now to burn DVDs. Why wait? The price point of this product is so close to a read-only drive, and so far below a standalone player anyway, that you can justify getting a Blu-Ray burner today. Add to that the bonus of having HD-DVD compatibility, and you can get clearanced HD-DVDs with the same video quality as Blu-Ray releases. No other drive on the market combines Blu-Ray writing capability with HD-DVD reading capability. This purchase was a no-brainer for me, and after several months of steady use, it has not failed me at all. Highly recommended.

By: AXT (15-Apr-08)      Experience with product: 21 Days

Strengths:	Excellent product,Nice design, fast speed of recording and reading.Read Blu-ray and HD-DVD.
Weaknesses:	Not yet

Full User Summary
It's very clear to watch on TV (LCD Toshiba 32 inch) but it's 720p not super clear that I expected.That's OK. The drive is fast and reads every disk I've put in it. Burns standard CDs and DVDs too. I'm very pleased. The LG warranty is 1 limited parts and labor.

By: rambocat888 (14-Apr-08)      Experience with product: 30 Days

Strengths:	This will play all of your standard and high def dvds. Also burns regular dvds and blu ray.
Weaknesses:	This doesn't burn HD DVD format. included PowerDVD software doesn't output DD or DTS 5.1 -- you need to get PowerDVD Ultra retail or downloaded

Full User Summary
This is a great drive if you're looking to build a HTPC and have both bluray and HDDVD disks that you want to play. Even though bluray won the war, hddvd movies are still available and are really cheap so you can load up on HDDVD movies now and still have the flexibility to playback bluray disks in the future. This is a SATA drive so make sure you've got the right type of connections on your motherboard