Customer Reviews
can't get it to work 
2008-07-24
I don't know what I am doing wrong but I cannot figure out how to get video from my computer to the dvd drive. So far this is useless. I wouldn't consider myself "technical" or a computer wiz, but I did manage to install my own wireless router, so you would think I could burn a DVD. I am either missing some software, completely ignorant or this is not a user friendly product.
Works with PC and Mac -- No Problems 
2008-06-19
This HP burner has been simple and uncomplicated to use. It was made for PCs but works fine with both my Macs and PCs with no complications.
I haven't tried the software, just used the burner programs that I already had in my computers.
My needs are uncomplicated, just data backup, and this burner reads and writes without a hitch. My Macs and PCs read the data without a problem.
Great Burner, Crappy Software 
2008-04-18
This burner is very easy to use, just plug it in and go. I had to get a USB card because I didn't have USB 2.0. The burner will work without, but it will take two hours to burn a dvd. After the USB upgrade it took only minutes to burn a dvd. The only thing I would recommend is to not use the burning software that is included (Nero). It lagged my computer and would abort the burning process at times. I tried the online free 21 day trial of CloneDVD 2 and then decided to purchase it because it works so well. Overall this is an excellent burner, good price, and the lightscribe feature is nice.
Good Writer, Lousy Nero Software Bundle 2008-03-28
Thought I would follow the instructions included with the writer. Installation went fine, the pc recognized the player. The install of the Nero software was a mess. It conflicted with the already existing burner software on my pc.
The Nero software has limitations, the player as-is will burn to DVD-R. With the Nero software you lose that functionality, due to some sort of licensing conflict.
What's the point of owning a writer, if the third party software doesn't allow you to write? I uninstalled the Nero bundle, but evidently it had made a change to my pc that would still not let the DVD writer to write.
Had to perform a system restore, and now the writer writes to DVD-R. Yay! Thats what I wanted.
Unfortunately the added feature of the software was going to be Lightscribe. But Nero bundled it into their all-in-one (all Seven-in-one!) executable, and doesn't allow for installing JUST the Lightscribe software.
It's not that important a feature. If I want it so bad, I'll just buy a copy online, or just use a magic marker.
Also, the Nero software wants you to associate all media files so that they run on it's software. Thats all your video files MOV, AVI, MPEG..., all your audio files mp3, wmv, wav..., all your image files BMP, JPG...(you have to deselect, to stop it from doing that)
The HP writer seems to work fine, HP (IMO) made an error in selecting the Nero bundle to include with the writer.
Relatively easy to burn data and audio CDs, not most advanced 2008-02-25
Regarding CD burners, I am an amateur reviewer.The last CD burner I purchased was back in 2002, and it had clunky usability at best. So this HP seemed like a really easy tool. I was able to install the drivers and Nero burning software quickly and burning data and audio CDs takes about 30 seconds of set up and burning only takes a few minutes at most.
Other users in my household find Nero's burning software unintuitive and wish they could just drag and drop data to be burned. That may be an option, but I just use Nero for them.
The sense I got from visiting HP's site for updated drivers and documentation (none) and then reading some reviews is that the technology for this model came out in 2004. My box said it was manufactured in 2007, but my guess is that there are more advanced burners and software available today. For basic needs, this the HP dvd1040e has been working fine for the last six months and was very inexpensive. No problems.
Great external drive 2008-01-30
HP's external dvd1040e 20x Super Multi DVD Writer lets you quickly record to single- or double-layer DVDs, and to DVD-RAM. It lets you preserve (and edit) up to 8.5GB of video, photos, and multimedia on one double-layer disc, plus store, back up, transport, and share documents on DVDs and CDs. And this high-speed drive supplies you with the latest version (1.2) of HP's cool LightScribe2 disc labeling technology, which expertly transfers high-contrast images Expertly label your CDs and DVDs - after burning data, simply flip the disc and apply a precise, silkscreen-like label with the LightScribe direct disc labeling Back up critical files on DVD-RAM discs / Store more - this DVD writer is a PC and laptop personal storage device Compatibility - desktop amd notebook PCs System requirements - Genuine Windows XP/2000 Professional SP4; 1.6GHz Intel Pentium IV processor or equivalent recommended,128MB RAM (256 MB RAM recommended for video editing), Hard disk space - 1GB free for included software, 10GB for DVD creation (18GB free for double layer); 1024 x 768 video resolution with a minimum of 16-bit color required for DVD authoring and editing; USB 2.0 interface and available port on PC.
DVD Burner Great Review! 2008-01-07
I am very happy with the HP DVD Writer. It is easily installed onto your computer and has made my boyfriend incredibly happy (one of his XMas Gifts). Easy to use, Does not take up a lot of space, Works Great!
Occasional problems reading movies. 
2007-12-15
PS--June 2008 and I am still using this HP DVD-RW. I would give it 3 stars now. And so far, no other reviewer reports a reading problem. Maybe the problem was with my system. Also, I later installed an internal Sony DVD-RW and that now has no reading problems but intermittent writing problems. I've decided the best situation is to have 2 DVD drives from 2 different manufacturers. Where one doesn't work, the other generally does. So I would look mainly for a good price on a good brand, which would include this one. My original review follows, edited for brevity.
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This HP dvd1040 works fine for all reading of data and all writing of movies or data, but not for watching movies.
I like to use my computer to watch Netflix rentals. Several times, a DVD has not played in this HP DVD writer, but has played in both my Acer laptop and my stand alone Panasonic DVD player.
PS--In case you don't know, the 'lightscribe' label writer only works on discs with 'lightscribe' capability, which currently, seem to cost significantly extra. So long as this is the case, I just as soon pay less for standard discs, and to write my titles with an acid-free Bic Mark-It Retractable.
