Samsung SE-T084M External DVD Burner: Needs No HDD Buffering

Samsung has announced the latest in its TruDirect external DVD writer range, the SE-T084M.  Featuring 8X DVD+R and DVD-R writing, 6X DVD+R and -R Dual Layer writing, and 5X DVD-RAM writing, the drive can be used without needing to store files temporarily on a computer's hard-drive.

Weighing less than one pound, the SE-T084M is bus-powered and as such needs no seperate power supply.  Users simply plug the drive and their camcorder into a PC, hit 'play' on the camcorder and then click the TruDirect shortcut icon that pops up in the TruDirect program window before selecting 'record'.

Since there's no pre-mastering, multiplexing or hard-disk buffering involved, Samsung claim the whole process is faster.  They quote one hour and five minutes to burn a 1hr clip direct from a camcorder, or just 30mins from a 1hr-length 4.1GB clip stored on the HDD.  Of course, drives that connect directly to a camcorder - such as Hitachi's DZ-WR90 standalone Blu-ray burner - are perhaps one stage more convenient again, but at $149 the Samsung is likely the cheaper option.

The TruDirect SE-T084M will be shipping in July 2008.

Press Release:

Samsung Expands Its TruDirect[tm] Line with Slim, Portable DVD Writer For Easy and Fast DVD Title Creation

San Jose, CA – June 18, 2008 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a worldwide leader in digital consumer electronics and information technology, is expanding its TruDirect[tm] line of optical disc drives with the development of a slim, slot-in external model, the SE-T084M/RSWD. Samsung's revolutionary TruDirect technology allows consumers to create DVDs and burn digital content through a PC without the need for a hard drive. The time-saving TruDirect[tm] SE-T084M provides easy and fast real-time recording of DVDs.

"Samsung offers consumers best-of-breed technologies and the new TruDirect SE-T084M continues to lead the pack in ODD innovation. With its slim and light portable design, the TruDirect SE-T084M lets users easily create DVDs more quickly and conveniently than ever before," said Richard Aguilera, national sales manager, Samsung Storage Division.

Samsung's External TruDirect[tm] drive weighs less than one pound and even works without a power cord. To make a DVD movie with TruDirect[tm], users only need to connect a digital video camera to their PC, press 'PLAY' on the camera, click the TruDirect shortcut icon that pops up in the TruDirect™ program window, and then click the 'RECORD' icon. All you need is a PC and TruDirect™ to turn wherever you are into a true DVD creation studio.

Compared to using a hard disk drive, the TruDirect SE-T084M dramatically cuts down on the time it takes to create DVDs as no pre-mastering, multiplexing or hard-disk buffering is needed, enabling real-time, fast, and simple recording of personal videos, photos or data files onto DVD discs. Creating a DVD of a one-hour video stream generally takes one hour and five minutes and to create a DVD on the TruDirect SE-T084M from a one-hour hard disk drive camcorder file of approximately 4.1GBs just takes 30 minutes.

In addition to DVD creation, the TruDirect SE-T084M features some of the fastest speeds of an optical disc drive on the market today. It features 8X DVD+R and DVD-R writing, 6X DVD+R and -R Dual Layer writing, and 5X DVD-RAM writing.

The TruDirect SE-T084M will be shipping in July 2008 with a $149 MSRP.