Final Thoughts
ASUS has put together a good drive in the BC-08B1ST. This review was not only fun to do but a learning experience for sure. In all of our tests the drive performed great and took no CPU usage to complete the tasks, we should expect this from ASUS, but they also have added many features to this drive that others just have not.
First is the TTHD (True Theater HD) which improved DVD playback. I was unsure about this technology at first but I did notice a difference so I decided to run the same DVD side by side on another system and there sure was a difference! It is great that this upscaling technology is available and works flawlessly!
Another thing that I did like about this drive that is not available on many drives is the ability to encrypt discs. This 128bit encryption is something that has been missing on many drives and ASUS knows how important data protection is to consumers so it is a nice addition.
Another thing ASUS had added to this drive is OTS (Optimal Tuning Strategy), which does a test burn before the actual burn. While this is a good feature that many people will like some people just like to create a disc real quick.
Right now many people are not burning Blu-ray discs because of the cost of discs and the drives. If you are looking for an in-between, being able to watch Blu-ray media and burn DVD’s the ASUS BC-08B1ST Combo drive is the perfect fit. Overall ThinkComputers gives the ASUS BC-08B1ST Blu-ray Combo Drive a 10 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Reads and play Blu-ray media without any issues
– True Theater HD DVD playback enhancement
– Disc encryption
– Complete software package included
Cons:
– None that I found
