NEC ND-4551A

Multi-format drive with labelling technology that's faster and more versatile than the HP Lightscribe

Choosing a DVD writer can be a confusing business thanks to the never-to-be-resolved format war.

And now you've also got other extras to consider such as the ability to use the laser to burn labels.

The brand new NEC ND-4551A solves all of these problems. It can write to all DVD formats, including DVD-Ram.

It's also the first drive to show off the new Labelflash technology.

Much like its Lightscribe rival from HP, Labelflash burns images direct to the surface of a compatible disc.

These are currently only manufactured by Fujifilm and a pack of five DVD-R discs on Dabs.com costs just over £5.

The main advantage over Lightscribe is that Labelflash can also burn a label to an unused area of the data side of any standard disc.

Opening the box reveals the drive and some sample media but sadly no cables or mounting screws.

Cables are unlikely to be a problem, especially if this is to replace an existing drive but the screws could be more of an inconvenience.

The software includes Nero Express 6 - this special version features design software for burning Labelflash images.

The drive was very quick, producing a finished single layer DVD in just six minutes, 15 seconds and a dual layer DVD in just over 27 minutes.

Another advantage of Labelflash over Lightscribe is that the image can be written in just seven minutes at the lowest resolution.

We didn't see much difference between the best and lowest quality, so this is a real saving.

However, when comparing the quality of Lightscribe images to those of Labelflash, the former has the edge. Labelflash simply isn't as vibrant.

At £35, this is an excellent value drive that covers all the bases. Although Labelflash can't match Lightscribe in terms of the vibrancy of the burnt image, it's faster and has the benefit of burning both sides of a disc.