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It is a DVD drive. Pop out the 5 1/4 inch face plate in your case. Slide in the DVD writer. Hook up the IDE and power cables. All that's left is to screw the drive in. This would have been easier if Nu had provided screws. Good thing I have tons of case screws, which I imagine you do as well.</p> <p align="left"><strong>Included Software:</strong></p> <p> The first piece of software that you will notice after the installation of the MySonic CD, is the Sonic DLA add in. DLA stands for Drive Letter Access. This allows you to drag and drop files to your DVD writer for burning. While this is a handy feature, the software is very annoying. It is always checking for updates and popping up when a new disk is inserted.</p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/nu/sonicdata.gif"><img src="atruereview/nu/sonicdatath.gif" alt="Nu DDW-081 DVD Recorder" border="0" width="300" height="214"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> </p> <p>The next piece of software to discuss is Sonic Record now. This piece of software will create audio and data DVDs and CDs. The "web site" interface allows the user to choose which type of data to copy. You can even burn DVD and CD images to disk and back. If you want to use the advance feature, backup software, you will have to pay for the upgraded version of software.</p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/nu/sonicdata.gif"><img src="atruereview/nu/sonicaudioth.gif" alt="Nu DDW-081 DVD Recorder" border="0" width="300" height="214"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> </p> <p>The first thing I did with the Nu drive was burn an audio CD with the Record Now. It is a very basic piece of software. By going to the preference menu, there is an option for volume adjustment and background noise filtering. There are no EQ or other adjusting options. </p> <p>To burn an audio CD click the audio tab. Search for audio files on the hard disk or try the view method to find them. Only those files that are searched for can be viewed. The browse feature is buried in the find menu. I found that dragging and dropping files into the program was the easiest. Sonic Recorder will automatically covert MP3s and WMAs to CDA (CD Audio) files. If you want to use their MP3 ripper program, you will have to upgrade and pay for it.</p> <p>Two of the audio tracks did not burn. If you are going to burn a lot of audio CDs, get Nero.</p> <p>If you are into VCD or DVD video, you will want to take a look at the My Sonic MyDVD software. I do not do video editing or capture; therefore, I am not the best person to talk about this. To me, MyDVD looks simple to use. You can create menus, add slide shows, and movies. </p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/nu/sonicvcd.gif"><img src="atruereview/nu/sonicvcdth.gif" alt="Nu DDW-081 DVD Recorder" border="0" width="300" height="215"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> </p> <p>For testing, I created a menu. I double clicked on the menu to enter it. For a video file, I grabbed an .mpg off my drive. Pressed the burn button and burned a DVD. Then I took it to the living room and popped it in the DVD player. The DVD player played it perfectly and the menu worked. Simple enough for me. Those of you who do video editing and create your own movies already know of packages that would be better than this, but for the average user, I think this software will work for you.</p> <p align="left">The MySonic software included with the Nu DVD record is a basic starter package that will allow you to use the DVD writer without too many problems. If you are going to do a lot of burning, I would recommend buying different software packages. I am sure you already have your own favorites.</p> <p align="left"><strong>DVD X Copy:</strong></p> <p align="left">We made an audio CD and a Video DVD. What is next? Well, what about backing up DVDs? DVDs can get scratches on them, especially if you loan them out. It is always good to have a backup copy. Let's use DVD X Copy with the Nu DVD recorder to see how well it performs.</p> <p align="left"><strong>NOTE:</strong></p> <p align="left">I am only making a backup copy here. Whether you think it is wrong to copy movies or you are cheap and copy them because you don't want to pay for them, that is your issue. I am not going to express my views in this review. I am only testing the functionality of the DVD recorder with DVD X Copy, a common movie backup program.</p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/nu/4big.jpg"><img src="atruereview/nu/4.jpg" alt="Nu DDW-081 DVD Recorder" border="0" width="250" height="104"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> </p> <p align="left">I popped in the Princess Bride to start my backup. DVD X Copy recognizes the Nu DDW-081 DVD burner. Trying both the standard and express mode led to failure. Copying would get about half way through the writing stage and then fail. What a bummer. At this point the only thing I could think of was finding another driver or a firmware update. I went to <a href="http://www.nu-global.com/1_english/4_support/01_manuals.php?sID=2">Nu's web site</a> and download the B364 dual firmware upgrade. </p> <p align="left">The flashing software is very simple to use. It detects the drive and the current version of firmware. It actually recognized this drive as DDW-082. Once the flash was complete, I started the backup again with success this time. The copy finished and the movie played all the way through in my DVD player. Of course, movies copied by DVD X Copy are not as clear as those bought from the store. Don't get me wrong, they look great but you can tell a difference. The audio sounded great as well.</p> <table width="100%" border="0"> <tr> <td><a href="atruereview/nu/index.php"></a> <a href="nu/index.php">Previous (Introduction & Features)</a></td> <td><div align="right"><a href="atruereview/nu/dvdrom2.php"></a> <a href="nu/dvdrom2.php">Next (Testing & Conclusion)</a></div></td> </tr> </p> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <div id="footer" class="clr"> <div class="rk-1"> <div class="rk-2"> <div id="the-footer">  </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </body> </html>