Digital Trends

Plextor PlexWriter PX-708UF

October 21st, 2003 | by Ian Bell

Introduction

Plextor's PlexWriter PX-708UF uses the same identical drive as the internal PlexWriter PX-708A, except it is in an external portable case with support for both USB 2.0 and FireWire interfaces. And if the design of the PX-708UF looks familiar to you, that's because it uses the same identical case as the PX-504UF, Plextor's older 4X external DVD writer. But the similarities to the PX-504UF stop there, as the 708UF features a blazing fast 8X DVD+R writing speed compared to the 504UF's 4X speed. The PX-708UF has a street price of $299.68.

While the PX-708UF is noticeably faster then its PX-504UF counterpart, the problems we encountered in our 504UF review unit still remain. This includes an incredibly loud internal fan, the mysterious audio outputs and no USB or FireWire daisy chaining capabilities.

Features and Design

The PlexWriter PX-708UF features the following writing speeds: 8X DVD+R, 4X DVD+RW, 4X DVD-R, 2X DVD-RW, 12X DVD-ROM, 40X CD-R, 24X CD-RW, and 40X CD-ROM. Everything about the PX-708UF has been improved over the 504UF with regards to the speed of the drive itself. Included with the PlexWriter PX-708UF is Roxio's Easy CD Creator 6 DVD Edition (the 504UF comes with Easy CD and DVD Creator 5),Photosuite 5SE, Dantz Retrospect backup software, Roxio's Toast 5 Lite for Mac OS 9.1 or higher, and Plextor's very own Plextools. Plextor also made sure to include both USB and FireWire cables, CD-R and DVD-R recordable media and a very detailed instruction manual. If you have a laptop, you will have to purchase a FireWire cable with the smaller adapter on it as Plextor does not include this cable with their drive.

The PlexWriter PX-708UF drive itself features a 2MB internal buffer with Plextor's very own PowerRec technology to provide a stable burn at high speeds. The front of the PlexWriter PX-708UF features a headphone jack and volume control. Located on the back of the PlexWriter PX-708UF is where you will find both FireWire and USB plugs, a toggle switch and RCA audio outputs so you can play back music to your soundcard or an external amplifier. The PlexWriter PX-708UF records DVD's using the DVD+/-RW format so if you are upgrading from an older DVD writer, you will most likely have no troubles with incompatibility issues since it supports both formats.

The PlexWriter PX-708UF is relatively pleasant to look at and features an elliptical faceplate covered in a thick clear plastic with curved sides, which gives a sophisticated look to it. The drive can be mounted horizontally using the included stand and helps to give the PlexWriter PX-708UF a more aesthetic look. We were hoping that the labeling near the rear of the drive would be more stylish with this version; instead it looks like the output labels were written with a Sharpie pen.

The PX-708UF compared to Pioneers DVR-S606